AU631163B2

AU631163B2 - Means for a flexible intermediate bulk container

Info

Publication number: AU631163B2
Application number: AU47152/89A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Anders Juel; Olaf Strand
Original assignee: Norsk Hydro ASA
Current assignee: Norsk Hydro ASA
Priority date: 1988-12-21
Filing date: 1989-12-21
Publication date: 1992-11-19
Anticipated expiration: 2009-12-21
Also published as: DE68913176T2; NO885698L; ATE101575T1; NO885698D0; KR900009400A; CA2005868A1; MY104703A; TR27710A; RU1838204C; CN1018911B; DE68913176D1; ES2049337T3; KR900009398A; AU4715289A; NO165718B; NO165718C; EP0376622A1; CN1043677A; EP0376622B1

Abstract

A flexible container (1) such as a FIBC for transportation and storage of fluid material comprising an outer envelope (2) and one or more inner envelopes (3). The container (1) can also comprise lifting loops (5) and an opening for filling (6). A support (4) is provided between two adjacent envelopes (2,3) which extends the total circumference of the container and has a height corresponding to the fill height of the container.

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

Class 63116 Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority Related Art: 0 c 4 o o A a 000 4 00,44: Applicant(s): 0 4 04 44 4044r Norsk Hydro A.S Bygdoy alle 0257 Oslo NORWAY Address for Service is: PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 367 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 AUSTRALIA Complete Specification for the invention entitled: S MEANS FOR A FLEXIBLE INTERMEDIATE BULK CONTAINER t Our Ref 158578 POF Code: 1346/1346 4 6a The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to applicant(s): -1 6006 I 7 i i

I

The present invention relates to a flexible container such as a flexible intermediate bulk container (FIBC) for transportation and storing of fluid material.

The said ccntainer comprises an outer cover/envelope and one or more inner covers/envelopes, as stated in the precharacterizing part of the attached claim i.

In this specification by "fluid material" is meant liquids, suspensions and materials which under specific conditions behave as liquids, such as fluidized powder material in the form of Portland cement, ground magnesium powder and the like.

Today, several types of flexible collapsible containers are in use for bulk transport. Some FIBC are designed as disposable bags whereas some are made for reuse. Examples of such FIBC are known from the applicants patent AU 513347. These types of FIBCs can comprise an inner waterproof liner of thermoplastic, an outer container of woven fabric etc., lifting loops and an opening for filling.

From a technical and economic point of view the flexible containers are in many cases the best alternative for storing and transporting bulk material.

o A lack of stiffness is however a disadvantage with S conventional flexible containers when it comes to filling, 25 transport and storage of fluid material. These problems can be severe for FIBC where the volume can be from several hundred litres up to about two thousand litres.

As previously mentioned, liquids and fluidizing o materials, such as Portland cement give specific problems 0 during the filling and handling process. The fluidizable material will during the filling operation start to fluidize and behave as a fluid due to mixing of air. A o container filled with such a fluid material will be very S unstable immediately after it has been filled. Therefore, it cannot be disconnected from the filling apparatus and put on a conveyor belt or a pallet.

Various methods have been applied for solving the problem on how to use a flexible container for fluid A material. One method in use for fluidizing material is to ooo o oo a o oo ooo oo o o oo ooo Oa es ora a la-

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J fill the container while it is hanging on a fork truck and then transport the container directly to the storing room. However, the container has to be on the fork truck until most of the fluidizing air has escaped before it can be stored without support. This method requires use of several fork trucks and an intermediate storing room for newly filled containers. Accordingly this method does not achieve fast filling and transport of the stable containers.

A method and a device which gives a faster filling operation and quicker transport of the filled container is known. It is described in the patent application EP AL 64.095. However even if this device facilitates quicker and more economical transport of the filled container, it still has the problem of the container not being stable immediately after the filling has been performed.

It is further known to locate the container in a cylindrical shaped form before it is filled with fluidisable material. The filling process is a simple operation, but several problems arise when the cylindrical shaped form is removed. A filling process like this o° f requires a large area, certainly when the container is lifted out from the cylindrical form. The lifting 0.0 operation also requires special equipment.

