CONTAINER MEANT FOR BULK GOODS

Abstract: The invention concerns a container (100) which is made of a tubular material (111), which is meant for bulk goods, and which comprises at least an outer wall (112), a bottom portion (114) and possibly a top portion. In the interior of the container (100), a cylindrical reinforcement part (113) has been fitted, which has been fixed to the container (100) so that, at the same time, the cylindrical reinforcement part (113) forms at least a part of the bottom (114) of the container. The height (S) of the cylindrical reinforcement part (113) is by the lower portion (113a) of the cylindrical reinforcement part (113) higher than the filling height (H) of the container (100).

Description: Container meant for bulk goods The invention concerns a container which is made of a tubular material, which is meant for bulk goods, and which comprises at least an outer wall, a bottom portion and possibly a top portion. With respect to the prior art, reference is made to the publication EP 0,247,696, in which a container intended for bulk goods is described. The container comprises a tubular outer frame, which can be closed from both ends, and a tubular inner member. The circumferential measure of the tubular inner member is smaller than the circumferential measure of the outer frame of the container, and the difference between said circumferential measures is such that hollow spaces are formed in each corner of the tubular outer frame between the tubular outer frame and the tubular inner member. The tubular inner member is in contact with the tubular outer frame in at least four points placed circumferentially at a distance from one another. The tubular inner member has been fixed to the tubular outer frame from the contact points, and the height of the tubular inner member is 30...100 % of the height of the tubular outer frame. The above container in accordance with said EP Patent 0, 247, 696 is unfavourable in the sense that, when the container is filled with bulk goods, the lower portion of the container tends to expand, especially when the container is stacked. This phenom¬ enon is highly intensive in particular when the container is made of a resilient material, such as a plastic film. This phenomenon results in inclined distortion of the filled package, which again deteriorates the stacking quality and handling quality of the packages. Even though, in principle, the package is not necessarily broken as a result of the expansion of the lower portion, there is a risk that, when such con¬ tainers are loaded, adjacent containers may rub against each other and, thus, be even broken. Likewise , theuseof suchcontainersinmodernautomaticwarehousesisimpossible . If the top portion of the inner ring of such a prior-art container is not completely filled, i.e. the height of the inner ring is lower than the height of the outer ring, the result is that the top portion of the container can expand. Even though, in principle, expansion of the top portion of the container facilitates the stacking, the containers stacked one on top of the other, however, involve the risk that expansion of the top portion of the container results in a risk of falling over of the containers stacked one on top of the other. The object of the present invention is to provide an improvement over the prior-art container constructions. It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a container in which the drawbacks present in the container in accordance with the EP Patent 0,247,696 have been eliminated. It is a further object of the invention to provide a container construction by whose means transportation packages that have been manufactured by means of the methods in accordance with the Finnish Patents 90,331 and 91,954 can be given optimal handling and stacking properties. The objectives of the invention are achieved by means of a container made of a tubular material, which container is characterized in that, in the interior of the container, a cylindrical reinforcement part has been fitted, which has been fixed to the container so that, at the same time, the cylindrical reinforcement part forms at least a part of the bottom of the container. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cylindrical reinforcement part is, at the top end, higher than the filling height of the container, in which case the cylindrical reinforcement part is, at the same time, fitted to form at least a part of a possible top portion, if any, of the container. The cylindrical reinforcement part has been fixed to the outer wall and to the bottom portion of the container. The fastening of the bottom portion can be favourably such that it just ensures that the cylindrical reinforcement part is positioned as a part of the bottom in the desired way. According to the basic realization of the invention, the height of the cylindrical reinforcement part is always higher than the filling height of the container. In practice, as a rule, it is advantageous to make cuts into the corners of the bottom portion and/or the top portion of the reinforcement part, in which case the space between the reinforcement part and the outer wall is filled and emptied readily. Owing to the cuts, sector-shaped portions are foimed into the reinforcement part. When the container in accordance with the invention is made of a resilient material, such as a plastic film, it is excellently suitable for use as an inner package, for example in unit-load sacks. By means of a container in accordance with the invention, a number of significant advantages are obtained. The stacking and handling quality of the container in accordance with the invention is excellent, and in a container in accordance with the present invention the lower portion of the container cannot expand to a detrimental extent. In a container in accordance with the invention, detrimental expansion of the top portion of the container can be prevented in a similar way by making the top portion of the cylindrical reinforcement part sufficiently high, in which case, at the same time, the top portion of the reinforcement part forms at least a part of a possible top portion, if any, of the container. The container in accordance with the invention also permits the use of a thinner material in the reinforcement part, which provides obvious economies in the costs. In the container in accordance with the invention. it has been realized to provide a reinforcement at the location in the container to which the highest strain is applied. Further, by means of the invention, it is possible to manufacture a container of permanent shape in particular out of resilient materials, preferably polyolefin plastic. The container in accordance with the invention can also be filled with liquid, in stead of bulk goods. The invention will be described in detail with reference to some preferred embodi¬ ments of the invention illustrated in the figures in the accompanying drawings, the invention being, yet, not supposed to be confined to said embodiments alone. Figure 1 is an axonometric view of a prior-art container. Figure 2a is a sectional view of a prior-art container as shown in Fig. 1 taken from a level of about 100 mm from the bottom of the container. Figure 2b is an illustration in part of the prior-art container as shown in Fig. 1 filled with bulk goods. Figure 3 is a schematic side view of a preferred embodiment of the container in accordance with the invention. Figure 4 is a schematic side view of a second preferred embodiment of the container in accordance with the invention. Figure 5 is a sectional view of the container as shown in Fig. 3 taken at a level of about 100 from the bottom of the container. Figure 6 shows a part of the container as shown in Fig. 3 filled with bulk goods. Figure 7 shows a part of the containers as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and illustrates the distribution of strains in the lower portion of the container. Figure 8 illustrates the bottom construction or the top construction of a third preferred embodiment of the container in accordance with the invention. The prior-art container shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is a box 11, which is made, for example, of paperboard, corrugated board, or equivalent. The box 11 comprises an outer frame 12 and an inner member 13. When a prior-art container 11 as shown in Fig. 1 is filled with bulk goods 15 in the way indicated in Figs. 2a and 2b, it is noticed that in the vicinity of the bottom 14 of the container the lower portion 16 of the container 11 expands. In Fig. 2b, the strains in the wall of the container 11 are denoted with the letter A. It should be noticed that, in the prior-art container 11 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2a and 2b, exclusively circumferential strains occur. In Fig. 2b, the widening of the lower portion 16 of the container 11, i.e. the expansion, is denoted with the letter Δ. In Fig. 3, the container in accordance with the invention is denoted generally with the reference numeral 100. The container 100 is made of a tubular material 111, and the container 100 comprises an outer wall 112 and a bottom portion 114. Further, the container 100 may possibly also comprise a top portion (not shown). According to the basic realization of the invention, in the interior of the container 100, a cylindrical reinforcement part 113 has been fitted, which has been fixed to the container 100 so that the cylindrical reinforcement part 113, at the same time, forms at least a part of the bottom 114 of the container. In the embodiment as shown in Fig. 3, the filling height of the container 100 is denoted with the letter H, and the height of the cylindrical reinforcement part 113 with the letter S. It is seen from Fig. 3 that the cylindrical reinforcement part 113 is by its lower portion 113a higher than the filling height H of the container. The container shown in Fig. 4 is denoted generally with the reference numeral 100'. The embodiment shown in Fig. 4 differs from that shown in Fig. 3 in the respect that the height of the cylindrical reinforcement part 113' is by the lower portion 113'a and the top portion 113'b of the reinforcement part higher than the filling height H of the container 100'. The height of the cylindrical reinforcement part 113' is denoted with the letter S'. From Figs. 5 and 6 it is seen that, when the container 100 shown in Fig. 3 is filled with bulk goods 15, in the vicinity of the bottom 114 of the container the lower portion 116 of the container 100 cannot expand at all. As is seen from Fig. 6, in the container in accordance with the present invention, a widening of the lower portion of the container, denoted with the letter Δ in Fig. 2b, does not occur at all. Of course, the same is also true concerning the second preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4. As is seen from Fig. 7, in the container 100 and 100' in accordance with the invention, besides the ordinary circumferential strains B, in the area of the bottom 114, bottom support strains occur, which are denoted with the letter C. Owing to the construction in accordance with the invention the container 100 cannot expand at its lower portion, and similarly the container 100' cannot expand at its lower portion nor at its top portion. As is shown in Fig. 8, in practice it is, as a rule, preferable to make cuts 117 into the corners of the lower portion 113a of the reinforcement part 113 or into the corners of the lower portion 113 'a and the top portion 113'b of the reinforcement part 113', respectively, in which case the space between the reinforcement part and the outer wall 112 is filled and emptied readily. Owing to the cuts 117, sector- shaped portions 118 are formed in the reinforcement part 113 or 113', respectively. Above, some preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown, and it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that numerous modifications can be made to said embodiments within the scope of the inventive idea defined in the accompanying patent claims.

