IE50740B1 - Improvements in or relating to flexible liner bags for fluent materials - Google Patents

Abstract

A flexible liner bag 1 for transporting fluent dry materials inside a bulk container has the bag floor 2 secured to the floor of the bulk container so that when material is unloaded by tipping the container the material flows through an outlet opening 8 in the bag and is prevented from being trapped by movement of the bag floor 2. The floor 2 is secured by spaced strips 12 on the bag whose free ends 13, remote from the outlet opening 8, are secured to the container floor. To this end, the free ends of the strips are provided with brackets 14 which can be fixed to the container floor. As an alternative, the strips 12 can be incorporated in the bag floor.

Description

This invention relates to flexible liner bags for fluent dry material that is to say material in granular or particulate form.

When it is desired to transport such material in 5 bulk by sea, conventional shipping containers are sometimes used. A large flexible liner bag, for' example of a plastics material, is placed inside the shipping container and then loaded with the material. The bag is of a shape that conforms approximately to the interior of the container that is to say, the bag has a floor, side, upper and end walls. One of the end walls has a material inlet located adjacent to the junction between the end wall and the upper wall and a material outlet located adjacent to the junction between the end wall and the floor.

The bag is placed in the container with the one end wall at the door end of the container. A series of spaced rods or planks is located across the door end of the container to hold the bag in the container. With the outlet closed, the bag is loaded with material via the inlet and the latter is then closed.

On arrival at its destination, the contents of the bag are unloaded by opening the outlet and allowing the material to flow out, this being assisted by tipping the container about its door end. it is found that during unloading, movement of material towards the outlet causes the floor of the bag to move and this gives rise to folds in the bag floor which form pockets in which material lodges and from which it is - 3 extremely difficult to remcve. Xn some cases, it is desirable for an operative to enter the container and empty the pockets from outside the bag but this is possible only when the material is inert or safe as far as the operative is concerned.

It has been proposed to overcome this longstanding problem by securing the floor of the bag to the floor of the container but this is difficult to achieve and, when achieved, is far from successful. io Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible liner bag for the bulk transportation of dry fluent material that is less subject to the disadvantages of existing bags referred to above.

According to the present invention, a flexible liner bag for the bulk transportation of dry fluent material includes a floor part at least of the length of which includes at least one retaining strip having, adjacent one end of the floor, a free end by means of 2o which the strip can be secured to a support member.

Preferably, a plurality of the said retaining strips are employed, the strips being evenly spaced across the width of the floor.

The or each strip may be an independent component secured to the floor of the bag. Alternatively the or each strip may be incorporated into the floor §0740 and extend therefrom to provide the eaid free end or it may comprise a section of the bag, or may he an integral part of the floor of the hag heing formed for example, hy a respective local thickening of the hag floor, and extend therefrom to provide the said free end. - 5 If the bag is of a plastics material, each strip may be secured to the floor by a suitable bonding process or it may be secured by an adhesive.

Preferably, the free end of the or each strip 5 carries an end bracket by means of which the strip is secured to the support and which distributes tension in the strip across the full width thereof.

By way of example only, an embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detail with refer10 ence to the accompanying drawing of which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the embodiment, and, Fig. 2 is a plan view of a component.

The liner bag 1 shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing is of a flexible material impervious to the fluent substance it is to contain and is of a shape such that, when filled, it conforms substantially to the interior configuration of a conventional bulk shipping container (not shown).

The bag 1 has a floor 2, upper wall 3, side walls 4 and end walls 5, 6. The end wall 5 ha3 inlet and outlet 2Q tubes 7, 5 bonded or otherwise secured to it to permit entry and discharge of fluent material to and from the bag 1. In many cases, however, the end wall 5 has an inlet tube only.

The lower corners of the end wall are bevelled or gussetted or otherwise shaped as at 9 to encourage movement of material in the bag towards the outlet tube 8 during unloading.

Extension pieces 10 are secured to “the side walls 4 adjacent the upper edges thereof and the end wall 6. The - 6 extension pieces 10 have eyelets 11. For use with a typical bulk container, the bag 1 has an overall length (excluding the tubes 7, 8) of 5800 mm, a height of 2300 nun and a width of 2350 nun. The bag is fabricated from a plastics material, for example polyethylene of thickness 0.20-0.25 ram.

