The invention relates generally to collapsible containers constructed of corrugated material and, more particularly, corrugated containers reinforced with an outer sleeve.
Historically the packaging and transport of bulk items has been accomplished through the use of octagonally shaped bulk containers. Such bulk items include meats, vegetables, fruits, granular materials, animal parts, and liquids, which are all somewhat flowable to one extent or another. This flowability presents special problems to the shipping and storage industries because movement of the material during shipping or storage can make the container unstable and prone to rupture.
One solution to reinforcing bulk material containers is to apply horizontal straps around the container to provide lateral girth support. An example of such a container is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,108. Although that container is effective for most applications, it can still be improved.
Another technique for reinforcing the outer wall of a bulk material container is to place a sleeve made of a woven material along the outer surface of the container for providing lateral girth support to the container. An example of this type of container is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,431,435 and 6,932,266. Although this type of container is also effective, it is not without its drawbacks.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved corrugated bulk material container having an outer reinforcing sleeve made of non-woven material fitted substantially around a corrugated bin. The non-woven sleeve provides girth support to the bin and is also less prone to fraying and snagging compared to containers with woven-material sleeves. The non-woven sleeve is also substantially liquid impermeable.
In a particular embodiment, the reinforced corrugated container includes a bin having a rigid longitudinal sidewall made of a plurality of corrugated parallel adjacent connected panels radially defining a interior hollow space for receiving bulk material that applies a radial outward force against the sidewall when placed therein. The longitudinal sidewall extends from a bottom edge to a top edge that defines a rim of the interior hollow space. A flexible tubular sleeve made of non-woven material closely is continuously radially engaged with and around an exterior of the sidewall for providing a radial inward force against the sidewall to oppose the radial outward force. The container may also include a plurality of straps for additional girth support. A preferred non-woven material for the sleeve is a polyethylene material made from a plurality of randomly oriented polyethylene fibers.
These and other aspects, embodiments, features, and advantages of the invention will be better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings and the detailed description of preferred embodiments that follows.
a is a side view of an unstrapped container in a flat arrangement;
b is a side view of a strapped container in a flat arrangement;
a and 6b are partial cross sectional views illustrating single and double wall corrugated paperboard;
The invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will convey preferred embodiments of the invention to those skilled in the art.
A drawback associated with containers that include an outer sleeve made of woven material is that the weaves in the woven material are prone to being snagged by adjacent items and the peripheral edges of the woven material are prone to fraying. This limits the durability of these containers and may also result in some of the woven material coming loose and falling into the bulk items in the container.
Referring to
As shown in this embodiment, the straps 22 are placed along the exterior of the sleeve 20 such that the sleeve 20 is positioned between the bin 12 and straps 22. In other embodiments, the sleeve 20 is placed exterior from the straps 22 so that the straps 22 are between the bin 12 and the sleeve 20. The sleeve 20 fits closely around the bin 12 to provide additional lateral girth support thereto. When the straps 22 are in place, the sleeve 20 provides girth support in the area between the straps 22.
With reference now to
In a preferred embodiment, the container 10 is formed having eight panels 14 to provide an octagonal shape. The octagonal container 10 has panels 14 and associated flaps 26 of varying width, as shown in
To form the bin 12 the end panels 38, 40 are fastened together to form a continuous arrangement of adjoining inwardly folded panels 14, as illustrated in
In the erected arrangement, as shown in
Although, the bin 12 is shown with flaps 26 on a bottom side 50 and an open top side 52, as illustrated in
The straps 22 are preferably made of flexible plastic for providing girth support when the container 10 is in an erected position. The straps 22 are frictionally held in tension around the container vertical side wall 54. The girth support is provided by the horizontally placed straps 22 at longitudinally spaced locations 56 along the panels 14. Each location 56 has a greater separation than the separation from the adjacent lower location when the container 10 is in its erected arrangement for providing greater support at lower portions 58 of the container 12.
As an example only, the container 10 of
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the straps 22 are polypropylene plastic or of a polyester-type material which are thermally fused or welded together at their ends 60 which secures the straps 22 in sufficient tension outside the container panels 14 for frictionally holding the straps 22 to the container 10. In certain embodiments, the straps 22 are polypropylene straps that are pre-stretched to provide a low elongation factor and to reduce typical stretching by approximately fifty percent. The straps 22 in a preferred embodiment are of the low elongation type and have a breaking strength rating of 700 pounds per square inch. Further, the straps 22 used for the containers 10 herein described typically have a width ranging from ¼″ to ″.
Referring now to
The placement of the straps 22 and number of straps depend on the product packed and the depth of container. The straps 22 are preferably applied perpendicular to corrugation direction, as described, and the ends 60 are secured by a heat seal. Although the strap tension should not cause the container sidewalls 54 to bow, the tension should be sufficient such that the straps 22 do not slide off during assembly of the container 10 to its erected arrangement and do not allow the sleeve 20 to slide off either.
Turning now to
Technology and experience permits a determination of exact strap placement depending on the type of product being packaged and shipped. Although a vast amount of current users package product that tends to settle down into the container requiring more strapping towards the bottom, some product supports its own weight but bulges towards the outside evenly through the depth of the container. Citrus, melons and produce give this effect thereby requiring a more even distribution of straps 22 through the depth.
It should be understood that the straps 22 do not necessarily need to be spaced closer together near the bottom 52. Although this is the preferred embodiment, the straps 22 may alternatively be placed at more or less equidistant spacing therebetween, or may be placed closer together near the top 50.
Referring to
As shown in
The reinforced corrugated container will particularly be useful in connection with the poultry industry, where there is a need to ship chicken and turkey, MDM meat, breast beat, whole birds, frames and bones. In addition, shippers in the red meat industry, pork industry, citrus industry, produce industry, and ICE Industry will also realize great benefit when using such a reinforced container as herein described.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications and alternate embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
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