Abstract:
A generally cuboid shaped container for storage or transport of bulk liquids including a textile bag having four side walls and a bottom face, all made of woven fabric, a frame attached to the bag and comprising a plurality of hoops, each hoop subtending a different vertically aligned corner of the bag; means retaining the hoops to the walls; and a collapsible bladder housed within the bag and sized and shaped such that a filled bladder substantially fills the bag. The frame has rigid members linking the top of each hoop to the tops of the other hoops to prevent the hoop tops from spreading apart from each other.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Filed of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention generally concerns the use of containers known to those skilled in the art as Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBCs) which are flexible bags made from woven fabrics, to transport and store bulk materials. The invention particularly concerns the use of containers for transport and storage of bulk liquid materials. In some embodiments the invention is useful for storage of rain water collected from a building roof. 
         [0003]    2. Background Art 
         [0004]    FIBCs are commonly made from heavy woven textile fabrics, typically made from polyolefins such as polypropylene and polyethylene. This fabric is sometimes coated on one or both sides with a melted extrusion of similar material. Designs may vary according to the rated capacity of the FIBC and whether it is for a single use only or is reusable. 
         [0005]    FIBCs sometimes include an inner bag made from polyethylene or polypropylene film to provide a barrier against moisture and/or gases and this inner bag may be closed by heat sealing to provide a fully sealed package for the enclosed material. 
         [0006]    FIBC&#39;s are commonly manufactured with a base of about 1100 mm square and side walls about 1100 mm high. They therefore fit neatly on a conventionally sized timber shipping pallet. FIBC&#39;s on pallets are commonly stacked two high into standard shipping containers and even higher in warehouses. 
         [0007]    Australian patent application no. 2002300804 describes one stackable such container which, in some embodiments, can be used to store liquids. However the container utilizes rigid panel inserts in the walls for strengthening and these add complexity in assembly and in weight. It would be beneficial if a liquid storage container of the same general size could be constructed having similar stackability but without the disadvantages of the panels. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    An object of another form of the present invention is to provide an alternative form of FIBC suitable for storage of liquids. In one application it could be used for storage of rain water being discharged from the roof of a building. 
         [0009]    Accordingly, in one aspect the invention provides a container for storage or transport of bulk liquid material said container having four sides, a top and a bottom all defining a generally cuboid shape wherein each pair of adjacent said sides defines a respective vertically aligned corner therebetween having a vertically aligned side edge, said container further comprising:
       a textile bag having four side walls and a bottom face, all made of woven fabric;   a frame attached to the bag and comprising a plurality of hoops formed of rigid elongate material, each hoop having a first portion extending generally vertically up a respective first of the walls, a second portion extending across the top of the container, a third portion extending generally vertically down a respective second of the walls which is adjacent to said first wall, and a fourth portion extending across said bottom face to join the bottom of said first portion, each said hoop subtending a different one of said vertically aligned corners;   means retaining the hoops to their respective first and second walls;   a collapsible bladder housed within the bag and sized and shaped such that a filled bladder substantially fills the bag; and   said frame further comprising rigid members linking said second portion of each hoop to the second portions of the other hoops whereby said rigid members prevent said second portions from spreading apart from each other.       
 
         [0015]    Each said rigid member may have the form of a rigid strut integrally attached to each of a pair of adjacent said hoops. Each said rigid member may have the form of a rigid strut integrally attached to said second portion of each of said pair of adjacent hoops. 
         [0016]    The rigid members may be attached to each other to form a rigid frame which is detachably affixed to all of said second portions of said hoops. The second portion of each hoop may be integrally joined via a rigid strut to each adjacent hoop such that said second portions and struts together form a rigid ring. 
         [0017]    The ring may have legs attached thereto such that said legs extend down to engage with the tops of said first and third portions of the hoops. The ring may be octagonal, with a leg attached to each corner of the ring, and each leg extending down to engage with the top of a corresponding first or third portion of the hoops. 
         [0018]    Alternatively the rigid members may be attached to each other in a hinged linkage which is detachably affixed to all of said second portions of said hoops. 
         [0019]    Preferably the means for retaining the hoops to said first and second walls comprises strips of fabric sewn onto the first and second side walls to form sleeves and the generally vertical portions of the hoops are held within the sleeves. 
         [0020]    Preferably said respective third, fourth and first portions comprise one continuous U-shaped member and said second portion is formed by a separate member removably attachable to the U-shaped member. The separate member forming the second portion may be a U-shaped elongate member having a central portion with an arm depending therefrom at each end, said arms being adapted to slidably engage with the upper ends of said first portion and said third portion. Each of the four vertically aligned corners may be subtended by a respective hoop. 
