Patent Application
20060104546
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a container bag.
A container bag is a flexible packaging for bulk products such as powders, granulated material, liquids and viscous substances or the like.
Such container bags are available in different dimensions and measures of volume, and they are made of supple materials which are fixed to each other by means of sewing, welding, gluing or any other connecting techniques whatsoever.
The container bags have a bottom and possibly a cover which can be made in the form of a sealing cloth or in the form of an either or not conical feed valve which is formed by a narrowed part in the cover.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The bottom of the known container bags can be made as a flat, sealed bottom or as a discharge valve which is formed by a narrowed part in the bottom and which can be sealed as desired by tying it up or the like.
Such known container bags are disadvantageous in that, when filled, they mainly assume a cylindrical shape, whereby the walls will bulge somewhat in the height, as a result of which, when such container bags are stacked against each other, a lot of space between the bags remains unused.
In order to be able to stack the container bags in a more efficient manner, it is known to manufacture them out of an outer bag with a predominantly square contour, and to reinforce it on the inside, by providing a reinforcement wall made as an accessory between the walls of the outer bag, in the form of partitions or a cylinder-shaped inner wall.
With such container bags, the load is divided over an inner filling space which is delimited by the reinforcement wall and over additional filling spaces in the corners of the outer bag.
The above-mentioned reinforcement wall offers the advantage that the bulging of the outer bag under the influence of the load is restricted.
A disadvantage of such known container bags, however, is that the reinforcement wall is extremely loaded on the inside as the load in the inner filling space is the largest, as a result of which the risk of said reinforcement wall, which is made as an accessory, being damaged is relatively large.
Another disadvantage of such known container bags is that the fastening seams or the like, where the reinforcement wall is fixed to the outer bag, are situated in the filling spaces of the container bags, as a result of which the load of these container bags can possibly be soiled by fibres or yarn with which the reinforcement wall is fixed to the outer bag, which may be very undesirable when storing very pure components.
Another disadvantage of such container bags is that they are made of four bands of fabric which each form one side of the outer bag and which are initially connected by fixing the accessories, after which the four bands of fabric are fixed to each other with their adjoining edges.
Container bags which are made according to the above-described known method comprise relatively many seams which usually form a weak point in the strength of the container bag.
Moreover, the known method is relatively time-consuming, as each of the seams must be sewn or stitched.
The present invention aims to remedy the above-mentioned and other disadvantages.
To this end, the invention concerns a container bag which comprises, when the container bag is filled, a cylindrical wall part, a number of accessories fixed thereto and a bottom, whereby the above-mentioned accessories are provided on the outside of the cylindrical wall part.
As, with a container bag according to the invention, the additional filling spaces are realised by providing accessories on the outside of the cylindrical wall part, the central filling space is formed of the cylindrical part, which is more resistant to large forces than the accessories.
Moreover, manufacturing a container bag according to the invention is relatively simple, since the outside of the cylindrical wall part is easily accessible to provide the accessories on it.
In a preferred embodiment of a container bag according to the invention, the container bags are provided with loops or the like which make it possible to lift the container bag to transport or to discharge it.
These loops are preferably fixed to the container bag at the fastening seams of the accessories on the cylindrical wall part.
Such an embodiment offers the advantage that, when lifting the container bag, it can be discharged smoothly and efficiently.
Indeed, when a container bag according to the above-described embodiment is lifted by its loops, a strong deformation of the container bag is avoided, such that any material being discharged from additional filling spaces between the accessories and the central wall part is made difficult.
Such a deformation of the additional filling spaces can be obtained, however, when the loops are fixed on the corners of the container bag.
According to another preferred embodiment, the accessories are fixed to the cylindrical wall part by folding this cylindrical wall part at the height of the fastening seams to be realised into an outward directed folding seam and by fixing the accessories to the above-mentioned folding seam by means of sewing, stitching or the like.
