Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1~996~9
1 The present invention relates to an improved bag silo
sealed to exclude air after filled with green fodder and used
to prepare silage.
The use of bag silos in place of tower silos or bunker
silos of large sizes is increasing because of their ease of
handling and transportation and freedom in selecting the
location. However, conventional bag silos were sealed by
closing their top opening and binding it tightly with cords.
This was a troublesome work.
To solve this problem, bag silos have been proposed
which have a pair of cover flaps each provided with a zipper
half to seal themselves. Such silos could not keep the material
under anaerobic conditions because of poor sealing. Thus, the
quality of silage produced was unsatisfactory.
Another problem of conventional bag silos was that
the juice from the material collected at the bottom, impaired
the quality. The bag silos with a drain hose connected to
their bottom have been proposed. But, such a hose was liable
to damage or stoppage by sta-mping or putting something thereon.
~ Also, air could enter the bag through the hose.
The third problem was that since the bag body was
usually made of a soft synthetic resin material, it had to be
held in a standing open position with man's hands when packing
it with materials. It was also difficult to fill it uniformly
and closely.
An object of this invention is to provide a bag
silo which obviates the above-mentioned drawbacks.
To this end, in one of its aspects, the invention
provides a bag silo for preparing silage from green material,
said bag silo comprising:
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996~9
1 a bag body, said bag body being comprised of flexible,
waterproof material;
an opposed pair of cover flaps extending upwardly from
said bag body so as to wholly cover the top opening of the bag
when they are closed, said cover flaps being comprised of flexible
waterproof material;
fastener means for joining together the edges of said
cover flaps, said means forming a weatherproof seal between said
edges;
packing means provided on the inside of said cover flaps
for making said weatherproof seal substantially airtight;
a juice absorber means disposed at the bottom of said
bag and containing a water absorbing material for absorbing the
juice from said green material; and
a drainage means disposed at the bottom of said bag,
said drainage means being in connection with said juice absorber
means.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will
become apparent from the following description taken with
reference to the accompanying drawings;
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1~996~9
1 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bag silo embodying
the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion thereof
with the cover flaps opened;
Fig. 3 is a sectional front view thereof;
Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional front view showing
how the cover flaps are closed;
Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion
of the bag silo of Fig. l;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment
with the cover flaps opened;
Fig. 7 is a sectional side view of a portion thereof;
and
Fig. 8 is a similar sectional side view after the
bag silo has been packed.
Referring to Figs. 1-5, a bag body 1 is provided
with an inner flap 2 on each of the top four sides and with a
pair of cover flaps 3 so as to overlap one opposed pair of
the inner flaps. Either one of the cover flaps 3 or the
inner flaps 2 may extend integrally from the bag body 1 with
the other fixedly attached to the bag body.
In view of the fact that the bag is used to ferment
green material under anaerobic conditions and is allowed to
stand outdoors, it is preferably made of a material having
good waterproofness, airtightness, resistance to bite by rats
or insects, and weatherability. Resin-treated cloth such as
tarpaulin, for example, meets these requirements.
The cover flaps 3 are of a sufficient size to not
only cover the top opening of the bag but also partially
3n overlap both ends thereof. The cover flaps 3 each have a
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1 zipper half 4 attached to and alony their edge so as to
engage each other. The cover flaps can be opened by operating
the zipper. On the inside of each cover flap is mounted a
packing 5a (5b) parallel to and inside the zipper half 4.
When the cover flaps are closed, these packings 5a and 5b are
pressed against each other to hermetically seal the cover
flaps. Although in the preferred embodiment tubular packings
are used, they may be replaced with other suitable type of
packings.
~0 At the bottom of one end of the bag l is provided
a juice absorber 6 projecting outwardly. It communicates
with the bag inside and is filled with a water absorbing
material 7 such as sponge. At the bottom it has a drain
port 8 to which a drain tube 9 such as a vinyl hose is con-
nected. The drain tube i5 normally closed by tying fast a
cord lO but is opened by removing it when it is necessary ta
drain the juice absorbed in the material 7. Of course, two
or more absorbers may be provided. The juice absorber should
be preferably made in an easy-to-grasp shape.
A plurality of cords 11 are stretched over the
closed flaps 3 between cord holders 12 on the sides of the
bag to prevent the cover flaps 3 from bulging upwardly.
Without them, if the zipper was partially opened to take out
a small quantity of silage, they would be swung open by the
released pressure of silage.
When in use, the bag l is first filled with the
green material to be ensiled from the top opening. The inner
flaps 2 are then put over the material from four sides and
the cover flaps 3 are put thereover. The zipper 4 is closed
to seal the cover flaps 3 and the bag is tightened with the
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1 cords 11. Now the packings 5a, 5b are pressed together, as
shown in Fig. 4, to seal the cover flaps airtight, thereby
keeping the bag under anaerobic conditions for fermentation.
Since the material filled in the bag has usually a
high water content, juice will collect at the bottom of the
bag as fermentation proceeds. The juice is absorbed in the
water absorbing material in the juice absorber 6. It can be
dicsharged through the drain tube 9 by removing the cord 10
and repeating the squeeze and release of the absorber 6.
Figs. 6 and 7 show another embodiment which includes
two inner flaps 2 on the ends of the bag and two cover flaps 3
on the sides thereof. It further includes a cap 13 on each
of four corners to receive a post A driven into the ground.
Although four caps are provided in this embodiment, the number
thereof is not limited to four, but may be suitable for the
shape of the bag.
In use, four posts A are first driven into the
ground in a rectangular configuration and the bag 1 is put
thereon with the four posts in their respective caps 13. Now
the bag is kept standing without the necessity of holding it
manually. Green material is filled into the bag and the bag
is closed and removed from the posts A.
It will be understood from the foregoing that the
bag silo according to this invention is easy to open and
convenient to discharge the juice. The packings assure
secure sealing of the cover flaps. The water absorbing material
saturated with ~uice prevents air from invading the bag. Also,
by mounting the bag silo on the posts, it becomes easy to fill
it with material and to take the silage out of it. Further,
it helps to fill the bag more uniformly.
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1 Although this invention has been described with
reference to preferred embodiments, it is to be understood
that various changes and variations can be made without
departing from the scope of this invention.
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