A mounting system for an intermediate bulk liquid container

Abstract

A mounting system for mounting an item of liquid handling equipment to an intermediate bulk liquid container is described, the mounting system including a frame which includes a number of attachment regions for attaching the frame to the cage of the intermediate bulk container; the attachment regions include saddles which fit about the vertically disposed cage bars; the attachment regions further include support members to which the saddles are attached and which in use can rest upon a horizontally oriented cage bar; a pair of lateral frame members attached to the support members; and the lateral support members support a mounting region which is adapted to support an item of liquid handling equipment.

Description

[0001] A MOUNTING SYSTEM FOR AN INTERMEDIATE BULK LIQUID CONTAINER

[0002] Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to mounting systems for mounting items of liquid handling equipment in relation to intermediate bulk containers.

[0004] Background to the Invention

[0005] An intermediate bulk container (IBC) is an internationally used standard to transport fluids around the world. The most widely utilized and known IBC is the caged IBC tote container (see Figure 1). Caged IBC totes 10 are composite intermediate bulk containers comprising a plastic container 12 (typically high-density polyethylene) contained and protected by a galvanized steel cage 14 which is mounted on a pallet base 16. The bars of the cage are either tubular or square in cross section. They are typically provided with flattened regions where they overlap and are secured together at these points by a spot weld or fusion weld. The most common size of these containers has a capacity of 1000 litres, with a footprint of 1200mm x 1000mm x 1150mm high.

[0006] A side liquid outlet is provided close to the bottom of the container and an inlet is provided at the top. The base has the capacity to support the fully loaded IBC and incorporates lifting access recesses 20 to enable lifting of the IBC by way of forklift tynes, also known as tines or forks or other tyned loader.

[0007] In order to mount liquid handling apparatus, such as a dispensing pump or dispensing hose, in relation to an IBC it is known to attach the IBC and the liquid handling apparatus to an IBC skid mount base. An IBC skid mount base is a fabricated device and has a larger footprint than the IBC itself. It therefore takes up more room than the IBC and involves use of a significant amount and weight of materials to fabricate. It has been tried to attach liquid handling apparatus directly to an IBC by mounting the apparatus to the cage of the IBC. However, such solutions typically involve hanging the apparatus over a horizontally oriented cage bar. The equipment is loosely mounted and this is not a stable mounting arrangement, particularly if the equipment is to me moved from place to place in use. Further, prior art mountings can place high strain on the welded joints of the protective cage which leads to separation of the cage bars and / or other cage damage.

[0008] There remains a need to provide improved means to mount liquid handling apparatus to an IBC.

[0009] Summary of the Invention

[0010] In a first aspect the invention provides a mounting system for mounting an item of liquid handling equipment to an intermediate bulk liquid container, the intermediate bulk container including an interior liner that is surrounded by a cage, the cage having horizontally oriented cage bars and vertically oriented cage bars, the vertically oriented cage bars being located inwardly of the horizontally oriented cage bars, the mounting system including: a frame which includes a number of attachment regions for attaching the frame to the cage of the intermediate bulk container; the attachment regions include saddles which fit about the cage bars; the attachment regions further include support members to which the saddles are attached and which in use can rest upon a horizontally oriented cage bar; a pair of lateral frame members attached to the support members; and the lateral support members support a mounting region which is adapted to support an item of liquid handling equipment.

[0011] The saddles may fit about the vertically oriented cage bars.

[0012] The mounting system may include at least two attachment regions which are arranged to attach to the cage of the container in the vicinity of different horizontally oriented cage members.

[0013] The support members may have substantially flat rear surfaces which in use conform to the flattened region of a vertically oriented cage bar at the point at which it intersects with a horizontally oriented cage bar.

[0014] Each support member may includes two saddles.

[0015] The saddles may be dimensioned such that when they are attached to a support member, they become deformed to set up a clamping force around the cage bars.

[0016] The support members may include pairs of holes to receive the saddles.

[0017] The support members may include three pairs of holes to accommodate fitting to either the short side or the long side of an intermediate bulk container.

[0018] Ech support member may be of hollow cross section and include a slot extending along the length of the support member to enable attachment of the saddles to the support member at any location along the support member.

