A CLOSURE FOR SACKS, BAGS OR THE LIKE CONTAINERS

Abstract: A closure (1) for sacks, bags or the like containers (3) with non-rigid walls. The containers (3) are to be pressurised. The closure (1) comprises a filling nozzle (5) with a valve (7) and a flange (10). The flange (10) has a cylindrical portion (11) and a plate-shaped portion (12). The plate-shaped portion (12) of the flange (10) is attached to the container (3). The filling nozzle (5) may be caused to sealingly engage the flange (10) by means of a snap connection (14), whereby the closure (1) is either completely open or closed. The snap connection (14) either retains the filling nozzle (5) in firm and tight engagement with the flange (10) or releases the filling nozzle (5) in relation to the flange (10).

Description: Title: A closure for sacks, bags or the like containers Technical Field The invention relates to a closure for sacks, bags or the like containers with non-rigid walls , said con- tainers to be pressurised and said closure comprising a filling nozzle with a valve and a flange having a cylin¬ drical portion and a plate-shaped portion being attached to the container. Background Art Valves are known for sacks or bags to be pressurised, for instance with air, the valve comprising a flange and a threaded connection. The screwed connection has to be detached from the flange, if the valve is to be opened and tightened if the bag or sack is to maintain the air pressure. The valve per se can be further secured by means of a separate plug. Such valve constructions known inter alia from Swedish published specification No. 425- .233 and PCT publication No. WO 91/10598. Disclosure of invention The object of the invention is to provide a closure which is either opened or closed, and which closure can be completely opened by one single operation to obtain a high deflation rate and which closure equally can be closed by one single operation, so that the closure is either completely opened or completely closed both visi¬ bly and functionally. The closure according to the invention is characterised in that the filling nozzle may be caused to sealingly engage the flange by means of at least one snap connec— tion, whereby the closure is either opened or closed, as the snap connection either retains the filling nozzle in firm and tight engagement with the flange or releases the filling nozzle in relation to the flange. An embodiment of the closure according to the invention is characterised in that a seal is arranged between a valve holder placed in the filling nozzle and the inte¬ rior face of the cylindrical portion of the flange. As a result, a suitable sealing compound may be used and the sealing portions are well-defined, for instance line seal or at large deformation of the sealing as surface seal . Futhermore, according to the invention the seal may com¬ prise a sealing ring, preferably of a soft rubber mate- rial and of an essentially circular cross-section, whe¬ reby the wearable part is an easily exchangeable standard component. Moreover, according to the invention a protrusion may be arranged on the valve holder of the filling nozzle, whe- reby the protrusion may be caused to interact with flange when the closure is closed. According to the invention the position of the protru¬ sion and of the snap connections may essentially define a plane intersecting a second plane essentially defined by the contact borders of the sealing ring to the valve holder and the flange, respectively. As a result, it is ensured that the sealing ring is always arranged at the same position in the cylindrical portion of the flange and that the protrusion together with the snap connec- tion determine the position of the seal. Furthermore, according to the invention the snap connec- tion may comprise at least one snap hook arranged diame- trally opposite the protrusion when seen in relation to the flange, whereby the point of engagement of the snap hook and that of the protrusion is arranged on opposite sides of the sealing. Moreover, according to the invention the protrusion may abut an area of a circumferential recess provided in the flange between the cylindrical portion and the plate- shaped portion, whereby a more precise arrangement of the sealing ring is ensured. In another embodiment of the closure the valve holder may be provided with a bayonet lock on the side facing away from the flange at complete closure for a gripping coupling, wherein the line of engagement of the bayonet lock is arranged as a radial extension when seen in re¬ lation to the flange. As a result, the gripping coupling can be connected quickly and correctly to the filling nozzle when the container is to be filled with air. Moreover, at least one of the protrusions of the bayonet lock may be provided with an opening facing the protru¬ sion on the valve holder, whereby the manufacture there¬ of is greatly facilitated, as only two— art tools are required. It has proved advantageous that the area of the opening is larger than the projected area of the protrusion on the opening. Furthermore, according to the invention the filling noz¬ zle may comprise a lower portion, whereon the counter part of the snap connection is placed, said lower por- tion being attached to the exterior of the cylindrical portion of the flange. As a result, the filling nozzle may be arranged independently of the flange and may be turned relative to the flange being fixedly attached to the container. It has proved advantageous that the lower portion of the filling nozzle is connected to the cylindrical portion of the flange by means of a non—sealing snap connection. Finally, according to the invention the filling nozzle per se may be hinged to the lower portion, whereby the filling nozzle may be swung completely away from the flange and thus from the lower portion attached thereto. Brief Description of the drawings The invention is described in greater detail in the fol¬ lowing with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the