Extending along the length of the floor 1 between the end wall 6 and the shaped corners 9 is a series of retaining strips 12. In the embodiment shown, four strips are used and these are located in ®qui spaced} jsrallal relationshipo· Each strip has a free end 13 that extends beyond the floor and carries one end bracket by means of which the free end is secured to a support member which may be the floor of the container.

Where the bag is of a plastics material and of the dimensions referred to above, each strip 12 is of PVC coated nylon 75 mm wide by 5000 mm in length and is bonded to the undersurface of the floor 2.

A suitable bracket is shown in Pig. 2. It consists of a metal plate 14 bent round the free ends of an elongate metal ring 15, the plate 14 being apertured at 16 to enable the bracket to be screwed, bolted or nailed to the container floor.

To secure the strip to the ring 15, the strip is passed through the ring and returned to form a loop, the end of the strip being secured to the floor 2 or to the strip.

In this way, tension in the strip when in use is distributed evenly across the full width of the strip. - 7 To instal the bag 1 in a bulk container, the former is placed in the latter and the extension pieces 10 are located upon suitable pegs or hooks adjacent the upper part of the rear wall of the container using the eyelets 11. In this way, the end wall 6 of the bag is supported. An operative then enters the container and secures the brackets to the floor of the container at points adjacent the end wall of the container. The bag is then distributed along the container floor with the end wall 5 adjacent the now-open door end of the container. Suitable rods or planks are provided across the open end of the container which is fitted with brackets or supports to receive same.

Fluent material is then loaded into the bag through the open inlet tube 7, the outlet tube 8 having previously been closed. When the bag is filled with a desired amount of material, tube 7 is closed, and the container end doors are closed and locked. The container is then ready for ' shipment.

On arrival at its destination, the container is off-leaded on to a tipping mechanism or on to a trailer incorporating such a Mechanism. To discharge the fluent material in the bag, the container end doors are opened and the outlet tube positioned over a suitable receiving chute and then opened to allow material to flow from the bag 1 into the chute. During unloading, the weight of material in the bag is supported in part by the bars or planks referred to above.

A3 unloading proceeds, it is necessary to tilt the 507 40 - ii container to maintain the flow of material to the outlet. With previous constructions, the movement of material that takes place as the container is tilted causes the floor of the bag to move creating the folds and pockets referred to above. However, with the bag construction described above, the retaining strips 12 hold the floor 2 of the bag 1 against movement with the result that the material slides along the floor 2 of the bag without forming folds and pockets in the floor. Thus it is possible to discharge readily practically the entire contents of the bag and it is not necessary for an operative to enter the container to complete the discharge of material from the bag.

Other forms of mounting bracket can be used. The form described above has the advantage that the strip is not pierced cr damaged by the securing of the bracket to the container floor.

It will be appreciated that it may not be necessary to employ {strips extending the full length of the bag floor.

A shorter strip length may be sufficient to eliminate tha folding of the bag floor. Additionally, a number of strips other than four may be used.

Claims (12)

1. CLAIMS :1. A flexible liner bag for the bulk transportation of dry fluent material, the bag having a floor part at least of the length of which includes at least one 5 retaining strip having, adjacent one end of the floor, a free end by means of which the strip can be secured to a support member.

2. A bag according to claim 1, in which the floor includes a plurality of the said retaining strips, the io strips being evenly-spaced across the width of the floor.

3. A bag according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the or each retaining strip is an independent component secured to the floor of the bag.

4. A bag according to claim 3, in which the or each 15 retaining strip is secured by an adhesive to the floor of the bag.

5. A bag according to claim 3, in which the or each retaining strip is bonded to the floor of the bag.

6. A bag according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which 2o the or each retaining strip is incorporated into the floor of the bag and extends from the floor to provide the said free end.

7. A bag according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the or each retaining strip is formed as an integral - 10 part of the floor of the bag aad extends from the floor to provide the said free end. 80 A bag according to claim 7, in which the or each retaining strip is formed by a respective local 5 thickening of the floor of the bag.

8. 9- A bag according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the free end of the or each strip includes a bracket by which the strip can be secured to a support member.

9. 10. A bag according to claim 9» in which the bracket ie SO 10 secured to the strip thar, when secured to a support member, tension in the 3trip is distributed across the full width thereof

10. 11. A bag according to claim 10, in which the free end of the strip is formed into a loop through which passes a ringshaped portion of the bracket.

11. 15

12. A flexible liner bag for the bulk transportation of dry fluent material, the bag being substantially as described herein with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings. F.R. KELLY & CO., AGENTS FOR THE APPLICANTS. bell lines limited