Abstract:
Provided is an intermediate bulk container which can contain and store dangerous articles such as liquid chemicals or other various kinds of liquid contents and can be vertically stacked and, more specifically, to an intermediate bulk container, wherein most of components except for vertical support bars in the intermediate bulk container, which is formed in a size capable of containing approximately one ton of content, are made of a synthetic resin material so as to reduce the total weight of the intermediate bulk container, thereby reducing manufacturing costs, and a container body made of a synthetic resin material is prevented from being ruptured or damaged, even though such intermediate bulk containers each containing approximately one ton of content are stacked in a plurality of layers, such that the stacked state can be maintained stably.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to an intermediate bulk container which can contain and store dangerous articles such as liquid chemicals or other various kinds of liquid contents and can be vertically stacked and, more specifically, to an intermediate bulk container, wherein most of components except for vertical support bars in the intermediate bulk container, which is formed in a size capable of containing approximately one ton of content, are made of a synthetic resin material so as to reduce the total weight of the intermediate bulk container, thereby reducing manufacturing costs, and a container body made of a synthetic resin material is prevented from being ruptured or damaged, even though such intermediate bulk containers each containing approximately one ton of content are stacked in a plurality of layers, such that the stacked state can be maintained stably. 
         [0003]    2. Background Art 
         [0004]    There is prior art relating to the present invention and the technical details thereof have been disclosed in Korean Utility Model Reg. Publication No. 20-0290491 (title: liquid receiving tank and stacking case thereof) and the like. 
         [0005]    As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the prior art device forms a liquid receiving tank  1 , comprising a tank main body  10 , which forms a liquid receiving space provided with an injection hole and a discharge hole, has a stiffness reinforcement stepped part provided on a plate surface at least in the area of the injection hole, and is provided with a liquid receiving vinyl received in the liquid receiving space so as to be withdrawn through the injection hole, a cap  11  for opening or closing the injection hole of the tank main body  10 , and a cock valve body  12  fixedly coupled to the discharge hole of the tank main body  10 . 
         [0006]    In addition, a stacking case C is provided, and includes a palette  30  for supporting the liquid receiving tank  1  thereon and having insertion parts formed on side surfaces so as to be inserted by the fork of a forklift, and a frame  20  coupled to the upper part of the palette  30  in the vertical direction and having a plurality of ring-shaped traverse bars  21  arranged in parallel to each other in the vertical direction so as to incorporate the liquid receiving tank  1  therein, a plurality of longitudinal bars  22  for connecting the traverse bars  21 , and support bars  25  fixedly coupled to the lower one of the traverse bars  24 , wherein a plurality of the stacking cases C can be stacked together. 
         [0007]    According to this prior art device, the stacking case C is made by mounting the frame  20  in the shape of a cage on the palette  30  made of steel, and the tank main body  10  made of synthetic resin is simply placed in the stacking case C through the open top part of the stacking case C. 
         [0008]    The prior art device as above has disadvantages of the increase of the logistics costs due to the large volume and heavy weight and the increase of manufacturing costs of the stacking case C since the stacking case C made of steel is formed to be large so as to receive the tank main body  10  therein with a sufficient margin such that liquid content can be maintained and delivered in a state, where the liquid content is received in the tank main body  10 . 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an objective of the present invention to provide an intermediate bulk container by mounting an upper cover and a lower base respectively on the upper and lower parts of a container body and mounting vertical support bars and horizontal support bands mounted on the outer circumference of the container body between the upper cover and the lower base, wherein most of components except for the vertical support bars are made of a synthetic resin material, thereby reducing the weight of the intermediate bulk container as well as the manufacturing costs thereof. 
         [0010]    Further, it is another objective of the present invention to provide an intermediate bulk container, wherein, when each intermediate bulk container is stacked in the vertical direction, the upper cover of an intermediate bulk container at one side and the lower base of an intermediate bulk container at the other side, which corresponds to the upper cover, are fitted with each other such that the each intermediate bulk container stacked in the vertical direction can be maintained in a stable state. 
         [0011]    Furthermore, it is still another objective of the present invention to provide an intermediate bulk container, wherein the vertical support bars and the horizontal support bands are respectively fitted in horizontal and vertical mounting grooves, which are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the container body, so as to stably support the container body, thereby preventing the expansion of the container body, which is made of a synthetic resin material, as well as preventing the increase of the whole volume of the intermediate bulk container. 
