LIQUID TRANSPORT AND STORAGE CONTAINER
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- MX · MX
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- PROTECHNA SA
- Filing Date
- 2023-04-17
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-12
AI Technical Summary
Bolted joints in transport and storage containers for liquids experience failure due to excessive shear forces during compliance inspections, leading to disengagement of threaded engagements and potential container failure.
Incorporating cross-sectional recesses in the transition portions of the vertical and cross bars to prevent physical contact between the connecting screw and the crossbar, thereby reducing shear forces and maintaining structural integrity.
The recesses in the transition portions enhance the deformation path of the crossbar, preventing detrimental contact and ensuring the bolted joints remain secure under increased internal pressure, thus enhancing the container's safety and reliability.
Smart Images
Figure MX434608B0 
Figure MX434608B1
Abstract
Description
The present invention relates to a liquid transport and storage container comprising a pallet-type lower substructure for an inner container made of plastic. The inner container has four side walls, a lower and an upper bottom, a sealable filling opening formed in the upper bottom, and an outlet formed in the lower portion of a side wall. The outlet has a threaded fitting. The transport and storage container comprises a cage having horizontal and vertical bars made of metal to receive the inner container. The ends of the vertical bars, which are formed by a hollow profile, are welded to a lower and upper circumferential edge profile of the cage. The upper ends of the vertical bars have a connecting portion for connection to the upper edge profile.said connecting portion having a flat section formed from the hollow profile by deformation, at least two vertical bars, which are arranged on opposite side walls, being connected at the connecting portions by means of a transverse bar which extends over the upper bottom of the inner vessel and which is formed from a hollow profile, a connecting portion of a vertical bar is connected to a connecting portion formed at the ends of the transverse bar by deformation of the hollow profile to a flat section through a bolted joint in each case, the connecting portions of the transverse bar are bent to open with respect to a longitudinal portion, which extends over the upper bottom of the inner vessel, and extending towards the connecting portions of the vertical bars,and the connecting portions of the crossbar having a fixing opening with a wall to form a threaded hook with a connecting screw, which is guided through a through opening of the connecting portion of the vertical bar. The transport and storage containers of the aforementioned brand are subject to type-specific compliance inspections to ensure adherence to defined safety standards when using these containers, also known as IBCs. During these compliance inspections, the compressive strength of the containers is specifically tested by applying increased internal hydraulic pressure to the inner container. The resulting deformation forces acting on the inner container must be absorbed by the cage that houses it. RQbtrn / cznz / e / YiAi Bolted joints that are formed between the connecting portions of the vertical bars and the connecting portions of the crossbar are subjected to excessive stress as shear forces act on the bolted joints in the area of the connecting portions, which may cause a widening of the threaded hole formed in the connecting portions of the crossbar, with the result that the threaded coupling between the connecting bolts and the connecting portions of the crossbar becomes uncoupled, resulting in a failure of the corresponding component. The object of the present invention is to propose a transport and storage container characterized by improved safety against failures in relation to the bolted joint formed between the crossbars and the cage. This object is achieved by means of the transport and storage container according to the invention having the characteristics of claim 1. According to the invention, the vertical bars that are connected to each other through the crossbar or crossbar have a cross-section recess to decrease a shear force acting on the connecting screw in the transition portions, which are formed adjacent to the connecting portions in the transition area towards the hollow profile. Tests have shown that the shear forces relevant to the safety of the bolted joint components are essentially caused by the fact that a deformation of the crossbar occurs when the inner vessel expands due to the increase in internal hydraulic pressure, this deformation occurring in such a way that the transition portion that is adjacent to the connecting portion of the crossbar comes into contact with the end of the bolt that protrudes from the fixing opening of the connecting portion of the crossbar, so that the deformation forces act on the connecting bolt as shear forces through the transition portion and, as a result of the widening of the wall of the fixing opening, the threaded engagement between the connecting bolt and the connecting portions of the crossbar is disconnected. RQbtrnn / cznz / e / YiAi By means of the reduction of the cross-section according to the invention, which can be formed in the transition portions of the vertical bars or in the transition portions of the cross bar or both in the transition portions of the vertical bar and in the transition portions of the cross bar, the formation of a physical contact between the transition portions of the cross bar and the connecting screw can be avoided, in such a way that the corresponding harmful shear forces on the connecting screw can be avoided. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cross-sectional recess in the transition portions of the crossbar is formed opposite a screw end that protrudes from the fixing opening and serves to receive the screw end as the transition portion approaches the screw end. This embodiment of the cross-sectional recess allows for an increased deformation path of the crossbar as a result of expansion of the inner container without the crossbar and screw end coming into contact. Therefore, physical contact between the crossbar and the screw end is avoided, or the potential deformation path of the crossbar is increased before physical contact occurs. The reduction of the cross-section in the transition portions of the crossbar can be formed as a depression or a recess between the longitudinal edges of the crossbar. A depression is particularly advantageous, such that, unlike a recess or gap that extends across the entire width of the transition piece, it maintains greater flexural stiffness of the crossbar in the area of the transition portions. According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the recess in the cross-section of the transition portions of the vertical bars forms a predetermined flex point that allows the connecting portions to rotate away from the inner vessel around the predetermined flex point and outward around an axis parallel to the upper edge profile when a shear force acts on the connecting portions through the cross bar. In such an embodiment, the formation of physical contact between the cross bar and the bolt end, which would be detrimental to the strength of the bolted joint, is prevented or delayed because the reduced flexural stiffness of the transition portion of the vertical bars causes the connecting portions of the vertical bars to rotate outward around the RQbtrn / cznz / e / YiAi default bending point in the same direction as the crossbar deformation. It has been shown to be particularly advantageous if the predetermined bending point is formed as a groove that is arranged on an outer surface of the vertical bars in the transition portion and extends parallel to the profile of the upper edge, so that a desired reduced bending stiffness is achieved in the area of the predetermined bending point. The preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a transport and storage container comprising a cage that is provided with crossbars in its upper edge profile; Fig. 2 shows an enlarged view of a crossbar connection area formed in the cage; Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the connection area of the crossbar shown in Fig. 2 according to the cut line lll-lll in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 shows an enlarged view of the crossbar connection area illustrated in Fig. 3 in a case where an inner container of the transport and storage vessel illustrated in Fig. 1 is subjected to increased internal pressure. Figure 1 shows a transport and storage container 10 for liquids that can be used as a disposable or reusable container and comprises an inner container 11 made of plastic, the inner container 11 having four side walls 12, 13, 14, and 15 and a lower and upper bottom 16, 17, a filling opening 19 formed in the upper bottom 17 and sealable with a lid 18, and an outlet opening 20 formed in the lower portion of the front side wall 13, said outlet opening 20 having a threaded fitting 21, a transport and storage container 10 further comprising an outer cage 22 formed by intersecting horizontal and vertical bars 23, 24 made of metal to receive the inner container 11. The vertical bars 24 are welded to an upper rim profile 26 via an upper connecting portion 25 RQbtrn / cznz / e / YiAi already a lower edge profile 28 of cage 22 through a lower connecting portion 27. In addition, cage 22 is connected to a lower pallet-type substructure 29 through its lower edge profile 28. As shown in Fig. 1, the cage 22 is provided with two transverse bars 30 extending over the upper bottom 17 of the inner container 11 and extending parallel to each other in the case at hand. These bars are forcibly connected to the upper connecting portion 25 of a vertical bar 24 by means of a joint 32 bolted to the connecting portions 31 formed at each of their longitudinal ends, as illustrated in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 3, both the connecting portion 31 of the transverse bar 30 and the connecting portion 25 of the vertical bar 24 are each formed by a flat section of the transverse bar 30 and the vertical bar 24, which are formed by hollow profiles 33 and 34, respectively, and are separated from the longitudinal portions 37 and 38, which are formed by hollow profiles 33 and 34, by means of portions 35 and 36. 36 transitional, respectively. As shown in particular in Fig. 3, the connecting portion 31 of the transverse bar 30 is bent and opened with respect to the longitudinal portion 37 of the transverse bar 30 such that the connecting portion 31 of the transverse bar 30 and the connecting portion 25 of the vertical bar 24 extend in essentially parallel planes, the connecting portions 31, 25 being forcibly connected to each other by means of a connecting screw 39 that extends through a through opening 40 formed in the connecting portion 25 of the vertical bar 24 and through a fixing opening 41 formed in the connecting portion 31 of the transverse bar 30. To form the adjusting force, the connecting screw 39 is screwed into the fixing opening 41, which is formed as a threaded hole, with one end 42 of the screw penetrating into the fixing opening 41, so that a threaded engagement is produced between a wall 43 of the fixing opening 41 and the end 42 of the screw. In particular, Figs. 2 and 3 show that, in the present embodiment of the transport and storage container, both the transition portion 35, which is formed between the connecting portion 31 and the longitudinal portion 37 of the transverse bar 30, and the transition portion 36, which is formed between the connecting portion 25 and the longitudinal portion 38 of the vertical bar 24, have a cross-sectional recess that is formed as a depression 44 or a RQbtrnn / cznz / e / YiAi groove 45, the depression 