Claims: Claims 1. A container (100,100') which is made of a tubular material (111), which is meant for bulk goods, and which comprises at least an outer wall (112), a bottom portion (114) and possibly a top portion, characterized in that, in the interior of the container (100,100'), a cylindrical reinforcement part (113,113') has been fitted, which has been fixed to the container (100,100') so that, at the same time, the cylindrical reinforcement part (113,113') forms at least a part of the bottom (114) of the container. 2. A container as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the height (S) of the cylindrical reinforcement part (113) is by the lower portion (113a) of the cylindrical reinforcement part (113) higher than the filling height (H) of the container (100). 3. A container as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the height (S') of the cylindrical reinforcement part (113') is by the lower portion (113'a) and the top portion (113'b) of the cylindrical reinforcement part (113') higher than the filling height (H) of the container (100'). 4. A container as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cylindrical reinforcement part (113,113') has been fixed to the outer wall (112) and to the bottom part (114) of the container (100, 100'). 5. A container as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the top portion (113'b) of the cylindrical reinforcement part (113') of the container (100') has been fixed to a possible top portion, if any, of the container. 6. A container as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that cuts (117) have been made into the corners of the lower portion (113a) of the reinforce- ment part (113) or into the corners of the lower portion (113 'a) and the top portion (113'b) of the reinforcement part (113'), respectively, in which case sector-shaped portions (118) are formed in the reinforcement part (113,113'). 7. The use of a reinforcement part (113, 113') as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 6 as an inner construction in a package.

Inventors: KOSKINEN ERKKI, KOSKINEN, ERKKI
Applicants: KOSKINEN ERKKI, UPM KYMMENE OY, KOSKINEN, ERKKI, UPM-KYMMENE OY
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65D88
IPC codes: B65D33, B65D88