         [0012]    To accomplish the above objectives, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an intermediate bulk container, comprising: a plurality of vertical mounting grooves, which are placed at certain intervals in a circumferential direction of the container, and which are formed in a longitudinal direction of the container; a plurality of vertical support bars mounted on the vertical mounting grooves; a plurality of horizontal mounting grooves, which are placed at certain intervals in the longitudinal direction of the container, and which are formed in the circumferential direction of the container; and a plurality of horizontal support bands mounted on the horizontal mounting grooves, wherein the vertical support bars and the horizontal support bands are installed so as to cross each other. 
         [0013]    In addition, the vertical support bars support a load applied in the vertical direction of the container and the horizontal support bands support force to be expanded in the circumferential direction of the container. 
         [0014]    Further, the intermediate bulk container further comprises: an upper cover fitted into the upper part of the container, and having a plurality of support bar coupling parts, to which the upper end parts of the vertical support bars are inserted and coupled, formed at intervals in the circumferential direction; and a lower base fitted into the lower part of the container, and having a plurality of support bar coupling parts, to which the lower end parts of the vertical support bars are inserted and coupled, formed at intervals in the circumferential direction at positions corresponding to the support bar coupling parts of the upper cover. 
         [0015]    Further, fitting protrusions are formed to be protruded at both sides of the upper cover, and fitting grooves are formed at both sides of the lower base at positions corresponding to the forming positions of the fitting protrusions. 
         [0016]    Further, when stacking intermediate bulk containers, the intermediate bulk containers are stacked in such a manner that the fitting protrusions of an intermediate bulk container at a lower side are fitted into the fitting grooves of an intermediate bulk container at an upper side. 
         [0017]    Further, the container, the upper cover and the lower base are made of a synthetic resin material, and the vertical support bars are made of a metal material. 
         [0018]    Further, the vertical support bars are made of a metal pipe into the shape of a semi-circular pipe, a rectangular pipe, a circular pipe or an oval pipe. 
         [0019]    Further, the horizontal support bands are made by weaving synthetic fiber, or of a synthetic resin material or a metal material. 
         [0020]    Further, upper and lower fitting parts are formed at the upper part and the lower part of the container and have a diameter, which reduces by the thickness of the outer wall parts of the upper cover and the lower base. 
         [0021]    To accomplish the above objectives, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an intermediate bulk container, comprising: a container body having a cap provided to an injection hole, which is formed in the upper part of the container body, so as to open or close the injection hole, a discharge hole formed in the inner wall of a valve mounting groove, which is formed to be dented at the lower side of the front part of the container, and a discharge valve provided to the discharge hole; an upper cover provided in the shape of a cap to the upper part of the container body, and having a through hole formed at a position corresponding to the cap, fitting protrusions formed to be protruded at both sides of a top surface, and a plurality of support bar coupling parts formed at intervals on the entire outer circumference so as to be inserted by the upper end parts of vertical support bars; a lower base fitted to be provided to the lower part of the container body, and having forklift fork insertion grooves formed at both sides of the lower part so as to be inserted by a forklift fork, a plurality of support bar coupling parts formed on the entire outer circumference at positions corresponding to the support bar coupling parts of the upper cover so as to be inserted by the lower end parts of the vertical support bars, and fitting grooves formed to be fitted with fitting protrusions of an intermediate bulk container to be stacked at a lower side when stacking intermediate bulk containers; the vertical support bars provided and coupled by screws in a state, where upper and lower end parts are respectively fitted into the support bar coupling parts of the upper cover and the support bar coupling parts of the lower base, which are inserted into the upper and lower parts of the container body; and a plurality of horizontal support bands provided so as to tighten the entire outer circumferential surface of the container body, including the outer circumferential surfaces of the vertical support bars provided at intervals in the vertical direction on the outer circumferential surface of the container body. 
         [0022]    Further, upper and lower fitting parts are formed at the upper part and the lower part of the container body and have a diameter, which reduces by the thickness of the outer wall parts of the upper cover and the lower base, vertical mounting grooves and horizontal mounting grooves are formed on the outer circumference of the container body so as to be inserted by the vertical support bars and the horizontal support bands, and a plurality of inward ribs are formed on the top surface of the container body. 
