WO2024182830A1 - Transport container - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a transport container (1), comprising a jacket (2), in particular formed from circular woven fabric or connected fabric panels, which extends between a substantially square lower part (3) and a substantially square upper part (4) in such a manner that a container volume for receiving granular, liquid, viscous or semi-liquid substances, in particular bitumen, is formed, wherein in the lower region of the transport container (1) at least one substantially tensile sleeve, which entirely spans the jacket (2), is provided, wherein the sleeve is formed as a composite of a tensioning strap (5) and a plurality of bending-resistant lateral elements (9).

Description

Transport container

The invention relates to a transport container comprising a casing formed in particular from round fabric or connected fabric panels, which extends between a lower part and an upper part in such a way that a container volume is formed for receiving granular, liquid, viscous or semi-liquid substances, in particular bitumen.

Such large-volume transport containers are known in the art as big bags. A problem arises in particular when filling these transport containers with viscous substances such as bitumen, as these are viscous at higher ambient temperatures and tend to slowly and steadily move the transport container out of its equilibrium position due to mass displacement, so that stable long-term storage of the filled transport container cannot be guaranteed.

It is known from the prior art to equip the transport container with stabilizing devices for this purpose, for example in the form of stabilizing elements that run along the casing from the area of the lower part to the area of the upper part, and whose ends in the area of the lower part and in the area of the upper part are connected in a tension- and pressure-resistant manner via a bracing structure. Transport containers with such a bracing structure are known, for example, from WO 2017/157999 A1. However, these designs also tend to be unstable, particularly when the transport container is significantly higher than its width. However, there is a need for such raised transport containers in order to make the best possible use of the volume in a container without having to stack the transport containers. In particular, there is a need for transport containers with a footprint of around 100 cm x 100 cm when empty and a maximum of around 115 cm x 115 cm when filled, with a height of up to 200 cm, preferably 200 cm. However, these tend to bulge significantly and even tip over, particularly when filled with bitumen.

The object of the invention is to solve this and other problems of known transport containers and to provide a transport container which ensures long-term and safe storage of the filled materials even if its extension in height is greater than its extension in width.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved according to the invention by the features of claim 1.

A transport container according to the invention comprises a casing, which is formed in particular from round fabric or connected fabric panels and which extends between a substantially square lower part and a substantially square upper part in such a way that a container volume is formed for accommodating granular, liquid, viscous or semi-liquid substances, in particular bitumen. In the lower region, in particular in the lower half of the transport container, at least one essentially tensile sleeve is provided which completely surrounds the casing. The sleeve is formed according to the invention as a composite of a tensioning belt and several rigid side elements.

The arrangement of the cuff in the lower area, especially in the lower half of the transport container, ensures that the transport container does not bulge there. Experiments have shown that the arrangement of the cuff in the lower area is effective in preventing the transport container from tipping over. According to the invention, it can be provided that the transport container has a preferably tensile and compressive strength bracing construction.

The bracing structure can comprise several, preferably four, tubes that run vertically from the lower part to the upper part and are arranged outside the casing. The tubes can comprise plastic, metal or another material that stabilizes the transport container. The tubes can be open or sewn to the lower part and/or the upper part. Vertically running metal threaded rods can be arranged in the tubes, the ends of which are connected in the area of the lower part and/or in the area of the upper part via a locking mechanism. Several, preferably four, diagonal struts, in particular flat irons, can be provided as a locking mechanism, which connect the threaded rods to one another. For example, the threaded rods can be firmly screwed to the flat irons.

Instead of diagonal struts, however, straps or chains can also be used to brace the pipes. For example, the pipes can be connected at the bottom using metal diagonal struts and at the top using straps. The pipes can also be braced at the top and bottom using straps.

The diagonal struts can be designed as tensile static elements made of steel, wood, plastic or natural fibers. The diagonal struts can preferably be made of such a material and in such a shape that they can absorb pressure and bending stresses at least to a certain extent.

The tubes can have a wall thickness of about 1 mm to about 2 mm and can preferably be made of metal. However, the tubes can also be made of plastic, fiberglass or other materials. The threaded rods can in particular be designed with an M10 thread. The diagonal struts can form a substantially square support surface. The flat irons can have a thickness of 1 mm - 3 mm and a width of 20 mm - 60 mm with a length of about 75 cm. One advantage of using such thin flat irons is that they have a certain flexibility and can adapt to the shape of the filled transport container to a certain extent. Instead of flat iron, metal profile frames can also be used. The diagonal struts can be clamped together with the threaded rods using nuts or other connecting elements in such a way that two diagonal struts form a rigid 3-dimensional corner with one end of a tube.

This bracing structure according to the invention forms a rigid frame and gives the transport container an almost square profile. This prevents the container from falling over. In addition, the bracing structure enables compact storage of the filled transport container and easy attachment to means of transport by fixing the bracing structure without exerting direct forces on the casing. A frame according to the invention can be delivered folded up to save space and assembled on site.

