WO2014027114A1

WO2014027114A1 - Vertical column flexible big bag

Info

Publication number: WO2014027114A1
Application number: PCT/EP2013/067203
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yusuf Kohen
Original assignee: Yusuf Kohen
Priority date: 2012-08-17
Filing date: 2013-08-17
Publication date: 2014-02-20

Abstract

The present invention is a flexible big bag (10) comprising a base (11) so as to define a storing volume wherein granule, fluid or semi fluid materials can be stored; a ceiling (12); side walls (13) extending between said base (11) and said ceiling (12); at least one sheath (17) fixed to said side walls (13) in a manner extending from the base (11) towards the ceiling (12); and at least one vertical column (14) positioned inside said sheath (17), characterized in that when material is loaded to the flexible big bag (10), there is at least one closed end (171) provided on the side of the sheath (17) corresponding to the ceiling (12) in a manner preventing removal of the vertical column (14) from the sheath (17).

Description

SPECIFICATION

VERTICAL COLUMN FLEXIBLE BIG BAG TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to flexible big bags used in carrying granule, fluid or semifluid materials. PRIOR ART

Flexible carrying big bags, named big bag in the related art, are used widely for carrying and stacking various cast, powder, liquid, fluid, semi fluid and similar materials. In the application DE19720353, a flexible packaging container is disclosed wherein fluid materials are stored for receiving liquids, which container comprises a liquid-tight inner container and an outer container having at least one outer layer. In the area of its vertical side panels, said outer container has loops for receiving vertical support elements which extend through said loops and can be fixed at least on the lower side in a support situated on the bottom. Said packaging container is configured in such a way that the outer layer over part of the height of said container forms the loop which surrounds the corresponding vertical support element on the outside, and over a different part forms the support layer holding the vertical support from behind on the inside. In the application US5025925, a flexible container for fluids is disclosed, comprising an inner bag of a thin material and an outer sack of a durable fabric. The outer sack is cylindrical and its mantle surface is provided with channels for receiving support pillars fastened to a wooden pallet. Said structure cannot prevent removal of the vertical support element from the channels when material is loaded therein. Moreover, since the container is cylindrical, when pluralities of containers are stacked side by side, there are big gaps in between, and space loss occurs.

In the application GB2189773, a container apparatus is disclosed for the storage and transportation of fluid material comprises a support container for supporting a liner bag containing the fluid material, the support container comprising four collapsible sides which are made from a continuous piece of flexible material, a rigid top portion to which the collapsible sides are attached, a rigid base and an access opening in the rigid top portion. Members constrain the collapsible sides when the support container is in use, and elongate support members are provided, which may be folded to allow the sides to collapse. Thus, the liner bag can take the desired form. However, this disclosed structure provides a multi-piece option which is difficult to install and whose cost is high.

In the application WO2008147342, the present invention relates to a container for the transportation and stacking of bulk, powder, grained, liquid, fluid, or semi-fluid and similar materials of any kind, the container comprises plurality of vertically positioned columns in connection with the pallet, being easily connectable either to a standard pallet or to a pallet with holes opened thereon, and the container optionally not containing a rigid connection element such as a frame on its upper part. In said structure, the flexible carrying big bag is prevented from sliding from the pallet, and is possible to be stacked together with the pallet. This provides an additional pallet cost for each flexible carrying big bag. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a flexible big bag, in order to eliminate the abovementioned disadvantages and in order to bring new advantages to the related technical field.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a flexible big bag which can be stacked one above the other and which can be carried without the pallet or without the upper frame. Another object of the present invention is to provide a flexible big bag which can preserve the rectangular form thereof when loaded.