         [0023]    Further, a plurality of support bar insertion grooves are formed at the upper part of the lower base in the horizontal direction, and bottom support bars are provided to each of the support bar insertion grooves so as to support the lower part of the container body. 
         [0024]    An intermediate bulk container according to the present invention as described above can reduce the weight of the intermediate bulk container and decrease the manufacturing costs thereof by forming the intermediate bulk container by respectively mounting the upper cover and the lower base on the upper and lower parts of the container body, mounting the vertical support bars and the horizontal support bands on the outer circumference of the container body between the upper cover and the lower base, and making most of components except for the vertical support bars of the synthetic resin material. 
         [0025]    Further, when each of the intermediate bulk containers is stacked in the vertical direction, the upper covers and the lower bases, corresponding to each other, are fitted with each other such that the vertically stacked intermediate bulk containers can be respectively maintained in a stably stacked state. 
         [0026]    Furthermore, the vertical support bars and the horizontal support bands are respectively fitted in the horizontal and vertical mounting grooves, which are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the container body, so as to stably support the container body, thereby preventing the expansion of the container body, which is made of a synthetic resin material, as well as preventing the increase of the whole volume of the intermediate bulk container. 
         [0027]    In addition, the plurality of bottom support bars for supporting the lower part of the container body are mounted on the upper part of the lower base in the horizontal direction so as to sufficiently support the container body, in which heavy content is received, thereby maintaining the intermediate bulk container stably. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0028]    The above and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         [0029]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a prior art device, 
         [0030]      FIG. 2  is a front view showing the prior art device, 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing an intermediate bulk container according to the present invention, 
         [0032]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view showing the intermediate bulk container according to the present invention, 
         [0033]      FIG. 5  is a longitudinal sectional view showing the intermediate bulk container according to the present invention, 
         [0034]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the bottom surface of a lower base plate employed in the present invention, and 
         [0035]      FIG. 7  is a cross sectional view showing part “A” in  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0036]    Reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. It should be understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited by the example embodiment of the present invention which will be described in the following and the whole configuration described in the present embodiment cannot be considered to be essential as the means to solve problems in the present invention. 
         [0037]    An intermediate bulk container according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIG. 3  to  FIG. 7 . 
         [0038]    Referring to  FIG. 3  to  FIG. 5 , an intermediate bulk container  100  according to the present invention, includes a container body  110  having an injection hole  116  formed in the upper part thereof and a discharge hole (not shown) formed in the front side of the lower part thereof and mounted with a discharge hole  119 , an upper cover  130  and a lower base  120  respectively coupled to the upper and lower parts of the container body, a plurality of vertical support bars  140  mounted at intervals on the outside of the container body  110  in the vertical direction between the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120 , and a plurality of horizontal support bands  150  mounted on the outer circumferential surface of the container body  110 , including the vertical support bars  140  mounted on the outer circumferential surface of the container body  110  in the vertical direction, so as to encompass the outer circumferential surface of the container body  110  in the horizontal direction. 
         [0039]    The container body  110 , the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120  are made of a synthetic resin material, and the vertical support bars  140  are made of a metal pipe into a semi-circular shape. 
         [0040]    The horizontal support bands  150  are embodied by a strong band, which is formed by weaving strong synthetic fiber, or a band made of a synthetic resin material, which has high tensile strength, or as an example by a steel band. 
         [0041]    The container body  110  has an injection hole  116  formed at the upper part thereof so as to inject liquid content into the inside thereof, wherein the injection hole  116  is formed with a screw part such that a cap  118  is screw-coupled to the injection hole  116  so as to be opened or closed. The container body  110  has a discharge hole formed in the lower side of the front part thereof so as to discharge the content received therein. The front wall of the container body  110 , in which the discharge hole is formed, is formed to be dented such that the dented part is to be a valve mounting groove  113 . 
         [0042]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , the container body  110  may have a cross section in the shape of a circle. As the cross section of the container body  110  is circle, the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120  may also have cross sections in the shape of a circle. 
         [0043]    A discharge valve  119  is provided to the discharge hole formed in the inner wall of the valve mounting groove  113 . Herein, the size of the valve mounting groove  113  is formed in such a manner that the outside end of the discharge valve  119  is prevented from being exposed to the outside of the container body  110 , that is, the discharge valve  119  is inserted into the space of the valve mounting groove  113 . By doing this, when storing a plurality of intermediate bulk containers  100 , an area required for the storage can be prevented from being increased. 