25 These problems have restricted the use of flexible 0 °containers and particularly the FIBC's for transportation ooo of bulk material with large particle size, such as granular fertilizer, grain, coal and the like.

:o °It is an object of the present invention to improve j 30 the properties of conventional flexible containers in such ooo a way that they can be used for all types of fluid material. That is in order that the filling operation can be done by a simple and reliable method without the use of extra equipment and the transport and storage of the filled containers can be achieved simply and reliably without requiring specially designed transport and storage equipment. It is a further object of the invention to make the container more resistant to puncturing by sharp 39 objects which can result in leakage.

1:'i 2 It is a yet further object of this invention to improve the properties of the container without changing the basic construction thereof.

It is an even yet further object of the invention to keep the costs of making such a container as low as possible.

According to the invention there is provided a flexible container for transportation and storage of fluid material comprising an outer envelope and at least one inner envelope, the container having a filling opening, wherein a support is provided between said envelopes having a height corresponding to the fill height of fluid material in the container and wherein the support extends fully around the inner envelope having a flexibility such as to allow for horizontal expansion of the container during filling thereof, thereby controlling the forces which cause instability.

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4 -btained, -ad Swie h-i -araoterized by that betweenan and an inner envelope of the flexible cont it is arranged a support that cove otal circumference of the container as a height corresponding to the filling ioght of the container, as defined in claim 1.

Fb rjve r fa-^ure -p~f'rrzd zmrbcymi.ntC-, dcsigns of the invention are defined in the dependent claims 2-9.

l OWA by 0- 14 eamp/e The invention will be described in more detail 4 by -oexampo..E only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 illustrates in a schematic view a perspective drawing of the flexible container supplied with supports according to the invention which drawing is provided- 0 So with a part cut sectional view to illustrate the" 0o construction.

oo 0 0 0O0 Fig. 2 illustrates in a perspective view the different alternatives for support, according to the inven- 0.0 tion.

j Fig. 1 gives an example of a flexible container comprising an inner waterproof envelope 3 and an outer envelope 2.

Between the inner and outer envelope it is arranged a support 4 covering the total circumference of the container and has I a height corresponding to the height of the container.

Because the sidewall of the container in this example com- Sprise four flat wall panels, the supports 4 comprise four rigid plates forming a rectangular shape where the rigid plates are interconnected at their side edges. The rectangular shaped form can be rigid i.e. the plates can be rigidly connected. However, it seems to be most appropriate that the plates are pin joint or hinge joint and the frame is collapsable.

.ii -i Ir- LLII;-^I-I rlil.l.il This gives advantages during transportation of the supports or the empty collapsible containers with supports. It should however, be added that as an another alternative the supports can be made of separate plates and be interconnected by use of a simple joint or the half finished frames can be jointly mounted and located in the container shortly before the flexible container is filled.

Because the supports are used in a flexible container that expands during filling, it is very important that the supports can to c this expansion (elongation of the circumference). One way 4 obtaining the elongation can be by overlapping as discussed in the following example.

To achieve maximum stiffness of the container, it should d00 0 4th be mentioned that the plates in the support have too be interconnected in such a way that they do not displace o 9o ooo with respect to each other in the vertical direction, i.e.

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the supports should be rigid and thus resist the vertical *Oo shear forces appearing if the container is unstable from the a 000 vertical equilibrium position. Further on, it should be noted o that even if the above example describes a flat plate as a support, it will be evident that the invention is not only restricted to a flat plate as a support. Therefore, the sup- 00. ports can be made of performated or corrugated plates, a do 0r type of frame construction wire netting. So r 00 0 As mentioned above, the support 4 is located between the 0 00 S outer 2 and the inner envelope 3. During filling of the oooao° 00 container 1 the supports will due to the static pressure in the container and the friction between the supports and oo 0 envelopes, keep the supports in position and thus make a o oafns fth otie S stiff and stable container. The stiffness of the container is however dependent on what material and thickness the supports are made of and what material the container is made of.