Another advantage of a container bag according to the invention is that all the stitches of the accessories on the outside of the cylindrical wall part are situated outside the filling spaces, such that the risk of contamination of the load is relatively small.
In order to better explain the characteristics of the present invention, the following embodiments of a container bag according to the invention are described as an example only without being limitative in any way, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
FIGS. 6 to 9 represent different operational steps for manufacturing a container bag according to the invention;
FIGS. 1 to 3 represent a container bag 1 according to the invention which mainly consists, when filled, of a cylindrical wall part 2 forming a filling space 3 and onto which are provided, on the outside, different accessories 4.
The wall part 2 as well as the accessories 4 are usually made of a fabric, whereby the accessories 4 are in this case rectangular or practically rectangular bands which are fixed to the wall part 2 with their longitudinal sides 5 in the longitudinal direction X-X′ of the cylindrical wall part 2, for example by means of stitching, stapling, gluing or the like.
As is represented more in detail in
According to the invention, the width A of the accessories is larger than the peripheral distance B between both fastening seams 6-7, measured along the edge of a part 8 of the cylindrical wall part 2 which is overlapped by the accessory 4, as a result of which additional filling spaces 9 are formed between each of the accessories 4 and the wall part 2.
Preferably, in the overlapped parts 8 of the cylindrical wall part 2, passages 10 are provided which connect the central filling space 3 to the additional filling spaces 9.
As is represented in
Further, loops 13 can be provided on the outside of the cylindrical wall part 2 or of the accessories 4, which make it possible to lift the container bag 1 in order to move or to discharge it.
The loops 13 in this case preferably consist of strips of a woven material which are fixed to the container bag 1 by means of sewing, stitching, stapling or the like.
In the given example, the loops 13 are fixed to the container bag 1 with both their far ends 14-15, whereby one far end 14 is fixed at a first fastening seam 6 of an accessory 4 concerned and the other far end 15 is fixed to the second fastening seam 7 of the same accessory 4.
The distance L over which each of the far ends 14-15 of the above-mentioned loops 13 are fixed to the container bag 1 may vary from a few centimetres to the entire height of the container bag 1, depending on what capacity the container bag 1 has been designed for.
At the bottom of the container bag 1 is provided a bottom 16 which is fixed to the above-mentioned bottom side edge 11 and to the cross side edges 17 of the accessories 4 by means of sewing, stitching, stapling or the like.
The overlapped parts 8 of the cylindrical inner wall 2 are preferably free of any connection whatsoever to the above-mentioned bottom 16, such that, on the removed part of the edge 12, the additional passage 10A is created.
The bottom 16 in this case consists of a fabric in which a discharge opening 18 is centrally provided which is limited by an edge 19 upon which is provided a cylindrical or funnel-shaped hose 20 in this case, which can be sealed by means of a cord 21 or the like.
At the top of the container bag 1 is provided a cover cloth 22 which is fixed to the top side edge 12 and to the cross side edges 17 of the accessories 4.
In the given embodiment, the cover cloth 22 is provided with a filling opening 23 which is limited by an edge 24 onto which is provided a hose 25 via which the container bag 1 can be filled.
FIGS. 6 to 9 illustrate some operational steps of a method for manufacturing a container bag according to the invention, which method is simple and as follows.
In the cylindrical wall part 2 are in this case provided four rows of the above-mentioned passages 10, which rows extend in the longitudinal direction X-X′, and whereby the cylindrical wall part 2 encloses an angle of 90° between two adjacent rows.
Also, at each of the above-mentioned rows of passages 10, the bottom edge 11 and the top edge 12 of the cylindrical wall part 2 are preferably removed, after which the accessories 4 are placed on the cylindrical wall part 2 and hereby overlap the above-mentioned passages 10.
Simultaneously, also the above-mentioned loops 13 are placed over the above-mentioned longitudinal sides 5 of the accessories 4, after which the loops 13 and the accessories 4 are fixed together onto the cylindrical wall part 2.