         [0044]    Conventionally, the container body  110  is formed and then the discharge valve  119  is coupled to the container body by thermal bonding. However, according to the present invention, the discharge valve  119  is formed in advance and the inserted into a container body  110  mold such that the container body  110  is integrally formed with the discharge valve  119  during the molding thereof. 
         [0045]    In addition, upper and lower fitting parts  114 ,  115  are formed at the upper and lower parts of the container body  110 , wherein the upper and lower fitting parts  114 ,  115  have a diameter which decreases by the thickness of the outer wall parts of the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120 . The container body  110  has vertical mounting grooves  111  and horizontal mounting grooves  112 , which are formed to be spaced from each other at predetermined intervals on the outer circumference of the container body  110  so as to be respectively inserted by the vertical support bars  140  and the horizontal support bands  150 . The container body  110  has plurality of inward ribs  117  formed on the top surface thereof. 
         [0046]    The upper cover  130  is mounted in the shape of a cap on the upper fitting part  114  at the upper part of the container body  110 . The upper cover  130  is vertically penetrated with a through hole  131  at a position corresponding to the cap  118 , and has fitting protrusions  132  formed to be protruded at both sides on the top surface thereof and a plurality of support bar coupling parts  133  formed at intervals on the entire outer circumference so as to be inserted by the upper end parts of the vertical support bars  140 . 
         [0047]    Further, the lower base  120  is fitted to be provided to the lower part of the container body  110 . The lower base  120  has forklift fork insertion grooves  124  formed at both sides of the lower part thereof so as to be inserted by a forklift fork and a plurality of support bar coupling parts  122  formed on the entire outer circumference at positions corresponding to the support bar coupling parts  133  of the upper cover  130  so as to be inserted by the lower end parts of the vertical support bars  140 . The lower base  120  has fitting grooves  125  to be fitted with the fitting protrusions  132  of another intermediate bulk container  100 , which is stacked at the lower side thereof, when the intermediate bulk container  100  is stacked with other intermediate bulk containers  100 . 
         [0048]    As shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , a plurality of support bars insertion grooves  127  are formed in the horizontal direction at intervals on the upper part of the lower base  120 , and each of the plurality of support bars insertion grooves  127  are provided with bottom support bars  126  for supporting the lower part of the container body  110 . Herein, it is preferable to use an “H”-beam, a rectangular pipe, “C”-beam and the like, which are made of a metal material. 
         [0049]    The vertical support bars  140  are provided and coupled by screws respectively at the support bar coupling parts  133  of the upper cover  130  and the support bar coupling parts  122  of the lower base  120  in a state, where the upper and lower end parts thereof are respectively fitted into the support bar coupling parts  133  of the upper cover  130  and the support bar coupling parts  122  of the lower base  120 . Even though the vertical support bars  140  formed in the shape of a semi-circular pipe are explained hereinabove, the vertical support bars  140  can be also formed in the shape of a rectangular pipe, a circular pipe or an oval pipe. 
         [0050]    Further, the horizontal support bands  150  are mounted at intervals on the outer circumferential surface of the container body  110  in the horizontal direction so as to encompass the entire outer circumferential surface of the container body  110 , including the outer circumferential surfaces of the vertical support bars  140 . The vertical support bars  140  and the horizontal support bands  150  described hereinabove prevent the container body  110 , which is made of a synthetic resin material, from being expanded in the shape of a pot, thereby preventing the swelling shape. 
         [0051]    In the drawings, reference sign “ 121 ” which is not explained denotes the outer wall part vertically formed on the entire periphery of the lower base  120 , and reference sign “ 123 ” denotes a valve receiving part formed on the lower base  120 . 
         [0052]    Hereinafter, the operational relations of the present invention structured as above will be now described in detail with reference to  FIG. 3  to  FIG. 7 . The intermediate bulk container  100  according to the present invention approximately includes the container body  110  for mainly receiving liquid content, the upper cover  130  fitted with the upper part of the container body  110 , the lower base  120  fitted with the lower part of the container body  110 , and vertical support bars  140  and the horizontal support bands  150  provided between the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120 . 
