Patent ID: 8499972

Claim:
A clamping system to secure a discharge spout of a bulk storage bag to an outer surface of a process interface connection, the clamping system comprising: a first clamping arm and a second clamping arm, each clamping arm having a fixed end and a free end arranged such that the free end can pivot about the fixed end between a clamping position and a non-clamping position; and an outer conduit surrounding at least part of the process interface connection; wherein each clamping arm has an inner clamping surface configured to clamp a portion of the discharge spout against a portion of the outer surface of the process interface connection when the clamping arm is in the clamping position; wherein the inner clamping surfaces are arranged such that when the first and second clamping arms are in the clamping position, the inner clamping surfaces cooperate to clamp the discharge spout against substantially the entire outer surface of the process interface connection; wherein the process interface connection and the outer conduit define a substantially annular space therebetween; and wherein the clamping arms include outwardly-extended portions that are adapted to cooperatively cover at least part of the substantially annular space when the clamping arms are in the clamping positions.