         [0021]    Alternatively the second portion of each hoop may be integrally joined via a rigid strut to each adjacent hoop such that said second portions and struts together form a rigid ring. 
         [0022]    Lifting means may be attached to each said side wall or each said side edge and the attachment is preferably closer to the bottom than to the top. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
         [0023]    In order that the invention may be more fully understood there will now be described, by way of example only, preferred embodiments and other elements of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings where: 
           [0024]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a container according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the container shown in  FIG. 1  together with an additional cap; 
           [0026]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of some of the components of the container shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 4  is a view of the container in  FIG. 1  when being used to collect rainwater from the downspout of a building; 
           [0028]      FIG. 5  is an axonometric view of portion of a container according to a second embodiment of the invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 6  is a view of frame components incorporated in the container shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
           [0030]      FIG. 7  is a bottom view of the container shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
           [0031]      FIG. 8  is a view of the textile bag shown in  FIG. 5  together with a cover therefore; 
           [0032]      FIG. 9  shows a front view of an outlet support plate incorporated in the containers shown in  FIGS. 1 and 5 ; and 
           [0033]      FIG. 10  shows a top view of the plate shown in  FIG. 9 . 
       
    
    
       [0034]    For ease of explanation, components in the second embodiment have been given an identification numeral which is 100 greater than the corresponding components in the first embodiment. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0035]    An intermediate bulk container (IBC)  10  according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 . The container  10  has an approximately cubic shape with four side walls  14  to  17  and bottom face  18  and has a body generally in the form of a bag  11 . Pairs of adjacent side walls  14  and  15 ,  15  and  16 ,  16  and  17 , and  17  and  18  respectively meet along vertically extending edges  22  to form corners  19  in the bag, said corners extending vertically from the bottom face  18  to the open top  13  of the bag. 
         [0036]    The side walls  14  to  17  and bottom face  18  are all made from a layer of heavy woven fabric. A suitable fabric is a heavy woven polypropylene fabric coated with polypropylene and having a weight of 320 gsm and a breaking force of about 1800×1500N/50 mm according to Australian Standards test AS2001.2.3. 
         [0037]    Side edge seams  21  form the join between adjacent side walls  14  and  15 ,  15  and  16 ,  16  and  17 , and  17  and  14  respectively. 
         [0038]    Within the bag  11  is a bladder  12  sized to fit snugly into the bag  11 . A typical external size for the bag  11  would be 100 cm long×100 cm wide×95 cm high. The bladder  12  may conveniently be made from polyethylene film of the gauge appropriate for the use. 
         [0039]    The top face of the bladder  12  is fitted with an inlet spigot  80  which is used for filling the bladder. Discharge is achieved through a lower female-threaded fitting  84  into which is screwed a valve  86 . 
         [0040]    A cap  20  fits in a sliding fit over the top of the side walls and is tied down with ties  24 . 
         [0041]    The fabric on each side wall  14 - 17  has sewn onto it two strips  30  of fabric, each strip running from near the top to near the bottom of the side wall and having its top and bottom edges not sewn to the side walls so that, in conjunction with the side wall, it forms a vertically aligned open-ended sleeve or tube  31  of fabric. The two sleeves  31  on each side wall are positioned approximately one quarter of the wall&#39;s width in from each side edge seam  21  so that they divide each side wall into three areas the middle one of which is about twice the width of the outer areas. 
         [0042]    A frame  40  is attached to the bag  10  to support it when full or empty and to support similar containers above when stacked. The frame  40  has four U-shaped base portions  42 - 45  the upright arms  68  of which slide into the sleeves  31 . Each base portion has a corresponding U-shaped top portion  47 - 50 , shallower than the base portion, which engages the base portion to form respective hoops  52 - 55 . 
         [0043]    The base portions  42 - 45  are bent to shape from 20 mm square hollow section steel tube and the top portions  47 - 50  are bent to shape from 25 mm diameter square hollow section steel tube. 
         [0044]    To assemble the container  10 , the side arms  68  of the base portions  42 - 45  are pushed into a pair of sleeves  31  with one edge seam  21  between them. The upwardly extending side arms  68  are then pushed into the downwardly extending side arms  66  of the top portions  47 - 50 . Each top portion and its corresponding base portion thus forms a hoop of rigid material subtending a vertically aligned corner  19  of the bag  11 . 
         [0045]    A further portion of the frame is then installed by attaching a spider member  70  across the top. The spider member has a circular ring  72  formed from steel tube captive upon which are four arms  74  also formed from steel tube. Each end of each arm  74  is flattened. A first of those ends  76  is bent into a ring  77  which loosely grasps the ring  72  so that the arms  74  are free to slide around the ring  72 . The second end  79  of each arm is also formed, after initial flattening, into a square-U-shaped claw  78  which loosely engages the centre of each top portion  47 . The spider member  70  thus prevents the top portions  47  from spreading apart from each other. 
