US3105617A - Transportable containers for the handling of light-weight bulk materials - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 1, 1963 Filed April 5, 1961 v. ngnnfa'; Isl,

FELLDIN K. F. TRANSPORTABLE CONTAINERS FOR THE HANDLING OF LIGHT-WEIGHT BULK' MATERIALS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 24 /N VE N TOI? sa Kar/ Fredrik Fel/dm 24 by WC ATTORNEY Oct. 1, 1963 K. F. FELLDIN 3,105,617

TRANSPORTABLE CONTAINERS FOR THE HANDLING OF LIGHT-WEIGHT BULK MATERIALS 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed April 5, 1961 Fig. 4

/N VEN TOI? Karl Fredrik Fel/din by fdd QCM ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,105,517 TRANSPORTABLE CONTAINERS FR THE HAN- DLING F LIGHT-WEIGHT BULK MATERHALS Karl Fredrik Felidin, Stockholm, Sweden, assigner, by mesne assignments, to Lund SA., hilly-Lausanne, Switzeriand, a company of Switzerland Filed Apr. 5, 1961, Ser. No. 100,882 4.- Ciaims. (Cl. 222-185) This invention generally relates to transportable containers. More particularly, this invention relates to tnansportable containers for the handling of light-weight bulk materials.

Background -In recent times several types of containers for transporting and handling of bulk materials have been put on the market. These generally comprise rectangular or cylindrical containers of sheet metal provided with a cover having an opening for iilling and releasable shutters or outlet means near the [bottom for emptying. Containers of this type, provided with slots or legs at the bottom can be handled by means of fork-lift trucks. Containers provided with rings or lugs at the top can be handled by hoisting means. rFhey can be transported by road vehicle yas well as by train. However, in using such container-s it is often diicult to either completely empty them or to completely ill them because of the langle of repose which the bulk materials take within the containers (particularly li-ghtweight, pulverized bulk material). Consequently, it has usually been found necessary to employ shakin-g or vibrating means in conjunction with such containers -in order to either completely iill or emp-ty them.

Another disadvantage of these containers is that since they are constructed of sheet metal, Itheir weight is often quite 4high in relation to the light-weight bulk material contained therein, and this disproportionate amount of weight results in rather high lfreight charges.

ln `order to overcome the weight problems of containers, prior art workers have suggested constructing the containers of light-weight lexiblel material. However, the primary di'culty with such containers is that -they are difhcult to stack and frequently diicult to shift ffrom one location to another. Such containers have therefore not been particularly successful.

Objects It -is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide a transport container for bulk materials which may :be easily handled :by a number of transporting means.

I-t is also an object of this invention to provide an essentially dustfree filling and emptying container for the handling of particulate material.

It is -another object of this invention to provide a ilexiblle cargo container which is provided with inea-ns for retaining the container in a desi-red shape.

Still another object of this invention is .to provi-de a cargo container which may be -iilled and emptied without Vibration or shaking.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lightweight, easily transportable and low cost cargo container which rnay be adapted to use ywhenever a container is needed for the transportation of nely divided or pulverulent material.

These and other objects and advantages will Ibecome more apparent after reading the following description in conjunction with the drawings.

The Invention Broadly In its very broadest concept it is believed that the trans- Eddie-i7 Patented Get. l, 1%63 ICC port container of the present invention can be considered as comprising:

(a) A generally tubular passageway constructed of eidble nonrigid material,

(b) A lower container section connected to and located above said passageway and diverging upwandly and outwardly therefnoin,

(c) Said lower container section being constructed of flexible non-rigid material,

(d) A main container section connected to and disposed above said lower container section,

(e) Said main container section being enclosed within a rigid framework.

The Invention More Specifically The invention will now be described more particularly with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a transport container `in accordance with this invention;

FIGURES 2, 2A and 2B are perspective views of related types of suitable rigid irameworks in accordance Iwith the invention; Y

`FIGURE 3 is a perspective view oi the present invention as it will yappear in its filled or lling condition and in conjunction ywith a pallet device;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view showing the embodiment of FIGURE 3 ias it 'Will appear when the container is being emptied;

FIGURE 5 is a cutaway perspective view of the rib and rim connector system shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a cutaway perspective view of an alternative rib connector arrangement;

FIGURE 7 is a cutaway perspective view of Ianother rib connector system.

Referring now to FIGURE l there is shown a contain-er 10, laugely comprised of lflexible, collapsible, clothlike material and comprising a generallytubular passageway 14, a lower container section l', amain'conta'iner section 24, yanupper container section 16 and anupper passageway 12.