44 being formed in front of the end of the screw 42 that protrudes from the fixing opening 41, and the groove 45 being formed on an outer surface 46 of the bar 24 that faces outwards from the inner container 11 and extends parallel to the profile 26 of the upper edge. To explain the advantageous effect of the depression 44 and the groove 46 in a case where an inner vessel 11 is subjected to increased internal hydraulic pressure, Fig. 4 schematically illustrates the deformation state in the area of the bolted joint 32. As a comparison between the undeformed state of the bolted joint 32 (illustrated in Fig. 3) and the deformed state (illustrated in Fig. 4) shows, the formation of the depression 44 in the transition portion 35 of the crossbar 30 allows the transition portion 35 to approach the end of the bolt 42 in the event of deformation, without forming physical contact between the bolt end 42 and the transition portion 35. The depression 44 creates a clearance in the transition portion 35 into which the bolt end 42 can be submerged when the transition portion 35 approaches the bolt end 42. Furthermore, a comparison between the illustrations in Figs. 3 and 4 shows that the groove 45 formed on the outer surface 46 of the vertical bar 24 in the transition portion 36 forms a predetermined bending point, which allows a rotation of the connecting portions 31, 25 around the predetermined bending point and outwards around an axis that is parallel to the profile 26 of the upper edge when a shear force acts on the connecting portions 25, 31 through the transverse bar 30 as a result of the expansion of the inner vessel 11, such that, in addition to the above-mentioned possibility of sinking into the depression 44, the screw end 42 of the connecting screw 39 can also prevent the approximation of the transition portion 35 of the transverse bar 30 due to this pivoting movement. As can be deduced from the above, both the formation of the depression 44 in the transition portion 35 of the transverse bar 30 and the formation of the groove 45 in the transition portion 36 of the vertical bar 24 allow physical contact between the transition portion 35 of the transverse bar 30 and the screw end 42 to be avoided, allowing the simultaneous formation of the depression 44 and the groove 46 in the illustrated embodiment, a particularly advantageous overlap of effects.
Claims
1. A container (10) for transporting and storing liquids comprising a pallet-type substructure (29) for an inner container (11) made of plastic, the inner container (11) having four side walls (12, 13, 14, 15), a lower and an upper bottom (16, 17), a sealable filling opening (19) formed in the upper bottom (17), and an outlet opening (20) formed in the lower portion of a side wall (12), said outlet opening (20) having a threaded fitting (21), the transport and storage container comprising a cage (22) having horizontal and vertical bars (23, 24) made of metal for receiving the inner container (11), the ends of the vertical bars (24), which are formed by a hollow profile, being welded to a lower and an upper circumferential edge profile (26, 28) of the cage (22),The upper ends of the vertical bars (24) have a connecting portion (25) for connection to the upper rim profile (26). This connecting portion (25) has a flat section formed from the hollow profile (34) by deformation. At least two vertical bars (24), arranged in opposite side walls (12, 14), are connected at their connecting portions (25) by a transverse bar (30) extending over the upper bottom (17) of the inner vessel (11) and formed from a hollow profile (33). A connecting portion (25) of a vertical bar (24) is connected to a connecting portion (31) formed at the ends of the transverse bar (30) by deforming the hollow profile into a flat section via a bolted joint (32) in each case. The connecting portions (31) of the transverse bar (30) are bent and open with respect to a portion (37) longitudinal,extending over the upper bottom (17) of the inner container (11) and extending towards the connecting portions (25) of the vertical bars (24), the connecting portions (31) of the transverse bar (30) having a fixing opening with a wall to form a threaded engagement with a connecting screw (39), which is guided through a passage opening (40) of the connecting portion (25) of the vertical bar (24). Characterized in that the vertical bars (24) that are connected to each other via the transverse bar (30) have a cross-sectional recess to reduce a shear force acting on the connecting screw (39) in the transition portions (36, 35), which are formed adjacent to the connecting portions (25, 31).
2. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the recess in the cross-section in the transition portions (31) of the cross-bar (30) is formed opposite an end (42) of the screw that protrudes from the fixing opening (41) and serves to receive the end (42) of the screw when the transition portion (31) is brought close to the end (42) of the screw.
3. The container according to claim 2, characterized in that the recess in the cross section is formed as a depression (44) or a recess that is formed between the longitudinal edges of the transverse bar (30) in the transition portion (31) of the transverse bar (30).
4. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the recess in the cross-section in the transition portions (25) of the vertical bars (24) forms a predetermined bending point that allows the connecting portions (25, 31) to rotate away from the inner container (11) around the predetermined bending point and outwards around an axis that is parallel to the upper edge profile (26) when a shear force acts on the connecting portions (25, 31) through the transverse bar (30).
5. The container according to claim 4, characterized in that the predetermined bending point is formed as a groove (45) that is arranged on an outer surface (46) of the vertical bars (24) in the transition portion (25) and extends parallel to the profile (26) of the upper edge.