Abstract:
A valve for a liner bag includes a valve seat having an opening extending therethrough to be aligned with an opening in the liner bag, and a flange extends outwardly from the valve seat and is to be placed inside the liner bag so that the valve seat projects outside the liner bag. A valve member is within the opening of the valve seat for controlling egress of liquids or flowable solids from the liner bag. An operating lever is outside the liner bag for operating the valve member. A fixed protective cage is coupled to the flange for protecting the opening of the valve seat from inside the liner bag when the liner bag collapses.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to valves and particularly to valves that are suitable for use in flexible bags, such as those used as liner bags in rigid containers. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) are large size containers that may be used for storing and transporting a number of different items. Typically, an IBC is a generally cubic container having a base, fixed or foldable side walls and a top. When IBCs are used for the transport of liquid products, a liner bag is utilized within the container to hold the liquid. A liner bag may also be used for transporting flowable powdered or granulated solids. The liner bag contains an inlet for filling the bag, which may be placed at the top of the liner bag, and an outlet for emptying the bag. The outlet may be a simple gland, with no moving parts, or may include a valve. The valve may be closable during emptying so that complete emptying of the IBC does not need to take place at once, and may be re-opened at a later time to continue the emptying process. 
   The gland that is traditionally used with IBCs includes a membrane which prevents premature discharging of the liner bag when the cap of the outlet is opened. The membrane is pierced with a cutter pusher, which is a generally cylindrical tool having a serrated edge that can pierce the membrane. The cutter pusher helps to prevent the liner bag from being sucked into the outlet, however the liner bag may become snagged on the serrated edge, potentially causing a leak in the bag. 
   Current valves used in IBC liner bags are susceptible to blockage during emptying, because the liner bag wall becomes drawn into the valve as a result of a drop in pressure within the bag as the contents are discharged. When the valve becomes blocked in this way by the liner wall that is sucked into it, the blockage must be manually cleared for discharging of the liner bag to continue. This results in equipment downtime and, potentially, contamination of the liner bag contents. Contamination (or potential contamination) is a major problem when a container such as an IBC is used to transport liquids designed for human or animal consumption as typically the entire contents of the container must be destroyed due to the risk of contamination if the liner bag is breached. The valves in current use in IBC liner bags are also expensive, and their use is not widespread due to the costs for a single-use application. 
   It would be beneficial to provide a valve which has protection against the liner bag becoming entangled in the valve. It would also be beneficial for the valve to be low-cost and simple to manufacture and operate. 
   The present invention is directed to alleviating one or more of the aforementioned problems, and meeting one or more of the above-identified needs. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   One aspect of the present invention relates to a valve that may be used with a flexible bag, and a liner bag including a valve. The valve includes a valve member located in a valve seat and having a valve opening for egress of liquids from the bag. An operating lever is positioned outside the bag. A protective cage extends in front of the valve opening, the cage being positioned inside the bag to prevent the wall of the bag from collapsing into the valve opening during emptying of liquids from the bag. This arrangement prevents the bag wall from clogging the valve during discharge of the bag&#39;s contents. 
   In a preferred arrangement, the protective cage may extend from the valve into the interior of the container in use. The protective cage may include a top and sides having openings, with the area of the openings in the sides being equal to, or greater than, the area of the valve opening. Each opening in the sides of the cages preferably has a width dimension that is between about 50% and about 70% of the diameter of the valve opening. A width dimension of the openings in the top are preferably between about 50% and about 70% of the diameter of the valve opening. 
   In one arrangement, protective cage comprises a plurality of legs extending outwardly from the valve seat, the legs supporting a permeable face plate. The permeable face plate may be an open grid. 
   A flange may extend around the valve seat, the flange designed to retain the valve in a wall of a container. A cap may be attached to the valve seat to protect the valve member prior to use. The valve may be formed of plastic material. 
   Another aspect of the present invention relates to a liner bag for a container, which includes at least one wall, forming a container for liquids or flowable solids. An outlet is provided in the wall. A valve is located in the outlet, including a valve member located in a valve seat and having a valve opening for egress of liquids from the liner bag. An operating lever to operate the valve member is included, the operating lever being positioned outside the liner bag. A protective cage is located around the valve opening, the cage being positioned inside the liner bag to prevent the wall of the liner bag from collapsing into the valve opening. 
   The cage is preferably open on five sides so that if one or more sides becomes blocked by the bag wall, liquid can still pass into the valve through the open sides. In addition, the bag wall cannot be sucked into the valve, thus preventing the bag from tearing. The valve and liner bag including the valve thus can be safely used for the transport of liquids, without the risk of clogging or bag rupture. Additionally, the design of the valve allows for a low manufacturing cost. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description, while referring to the attached drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a valve according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an alternative perspective view of the valve shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a container. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a liner bag for use with the container of  FIG. 3 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is more particularly described in the following description that is intended to be illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. As used in the specification and in the claims, the singular form “a,” “an,” and “the” may include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the specification and in the claims, the term “comprising” may include the terms “including”, “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of”. 