In order to realize the abovementioned objects and all of the objects to be obtained from the detailed description below, the present invention is a flexible big bag comprising a base so as to define a storing volume wherein granule, fluid or semi fluid materials can be stored; a ceiling; side walls extending between said base and said ceiling; at least one sheath fixed to said side walls in a manner extending from the base towards the ceiling; and at least one vertical column positioned inside said sheath. Accordingly, when material is loaded to the flexible big bag, there is at least one closed end provided on the side of the sheath corresponding to the ceiling in a manner preventing removal of the vertical column from the sheath. Thus, the vertical column is prevented from removing from the sheath, and thereby the flexible big bag preserves the desired form thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is at least one sheath provided at a vicinity of the intermediate part of each side wall and at least one vertical column positioned inside said sheath. Thus, by means of the fluid vertical columns loaded into the flexible big bag, it is guided towards the corners and the flexible big bag obtains the desired rectangular form.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there are two sheaths provided on the right and on the left side of the intermediate part of at least two corresponding side walls and there are two vertical columns positioned inside the sheaths.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sheaths provided on the mutual side walls and the vertical columns provided inside the sheaths are in the same alignment. Thus, the vertical columns provided in the same alignment and the base and the ceiling extending between the bottom and upper ends of the vertical columns are tensioned and the upper part and the bottom part of the flexible big bag obtain a flat form.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the side of the sheath corresponding to the base is configured in an at least partially openable manner so as to prevent removal of the vertical column from the sheath when required or in a manner providing placement thereof inside the sheath. Thus, the vertical column is provided to be encapsulated inside the sheath. By means of this, the vertical columns can be fixed in a vertical manner with respect to the ground, and as a result of this, pluralities of flexible big bags can be positioned one above the other. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the side of the sheath corresponding to the base is covered by means of a rope so as to prevent removal of the vertical column therefrom. Thus, the open side of the sheath can be covered in a practical manner.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sheath is connected to the side wall by means of at least one seam by being embodied such that one end thereof is covered so as to cover the periphery of the vertical column. Thus, the vertical column is prevented from sliding during loading.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the big bag fabric, of which the flexible big bag is made, is obtained by being woven from plastic based materials like PE, PP and PVC. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there are at least two lifting flaps provided such that the holding part of each is at the upper alignment of a vertical column on the upper part of two mutual side walls in order to be used in carrying the flexible big bag. Thus, the flexible big bag preserves the form thereof during displacement thereof by means of a forklift.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is at least one liner for preventing leakage of the fluid materials carried inside the flexible big bag. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is at least one access shaft for providing material loading into the flexible big bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES In Figure 1 , a representative top view of the subject matter flexible big bag is given.

In Figure 2, a representative upper view of an alternative embodiment of the subject matter flexible big bag is given. In Figure 3, a representative perspective view of the subject matter flexible big bag is given.

In Figure 4, a representative perspective view of the subject matter flexible big bag, positioned on a pallet, is given.

In Figure 5, a representative pressure and force distribution view where the subject matter flexible big bag is in loaded form.

In Figure 6, a representative view of the prior art is given.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

10 Flexible Big Bag

1 1 Base

12 Ceiling

121 Access shaft

13 Side Wall 14 Vertical column

15 Corner Part

16 Seam

17 Sheath

171 Closed End

20 Pallet

30 Lifting Flap

301 Holding Part

40 Liner

P Inner Pressure

F Tensioning Force

G Weight DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed description, the subject matter inner vertical column flexible big bag is described with examples, which will not form any restrictive effect, for providing understanding of the subject matter in a better manner.

As can be seen in Figure 3, according to the preferred arrangement of the flexible big bag

(10) with inner vertical column (14), the invention essentially comprises a rectangular base

(1 1 ) , four side walls (13) connected so as to form a closed storage volume with the edge parts of said base (1 1 ), and a ceiling (12) provided in a parallel manner with respect to the base (1 1 ) so as to cover the volume formed. As can be seen in the cross sections illustrated in Figure 1 and 2, the vertical columns (14) extending between said ceiling (12) and said base (1 1 ) are encapsulated inside the sheaths (17) provided on the side walls