The tubular passageway Ilil is preferably orf rather small cross section as compare-d to kthe other aforementioned elements of thecontainer 10. 'Thelower container section 18 is connected t-o said passageway and ydiver'ges upwardly and outwardly therefrom. Themain container section 24 is connected to and disposed above saidlower container section 18 and although the lower container section 1-8 is shown to have the general coniiguna-tion or an inverted pyramid, it will be appreciated Ithat thislower container section 18 could just as well be conical in conguration or of circular or elliptical cross section. The lower container section v18 may be designed with various slopes depending upon the .angle of repose off the bulk material to be transported and also depending upon :the nature of `the material to 'be transported. Proper selection of the slope or the lower container section 1S will insure coniplete'removal of all of the material within the container by gravitational forces. Upper container section i6 is joined to and located above saidmain container section 24 and this upper container section converges inwardly as it rises until it merges intopassageway 12. Adjacent the juncture 'of the lower container section land the main container section, and adjacent the juncture of the upper container section with the main container section Ithere are provided a plurality ofconnector ribs 22 and 20 respectively. Theconnector ribs 22 and 20 are preferably made of rigid material, in contnast to the ilexible, collapsible, cloth-like material oct the remaining portions ofvthecontainer 10 and the function of these ribs will be explained hereinaiter. Y

Thevmain container section 24 of FIGURE 1 is designed to be laterally supported and yenclosed within a rigid 3 framework. Such a rigid framework is shown in FIG- URE 2 and is seen to compriseupper support rims 26 and correspondinglower support rims 28, between which are disposed verticalsupport frame members 30 so that a rigid support framework having four lateral rectangular sides is formed. As shown, wire mesh or an equivalent type of a metal network can be disposed iaround the lateral sides of said rigid framework. Attached to the ltopcorners of said support frame are a plurality ofeyelets 32, which permit the entire framework .to be lifted by a hoist arrangement when desired. It will also be observed that at the bottom lof the rigid framework there are provided a plurality of pins 34 (preferably at the corners of the framework) which pins are designed to lit into corresponding cavities provided in a pallet or other similar base.

FIGURES 2A `and 2B show other types of rigid frameworks which might be used in place of the rigid framework shown iin FIGURE 2. For example, .the rigid `framework in FIGURE 2A is quite similar to that shown in FIGURE 2, except that the lateral sides of the framework have been covered with light-weight plywood or other equivalent fairly rigid plate material so as to function in essentially the same manner as the wire network in FIG- URE 2. Also, in FIGURE 2B `a rigid framework consisting of a plurality ofrods lor pipes 29 and 31 which are adapted to be threaded or otherwise connected intocorner couplings 33 is provided.

The rigid Iframework may be circular or elliptical in cross section if desired.

FIGURE 3 shows the framework of FIGURE 2 and the container of FIGURE 1 as they will 'appear when the entire assembly is in a position for receiving bulk material. In this ligure upper passageway y12 is shown in a position such that it may he secured in a gas-tight relationship with the feeding `tube of la storage container (not shown), thereby allowing filling of the container lll without leakage. rTheupper container section 16 is shown in its upwardly extended position .land theconnector ribs 20 lare shown as being engaged with thesupport rims 26 of the rigid framework. Likewise thelower connector ribs 22 are shown as #being engaged with thelower support rims 28 in such a manner that themain container body 24 is retained in vertically extended position. The bottom of the rigid framework is shown as being attached to apallet 44 and it will be seen that thelower container section 18 andlower passageway 14 are collapsed and compressed into a planar position against Ythe pallet. Thelower passageway 14 is shown to be closed by means of clamp 45.

FIGURE 4 is a view of the transport container in its discharge position. For example, after the pallet supporting the framework land the container suspended within said framework has been transported iby meansof a lift truck yor the like from the loading area to an unloading area, it will be seen that the container and framework assembly 'can be lifted to a discharging position by hook #lll `and chain 3S acting through thehook receiving eyelet 42 and -l-ift chains 36 which are attached to the framework by means of iframe eyelets 32. Whenever the framework is hoisted upwardly in this fashion the framework will become detached frompallet 44 as the pallet retaining pins 34 are lifted from the pin receiving cavities 6l) located in said pallet. The hoisting of the framework above the pallet will allow thelower container section 18 andlower passageway 14 to extend in a downward position, thereby allowing thepassageway 14 to be brought into a discharging position. Theextended passageway 14 may be lconnected to a storage receptacle opening (not shown). Thepassageway 12 `is closed by clamp' 47 and collapsed with upper `container section 16 into approximately the position shown.