Ci 0 6 All types of construction materials can be selected as material for the supports, such as paste board or corrugated card board, plastic material, metal or wood. The factors that determine what type of material one should use will be dependent on transport environment, assumed transport load and the size of the container.

In the aforementioned example, it is illustrated and discussed a container comprising an inner and an outer envelope (double walled container). Within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims, it is however possible to arrange supports in a flexible container comprising more than two envelopes (multiple walled container). It should however be added that the word "envelope" not only mean one layer in a double or multiple walled container, but may as well be a flexible container as known per se. or a flexible belt em-- 00 aoo ployed as a reinforcing belt for the container. as decQribod in tho applicant'c NO patent No. 1 433-.

000400 0 0 S00. The bottom construction of the container can be a bottom 0o0o common for all envelopes, or each of the envelopes can be arranged with a separate bottom construction. Further, the supports may be arranged in the container during the manufacturing process, but before the bottom is made or the supports 016 0 may be located in the container immediately before the con- °o tainer is filled. For the first mentioned example it is an advantage that the container isoli4pable (see Fig. 2d).

t' It should also be noted that the shape of the container is 0 not restricted to the container with four sides as shown in 0 Fig. 1. The supports can be arranged and adjusted in con- 0 o tainers with different shape and with various volume.

i -0w~ ~S~S Afl 7 Fig. 2 a-d illustrates in a perspective view different alternatives for supports according to said invention. Fig 2 a illustrates a support with nearly cylindrical shape and adjusted to a cylindrical container. Fig. 2 b illustrates a support with narrow ribs 7 pin joint connected side by side.

This type of support is a more flexible solution, easy to adjust for different types of containers. Fig. 2 d illustrates a support with four sides and collapsable at the folding lines 8, this type is applicable when the supports are arranged in a container during fabrication of the said container, see side 6, section 3.

For all three of the above mentioned examples, the supports can be manufactured from one piece of material. By forming a cylinder, Fig. 2 a, the material piece can be bent in such away that the material ends are overlapping. The overlapping technique can also be applied in the example illustrated in Fig. 2 b,c and d. However, in these examples, the material pieces are supplied with folding lines or "weaknings lines" such as grooves, located at a specific distance apart which is equivalent to the width of the sides or the width of the ribs and where the sides or the ribs are made by folding at these lines.

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Claims

2. A flexible container according to claim i, wherein the support is made of corrugated or flat plate sections, perforated plate sections, a frame construction, wire netting or the like.
3. A flexible container according to claim 2, wherein the support has a cylindrical like shape and is adjusted to fit a cylindrical container.
4. A flexible container according to claim 3, wherein the support comprises three or more sides and is adjusted to fit a container of the same shape. ao 5. A flexible container according to claim 4, wherein the support is made by one section of material and 000 comprises a folding line where the sides are folded forming the part of corners between the side plates and oa wherein the edges of the material section overlap. o 6. A flexible container according to claim 4, wherein each side of the support is formed by a separate 0 material section and is interconnected at the side edge by o 0 use of connecting means such as to avoid the material o sections dislocating in the vertical direction, but allowing some movement in the horizontal direction to compensate for the radial expansion of the container. o 7. A flexible container according to claim 6, 5 wherein the connecting means comprises a connection link which is flexible or a pin joint allowing the supports to be collapsible.
8. A flexible container according to claim 1, 39 wherein the support comprises a plurality of vertical, 8 -r narrow ribs, which are interconnected along their side edges by a flexible connection or pin joint, allowing rotation about the vertical axis and dislocation in the horizontal plane, but preventing the ribs being dislocated in the vertical direction.
9. A flexible container substantially as herein described with respect to any one of the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. DATED: 2 September 1992 PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Attorneys for: NORSK HYDRO a.s. od'.3 ;t'6 00 a 0 a 0 0 0 0 00 00 0 o o 000 0 00*000 00 S o P 0 0000 0 0 a 00 0 o I 0000 0 0 f 00 0 0 c. 0 60 00 «0 S01 0 0 00 0 39 2093b VF 9 L I