Lined container for storing and transporting thick viscous substances such as grease having anti-clogging liner support

A container consisting of a rigid outer tank having a collapsible bag liner for retaining viscous substances such as grease. A vane shape spacer assembly is disposed inside the bar and secured to the open upper end of the bag to provide a skeletal structure about which the bag can collapse as the grease is being removed to thereby insure more complete evacuation of a filled tank than has heretofore been possible.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to material handling apparatus and more 
specifically to a tank for storing and transporting thick viscous 
substances such as grease. 
Presently, greases and other similar viscous materials are usually shipped 
and stored in metal drums. These drums are usually emptied by a grease 
pump and then returned for refilling. It has been found that by this 
method only about two-thirds of the drum's contents can be removed so that 
extra handling and costs are incurred in storing and returning partially 
filled drums. 
It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide an improved 
tank for storing and transporting substances such as grease which can be 
more completely evacuated than has heretofore been possible. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention consists of a rectangular tank having a collapsible 
bag liner which, when filled with a substance such as grease, expands and 
conforms substantially to the configuration of the inner surface of the 
tank. The tank has a top wall filling and discharge opening and the bag 
has a similar opening aligned with the tank opening. A spacer assembly is 
located inside the bag and secured to the outlet opening of the bag so 
that when the grease is evacuated from the bag, it will collapse about the 
spacer assembly. 
The spacer assembly comprises a plurality of frame members arranged like 
radiating vanes and extending vertically in the bag member between the top 
and bottom walls of the container. The frame members cooperate with a 
bottom retainer plate that is disposed in the bag at the bottom wall of 
the container so that a passageway between the bottom wall and the bag 
opening is formed as the bag collapses around the spacer assembly. This 
structure enables substantially all of the grease to be removed from the 
tank, and, if desired, the finally collapsed bag and the spacer assembly 
can be removed from the tank.

Referring to the drawing, the container of this invention, shown generally 
at 10 in FIG. 1, consists of a rectangular tank 12, a collapsible bag 14 
and a spacer assembly 16. The rectangular tank 12 has a bottom wall 18, 
side wall 20 and a top wall 22 provided with a filling and discharge 
opening 24 about which an upright flange 28 is integrally formed with the 
top wall 22. Container legs 25 are provided to aid in storing and 
transporting the tank 10. 
A cover 30 is removably mounted on the flange 28 and serves to maintain a 
discharge unit 32 for the bag 14 in a fixed position. The cover 30 is held 
in position against the flange 28 by a drum closure ring 26. A vent 31 is 
formed in the plate 30 to allow air to transfer between the container 12 
and the surrounding environment as the bag 14 is filled and emptied. The 
discharge unit 32 can be connected to a pump (not shown) or other similar 
device for evacuating material from the bag 14 to empty the container 10. 
The discharge unit 32 comprises a vertical pipe 34 having its outer 
surface threaded to receive a pair of sleeve nuts 36 which straddle the 
cover 30 to hold the pipe 34 in its fixed position. 
The bag 14 is formed of a heavy gage flexible plastic or other suitable 
flexible material and when filled with grease conforms substantially to 
the rectangular inner surface of the tank 12 as shown in FIG. 1. The bag 
14 is secured by a ring clamp 37 to a plate or hub 38, which is in turn 
threadably secured in fluid tight relation to the pipe 34. The plate 38 
has an upright peripheral flange 39 to which the ring clamp 37 seals in 
fluid tight relation the bag 14 so that the only access to the bag 14 is 
through the pipe 34. 
The spacer assembly 16 is positioned inside the bag 14 to surround the pipe 
34 and consists of a plurality of C-shaped frame members 42, each having a 
main portion 43 and laterally extending ends 44. The frame members 42 
radiate outwardly from the hub 38 and from the pipe 34 an equal distance 
as shown in FIG. 3 so that they form a vane-like arrangement. The frame 
members 42 are spaced apart a distance sufficient to form a passageway 50 
(FIG. 2) when the bag 14 is completely collapsed about the assembly 16. 
The circumferential distance of the expanded bag 14 approximates the 
perimetrical distance about the spacer assembly 16 so that the bag 14 
remains relatively unstretched and does not fold over itself when 
collapsed about the spacer assembly 16. Assuming that the members 42 are 
symmetrically positioned about the pipe 34 as shown in FIG. 3, the 
perimetrical distance approximately equals the number of members 42 times 
the sum of twice the distance "d" plus the width "w", where "d" equals 
thedistance between the outer surface of the member 42 and the outer 
boundary of the passageway 50 and where "w" equals the width of a member 
42. If the members 42 are otherwise positioned, the perimetrical distance 
can easily be measured and the members 42 repositioned in accordance with 
the circumference of the bag 14 to insure that it properly collapses about 
the spacer assembly 16 to form the passageway 50. 
The upper end 44 of each member 42 is secured to the hub 38 by the bolts 
46. The members 42 extend between the top wall 22 and the bottom wall 18 
and together with a retainer plate 48 form a skeletal structure about 
which the bag 14 collapses as grease is being removed. The retainer plate 
48 is located inside the bag 14 adjacent the bottom wall 18 and cooperates 
with the spacer assembly 16 to assure that the bag 14 properly collapses 
as the grease is being evacuated so that the bag 14 does not block the 
pipe 34. 
In operation, the container 10 is filled with grease so that the bag 14 
expands to the position shown in FIG. 1. When the contents of the 
container 10 is removed, a vacuum pump, or other similar device connected 
to the pipe 34 is to be used. During removal, the bag 14 collapses about 
the spacer assembly 16. As the bag 14 collapses, the spacer assembly 16 
prevents it from obstructing the pipe 34. FIGS. 2 and 3 show the bag 14 
completely collapsed about the spacer assembly 16 and, as can be seen, the 
passageway 50 is formed between the pipe 34 and the retainer plate 48. By 
collapsing the bag 14 in such a manner, a maximum amount of grease is 
forced in the vicinity of the pump to thus empty the bag 14 as much as is 
practicably possible without obstructing the pipe 34. This assures most 
efficient utilization of the container 10 which results in reduced 
handling and lower shipping and storage costs.