(13) . The base (1 1 ), the ceiling (12) and the side walls (13) forming the flexible big bag (10) are preferably obtained by stitching big bag fabrics. In the alternative embodiments of the present invention, the side walls (13) are made by using pluralities of floors of materials. Said sheaths (17) are made in the form of a bag having a size wherein the vertical column

(14) can enter and whose one end is covered. Afterwards, it is connected to the side walls (13) of the flexible big bag (10) such that the closed end (171 ) faces the ceiling (12) and the open end faces the base (1 1 ). After the sheath (17) is stitched to the side wall (13), the vertical column (14) through the pieces forming the base (1 1 ) of the flexible big bag (10) is engaged into the sheath (17) and the open inlet of the sheath (17) is covered by means of a rope. In alternative embodiments, the open inlet of the sheath (17) can be covered by means of a zipper or by means of a hook and loop. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vertical columns (14) are formed so as to have geometry in hollow pipe form and made of any material like plastic, cardboard, etc. having sufficient rigidity. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the vertical column (14) can be made of timber and of a similar material which is full. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a sealed or pluralities of layers of liners (40) can be coated into the big bag fabric for realizing transfer of the fluid materials or for stacking. Again according to an alternative embodiment, all of the big bag fabric material can be shaped so as to comprise any plastic material known in the related art like Polyethylene having a thickness of for instance 1000 microns and having a single layer without the liner element.

Material inlet to the flexible big bag (10) is realized by means of an access shaft (121 ) preferably formed in the ceiling (12) part, and material outlet is provided by means of valves (not illustrated in the figure) fixed to the side walls (13) at a vicinity of the base (1 1 ). Alternatively, the discharge of the flexible big bag (10) can be realized through an outlet shaft (not illustrated in the figure) provided on the base (1 1 ) part thereof. When the flexible big bag (10) is not used, the vertical columns (14) provided therein are accumulated towards each other, and the volume thereof is decreased and thus, carrying and storing are facilitated. In order to load fluid into the flexible big bag (10), the vertical columns (14) are diverged from each other and the flexible carrier big bag (10) is approaching maximum volume. Afterwards, loading begins through the access shaft (121 ). In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, preferably two vertical columns (14) are provided on each side wall (13) at a vicinity of the intermediate part of the side walls (13). By means of said embodiment, when loading begins, the fluid is guided towards the corner parts (15) by means of the resistance of the vertical columns (14) against the fluid on the intermediate part of the side walls (13), and a firm rectangular form is provided in the flexible big bag (10).

As can be seen in Figure 5, as a result of loading the flexible big bag (10), an inner pressure (P) occurs as a result of the weight (G) of the material. As a result of the effect of the inner pressure, the vertical columns (14), provided on the two mutual side walls (13), try to diverge from each other. By means of this, a tensioning force (F) is formed on the ceiling (12) and on the base (1 1 ) extending between the vertical columns (14) at the top and at the bottom. By means of said tensioning force (F), the base (1 1 ) and the ceiling (12) are tensioned by functioning as a tensioning member. Thus, a flat form is obtained at the bottom and top part of the flexible big bag, and thereby pluralities of flexible big bags (10) can be stacked one above the other. Since the vertical columns (14) are provided on every side wall (13), the base (1 1 ) and the ceiling (12) are tensioned from the four sides. By means of the rectangular form provided and during loading of the flexible big bag (10) onto the vehicle, there remains no gap in between and a firmer placement is provided. Moreover, since the forklifts, used during carrying, stacking or loading of flexible big bags (10), generally hit the corner parts (15), the breakage of the vertical columns (14) is prevented since no vertical column (14) is positioned in that region. Since the vertical columns (14) are encapsulated inside the sheath (17) between the base (1 1 ) and the ceiling (12), installation is facilitated and at the same time, the vertical columns (14) are prevented from removing from the sheath (17) during and after loading.

By means of the structure obtained, the flexible big bags (10) can be carried without requiring pallet (20) and they can be stacked one above the other. Thus, the cost is decreased since there is no frame on the upper part of the flexible big bag (10), and since there remains no need for pallet (20) usage.