The bracing construction can also be used to ensure the stable positioning of the transport container, for example in uneven storage areas, or when loading into/onto means of transport such as trucks or containers using suitable loading aids such as straps or hooks.

According to the invention, it can be provided that the sleeve is arranged at a height of approximately 30% to 45%, in particular approximately 40% of the total height of the transport container. This arrangement of the sleeve has proven to be particularly effective in experiments.

According to the invention, the sleeve is formed as a combination of a tensioning belt and several rigid side elements. It can be provided that several, preferably four, elongated rigid side elements are provided, which extend essentially linearly over part of the side surfaces of the casing, so that the tensioning belt only touches the casing in the area of vertically running corner areas. This protects the casing and the pressure is better distributed over the outer surface of the transport container. The sleeve according to the invention runs outside the casing and also outside any bracing structure. The rigid side elements force the transport container from a cylindrical shape into a square shape, in particular an approximately octagonal shape.

For shaping purposes, it can also be provided according to the invention that the tensioning belt is connected to the casing only at contact points in the corner areas, in particular sewn, welded or glued.

According to the invention, the rigid side elements can each have an L- or C-shaped metal profile and preferably a pressure-resistant element connected to it, in particular a baton or a metal or plastic block, so that the pressure-resistant element rests against the casing. The tensioning belt can be force-fitted to the pressure-resistant element and the external metal profile. Such a composite construction made of wood or plastic and metal achieves both tensile and pressure-resistant guidance of the tensioning belt without damaging the casing.

According to the invention, it can be provided that the tubes are arranged in fabric sleeves on the outer surface of the jacket, which are arranged in sections or cover the entire jacket and are preferably attached to the jacket by seams, welded or sewn on.

According to the invention, it can be provided that the threaded rods have a diameter of about 5 mm to 10 mm, preferably about 8 mm. Depending on the height of the transport container, the threaded rods can have a length of about 100 cm to about 200 cm, preferably about 184 cm. The threaded rods can have an M8 or an M10 thread. According to the invention, the tubes for receiving the threaded rods can have a diameter of about 20 mm to 38 mm, preferably about 32 mm. According to the invention, it can be provided that the diameter of the tubes corresponds essentially to the width of the locking mechanism in order to ensure that the latter forms an essentially right angle with the tubes. According to the invention, it can be provided that the tensioning belt has a width of approximately 30 mm to 50 mm, preferably approximately 40 mm. The tensioning belt can be made of a textile fabric or a plastic fabric or can comprise the latter. The tensioning belt preferably has little or no stretchability.

According to the invention, it can be provided that the rigid side elements have a length of approximately 2/3 of the width of the transport container, in particular a length of approximately 60 cm to 70 cm, preferably approximately 66 cm. With a footprint of the transport container in the unfilled state of approximately 100 cm x 100 cm, the pressure composite elements thus preferably extend over approximately 2/3 of the circumference of the transport container. Such an arrangement has proven to be advantageous in practice.

According to the invention, the flat irons can be longer in the area of the lower part than in the area of the upper part, in particular by about 3 cm to 6 cm longer, preferably by about 4 cm longer. This corresponds to a difference in the length of the flat irons of about 5%, so that the transport container tapers slightly towards the top. When filled, the transport container therefore takes on a slightly conical shape. This further counteracts the tipping over of the transport container.

According to the invention, it can be provided that the transport container has a substantially square cross-section with a side length in the unfilled state of approximately 100 cm and a height of approximately 160 cm to 200 cm, preferably approximately 180 cm.

At least two, preferably four lifting slings can be arranged on the casing of the transport container in the area of the upper part. The lifting slings are preferably arranged centrally between two pipes each and are preferably glued, welded or sewn onto the outer surface of the casing along the entire height of the transport container. A central filling nozzle can also be arranged in the upper part. According to the invention, the casing can be made of a flat fabric or a round fabric. A plastic coating or a liner made of plastic such as polyethylene can be arranged inside the casing.

Further features of the invention emerge from the patent claims, the drawings and the following description of the embodiments. The invention is explained below using exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a transport container according to the invention in a schematic three-dimensional view;

Fig. 2a shows an embodiment of a cuff according to the invention;

Fig. 2b shows a section through the cuff from Fig. 2a;

Fig. 2c shows a section through another embodiment of the cuff from Fig. 2a;

Fig. 3a shows a second embodiment of a transport container according to the invention in a schematic side view;

Fig. 3b shows a view of the transport container from Fig. 3a in a view from above; Fig. 3c shows a view of the transport container from Fig. 3a in a sectional view.