closure, partly in a sectional view, Fig. 2 illustrates a closure arranged on a container, and Fig. 3 illustrates the filling nozzle and the bayonet lock. Best mode for carrying out the invention The closure of Fig. 1, as a whole with the reference nu¬ meral (1) , is intended for use on sacks or the like con¬ tainer (3) (cf. Fig. 3) with non-rigid walls. The con- tainers usually comprise several layers of paper and plastics, wherein the individual layers may be laminated together or placed adjacent each other. The paper layers are normally made from recycled paper and are intended to reinforce the container against tearing. The plastics sheets are normally polyethylene sheets, but other types of plastics sheets may be used and arranged in such a manner that the strength properties? of the individual layers are utilized in the best possible way. The object of the plastics sheet is to ensure that the container remains essentially air proof. The sacks, bags or the containers are usually used as dunnage equipment in sto- rage compartments. The object of the dunnage is to fill out minor spaces between the objects being loaded into the storage compartment, thus ensuring that the cargo does not shift during transport. Furthermore, the dun¬ nage equipment may serve as a shock-absorbing element, thus ensuring that the cargo arrives in an undamaged condition. The dunnage equipment is used within the all types of cargo transport, for instance in shipping, con¬ tainer transport or haulage. The dunnage equipment may also be used as part of . the packing of for instance large fragile machine. When the cargo has been loaded, the non-inflated containers (3) are placed in between the individual cargo items. Through the filling nozzle (5) the containers are pressurised by means of compres¬ sed air, usually only a minor high pressure is inflated. The size of the container may vary, but is normally be¬ tween approximately 60 x 110 cm and approximately 100 x 220 cm and the container may usually be inflated up to a thickness of about 50 cm. The closure of Fig. 1 comprises a filling nozzle (5) with a valve (7) and a flange (10) . The flange (10) com¬ prises a cylindrical portion (11) and a plate-shaped portion (12) being attached to one or more plastics la¬ minate portions of the container (3) . The flange (10) is made from a plastics material which may be bonded to the plastics sheet in the laminates. The flange (10) does not have to be made from the same material as the fil¬ ling nozzle (5) per se. This is advantageous in that the filling nozzle (5) per se has to endure being subjected to tensile stress as well as having resilience to obtain a snap effect and to endure being bent many times. When the container is to be closed, the filling (5) is caused to sealingly engage the flange (10) and is re¬ tained in this connection by means of a snap connection (14) . The snap connection may be constructed as either a circular snap connection or as a protrusion—shaped snap connection, wherein the protrusions consist of actual hooks . Between the interior face (13) of the flange (10) and the valve holder (18) of the filling nozzle a seal (16) is arranged. The sealing element (16) comprises a seal¬ ing ring (17) arranged in a groove in the valve holder (18) . The sealing ring (17) is an ordinary 0-ring of a soft rubber material, preferably of a circular cross section, but may be constructed as an angular lip seal. By not having the valve holder (18) sealingly engage the flange (10) greater possibilities for varying the choice of material and wearable parts are obtained. The sealing ring (17) tend to wear out according the roughness of its abutting surfaces. A protrusion (20) is provided on the valve holder (18) of the filling nozzle (5). The protrusion and one of the snap hooks (30) of the snap connection (14) contribute to defining a plane (22). The plane (22) intersects a second plane (24) defined by the contact borders (26,27) of the sealing ring (17) to the the valve holder (18) and the flange (10), respectively. Most advantageously, the two planes (22 and 24) intersect one another on the axis of symmetry of the valve (7) as well as of the flange (10). By having the two planes intersect each other at this exactly this position, a well-defined po¬ sitioning of the sealing ring (17) is obtained. As mentioned previously, the snap connection (14) com- prises two snap hooks (30,31) arranged diametrically opposite the protrusion (20) when seen in relation to the flange (10) as well as to the the valve holder (18), when the filling nozzle 5 is closed. The snap hooks (30, 31) and the protrusion (20) are essentially construted so as to form well-defined contact borders which, howe¬ ver, to a certain extent provide a form of surface con¬ tact due to the yielding of the material. When the filling nozzle (5) is closed, the protrusion (20) abuts an area of a circumferential recess (33) pro- vided in the flange (10) between the cylindrical portion (11) and the plate-shaped portion (12) . The recess (33) per se may be constructed as a groove in the interior surface (13) of the cylindrical portion (11), which as regards further processing is not the most advantageous way to construct the recess. When the container is to be filled with compressed air, various types of filling tools can be used for connect¬ ing the compressed-air hose to the container. In the embodiment shown the valve holder (18) on the side (35) facing away from the flange (10) at closed closure is provided with a bayonet lock (37) for a gripping cou¬ pling (38). By means of a valve or a tap connected to the gripping coupling by means of a hose the gripping coupling contributes to inflating the container. By mak- ing the gripping coupling (38) as small and as light as possible, the risk of damaging the container is minimi¬ zed. The line of engagement (40) of the bayonet lock (37) is arranged as a radial extension (41) in relation to the flange (10). This has proved most advantageous in that the entire filling nozzle (5) is not pivoted about the flange (10) when the gripping coupling (38) is ar¬ ranged. The gripping coupling (38) can thus be arranged using only one hand. The protrusions (43) of the bayonet lock (37) on filling nozzle (5) are provided with an opening (45) facing the protrusion (20) on the valve holder (18) . Although the opening reduces the strength of the bayonet lock (37), it enables the protrusion to be manufactured by means of parts of the injection moulding tools. Due to the open¬ ing (45) the tool may be produced as a two-part tool, whereby the area and the form of the opening (45) has to be slightly larger than the projected portion of the protrusion (20) on the opening (45). The filling nozzle (5) comprises a lower portion (47) , whereon the counter part (31) of the snap connection is placed. The lower portion (47) is attached to the exte¬ rior (14) of the cylindrical portion of the flange (10) . The lower portion (47) of the filling nozzle (5) is con¬ nected to the cylindrical portion of the flange (10) by means of a non-sealing snap connection (49) . The snap connection (49) need not be sealing, as the sealing ele¬ ment (17) ensures sealing engagement with the interior face (13) of the flange (10) . The filling nozzle (5) comprises a hinge (5) so that the valve holder (18) may be swung about relative to the lower portion (47) . The lower portion (47) is only so loosely attached in relat¬ ion to the flange (10) that it may be turned about the axis of symmetry of the flange (10) . The lower part (47) may by provided with either a protrusion for retainment or holes for gripping, so that it is easier to handle the container (3) in its non-inflated state. The invention is described with reference to a preferred embodiment. Many modifications may, however, be per¬ formed without thereby deviating from the scope of the invention.

Claims: Claims 1. A closure (1) for sacks, bags or the like con¬ tainers (3) with non-rigid walls, said containers (3) to be pressurised and said closure comprising a filling nozzle (5) with a valve (7) and a flange (10) having a cylindrical portion (11) and a plate-shaped portion (12) being attached to the container (3), c h a r a c t e ¬ r i s e d in that the filling nozzle (5) is arranged in sealingly engagement with the flange (10) by means of at least one snap connection (14). 2. A closure as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i s e d in that a seal (16) is arranged between a valve holder (18) placed in the filling nozzle (5) and the interior face (10) of the cylindrical portion (11) of the flange. 3. A closure as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , c h a r a c¬ t e r i s e d in that the seal (16) comprises a sealing ring (17) , preferably of a soft rubber material and of an essentially circular cross-section. 4. A closure as claimed in one or more of the claims 1 to 3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that a protrusion (20) is arranged on the valve holder (18) of the filling nozzle (5) . 5. A closure as claimed in one or more of the claims 1 to 4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the position of the flap (20) and of the snap connections (14) essen¬ tially defines a plane (22) intersecting a second plane (24) essentially defined by the contact border (26,27) of the sealing ring (17) to the valve holder (18) and the flange (10) , respectively. 6. A closure as claimed in one or more of the claims l o 5, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the snap con¬ nection (14) comprises at least one snap hook (30, 31) arranged diametrally opposite the protrusion (20) when seen in relation to the flange (10). 7. A closure as claimed in one or more of the claims 1 to 6, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the protru¬ sion (20) abuts an area of a circumferential recess (33) provided in the flange (10) between the cylindrical por- tion (11) and the plate-shaped portion (12) . 8. A closure as claimed in one or more of claims 1 to 7, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the valve holder (18) is provided with a bayonet lock (37) arranged on the side (35) facing away from the flange (10) when the closure is closed for a gripping coupling (38), wherein the line of engagement (40) is arranged as a radial (41) extension when seen in relation to the flange (10). 9. A closure as claimed in one or more of the claims 1 to 8, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that at least one of the protrusions (43) of the bayonet lock (37) is pro¬ vided with an opening (45) facing the protrusion (20) on the valve holder (18). 10. A closure as claimed in one or more of the claims 1 to 9, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the area of the opening (45) is larger than the projected area of the protrusion (20) on the opening (45) . 11. A closure as claimed in one or more of the claims 1 to 10, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the filling nozzle (5) comprises a lower portion (47), whereon the counter part (31) of the snap connection (14) is placed, said lower portion (47) being attached to the exterior (14) of the cylindrical portion (11) of the flange (10). 12. A closure as claimed in one or more of the claims 1 to 11, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the lower portion (47) of the filling nozzle (5) is attached to the cylindrical portion (11) of the flange (10) by means of a non-sealing snap connection (49). 13. A closure as claimed in one or more of the claims 1 to 12, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the filling nozzle (5) is connected to the lower portion (47) by means of a hinge (50).

Inventors: ANDERSEN CARSTEN, ANDERSEN, CARSTEN
Applicants: ANDERSEN CARSTEN, BATES VENTILSAEKKE, BATES VENTIL SAEKKE CO. A/S
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B65D30
IPC codes: B60P7, B61D45, B65D30, B65D33, B65D47, B65D75, B65D81