IES86226B2 - An apparatus for connecting a lifting machine to a flexible bulk material carrier bag - Google Patents

Abstract

The apparatus provides a single lifting point (1a) for lifting a bulk material carrier bag. Four struts (1b), with looped structures (1c), form a rigid structure to connect to the four corners of the carrier bag. The single lifting point is located in a prominent position above the bag which enables an operator to easily engage a lifting machine such as a fork lift or crane. <Figure 1>

Description

Title An apparatus for connecting a lifting machine to a flexible bulk material carrier bag.

Field of the Invention The field of operation of the proposed invention is an apparatus for use in lifting bulk material carrier bag typically used in the construction industry. The proposed invention provides a safe and efficient method of connecting a lifting machine such as a crane or a forklift to load such as a bulk carrier bag made from a flexible material such as nylon weave.

Background to the Invention Currently, when lifting and moving flexible bulk material carrier bags the operator of lifting machine such as a crane or forklift is required to bring the lifting device in the form of a hook, hooks, fork or forks within close proximity to the load to be lifted, the operator must then attempt to connect the flexible lifting points in the four corners of the load, in this case a flexible bag to the lifting device. This requires a number of manoeuvres by the operator both at the controls of the lifting machine and at the load being lifted. The operator may be required to leave the controls of the lifting machine to approach the load or engage another person to connect the lifting device to the load. The reason this is required is because, in this case the load and the lifting points on the load are made from a flexible material, therefore the lifting points will not be located in a fixed position relative to the load and consequently will in all likelihood not be in a position suitable for engaging the lifting device. This can be a safety concern as there are a number of pinch points particularly between the lifting machine and the load, the lifting device and load, and lifting device and the flexible lifting points of the load.

Alternative approaches to engaging the lifting machine to the load is to use a pallet. The load, in this case a flexible bag, is placed on a pallet and in this example a forklift can be used to engage with and lift the pallet without requirement of leaving the controls of the lifting machine or engaging a second person. However, it is also noted that the load may become unstable on the pallet as the centre of gravity of the load is above the lifting point. Also, the use of a pallet is not suitable for use with a crane.

Another approach that has been observed is the use of integrating a stiff wire into the flexible lifting points of the load, in this case a flexible bag. This has the effect of converting the flexible lifting points into a more rigid structure, thereby serving to provide a more fixed location of the lifting points. However, due to having the balance the mechanical stiffness of the wire with the cost and weight this has not been widely adopted by the industry.

Summary of the Invention The advantages of the proposed invention is that it provides a connection point on the load to enable the operator of the lifting machine to easily engage the lifting device of the lifting machine with the load without the operator having to leave the controls of the lifting machine or engage the assistance of a second person. The proposed invention is a rigid structure that forms a connection between the flexible lifting points of the load and provides a single lifting point in a fixed location relative to the load.

The operator can place the proposed invention on the load and connect the flexible lifting points of the load to the proposed invention before having to manoeuvre the lifting machine close to the load. This provides the advantage of removing the safety concern of having the operator in close contact to the load and the lifting device at the time of the lift.

The lifting point is above the load, thereby ensuring a stable lift as the centre of gravity of the load is below the lifting point. This is not the case of using a pallet and forklift as described above.

The operator can also benefit from increased efficiency by using one unit of the proposed invention for each load to be lifted. For example, the operator would attach ten units of the proposed invention to ten bags (one unit per bag), complete the lift of all ten bags and then remove the proposed invention from the bags. This batch like operation has shown to be very efficient use of time.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows an isometric view of the proposed invention.

Figure 2 shows a sample of a flexible bulk material carrier bag.

Figure 3 shows the typical interaction of a lifting device, the proposed invention and a flexible bulk material carrier bag.

Figure 4, 5 & 6 is the elevation, plan and end view of the proposed invention.

Figure 7 shows a close up of the looped structure which forms a self-locking feature.

Figure 8, 9,10 & 11 show the outline dimensions and angles of the structure.

Detailed Description of the Drawings The main features of the proposed invention as shown in Figure 1 is the single lifting point as indicated by (la), from which the four struts emanate as indicated by (lb), and the looped structure at the end of each strut indicated by (1c). This is a rigid structure is typically made from a solid round steel bar having a diameter between 5mm and 50mm. The shape of the proposed invention is such that the four struts are angled towards the four comers of the load that it would lift. The four flexible lifting points of the load as indicated by. (2a) in Figure 2 would be connected by hand to the four looped structures at the end of each strut. This serves to transmit the lifting force as shown in (3a) of io Figure 3 to the (single lifting point of the proposed invention - to the four struts - to the four looped structures] (3b) - to the four flexible lifting points of the load (3c) - to the load. The rigid nature of the proposed invention enables the operator to hand carry the proposed invention to the load, place the proposed invention on the load and connect the four loops to the four flexible lifting points. This serves to locate the single lifting point of the proposed invention in a prominent position relative to the load to facilitate the operator of the lifting machine to easily engage the lifting device.

The looped structure, shown in close up in Figure 7, provides a self-locking feature to ensure a secure connection between the flexible lifting points of the load and the proposed invention. It is constructed such that the operator can place the flexible lifting point of the load over the loop and then one side of the flexible lifting point is placed around and under the end of the loop, the result being that the flexible lifting point passes through the loop in a safe and secure manner and cannot be unintentionally dislodged. After the operator has completed the required operation of lifting and or moving the load or loads the operator can disengage the lifting machine from the single lifting point, move the lifting machine to a safe location and then easily disconnect the flexible lifting points of the load from the proposed invention. The proposed invention can then be carried away by hand. The proposed invention can be reused many times, while remaining in compliance with the Safe Working Load limits.

Figures 7, 8, 9 & 10 provide a description of the dimensions of the main features of the proposed invention. These are guideline only and may vary up to 200% greater than and less than the indicated dimensions. The dimension as provided in Figure 10 indicates that there is sufficient clearance between the top of the load and the bottom of the single lifting point to enable the operator of the lifting machine to easily engage the lifting device without the requirement for high precision location of the lifting device as the lifting machine is being manoeuvred into the lifting position. To state in another way, the operator of a lifting machine such as a forklift can has a large target area to engage the lifting device with the load. For example a forklift operator can have the forks at a wide range of heights and still successfully and securely engage the forks with the proposed invention and consequently the load.

Figure 11 shows the angle between the struts, again this is indicative only and may vary by 100% greater than and less than the indicated angle.

Claims (3)

Claims

1. An apparatus for lifting bulk material carrier bags, the bags having at least four lifting handles (3c) which are attached to the carrier bags and carry the weight of the bags, comprising: a frame having a U-shaped central section (la) from which at least four struts (lb) emanate, the struts having a loop structure (lc) at their respective ends to provide a self-locking facility with the handles of the bulk material carrier bags, wherein the Ushaped central section (la) provides a single lifting point for the bulk material carrier bags when used with a lifting device such as a lifting hook.

2. An apparatus for lifting bulk material carrier bags as claimed in claim 1 wherein the frame is formed by one mirror image portion (left U-shaped central section and two struts) being welded together to a second mirror image portion (right U-shaped central section and two struts) to form the complete device.

3. An apparatus for lifting bulk material carrier bags as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.