P/00/009A Section 29 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 INNOVATION PATENT SPECIFICATION Invention Title: TRANSPORT AND STORAGE CONTAINER FOR LIQUIDS Applicant: Protechna S.A. The invention is described in the following statement: 1 7019 2 Transport and storage container for liquids The application is a divisional of 2009200793 filed on 26 February 2009, the contents of which are to be taken as incorporated therein by this reference. The invention concerns a transport and storage container for liquids with a plastic 5 inner container with a closable filler socket and a discharge socket to connect a discharge fitting, an outer jacket from metal grate or sheet metal as well as a base constructed as a pallet with runners, that is constructed to be handled by means of a forklift, a shelf-storage equipment or similar transport means and is fitted with a bottom resting on the support feet of a central runner and two external runners to support the inner container, the bottom of 10 said inner container having a central draining channel that extends with a slight fall from the rear wall of the container to the front wall of the container to the discharge socket provided on the front wall of the container to be connected to the discharge fitting. A transport and storage container for liquids described in DE 101 10 926 B4, is fitted with a base that is constructed as a pallet with runners, that is formed by a central 15 runner and two external runners made from plastic and sheet metal bottom supported by the support feet of the runners, on which sheet metal the plastic inner container of the transport container to accommodate liquids stands. Furthermore, transport containers for liquids are offered on the market, that are fitted with a timber pallet for the purpose of supporting the inner container enclosed by a 20 sheet metal or grate jacket.4 The manufacturing expenses of a pallet with runners comprising a sheet metal bottom and plastic runners as well as of a timber pallet, that becomes continuously more expensive due to the increasing price of timber, are relatively high. The above discussion of background art is included to explain the context of the 25 present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any of the documents or other material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge in Australia at the priority date of any one of the claims of this specification. A desirable outcome of the invention is to further develop the generic transport and storage container for liquids with regard to the cost-effective manufacture of the base.
3 Accordingly, the present invention provides a transport and storage container for fluids, comprising an inner container made of plastic with a closable filling socket and a drain socket for connecting a discharge valve, an outer casing made of metal grid or sheet metal, and a undercarriage designed as runner pallet, which undercarriage is set to be 5 handled by means of forklifts, storage and retrieval units or similar transport means and is equipped with a bottom for supporting the inner container, the bottom resting on support legs of a center runner and of two outer runners, wherein the runner pallet of the undercarriage of the transport and storage container is designed as composite pallet and has a flat bottom made from wooden boards and the center runner and two outer runners 10 which are made of plastic, each of the runners having a front, a center and a rear support leg, wherein the lower bottom of the inner container has a central drainage channel which runs with a slight slope from a rear wall of the container to the drain socket arranged at a front wall of the container for connecting the discharge valve, wherein the flat bottom of the runner pallet has a central longitudinal opening extending above the center runner 15 over the entire length of the center runner for receiving the discharge channel of the lower bottom of the inner container. The pallet with runners of the base of the transport and storage container for liquids according to the invention, constructed as a composite pallet comprising three plastic runners and a flat bottom from timber planks, makes the reduction of the 20 manufacturing costs when compared with containers for liquids of the generic type available on the market possible. The invention is explained below with reference to the below described preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated the figures, which illustrate the following: Fig.1 - a perspective illustration of a transport and storage container for liquids with 25 a base constructed as a pallet with runners, Fig.2 - a top view on the pallet with runners of the base, Fig.3 - a side view, and Fig.4 - a front view of the pallet with runners, Figs.5 and 6 - longitudinal sections of the pallet with runners along the lines V-V 30 and VI-VI of Fig.2, 3A Figs.7 and 8 - cross-sections of the pallet with runners along the lines VlI-ViI and VII-VII of Fig.2, Fig.9 - a longitudinal section through the centre of the transport and storage container without the grate jacket. 