WO2012131609A1

WO2012131609A1 - A rollable container arrangement

Info

Publication number: WO2012131609A1
Application number: PCT/IB2012/051504
Authority: WO
Inventors: Richard Jon KUHLMANN
Original assignee: Kuhlmann Richard Jon
Priority date: 2011-03-29
Filing date: 2012-03-29
Publication date: 2012-10-04

Abstract

This invention relates to a rollable container arrangement 10 for conveying a filler material. The rollable container arrangement 10 includes a container body 12 which is circular in cross section at a point along an axis of the container body 12 and first and second receiving formations 14a and 14b which are spaced apart and extend substantially parallel to one another peripherally around the outer surface of the container body 12. The rollable container arrangement 10 also includes roll control means in the form of an elongate flexible member 16 which is engagable in the receiving formations 14a and 14b for allowing the container body 12 to be rolled and manoeuvred.

Description

A ROLLABLE CONTAINER ARRANGEMENT

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a reliable container arrangement for conveying a filler material and more particularly, but not exclusively, to a rollable container arrangement for conveying a filler material having roll control means for rolling and manoeuvring a container body. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

In rural, poorer communities, containers are used by people to transport water, food or other products between places. Means for the transportation of these containers, such as motor vehicles, trucks or the like, are seldom available and as a result the containers often have to be carried by hand or on heads, sometimes over long distances. It may be burdensome to carry these containers as they can be heavy, especially when filled, and their shape make them difficult to grip and hold.

To overcome the above disadvantage, it is known to provide a rollable container with handling means in the form of a rope. An example hereof is disclosed in United States patent number 5,628,420. This invention discloses a container comprising a hollow enclosed substantially cylindrical rigid body. The body is provided with an elongate passageway extending through the body along a cylindrical axis thereof. The container is provided with a handling device for retaining the container rotatably about the cylindrical axis.

A disadvantage associated with the above invention is that an extrusion blow moulding method, which would be considered as probably the most feasible manner of manufacturing such cylindrical rigid bodies, cannot be used as the design of the cylindrical rigid body pose constraints which cannot be overcome with extrusion blow moulding techniques. More expensive manufacturing methods, such as rotational moulding, would have to be used to manufacture such cylindrical rigid bodies. Since products of the type disclosed in US patent number 5,628,420 are intended for low-income markets, they need to be provided to the end users at a low price. To accomplish this, the products need to be manufactured by a less expensive manufacturing method.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a rollable container arrangement for conveying a filler material which will, at least partially, alleviate the disadvantages mentioned above, and/or will provide a useful alternative to existing rollable container arrangements. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention there is provided a rollable container arrangement for conveying a filler material, the rollable container arrangement comprising a container body being circular in cross section at a point along an axis of the container body; a receiving formation extending peripherally around an external surface of the container body; and roll control means engagable in the receiving formation for allowing the container body to be rolled and manoeuvred. The container body may be cylindrically shaped.

The receiving formation may be a first receiving formation and the rollable container arrangement may also include a second similar receiving formation. The first and second receiving formations may each be in the form of a groove having two side walls and a base portion extending between the two side walls.

The first and second receiving formations may be spaced apart and may extend substantially parallel to one another about the periphery of the external surface of the container body.

The first and second receiving formations may protrude into the container body. Alternatively, the first and second receiving formations may be located in annular protrusions standing proud of the container body.

The first and second receiving formations may each be between 8 and 20 millimetres wide.

The first and second receiving formations may each be between 10 and 25 millimetres deep. The side walls of each of the first and second receiving formations may taper inwardly towards one another and towards their respective base portions.

The roll control means may be an elongate flexible member. The elongate flexible member may be in the form of a rope, line, wire, chain, or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention are described below, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a container body of a rollable container arrangement according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view from above along line 11-11 of the container body of the rollable container arrangement of figure 1 , and also showing a detailed view of a receiving formation protruding into the container body;

Figure 3 is a schematic view from above of the rollable container arrangement showing the container body of figures 1 and 2 and including a roll control means; Figure 4 is a schematic cross sectional end view along line IV— IV of the rollable container of figure 3, in use; and

Figure 5 is a schematic view from above of a container body of a rollable container arrangement according to a second embodiment of the invention with receiving formations located in protrusions standing proud of the container body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to figures 3 and 4, a rollable container arrangement for conveying a filler material according to a first embodiment of the invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 10. Referring to figures 1 to 4, the rollable container arrangement 10 includes a container body 12 which is circular in cross section at any point along an axis of the container body 12. The rollable container arrangement 10 further includes a first receiving formation 14a and a second similar receiving formation 14b which both extend peripherally around an outer surface of the container body 12. The rollable container arrangement 10 also includes roll control means in the form of an elongate flexible member 16 which is engagable in the receiving formations 14a and 14b for allowing the container body 12 to be rolled and manoeuvred. The elongate flexible member 16 is in the form of a rope, but it is foreseen that the elongate flexible member could also be a wire, line, chain, or the like.