[0019] In a second aspect the invention provides an intermediate bulk container including a mounting system according to the first aspect of the invention.

[0020] The intermediate bulk container may include two mounting systems.

[0021] A hose reel may be mounted to one of the mounting systems and a pump may be mounted to the other mounting system; the pump may be arranged to pump liquid from the container to the hose reel to enable liquid to be dispensed from the container via the hose.

[0022] The intermediate bulk container according may further include an arrangement of valves which can be manipulated so that the pump is arranged in an opposite mode to pump liquid into the container by drawing liquid into the container via the hose.

[0023] A hose reel may be mounted to the mounting system and the mounting region of the mounting system supports the hose reel on both sides of the hose reel. The intermediate bulk container according may further include a series of straps, the straps are arranged to be attached at one end to the uppermost horizontal cage bar of the container and at the other end to an underlying structure such as a trailer bed.

[0024] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0025] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0026] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a prior art intermediate bulk container;

[0027] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the cage of an intermediate bulk container of the type of figure 1 shown with two mounting systems attached;

[0028] Figure 3 is a right side view of the cage of figure 2;

[0029] Figure 4 is a reverse enlarged detail view of a saddle attaching a strut to the cage of figure 2;

[0030] Figure 5 is a rear perspective view of the pump mounting system of figure 2;

[0031] Figure 6 is a front perspective view of a hose reel attached to a mounting system;

[0032] Figure 7 is a perspective view of the metal securing strap of figure 1;

[0033] Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of an alternative version of a mounting system;

[0034] Figure 9 is a detail perspective view of a further alternative version of a mounting system; Figure 10 illustrates a nut plate for use with the mounting system of claim 9; and

[0035] Figure 11 illustrates another alternative version of a mounting system.

[0036] Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

[0037] Referring to figures 2 to 4, two mounting systems 50, 60 are shown fitted to the cage 14 of an IBC. The container of the IBC is omitted from these figures for clarity of illustration. Hose reel mounting system 50 is for mounting a hose reel to the IBC and pump mounting system 60 is for mounting a pump to the IBC.

[0038] Pump mounting system 60 includes four support members in the form of struts 62. Each of the struts 62 is provided with pairs of pre-drilled holes 65 at attachment regions which align with the locations of the vertically oriented cage bars 15. The holes are used to receive bolts to attach the strut to each of the cage bars 15 by way of a saddle 70 (best seen in figure 4).

[0039] The saddles 70 are dimensioned such that, when the bolts on either side of the saddle are passed through holes 72, 65 and are securely tightened, the saddle 70 plastically and elastically deforms to tightly clamp the support member 62 to the cage bars 15. Furthermore, the saddles clamp about the cage bars near to the point where they overlap a horizontal cage bar. The vertical cage bars 15 have flattened regions in these locations. The struts 62 have flat rear faces which abut the flattened regions of the cage bars 15. The abutment of these surfaces helps to increase the holding friction due to the clamping force set up by the saddles 70. Still further, the struts 62 may rest upon the horizontal cage bar 17 located immediately below them.

[0040] Lateral frame members in the form of stringers 64 attach to all four of the struts 62. A mounting region in the form of a pump platform 66 is attached to the lower end of the stringers 64. The platform 66 is for mounting a pump (not shown) which can be attached to the platform 66 in a known fashion using mounting holes and bolts suited to any selected pump. The mounting system 60 is able to support a pump of considerable weight because the load of the weight of the pump and mounting system is spread across the cage by the mounting system 60. As can be seen, the load is spread across the attachment of the four struts 62. Furthermore, each strut 60 is attached to the cage using two clamp saddles 70 which clamp around the inner vertically oriented cage bars 15. Force applied to the cage bar 15 by the weight of the pump therefore does not act in a direction which might separate the welded joint between the cage bars 15, 17. Still further, each strut 62 can also rest upon a horizontally oriented cage bar 17 further spreading the load across multiple bars 15, 17 in the cage.

[0041] Mounting system 60 is shown in isolation in figure 5. In this figure it can be seen that each strut 62 includes three pairs of holes 65a, 65b and 65c. The provision of these holes accommodates fitting the mounting system 60 to either the short side or the long side of an intermediate bulk container. In figure 2, the mounting system 60 is fitted to the short side of the container cage 14 using pairs of holes 65b and 65c. If the mounting system 60 were fitted to the long side of the container, then the pairs of holes 65a, 65c would be used. The long side of the container is best seen in figure 1 and is the side in the foreground which does not have the outlet 18.