As can be seen in Figure 4, in the preferred embodiments of the present invention, lifting flaps (30) are provided at the parts close to the ceiling (12) of the side walls (13) for providing carrying of the flexible big bag (10), and/or can be positioned on the pallet (20). In the preferred embodiment, said lifting flaps are provided at the upper part of the vertical columns. Thus, when the flexible big bag (10) is lifted from the holding parts (301 ) on the lifting flaps (30), the deformation of the flexible big bag (10) is prevented.

As another alternative embodiment, a fixation element can be used for providing fixation of the flexible big bag (10) on the pallet (20). Moreover, in another alternative embodiment of the present invention, the connection of the flexible big bag (10) to the palette (20) can be provided by means of the connection strips extending towards the base (1 1 ) from the intersection of the side walls (13) and the ceiling (12); and at the same time, the ceiling (12) is provided to be more tensioned.

The big bag fabric, used for forming the flexible carrier big bag, is made of plastic based material and particularly made of a thermoplastic material (like PP, PE, PVC, nylon®).

The protection scope of the present invention is set forth in the annexed Claims and cannot be restricted to the illustrative disclosures given above, under the detailed description. It is because a person skilled in the relevant art can obviously produce similar embodiments under the light of the foregoing disclosures, without departing from the main principles of the present invention.

Claims

A flexible big bag (10) comprising a base (1 1 ) so as to define a storing volume wherein granule, fluid or semi fluid materials can be stored; a ceiling (12); side walls (13) extending between said base (1 1 ) and said ceiling (12); at least one sheath (17) fixed to said side walls (13) in a manner extending from the base (1 1 ) towards the ceiling (12); and at least one vertical column (14) positioned inside said sheath (17), characterized in that when material is loaded to the flexible big bag (10), there is at least one closed end (171 ) provided on the side of the sheath (17) corresponding to the ceiling (12) in a manner preventing removal of the vertical column (14) from the sheath (17).

A flexible big bag (10) according to Claim 1 , characterized by comprising at least one sheath (17) provided at a vicinity of the intermediate part of each side wall (13) and at least one vertical column (14) positioned inside said sheath.

A flexible big bag (10) according to Claim 2, characterized by comprising two sheaths (17) provided on the right and on the left side of the intermediate part of at least two corresponding side walls (13) and there are two vertical columns (14) positioned inside the sheaths (17).

A flexible big bag (10) according to Claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the sheaths (17) provided on the mutual side walls (13) and the vertical columns (14) provided inside the sheaths (17) are in the same alignment.

A flexible big bag (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the side of the sheath (17) corresponding to the base (1 1 ) is configured in an at least partially openable manner so as to prevent removal of the vertical column (14) from the sheath (17) when required or in a manner providing placement thereof inside the sheath (17).

A flexible big bag (10) according to Claim 5, characterized in that the side of the sheath (17) corresponding to the base (1 1 ) is covered by means of a rope so as to prevent removal of the vertical column (14) therefrom.

A flexible big bag (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sheath (17) is connected to the side wall (13) by means of at least one seam (16) by being embodied such that one end thereof is covered so as to cover the periphery of the vertical column (14).

8. A flexible big bag (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the big bag (10) fabric, of which the flexible big bag is made, is obtained by being woven from plastic based materials like PE, PP and PVC.

9. A flexible big bag (10) according Claim 3, characterized by comprising at least two lifting flaps (30) provided such that the holding part (301 ) of each is at the upper alignment of a vertical column (14) on the upper part of two mutual side walls (13) in order to be used in carrying the flexible big bag (10).

10. A flexible big bag (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by comprising at least one liner (40) for preventing leakage of the fluid materials carried inside the flexible big bag (10).

11. A flexible big bag (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by comprising at least one access shaft (121 ) for providing material loading into the flexible big bag (10).