After the accessories 4 have been provided, the bottom 16 and the cover cloth 22 can be provided at the bottom and at the top of the cylindrical wall part 2 respectively, whereby the bottom 16 and the cover cloth 22 can each by fixed to the cylindrical wall part 2 with a fastening seam 26 by means of stitching or the like.
Indeed, when the top edge 12 and the bottom edge 11 of the cylindrical wall part 2 have been removed at the overlapped parts 8, the fastening seam 25 between the cover cloth 22, the bottom 16 respectively, and the cylindrical wall part 2 merges smoothly from the edge 11-12 concerned of the cylindrical wall part 2 to the edge concerned of the accessories 4.
The use of the container bag according to the invention consists in filling the container bag 1 via the above-mentioned filling opening 23 with a bulk material, whereby the central filling space 3 is initially filled up to a height which corresponds to the level at which the first passages 10, 10A are provided.
When the container bag 1 is filled further, the bulk material will flow or run over through these passages 10, 10A in the additional filling spaces 9 until they are filled as well up to the level, or almost the level, of the first passages 10, 10A, after which the central filling space 3 is filled up to the level of the second passages 10, 10A, etcetera.
When the container bag 1 is finally filled completely, it will have an almost cubical or beam-shaped volume which stands relatively stable and can easily be stacked.
In order to empty the container bag 1, it can be lifted by means of the loops 13, after which the discharge opening 18 in the bottom 16 of the container bag 1 can be opened. The bulk material in the container bag 1 will then fall down, under the influence of the gravitation, whereby the central filling space 3 is mainly emptied first, followed by the additional filling spaces 9.
It should be noted that when the loops 13 have been provided on the container bag 1 in the above-described places, the bottom 13 of the container bag 1 stays in a relatively horizontal position while being discharged.
This horizontal position offers the advantage that the space between the bottom 16 and the bottom edge 11 which has been locally removed from the cylindrical wall part 2 stays relatively large, allowing for a good flow of the bulk material in the container bag 1.
When, as in the known container bags, the loops 13 are fixed on the corners of the container bag 1, the bottom 16 of the container bag 1 is lifted at the additional filling spaces 9 up to the bottom edge 11 of the cylindrical wall part 2, such that the space between the bottom 16 and this bottom edge 11 is reduced, and the risk for the bulk material to become obstructed while the container bag 1 is being discharged is larger, which has for a result that the container bag 1 is emptied in a bad or incomplete manner.
Naturally, it is possible to provide a separate loop 13 on each of the fastening seams 6-7 of the accessories 4 on the wall part 2, which may offer the same advantages as the above-described embodiment, whereby the loops 13 are fixed to two fastening seams 6-7 of one and the same accessory 4 with each time one of their far ends 14-15.
Also fixing the loops 13 with their far ends 14-15 to two different fastening seams 6-7 of two different accessories 4 is a possibility which offers the above-mentioned advantage.
It is clear that the embodiment of the bottom 16 and the cover cloth 22 can be made according to different variants.
In this embodiment, the container bag 1 is left open at the top, which can simplify the filling thereof.
According to another variant, the bottom 17 of the container bag 10 could be made flat, whereby, in order to discharge the container bag 1, the bag can be turned around or whereby the bottom 17 can be cut open.
Naturally, also the bottom 16 and the cover cloth 22 are preferably fixed to the container bag 1 in an analogous manner.
Such a manner for fixing the different parts of the container bag 1 together is advantageous in that the fastening seams 6-7 are situated entirely outside the filling spaces 3 and 9 of the container bag 1, such that no contamination by fibres of the sewing thread or the like will occur in the container bag 1, which is necessary when storing very pure components, such as polypropylene which is designed as bulk material for an extrusion process.
The present invention is by no means limited to the above-described embodiments represented in the accompanying drawings; on the contrary, such a container bag according to the invention can be made according to different variants while still remaining within the scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004/0569 | Nov 2004 | BE | national |