[0042] Mounting system 50 is intended for mounting a hose reel to the cage 14 of the IBC container and is somewhat similar in construction to mounting system 60. Mounting system 50 differs in that it includes three struts 52 instead of four. Also, the stringers support a hose reel frame 56 to which a hose reel is mounted in use. In other respects, mounting system 50 attaches to the cage and functions in the same manner as mounting system 60.

[0043] A mounting system 50A is shown in isolation in figure 6 with a hose reel 80 attached. System 50A differs to system 50 in that it includes four struts 52 but is otherwise identical. The hose reel frame 56 is braced by lower braces 58. A hose reel 80 is attached on both sides of frame reel by way of a pair of bearings 59. A hose guide 82 is attached to the front of the frame 56. Referring again to figure 2, in certain installations the container can be secured in place using one or more metal straps 90. As best seen in figure 7, each strap 90 has a loop 92 provided at one end which fits around the uppermost horizontal cage bar 17. A captive bolt 94 is provided at the other end of the strap 90 and is used to secure the strap to an underlying structure such as a trailer bed or other supporting structure. Four or more straps 90 can be used to secure the container which may be beneficial in securing the container and attached equipment in mobile applications. In another embodiment, a captive nut may be used in place of a captive bolt.

[0044] With pump and hose reel installed on the mounting systems 60, 50 they can be connected with appropriate liquid couplings so that the pump is arranged to pump liquid from the container of the IBC via its lower outlet to the hose reel to enable liquid to be dispensed from the container via the hose.

[0045] If desired, an arrangement of valves and connecting pipes can be installed in association with the pump and the hose which can be manipulated so that the pump is arranged in an opposite mode to pump liquid into the container by drawing liquid into the container. In such an arrangement a separate drafting hose may be required to draft into the suction side of the pump. For this mode, a pipe leading to the top opening of the container can be installed and selected as an output for the pump using an appropriate changeover valve.

[0046] The selection and installation of appropriate liquid couplings and associated control or changeover valves is a task that can be accomplished by those skilled in the art and is not described in further detail herein.

[0047] Referring to figure 8, an alternative form of the horizontal struts 62a is shown. These are formed from 90 degree angle iron rather than the box sections used for the struts 62, 52 described above. The struts formed from angle iron may be easier to manufacture as they require only one hole for each saddle bolt, rather than a pair of aligned holes provided through a box section.

[0048] Referring to figure 9, another version of horizontal strut 62b is shown. This version is formed from a roll formed square section with an open slot 63b provided along the face which bears against the cage. This version is used in conjunction with nut plates, one of which is shown in figure 10. Nut plate 66b is formed from a small metal plate provided with two holes to which is welded two nuts 68b. Two nut plates 66b are inserted into each roll form strut 62b to receive the saddle bolts. This version does away with the need for preformed holes in the horizontal struts and also obviates the need for the preformed holes to align with the vertical bars of the cage.

[0049] Referring to figure 11, an alternative form of stringers 64c are shown. This version allows for a greater degree of adjustment. Rather than being welded directly to a strut, a pair of cut brackets 68c are welded to each strut, and the stringer 64c is bolted to the cut bracket. The stringer includes vertical slots 66c which correspond with horizontal slots 69c in the cut brackets. The slots allow for some adjustment of the positions of the stringers 64c and the struts to cater for misalignment. This version can accommodate variations in dimensions between different cages and can accommodate a degree of deformation to the horizontal cage bars to still allow the arrangement of struts strut to rest upon the cage bars even if they are not in a true horizontal alignment.

[0050] The embodiment described above was described with reference to mounting a pump and hose on the container and such an embodiment can be used for firefighting or water delivery purposes in areas without a mains water supply such as rural or remote locations. The ability to fill the container using the pump and hose is relevant in such an application whereby water for firefighting purposes can be drawn from any available source, such as a river or dam or other available body of water.