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a transport container according to the invention in a schematic three-dimensional view. The transport container 1 comprises a casing 2 made of a round fabric, which is delimited at its lower end by a lower part 3 and at its upper end by an upper part 4. A filling nozzle 14 for filling the transport container 1 is arranged in the upper part 4, and a liner made of a plastic such as polyethylene is located inside the casing 2.

Outside the casing 2, four vertical stabilizing elements in the form of tubes 7 with inserted threaded rods 6 run. The tubes 7 are inserted into fabric sleeves 13, which are arranged by seams on the outer surface of the casing 2 and extend from the lower part 3 to the upper part 4 of the transport container 1.

The threaded rods 6 are connected to one another in a tension- and compression-resistant manner both in the area of the lower part 3 and in the area of the upper part 4 by locking mechanisms in the form of flat iron 8. This forms a stable frame that holds the transport bag upright and stabilizes it inside. Lifting loops are arranged at the corners of the transport container 1 so that the transport container can be lifted with a forklift, for example. The tubes 7 are made of metal and have a diameter of around 30 mm. This large diameter of the tubes ensures that the tubes 7 do not damage the fabric covers 13. At both ends of the threaded rods 6, these are each connected to tension and compression-resistant diagonal struts in the form of flat irons 8, so that an essentially cuboid-shaped bracing structure with a square cross-section is formed. The threaded rods 6 are each firmly screwed to the flat irons 8 using nuts, the screw connection being so tight that the tube 7 forces the flat irons 8 into a rigid right-angled connection. For this purpose, the diameter of the tubes 7 is approximately adapted to the width of the flat irons 8.

By firmly tightening the screw connection, the flat iron 8 is flush with the pipes 7. The threaded rod 6 arranged in the pipe 7 has a diameter of approximately 10 mm. Before the bracing structure is fixed, the threaded rod 6 is arranged to be freely movable in the pipe 7, so that the threaded rod 6 can move in the pipe 7 when the screw connection is tightened. After the bracing structure is fixed, the position of the threaded rod 6 in the pipe 7 is fixed.

The threaded rods 6 have a diameter of approximately 8 mm and a length of approximately 184 cm, so that they slightly protrude above the approximately 180 cm high transport container 1 and are long enough to be screwed with nuts.

In the lower area of the transport container 1, a substantially tensile-resistant cuff with a tensioning belt 5 is provided, which completely surrounds the casing 2 and the bracing structure. The tensioning belt 5 runs substantially horizontally at a height of approximately 40% of the total height of the transport container 1. Between the tensioning belt 5 and the casing 2, four elongated, shape-giving, rigid side elements 9 are provided, which extend substantially linearly over part of the side surfaces of the casing 2. This ensures that the tensioning belt 5 only touches the casing 2 in the area of the four vertically running corner areas 10. The tensioning belt 5 is sewn to the casing 2 at these corner areas 10. Fig. 2a shows an embodiment of a sleeve according to the invention. The sleeve is adapted to the shape of a transport container 1 with a side length of approximately 100 cm and forms a substantially octagonal frame. The sleeve comprises a flexible but substantially inelastic tensioning belt 5 which is stretched around four rigid side elements 9. The stretching of the tensioning belt 5 is preferably a maximum of 0.5% to 1.5% of its length. In this example, the tensioning belt has a length of approximately 365 cm. Also shown is the position of the tubes 7 of a tensioning structure (not shown). The rigid side elements 9 each comprise a baton 12 with a length of approximately 65 cm and a metal profile 11 with a length of approximately 50 cm.

Fig. 2b shows a section through the sleeve from Fig. 2a. The rigid side elements 9 are designed as composite elements and in this example each comprise an L-shaped metal profile 11 and a baton 12 connected to it by screws, wherein the baton 12 rests against the casing 2 and wherein the tensioning belt 5 is clamped between the baton 12 and the external metal profile 11.

Fig. 2c shows a section through another embodiment of the sleeve from Fig. 2a. The rigid side elements 9 are designed as composite elements and in this example each comprise a C-shaped metal profile 11 and a batten 12 connected to it by screws. In this example, the batten 12 only rests on the casing 2 at its ends, and the tensioning belt 5 is screwed to the batten 12 and the external metal profile 11.

Fig. 3a shows a second embodiment of a transport container 1 according to the invention in a schematic side view. In this illustration, the transport container 1 is filled so that the pipes 7 and threaded rods 6 are slightly deformed outwards. The tensioning belt 5, however, ensures that only a very slight bulge of the transport container 1 can occur in the lower area.

Fig. 3b shows a view of the transport container from Fig. 3a in a view from above. Shown in particular are the flat irons 8, which are screwed to the threaded rods 6 to form a rigid cuboid frame. The hole width of the flat irons 8 is approximately 660 mm on the top and approximately 700 mm on the bottom. The bracing structure is therefore somewhat narrower on the top of the transport container 1 than on the bottom, so that the transport container takes on a slightly conical shape.

