PALLET FOR BULK BAG

PALETTE POUR SACS EN VRAC

English Abstract

A pallet for bulk bags consists of a combination of a pair of elongate "C"
channel
tine receiving members and a bulk bag. Each of the tine receiving members have
a top and
opposed sides defining both an exterior surface and an interior surface. At
least one strap
receiving channel runs along the interior surface at the top. The exterior
surface is devoid of
appendages. The interior surface is being devoid of obstructions. The bulk bag
has sides and
a bottom. Straps are secured to the bulls bag, which are adapted to engage the
at least one
strap receiving channel of each of the tine receiving members for the purpose
of securing the
tine receiving members to the bottom of the bulk bag.

Claims

6
THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. 1. A pallet for bulk bags, comprising in combination:
a pair of elongate "C" channel tine receiving members, each of the tine
receiving
members having a top and opposed sides defining both an exterior surface and
an interior
surface, with at least one receiving channel running along the interior
surface at the top, the
exterior surface being devoid of appendages and the interior surface being
devoid of
obstructions; and
a bulk bag having sides and a bottom, and
means for securing tine receiving members to the bottom of the bulk bag.
2. The pallet as defined in Claim 1 wherein the means for securing the bulk
bag to the
tine receiving member are straps secured to the bulk bag which are adapted to
engage the at
least one receiving channels of each of the tine receiving members.
3. The pallet as defined in Claim 2, wherein the straps are elasticized.
4. The pallet as defined in Claim 1 wherein the means for securing the bulk
bag to the
tine receiving member is adhesive applied to the top of each tine receiving
member such that
the bottom of the bulk bag adheres to the top of each of the tine receiving
members.
5. The pallet as defined in Claim 1, wherein the means for securing the bulk
bag to the
tine receiving member are ropes secured to the bulk bag which are adapted to
engage the at
least one receiving channels of each of the tine receiving members
6. The pallet as defined in Claim 1, wherein inwardly extending edge
reinforcement extends
longitudinally along a bottom edge of each of the opposed sides.

7
7. The pallet as defined in Claim 1, wherein the tine receiving members are
made from
polymer plastic.

8
8. A pallet for bulk bags, comprising in combination:
a pair of elongate "C" channel tine receiving members, each of the tine
receiving
members having a top and opposed sides defining both an exterior surface and
an interior
surface, with at least one strap receiving channel running along the interior
surface at the top,
the exterior surface being devoid of appendages and the interior surface being
devoid of
obstructions; and
a bulk bag having sides and a bottom, straps being secured to the bulk bag
which are
adapted to engage the at least one strap receiving channel of each of the tine
receiving
members for the purpose of securing the tine receiving members to the bottom
of the bulk
bag.
9. The pallet as defined in Claim 1, wherein inwardly extending edge
reinforcement extends
longitudinally along a bottom edge of each of the opposed sides.
10. The pallet as defined in Claim 1, wherein the tine receiving members are
made from
polymer plastic.

Description

CA 02440107 2003-09-09
1
TITLE OF THE INVENTION:
Pallet for Bulk Bag
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pallet for bulls bags.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In today's manufacturing environment, most providers try to utilize the cube
of their
facility, as opposed to the square foot area. In order to do this, they use
not only one or two
0 methods of handling bulk bags, but in some cases a whole series of methods
integrated into
one overall system. The types of equipment employed include: a counterbalanced
fork lift
truck, a straddle fork lift, a straddle reach fork lift, a turret staeker, a
turret reach staclcer, a
remote control stacker, a roller conveyor system, a power and free conveyor
system, a belt
conveyor system, a hand operated pallet truck, or a power operated hand truck.
13
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
What is required is a pallet for bulk bags, which is sufficiently versatile as
to permit
use with a wide variety of handling systems.
2 0 According to the present invention there is provided a pallet for bulk
bags which
consists of a combination of a pair of elongate "C" channel tine receiving
members and a
bulk bag. Each of the tine receiving members have a top and opposed sides
defining both an
exterior surface and an interior surface. At least one strap receiving channel
runs along the
interior surface at the top. The exterior surface is devoid of appendages. The
interior surface
2 5 is being devoid of obstructions. The bulls bag has sides and a bottom.
Straps are secured to
the bulk bag, which are adapted to engage the at least one strap receiving
channel of each of
the tine receiving members for the purpose of securing the tine receiving
members to the
bottom of the bulk bag.

CA 02440107 2003-09-09
2
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DI~"~VINGS
These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the
following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the
drawings are
for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit
the scope of the
invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
FIGURE 1 is a top front perspective view of a bulls bag equipped with tine
receiving
members in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.
FIGURE 2 is a top rear perspective view of the bulls bag illustrated in FIGURE
1.
0 FIGURE 3 is a bottom front perspective view of the bulls bag illustrated in
FIGURE
1;
FIGURE 4 is a bottom rear perspective view of the bulk bag illustrated in
FIGURE
l;
FIGURE 5 is a front elevation view of the bulk bag illustrated in FIGURE 1;
1:~ FIGURE 6 is a bottom plan view of the bulk bag illustrated in FIGURE 1;
FIGURE 7 is a bottom rear perspective view of a second embodiment of a bulls
bag
equipped with tine receiving members;
FIGURE 8 is a front elevation view of the bulls bag of a third embodiment of a
bulk
bag equipped with tine receiving members.
2 0 FIGURE 9 is perspective view of the bulk bag equipped with tine receiving
members illustrated in FIGURE i in use with a lift truck.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The preferred embodiment, a pallet for a bulk bag generally identified by
reference
2 ~ numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIGURES 1 through 6
and FIGURE 9.
A second embodiment of a pallet for a bulls bag generally identified by
reference numeral
100, will be described with reference to FIGURE 7. A third embodiment of a
pallet for a
bulk bag generally identified by reference numeral 200, will be described with
reference to
FIGURE 8.