[0051] In other embodiments, other types of equipment could be mounted to the mounting systems such as a liquid meter for monitoring volume of fluid dispensed. A chemical concentrate container and secondary dosing system and suitable mixing devise could be provided for the application of chemicals. The container can be used to handle bulk oils and lubricants or fuel additives. Other equipment which can be mounted on the mounting systems includes one or more filters, pressure regulators and appropriate pumps and in each case the mounting system may be modified with a suitable region for attaching a particular item of equipment. Although the mounting systems described above included either three or four horizontal struts in other embodiments a mounting system may be provided with only two horizontal struts. The number of struts provided is related to the amount of load that the mounting system is intended to carry. A greater number of struts will enable a larger load to be carried because the load is more spread out across the bars of the cage.

[0052] Although the mounting systems described above included saddles which attached to vertically oriented cage bars of an IBC, in other embodiments the saddles may clamp to the horizontal bars of the IBC. In some embodiments, some saddles may attach to vertically oriented cage bars and some saddles my attach to horizontally oriented cage bars.

[0053] It can be seen that embodiments of the invention provide at least one of the following advantages:

[0054] • Mounting systems attach to the cage of an IBC and spread the load of the mounting system and attached liquid handling apparatus across multiple bars in the cage of the IBC.

[0055] • Mounting system puts reduced stress on welded joints of IBC cage

[0056] • Versatile options for locating liquid handling apparatus in different locations and configuration in association with an IBC

[0057] Any reference to prior art contained herein is not to be taken as an admission that the information is common general knowledge, unless otherwise indicated.

[0058] Finally, it is to be appreciated that various alterations or additions may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A mounting system for mounting an item of liquid handling equipment to an intermediate bulk liquid container, the intermediate bulk container including an interior liner that is surrounded by a cage, the cage having horizontally oriented cage bars and vertically oriented cage bars, the vertically oriented cage bars being located inwardly of the horizontally oriented cage bars, the mounting system including: a frame which includes a number of attachment regions for attaching the frame to the cage of the intermediate bulk container; the attachment regions include saddles which fit about the cage bars; the attachment regions further include support members to which the saddles are attached and which in use can rest upon a horizontally oriented cage bar; a pair of lateral frame members attached to the support members; and the lateral support members support a mounting region which is adapted to support an item of liquid handling equipment.

2. A mounting system according to claim 1 wherein the saddles fit about the vertically oriented cage bars.

3. A mounting system according to claim 1 which includes at least two attachment regions which are arranged to attach to the cage of the container in the vicinity of different horizontally oriented cage members.

4. A mounting system according to either of claims 1 or 2 wherein the support members have substantially flat rear surfaces which in use conform to the flattened region of a vertically oriented cage bar at the point at which it intersects with a horizontally oriented cage bar.

5. A mounting system according to any preceding claim wherein each support member includes two saddles.

6. A mounting system according to any preceding claim wherein the saddles are dimensioned such that when they are attached to a support member, they become deformed to set up a clamping force around the cage bars.

7. A mounting system according to any preceding claim wherein the support members include pairs of holes to receive the saddles.

8. A mounting system according to claim 6 wherein the support members includethree pairs of holes to accommodate fitting to either the short side or the long side of an intermediate bulk container.

9. A mounting system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein each support member is of hollow cross section and includes a slot extending along the length of the support member to enable attachment of the saddles to the support member at any location along the support member.

10. An intermediate bulk container including a mounting system according to any preceding claim.

11. An intermediate bulk container including two mounting systems according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

12. An intermediate bulk container according to claim 11 wherein a hose reel is mounted to one of the mounting systems and a pump is mounted to the other mounting system; the pump is arranged to pump liquid from the container to the hose reel to enable liquid to be dispensed from the container via the hose.

13. An intermediate bulk container according to claim 12 further including an arrangement of valves which can be manipulated so that the pump is arranged in an opposite mode to pump liquid into the container by drawing liquid into the container via the hose.

14. An intermediate bulk container according to claim 10 wherein a hose reel is mounted to the mounting system and the mounting region of the mounting system supports the hose reel on both sides of the hose reel.

15. An intermediate bulk container according to any one of claims 10 to 14 further including a series of straps, the straps are arranged to be attached at one end to the uppermost horizontal cage bar of the container and at the other end to an underlying structure such as a trailer bed.

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