FIGURE is an enlarged fragmentary section view illustrating the manner in which the connector rib 2l) cooperatively engages with therim support 26. Connector rib iis preferably made of rigid material and is attached to thecontainer body 24 iby means of one or moreV 2B, since therims 29 could be detached fromcouplingsV 33, passed throughloops 54, then engaged with couplings n In FIGURE 7 still another'suitable type of connector device is shown whereby the lower part ofupper container section 16 and the upper part ofcontainer body 24 arek joined together into an extended flap, which flap is then attached to supportrim 26 by means ofbolts 52 or 'other' suitable fastening means.

While the above detailed description yof several embodi-y ments will exemplify the nature of the invention, it is c recognized that numerous other variations could be made as to details of construction. It should be obvious that the framework of the support iframe 'could be varied to a cylindrical shape or could be provided with an additional type of `handling means to meet la specific purpose. 'l'lhe framework lmight also be collapsible to facilitate handling of empty containers. It should also be obvious that the attachment of the support framework to the pallet could be accomplished by means of hinges `or |other such connections so that complete detachment of the pallet would be obvi-ated in the emptying process. Also, the flexible, collapsible, cloth-like material mentioned may comprise fabric made of natural @or synthetic fibers, and fabrics impregnated or reinforced with plastic or resinous materials.

In general it will be understood that the choice of the* fabric-like material should also be made with regard to both the nature of the -bulk material and the volumeweight ratio of the goods to the desired capacity of the container. Reinforcing strips of heavier material canbe employed as desired or necessary.

\ t is believed that the invention can be illustrated by th following claims.

I claim: v l. A por-table shipping device for transporting owable solid bulk materials which comprises lin combination:

(a) a generally tubular lower passageway primarily constructed of flexible, non-rigid material, (b) a lower container section primarily constructed of flexible, non-rigid material, said lower container section being connected to and located above said passageway and diverging upwardly and outwardly therefronrwhen the shipping device is in its unloading position,

(c) a main container section having side walls constructed of flexible, non-rigid material and disposed directly above said lower container section,

(d) the side walls of said main container section being laterally and vertically supported by separate rigid framework located exterior to the interior of said main `container section and therefore out of direct v contact with said ilowable solid bulk materials,v

(e) the lower end of said separate rigid framework bet ing detachably supported upon a pallet device, the upper planar surface of said pallet device serving to support fully downward load ofthe bulk materials during filling, transporting and storing operations, the` lower container section thereby being supported in a collapsed position on the surface of the pallet, and (f) an inlet means in the upper portion of said main, container section for the introduction of flowable solid bulk materials during loading operations.

2. The combination as set for-th in claim 1 wherein the upper horizontal members -of said rigid framework are detacha-bly yconnected to the upper portion of said main 3,105,617 5 6 container section so as to effectively prevent relative move- 4. The portable shipping device according to claim 1 ment therebetween during loading and unloading operiawherein said flexible, non-rigid material comprises woven tions. fabric.

3. The combination as set Iforth in claim 1 `wherein said inlet means comprises an upper container section com- 5 References Cited in the fue 0f 'fhlS Patent posed of exible, non-rigid material having its lower end t UNITED STATES PATENTS attached to ythe upper periphery of said main container Y section `and having its upper end attached to a ygenerally 2222083 Lmtz NOV' 19 1940

Claims (1)

1. A PORTABLE SHIPPING DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTING FLOWABLE SOLID BULK MATERIALS WHICH COMPRISES IN COMBINATION: (A) A GENERALLY TUBULAR LOWER PASSAGEWAY PRIMARILY CONSTRUCTED OF FLEXIBLE, NON-RIGID MATERIAL, (B) A LOWER CONTAINER SECTION PRIMARILY CONSTRUCTED OF FLEXIBLE, NON-RIGID MATERIAL, SAID LOWER CONTAINER SECTION BEING CONNECTED TO AND LOCATED ABOVE SAID PASSAGEWAY AND DIVERGING UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY THEREFROM WHEN THE SHIPPING DEVICE IS IN ITS UNLOADING POSITION, (C) A MAIN CONTAINER SECTION HAVING SIDE WALLS CONSTRUCTED OF FLEXIBLE, NON-RIGID MATERIAL AND DISPOSED DIRECTLY ABOVE SAID LOWER CONTAINER SECTION, (D) THE SIDE WALLS OF SAID MAIN CONTAINER SECTION BEING LATERALLY AND VERTICALLY SUPPORTED BY SEPARATE RIGID FRAMEWORK LOCATED EXTERIOR TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID MAIN CONTAINER SECTION AND THEREFORE OUT OF DIRECT CONTACT WITH SAID FLOWABLE SOLID BULK MATERIALS,

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