   The present invention provides a valve that may be used in a liner bag when used in a rigid container to transport liquids or flowable powdered or granulated solids. However, the invention is not limited in this regard, and is applicable to other containers having flexible walls that may be employed separately from any rigid container. Additionally, although the invention is illustrated and described using an example of an Intermediate Bulk Container (IBO), it is applicable to any other container having a liner bag, such as, for example, a large standard cargo container, or a wine or other beverage or food box having a bag-in-box arrangement. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a valve  10  in accordance with the inventive arrangements comprises a valve seat  12  having a generally cylindrical valve opening  14  therethrough. A flange  16  extends from the valve seat  12  at an end thereof. An operating lever  18  extends from and through a side of the valve seat  12 , and controls operation of a butterfly valve member  20  located in the valve opening. It will be appreciated that any suitable valve member  20  such as a flap valve or a ball valve or any other valve member may be used, and the invention is not limited to the use of a butterfly valve. A cap  22  may be screw-threadingly engaged with the valve seat  12  at an end thereof opposite to the end having the flange  16 . 
   A protective cage  24  extends from the valve seat  12 , and may include legs  26  supporting a grid  28 . The illustrated grid  28  is generally square, and there are thus four legs  26 , one supporting each corner of the grid. It will be appreciated that the grid  28  may be any suitable shape, such as circular, rectangular, triangular, or polygonal, and that the number of legs  24  may vary accordingly. Alternatively, the sides of the cage  24  may be formed of additional grids, or apertured plates. As a further alternative, the cage  24  may be in the form of a dome, hemisphere or have any other suitable curved shape. The illustrated grid  28  includes a central cross piece  30  that forms four open squares in the grid. Any suitable number and shape of openings may be employed, and the grid may be in the form of an apertured plate. The cage is preferably open on five sides so that if one or more sides becomes blocked by the bag wall, liquid can still pass into the valve through the open sides. The liner bag wall cannot be sucked into the valve because it is blocked by the cage, thus preventing the bag from tearing. 
   In a preferred embodiment, the area of the openings in the sides of the cage  24  formed between the legs  26  should be equal to, or greater than, the area of the valve opening. This allows for the volumetric flow rate through the sides of the grid to be equal to, or greater than, the volumetric flow rate through the valve itself. Such an arrangement ensures that the flow of liquid through the valve is not compromised when the liner bag material is against the grid  26 , blocking flow through the grid to the valve. In another preferred arrangement, each opening in the sides of the cage  24  has an area that is between about 50% and about 70% of the area of the valve opening. In another preferred embodiment, the area of the openings in the grid  28  is between about 50% and about 70% of the area of the valve opening. For example, for a 3″ valve, which has a nominal diameter of 75 mm, the grid openings may be between 37 mm and 52 mm. The 3″ valve has a nominal valve opening area of 4418 mm 2  and therefore the four side openings may have a combined area of not less than 4418 mm 2 . 
   The valve may be formed of any suitable material. Preferably a plastic material is used. The entire valve may be formed of the same material, or different parts of the valve may be formed of different materials. The material of the protective cage  24  should be strong enough to withstand the pressure of the liner bag being sucked onto the cage by the pressure reduction caused by discharge of the liner bag contents through the valve. In one arrangement, the cage  24  may be formed of metal. In another arrangement, the cage  34  may be formed of polyethylene, polypropylene, or from any number of injection molding resins. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a rigid container  32  is shown, which in the illustrated example is an Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) but may be any other suitable rigid container. A liner bag  34  for a rigid container is also shown, having the liner bag inlet  36  and outlet  38 . In some arrangements, only one aperture may be provided, which can function as both the inlet and outlet of the liner bag. The valve  10  of the inventive arrangements is installed into the outlet  38  of the liner bag. The flange  16  is placed inside the liner bag  34  so that it prevents removal of the valve  10  from the bag. The protective cage  24  extends into the interior of the liner bag  34 , and the operating lever  18  is located on the outside of the liner bag  34 . The liner bag  34  is placed within an IBC  32 , and filled with liquid via the inlet  36 . The inlet  36  is then sealed. To empty the contents of the liner bag, a flap  40  on the IBC  32  is opened to gain access to the valve  10 . The protective cap  22  is removed from the valve  10 , and the operating lever  18  is used to open the valve member  20 . The contents of the liner bag  34  are then allowed to exit the bag. As the liner bag  34  empties, the material of the liner bag has a tendency to approach the valve along with the exiting liquid, however the protective cage  24  keeps the material of the liner bag from blocking the valve  10 . This arrangement ensures continuous flow of liquid through the valve until the liner bag  34  is empty, and preventing contamination of the contents of the liner bag. 
   Although the illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to those precise embodiments, and various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of spirit of the disclosure. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.