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3
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
Referring to FIGURE 1, there is provided a pallet 10 for bulk bags, which
includes a
combination of a pair of elongate "C" channel tine receiving members 12 and a
bulls bag 14.
Each of tine receiving members 12 has a top 16 and opposed sides 18 which
define both an
exterior surface 20 and an interior surface 22. A receiving channel 24 runs
along interior
surface 22 at top 16. Exterior surface 20 is devoid of appendages and interior
surface 22 is
devoid of obstructions. Bulk hag 14 has sides 26 and a top 28 and a bottom 30.
Top 28
can have a cover 32 as illustrated in FIGURE 2, or could be left open as
illustrated in
FIGURE 1.
Referring to FIGURE 3, straps 34 are secured to bulls bag 14 which are adapted
to
engage receiving channels 24 of each of tine receiving members 12 for the
purpose of
securing tine receiving members I2 to bottom 30 of bulk bag 14. In the
illustrated
embodiment, straps 34 are provided with an adjustment buckle 36 for adjusting
the length of
1 ~ straps 34. Lifting loops 38 are provided at top 28 of bulk bag 14.
Referring to FIGURE 4, FIGURE 5, and FIGURE 6, an inwardly extending edge
reinforcement 40 extends longitudinally along a bottom f:dge 42 of each of
opposed sides
18 of tine receiving members 12. In the illustrated embodiment, tine receiving
members 12
2 0 are made from polymer plastic, although it will be appreciated that they
could be
manufactured from other materials.
Referring to FIGURE 7, there is illustrated a second embodiment of a pallet
for a
bulk bag generally identified by reference numeral 100. Second embodiment 100
is similar
2 5 to first embodiment, except that adhesive 110 has been used along top 16
of tine receiving
members 12 for the purpose of' securing tine receiving member 12 to bulk bag
14.
Referring to FIGURE lI, there is illustrated a third embodiment of a pallet
for a bulk
bag generally identified by reference numeral 200. Third embodiment 200 is
similar to first
3 ~ embodiment except that lengths of rope 210 are used for securing for the
purpose of

CA 02440107 2003-09-09
securing tine receiving member 12 to bulk bag 14.
Operation:
Referring to FIGURE 9, pallet 10 for bulk bags is suitable for use with
handling
equipment such as a lift truck 44. Forks 46 provided on lift truck 44 are
received in pair of
elongate "C" channel tine receiving members I2. Lift: truck 44 is then able to
lift and
transport pallet 10 and bulk bag 14 along with any material contained in bulls
bag 14.
Features and Advantages:
The main features of this design can best be described with the following
emphasis
It will accommodate and facilitate the use of either a singular peace of
handling
equipment ( lift truck ) or any combination there of.
The means of attachment of the pallet member to the bulk bag is a simple
strap, that
1 ~ can be either of semi ridged material or of an elastic nature. The means
of fixation at the
terminal ends can be adapted to the most desirable method for a given
situation. For
example one end can be sewn or glued to the bulk bag, while the other end can
be affixed
by means of " D " rings, or couplings commonly used on golf bags, seat belts,
or Velcro, to
name a few.
A slotted eye and pin combination located in the recessed section, so as not
to obstruct
or restrict the movement of the lifting device member, ( fork, tine, or wheel
).
. Since the only tension forces between the pallet member and the bulk bag
exist only if
2 5 and when the bulk bag is held in suspension, and those forces are limited
to the weight of
the individual pallet member. Therefore all the vertical forces between the
bag and the
pallet member are in compression irrespective of whether the unit load is in a
stationary
position on the floor, or on a pallet rack, or in transit with one or more of
the handling
means.

CA 02440107 2003-09-09
Another feature of this design in addition to the obstruction free access of
the handling
system is that this configuration adds significantly to the structural
integrity of the
member, a maj or factor in weight reduction.
5 . Another important feature of this design is that in many applications of
the handling
system the transfer from a truck to a loading dock or the reverse there of,
over what is
referred to as a dock leveler where the differential in height can be as much
as ten percent
grade. Any obstruction such as ties, or cross members, not only tends to
destroy these
elements but in doing so also affects the structural integrity of the system.
~0
It is important to note that both the interior and the exterior of the pallet
sleeve are
free of obstruction.
In this patent document, the word '°comprising'° is used ~n its
non-limiting sense to
1 mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically
mentioned are
not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not
exclude the
possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context
clearly requires
that there be one and only one of the elements.
2 ~~ It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be
made to the
illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention as
hereinafter defined in the Claims.

Representative Drawing