The container body 12, which is substantially cylindrical in shape, has a cylindrical outer wall 15a and two end walls 15b and 15c positioned at opposite ends of the cylindrical outer wall 15a to define the container body 12, which is hollow and rigid. The end wall 5b defines an opening (not shown), which is closable by a cap 18. The end wall 15b further includes a handle 20 by which the container body 12 can be picked up or held, should it be required.

The first and second receiving formations 14a and 14b are defined by the outer surface of the outer wall 15a and are in the form of grooves which protrude into the container body 12, being roughly u-shaped in cross section. The first and second receiving formations 14a and 14b are spaced apart and extend substantially parallel to one another so that each receiving formation 14a and 14b is located at one third of the length of the container body 12 from opposite ends of the container body 12. The first and second receiving formations 14a and 14b are then spaced one third of the length of the container body 12 from one another. It is foreseen that any other suitable spacing arrangement may also be used, such as, for example, having each receiving formation 14a and 14b located at one quarter of the length of the container body 12 from opposite ends of the container body 12 and thereby having the first and second receiving formations 14a and 14b spaced apart at half the length of the container body 12.

Referring particularly to the detailed view of figure 2, each receiving formation 14a and 14b includes two side walls 14.1 and a base portion 14.2 which extends between the two side walls 14.1 . The width of each receiving formation 14a and 14b, denoted by the letter w, is between 8 and 20 millimetres and the depth of each receiving formation 14a and 14b, denoted by the letter h, is between 10 and 25 millimetres. The side walls 14.1 are tapered inwardly towards one another and towards their respective base portions 14.2 at an angle, denoted by the symbol a, of between 2 and 4 degrees. Each base portion 14.2 is concavely shaped and upper edges, denoted by the symbol #, that is, where the receiving formations 14a and 14b and the cylindrical outer wall 15a meet, are rounded.

In use, the container body 12 is placed in an upright position with cap 18 removed so that the container body 12 can be filled with a filler material (not shown). Typical filler materials include water and food, but it is envisaged that any other filler material may also be used. After the container body 12 is filled, the cap 18 is secured to the container body 12 to close the opening to prevent the contents of the container body 12 from spilling. The container body 12 is subsequently turned on its side, as shown in figure 1 , to allow it to be rolled. Referring now to figures 3 and 4, a length of rope 16 is used to role the container body 12. To prepare the length of rope 16 for use, its two loose ends are secured to one another, typically by tying them together. The rope 16 is then placed on a surface and arranged to form a figure eight consisting of two loop portions. Both loop portions are then placed over the outer wall 15a of the container body 12 and positioned so that the one loop portion engages the first receiving formation 14a and the other loop portion engages the second receiving formation 14b. An operator of the rollable container arrangement 10 could then pull on a free section the rope 16 to roll and manoeuvre the container body 12 about its cylindrical axis. Referring now to figure 5, a container body according to a second embodiment of the invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 12a. The container body 12a is similar to the container body 12 shown in figures 1 to 4, with like numerals referring to like features. The container body 12a, however, includes two annular protrusions 22 which stand proud of the cylindrical outer wall 15a of the container body 12a. The first and second receiving formations 14a and 14b are thus each located in one of the annular protrusions 22. It is envisaged that the invention will provide a rollable container arrangement 10 having roll control means 16 that will allow an operator thereof to transport water, food or other products without having the carry the container body 12 or 12a. It is foreseen that the rollable container arrangement 10 will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and assemble and may be manufactured by an extrusion blow moulding method.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the precise details as described herein and that many other variations are possible without departing from the scope of the appended claims. For example, instead of using a single rope 6 to operate the rollable container assembly 10, two separate ropes could also be used.

Claims

1. A rollabie container arrangement comprising a container body being circular in cross section at a point along an axis of the container body; a receiving formation extending peripherally around an external surface of the container body; and roll control means engagable in the receiving formation for allowing the container body to be rolled and manoeuvred.

2. A rollabie container arrangement as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the container body is cylindrically shaped.

3. A reliable container arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the receiving formation is a first receiving formation and the rollabie container arrangement also includes a second similar receiving formation.

4. A rollabie container arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the first and second receiving formations are each in the form of a groove having two side walls and a base portion extending between the two side walls.

5. A rollabie container arrangement according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the first and second receiving formations are spaced apart and extend substantially parallel to one another about the periphery of the external surface of the container body.

6. A rollable container arrangement according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the first and second receiving formations protrude into the container body.

7. A rollable container arrangement according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the first and second receiving formations are located in annular protrusions standing proud of the container body.

8. A rollable container arrangement according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the first and second receiving formations are each between 8 and 20 millimetres wide.

9. A rollable container arrangement according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the first and second receiving formations are each between 10 and 25 millimetres deep.

10. A rollable container arrangement according to any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein the side walls of each of the first and second receiving formations taper inwardly towards one another and towards their respective base portions.

1 1. A rollable container arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the roll control means is an elongate flexible member.

12. A reliable container arrangement according to claim 11 , wherein the elongate flexible member is selected from a group including a, rope, line, wire, chain, or the like.

13. A reliable container arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.