5 The transport and storage container 1 for liquids according to Fig.1, that can be used as a single- and multiple-use container, has as main components a 4 replaceable parallelepiped shaped plastic inner container 2 with a front wall 3, a rear wall 4 and two lateral walls 5, 6, a bottom and top end 7, 8, a filler socket 9 that is moulded on the top end 8 and is closable by a lId 10 and a discharge socket 12 moulded onto or welded to a depression 11 in the bottom section of the 5 front wall 3 to connect it to a discharge fitting 13, furthermore an outer jacket 14 constructed as a grate jacket with intersecting horizontal and vertical metal grate rods 15, 16 to accommodate the inner container 2 as well as a base 17 constructed as a pallet 18 with runners having longitudinal and lateral dimension in accordance with European standards. 10 The bottom end 7 of the inner container 2 has a central flat draining channel 19 that extends with a slight fall from the rear wall 4 of the container to the discharge socket 12 provided on the front wall 3 of the container for the purpose of connecting it to the discharge fitting 13. 15 The pallet 18 with runners of the transport container 1, constructed as a composite pallet, comprises a flat bottom 20 constructed from transverse and longitudinal timber planks 21-24 to support the inner container 2, as well as a central runner 25 and two external runners 26, 27 made from plastic, each with a 20 front, a central and a rear support foot 28, 29, 30 to support the flat bottom 20 that can be engaged from below by the forks of a forklift, a shelf-storage equipment or similar transport means. The transverse planks 21-23 are provided on the underside 24a of the longitudinal planks 24 of the flat bottom 20. 25 With its end sections 21a, 21b the rear transverse plank 21 of the flat bottom 20 is let into recesses 31 in the upper side 30a of the rear support feet 30 of both external runners 26, 27 and with its central section 21c into a recess 31 of the upper side 30a of the rear support foot 30 of the central runner 25 (Fig.8). 30 Both end sections 22a, 22b of the two front transverse planks 22 of the flat bottom 20 are let into a recess 31 in the upper side 28a of the front support foot 28 of an external runner 26, 27 each and into recesses 32 in the upper side 28a of the front support foot 28 of the central runner 25 (Fig.4).
5 The central transverse plank 23 of the flat bottom 20 rests with both of its end sections 23a, 23b on the central support feet 29 of the two external runners 26, 27 and with its central section 23c on the central support foot 29 of the central runner 25. 5 The flat bottom 20 is screwed together with the support feet 28-30 of the central runner 25 and with the two external runners 26, 27 of the pallet 18 with runners. Over the central runner 25 the flat bottom 20 of the pallet 18 with runners has a 10 central longitudinal opening 33 to accommodate the draining channel 19 of the bottom end 7 of the inner container 2 and the vessel-like front support foot 28 of the central runner 25 that for the purpose of inserting the end sections 22b of both front transverse planks 22 of the flat bottom 20 is formed by a bottom 34, a rear wall 35 and two lateral walls 36, 37 with angled upper wall sections 38, 39 15 with the recesses 32 accommodates the lower section of the housing of the discharge fitting 13 (Figs.4 and 9). The bottom framework 40 of the grate jacket 14 is screwed together with the front and rear support foot 28, 30 of the central runner 25 and the three support feet 20 28-30 of both external runners 26, 27 of the pallet 18 with runners.
6 List of reference numerals 1 Transport and storage container 38 Wall section of 36 2 Inner container 39 Wall section of 37 3 Front wall of 2 40 Bottom framework 4 Rear wall of 2 of 14 5 Lateral wall of 2 6 Lateral wall of 2 7 Bottom end of 2 8 Top end of 2 9 Filler socket on 8 10 Lid of 9 11 Depression in 3 12 Discharge socket on 11 13 Discharge fitting 14 Outer jacket 15 Horizontal grate rod of 14 16 Vertical grate rod of 14 17 Base 18 Pallet with runners 19 Draining channel in 7 20 Flat bottom of 18 21 Rear transverse plank of 20 21 a End section of 21 21b End section of 21 21c Central section of 21 22 Front transverse plank of 20 22a End section of 22 22b End section of 22 23 Central transverse plank of 20 23a End section of 23 23b End section of 23 23c Central section of 23 24 Longitudinal plank of 20 24a Underside of 24 25 Central runner of 18 26 External runner of 18 27 External runner of 18 28 Front support leg of 25-27 28a Upper side of 28 29 Central support foot of 25-27 30 Rear support foot of 25-27 30a Upper side of 30 31 Recess in 30a, 28a 32 Recess in 28a of 28 on 25 33 Longitudinal opening in 20 for 19 34 Bottom of 28 on 25 35 Rear wall of 28 on 25 36 Lateral wall of 28 on 25 37 Lateral wall of 28 on 25