         [0053]    The upper and lower fitting parts  114 ,  115  are formed at the upper and lower parts of the container body  110  and have a diameter, which decreases by the thickness of the outer wall parts of the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120 . Therefore, when the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120  are respectively fitted with the upper and lower parts of the container body  110 , the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120  are smoothly assembled into the container body  110  such that the outer wall surfaces of the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120  and the outer wall surface of the container body  110  are arranged at the same height, as shown in “B” of  FIG. 5 . As the discharge valve  119  is mounted on the inside of the valve mounting groove  113  or the discharge valve  119  is mounted to be prevented to be exposed to the outside of the container body, it is possible to ship the plurality of intermediate bulk containers  100  much more per unit area. 
         [0054]    As for the method for coupling the vertical support bars  140 , as shown in  FIGS. 3, 4 and 7 , the vertical support bars  140  are inserted into the support bar coupling parts  133 ,  122 , which are respectively formed on the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120 , and the coupled thereto by screws from the outsides of the support bar coupling parts  133 ,  122 . 
         [0055]    Herein, the vertical support bars  140  are to be inserted into the vertical mounting grooves  111 , which are formed in the longitudinal direction of the container body  110  at certain intervals in the circumferential direction of the container body. 
         [0056]    After fitting the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120  with the upper and lower parts of the container body  110  and mounting the plurality of vertical support bars  140  as described above, the horizontal support bands  150  are mounted so as to encompass the outer circumferences of the respective vertical support bars  140  and the container body  110 , wherein the horizontal support bands  150  are inserted into the plurality of horizontal mounting grooves  112 , which are formed in the circumferential direction of the container body  110  at certain intervals in the longitudinal direction of the container body  110 . Therefore, the horizontal support bands  150  is mounted intersecting the vertical support bars  140 . 
         [0057]    As the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120  are mounted on the upper and lower parts of the container body  110  as described above and the vertical support bars  140  and the horizontal support bands  150  are respectively mounted on the outside of the container body  110  between the upper cover  130  and the lower base  120 , the container body  110  can accommodate approximately one tone of content therein. Conventionally, if the intermediate bulk containers are stacked in the vertical direction, the container bodies of the stacked intermediate bulk containers are likely to be expanded outwards in the shape of a pot and thus changed into a swelling shape. However, according to the present invention, the vertical support bars  140  support loads applied to the intermediate bulk container  110  in the vertical direction and the horizontal support bands  150  restrain the force to be expanded in the circumferential direction, thereby preventing the swelling phenomenon. 
         [0058]    As the vertical support bars  140  are mounted on the vertical mounting grooves  111  and the horizontal support bands  150  are mounted on the horizontal mounting grooves  112 , the vertical support bars  140  and the horizontal support bands  150  do not escape from the positions thereof so as to stably support the container body  110  and stably fasten the container body  110  all the time. 
         [0059]    In addition, the container body  110  is formed with the vertical mounting grooves  111  and the horizontal mounting grooves  112 , the top surface of the container body  110  is formed with the plurality of inward ribs  117 , and the upper and lower parts of the container body  110  are formed with the upper and lower fitting parts  114 ,  115  respectively. Therefore, the overall strength of the container body  110 , which is made of a synthetic resin material, is maximized. 
         [0060]    Further, when stacking the intermediate bulk containers  100  according to the present invention in the vertical direction, as shown in  FIGS. 4, 6 and 7 , the fitting protrusions  132  are protruded upwards on the upper covers  130 , the fitting grooves  125  are formed on the lower bases  120 , such that the fitting protrusions  132  of the intermediate bulk container  100  positioned at a lower side are fitted with the fitting grooves  125  of the intermediate bulk container  100  stacked at an upper side. Therefore, each of the intermediate bulk containers  100  are maintained in a stable state without any slippage or deviation. 
         [0061]    Furthermore, the intermediate bulk container  100  according to the present invention has the forklift fork insertion grooves  124  formed at both sides of the lower part of the lower base  120  such that the intermediate bulk container  100 , which is heavy as much as approximately one ton, can be readily transferred. 
         [0062]    In addition, as shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , the plurality of support bars insertion grooves  127  are formed in the horizontal direction on the upper part of the lower base  120  and the bottom support bars  126  for supporting the lower part of the container body  110  are respectively mounted on the support bars insertion grooves  127  such that the lower base  120  can sufficiently support the container body  110  which receives heavy content therein. Therefore, the stable intermediate bulk container  100  as above can be provided.