         [0046]    The ring  72  on the spider member  70  is sized so that the inlet spigot  80  may extend therethrough. A flat rigid circular collar  82  is placed around the spigot beneath the ring  72  to protect the bladder  12  from rubbing against the ring  72  and more particularly against the claws  78 . The cap  20  is then slipped into position and tied down using the tie-down cords  24  on the cap to fasten to the base portions  42 - 46 . 
         [0047]    With the hoops  62  so installed, they can be seen to pass around, or enclose, or subtend the vertically aligned corners  19 . Such containers, resting on respective pallets, may be stacked one on top of the other without the contents of the container being compressed. 
         [0048]    A valve support plate  88 , as seen particularly in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , is provided at the bottom of one side wall  14 . It is a steel plate and provides support for the valve  86  which protrudes through the central hole  89 . The plate extends between one arm  68  on base portion  42  and one arm  68  on base portion  43 . A first end  90  of the plate is bent into an almost complete cylinder through which the arm  68  on portion  42  loosely passes. The plate thereby is hinged around that arm at end  90 . The other end  92  carries an outwardly opening trough into which bears the arm on portion  43  as the plate  88  is pressed outwards by the full bag. 
         [0049]    As seen in  FIG. 4 , the container  10  may be connected to a downspout  36  of a building via appropriate inlet piping  37  and overflow piping  38  connected to the spigot  80 . In this way rainwater may be collected for later use. 
         [0050]    The embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 5 to 8  in use includes a bladder much the same as that described above for the first embodiment. However in  FIGS. 5 and 8 , the bladder is omitted for ease of illustration. 
         [0051]    Referring particularly to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the frame  140  includes four identical U-shaped base portions  142  to  145 , the upwardly extending legs  168  of which are inserted through sleeves  131  in the bag  111  much the same as for the first described embodiment. However for container  110 , the two sleeves  131  on each side wall are positioned approximately one third of the way in from each side edge seam of  121  so that they divide their respective side wall  114  to  117  into three approximately equally sized areas  133 ,  134  and  135 . 
         [0052]    Instead of each base portion of the frame  140  having its own U-shaped top portion as in container  10 , the top portion of  141  of the frame  140  is a rigid octagonal ring  147  having extending down therefrom at or near each corner of the octagon a short rigid leg  166 . Each U-shaped base portion  142  to  145  is formed by bending galvanized steel square tubing of 20 mm×20 mm×1.6 mm wall thickness. Each U-shaped base portion  142  to  145  thus has a pair of vertically aligned leg portions  168  and a horizontally aligned foot portion  169 . The top portion is  141  of the frame  140  is formed by bending and welding together appropriate lengths of galvanized steel square tubing of 25 mm×25 mm×1.6 mm wall thickness. The upwardly extending arms of the base portions  142  to  145  are thus able to slide neatly into the legs  166 . Two opposite pairs of legs  166   a  are 100 mm long whereas the other opposite pairs  166   b  are 130 mm long. This makes it easier to feed all of the legs  150  over their corresponding base portions. 
         [0053]    The octagonal ring  147  has uneven sides. Each side  151  extending along a top edge of the container is approximately 300 mm long whereas each side  156  of the octagon extending across the top of the container (so crossing the corner) is approximately 570 mm long. Each U-shaped base portion  142  to  145  and its corresponding cross-corner portion  156  together form a hoop which subtends one of the vertically aligned corners  119 . 
         [0054]    The bag  111  is held to the foot portion  169  of each base portion  142  to  145  by tie tapes  158 . Elastic cords  162  attached to the cap  120  are provided with hooks  160  on their free ends to allow the cap to be fastened to loops  164  sewn low down on the side edge seams  121 . When the container  110  is full of liquid it may be lifted by means of the loops  164  and stacked on top of a like container, preferably with a pallet between the containers to more safely distribute and apply the load to the lower container. The loops  164  providing the attachment are closer to the bottom than to the top. In this way the connections between the vertical legs of the base portions  142  to  145  and the legs  166  are less likely to slide during the lifting operation. 
         [0055]    Whilst the above description includes several embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that many variations, alterations, modifications and/or additions may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts described without departing from the essential features or the spirit or ambit of the invention, which is defined by the following claims. 
         [0056]    It will be also understood that where the word “comprise”, and variations such as “comprises” and “comprising”, are used in this specification, unless the context requires otherwise such use is intended to imply the inclusion of a stated feature or features but is not to be taken as excluding the presence of other feature or features.