Fig. 3c shows a view of the transport container from Fig. 3a in a sectional view along section B - B in Fig. 3a. Shown are the threaded rods 6 which fit tightly in the tubes 7 as well as the rigid side elements 9 and the tensioning belt 5. It can be seen that the tensioning belt 5 only touches the casing 2 at the corner areas 10 and thus only minimal wear and tear occurs on the casing 2. In particular, this has the advantage that reinforcement of the casing 2 is regularly provided in the corner areas 10 anyway, since this is where the lifting loops (not shown) are usually arranged. Due to the conical shape of the transport container 1, the diagonal distance D2 between the tubes is slightly larger than the diagonal distance D1 in Fig. 2b.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments shown, but encompasses all transport containers within the scope of the following patent claims.

List of reference symbols

1 transport container

2 coat

3 Lower part

4 Top

5 tensioning strap

6 Threaded rod

7 Pipe

8 flat iron

9 Rigid side element

10 Corner area

11 Metal profile

12 baton

13 Fabric cover

14 Filling nozzle

Claims

Patent claims 1. Transport container (1), comprising a casing (2), in particular formed from round fabric or connected fabric panels, which extends between a substantially square lower part (3) and a substantially square upper part (4) in such a way that a container volume is formed for receiving granular, liquid, viscous or semi-liquid substances, in particular bitumen, characterized in that in the lower region of the transport container (1) at least one substantially tensile sleeve is provided which completely surrounds the casing (2), the sleeve being formed as a composite of a tensioning belt (5) and several rigid side elements (9). 2. Transport container (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the transport container (1) has a bracing structure surrounding the casing (2), the bracing structure comprising several, preferably four, tubes (7) running vertically from the lower part (3) to the upper part (4) outside the casing (2), in which tubes preferably metallic threaded rods (6) are arranged, the ends of the threaded rods (6) preferably being connected, in particular firmly screwed, in the region of the lower part (3) and/or in the region of the upper part (4) via several, preferably four, diagonal struts, in particular flat iron (8), belts or chains. 3. Transport container (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sleeve is arranged in the lower half of the transport container, preferably at a height of about 30% to 45%, in particular about 40% of the total height of the transport container (1). 4. Transport container (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that between the tensioning belt (5) and the casing (2) several, preferably four, elongated, rigid side elements (9) are provided, which extend essentially linearly over a part of the side surfaces of the casing (2), so that the tensioning belt (5) only touches the casing (2) in the region of vertically extending corner regions (10). 5. Transport container (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the tensioning belt (5) is connected to the casing (2) only at contact points in the corner regions (10), in particular sewn, welded or glued. 6. Transport container (1) according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the rigid side elements (9) each have an L- or C-shaped metal profile (11) and preferably a pressure-resistant element connected thereto, in particular a baton (12) or a metal or plastic block, wherein the pressure-resistant element rests on the casing (2) and wherein the tensioning belt (5) is non-positively connected to the pressure-resistant element and the external metal profile (11). 7. Transport container (1) according to one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the tubes (7) are arranged in fabric sheaths (13) on the outer surface of the casing (2), wherein the fabric sheaths (13) are glued, welded or sewn onto the casing (2). 8. Transport container (1) according to one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the threaded rods (6) have a diameter of about 5 mm to 10 mm, preferably about 8 mm. 9. Transport container (1) according to one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that the tubes (7) for receiving the threaded rods (6) have a diameter of approximately 20 mm to 38 mm, preferably approximately 32 mm. 10. Transport container (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the tensioning belt (5) has a width of about 30 mm to 50 mm, preferably about 40 mm, and a low extensibility. 11. Transport container (1) according to one of claims 4 to 10, characterized in that the rigid side elements (9) have a length of approximately 2/3 of the width of the transport container (1), in particular a length of approximately 60 cm to 70 cm, preferably approximately 66 cm. 12. Transport container (1) according to one of claims 2 to 11, characterized in that the flat irons (8) are longer in the region of the lower part (3) than in the region of the upper part (4), in particular by about 3 cm to 6 cm longer, preferably by about 4 cm longer, so that the transport container (1) tapers slightly towards the top. 13. Transport container (1) according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that it has a substantially square cross-section with a side length in the unfilled state of approximately 100 cm and a height of approximately 100 cm to approximately 200 cm, preferably approximately 180 cm. 14. Transport container (1) according to one of claims 2 to 13, characterized in that at least two, preferably four lifting slings are arranged on the casing (2) in the region of the upper part (4), wherein the lifting slings are preferably arranged centrally between two tubes (7) each, and are preferably glued, welded or sewn to the outer surface of the casing (2) along the entire height of the transport container (1). 15. Transport container (1) according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that a central filling nozzle (14) is arranged in the upper part (4).