Collapsible bulk material container

Abstract

A container assembly for bulk materials and a kit for assembling same are disclosed. A forming member having a plurality of sidewalls defines an internal cavity for receiving bulk materials. The sidewalls are arranged relative to one another and are locked into position so as to define a geometric volume of predetermined shape, by means of a locking assembly. The locking assembly can be integrally attached to or can be separable from the sidewalls, and can form a bottom of the container assembly. A tubular sleeve of continuous material is sized to snugly engage and overlie substantially the entire outer surface area of the sidewalls. The sleeve provides the containment strength, while the forming member provides structural shape and stability to the container assembly. Additional layers of corrugated material or woven polypropylene material or their combination may be used as inserts engaging the inner peripheral sidewall areas of the forming member to provide additional strength to the container assembly. The forming member sidewalls may be freely slidable relative to one another or may be slidably affixed to one another by releasable glue.

Description

[0001] This is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 351,389, filed Jul. 13, 1999.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to shipping and storage containers, and more particularly to a container for bulk, liquid and granular materials, which is collapsible and / or reusable or recyclable. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Effective, reliable, safe and economical packaging of bulk products for handling, transport and storage has been a concern for many years. Bulk products requiring such packaging vary widely from semi-solids such as meat and other such food items; to granular materials such as beans, peas, grains, rice, salt, flour, sugar, dry chemicals, dry cementious products, animal feeds, fertilizers, etc.; to liquid materials such as syrups, milk, juices, glues, inks, resins, paints, chemicals, and the like. Since such materials have a tendency to move or flow, containment of them for shipment, handling and storage raises many chall...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] This invention uses existing industry accepted packaging materials to form a unique bulk container system that is universally applicable to the packaging of solid, semi-solid, granular or liquid materials. The bulk container system of this invention combines the advantageous features of known packaging techniques in a unique manner without suffering their respective shortcomings. A forming member of relatively inexpensive lightweight corrugated material is used to define an internal geometric volumetric shape of the container in a manner that provides shape to the container and structural support for enabling stacking of loaded / filled containers. The forming member is collapsible for storage and transport and is easily erected by folding to an operable box-like configuration. The forming member has a unique bottom design that when assembled, squares-up and locks the forming member sidewalls in predetermined positions to define a desired geometric volume. The forming member is designed to be placed on and carried by a pallet.

[0009] An outer tubular sleeve, that can be configured without stitching or seams, is sized to surround and snugly engage the entire outer peripheral sidewall areas of the forming member, and assumes the defined geometric shape of the outer surface of the forming member. The sleeve, preferably of woven polypropylene material, provides the necessary strength for containing the bulk material within the forming member, while the forming member provides the desired rigidity and shape to the system. Additional layers of the woven polypropylene may be used around the forming member to provide additional strength. The forming member and the outer sleeve(s), together, form a stable, multi-purpose and universal container system configuration that is less expensive than either corrugated or FIBC known container configurations. As an option, additional layers of corrugated material or woven polypropylene material or their combination may be used as inserts engaging the inner peripheral sidewall areas of the forming member to provide additional strength. All the forming member, sleeve, and insert components of the container system can be collapsed for reuse depending on the particular use application and sanitation requirements, and are completely recyclable. A standard bag / liner can be and typically is placed within the forming member or within the insert to protect the contents from contamination or the environment and / or to retain liquids.

[0010] The forming member, the outer sleeve, and the inserts can be configured to any desired shape, as dictated by the intended use of the container system. The size of the container and the weight of its contents will dictate the strength of the outer sleeve or the inner insert, if of woven polypropylene material, which will be of a food grade fabric for food containment applications. The invention also includes forming member and inner insert configurations that allow relative movement between cooperating portions thereof, such that the forming member or the insert can expand and contract with the contained contents of the system. Another feature of the invention is a forming member or inner insert design that maintains a given footprint configuration of the container, but which allows the upper portion of the container to reconfigure along predetermined expansion lines to reduce stress across the forming member or insert sidewalls.

Problems solved by technology

Since such materials have a tendency to move or flow, containment of them for shipment, handling and storage raises many challenges.

The flowable nature of such products presents unique packaging issues for the container.

Movement or shifting of the materials during transport can cause deformation of the container that can result in load shifting and instability and bursting containers, often with enough force to damage or destroy the container.

The result is loss or damage to the container contents and undue cleanup and environmental concerns.

If the box board wall strength and / or thickness is reduced in order to cut costs, and a number of external support straps or bands are used, product pressure against the thinner box walls generally causes the box to bulge outwardly between the straps, resulting in a container having marginal safety factor and leading to numerous costly box failures in shipment.

Because of the cost of the manufacturing sewing operations and the cost of the rigidity enhancing inserts used in the FIBCs, they typically result in a more expensive container than their corrugated box with strapping counterparts.

Without rigid bottoms, the inserts are susceptible to significant deformation from their intended footprint configuration during loading of the FIBC, resulting in a misshaped containment system that is unstable before and during shipment.

To address this problem, collapsible metal grid cages have been configured to externally support the FIBC, further adding to the cost and use inflexibility of such systems for containing liquids or semi-liquid materials.

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