Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 1 -
Pallet container
The present invention relates to a pallet container for
storing and for transporting aseptic liquid filling
materials, with a base pallet, a lattice frame which is
fastened thereon and consists of metal bars, and a fabric
bag which is suspended in said lattice frame or a cube-
shaped fabric cover in which a liquid-tight inliner which
unfolds automatically during filling composed of plastics
film and/or metal foil for receiving the liquid filling
material is arranged, wherein the inliner has a base-side
filling and removal connection piece to which a filling and
removal fitting, which is fastened at the bottom to the
front lattice frame, is attached, by means of which filling
and removal fitting the folded-up inliner is not unfolded
and aligned until during the filling operation.
A pallet container of this type is already known, for
example, from EP 2 149 508 B1. In said pallet container, the
inner liquid-receiving inliner is designed so as to be
exchangeable, for which purpose the outer fabric cover is
provided with a large closeable flap opening at the top,
through which the inliner can be exchanged. A disadvantage
of the known pallet container is that in particular viscous
filling materials can be emptied only slowly. Especially
high viscous filling material, such as, for example, fruit
concentrate with fruit pieces for jam production does not
flow off by itself via the removal fitting. A further
disadvantage of the known pallet container is that the
inliner exhibits creases on being filled under pressure, and
said creases can subsequently delay the emptying, in
particular by the creases being able to block the opening of
the removal connection piece.
AMENDED SHEET
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 2 -
In further known pallet containers (EP 1 103 486 Al, WO
2007/029011 Al), the inliner is fastened to the outer cover,
and therefore inliner and outer cover can only be tensioned
into the lattice cage when air passes into the inliner.
However, in the case of pallet containers which are provided
for filling with aseptic filling materials, it absolutely
has to be prevented that the sensitive filling material
comes into contact with air (impurities, bacteria, geLms).
The inliners receiving the filling materials are therefore
emptied of air (evacuated) before the filling operation and
are not unfolded and aligned until during filling with the
liquid filling material.
The known pallet containers (EP 1 103 486 Al, WO 2007/029011
Al) are therefore unsuitable for filling with aseptic
filling materials. Furthermore, viscous filling materials
can also only be emptied slowly from said known containers.
A known bag in box system (US 2008/006 7176 Al) also does
not have any device for facilitating the emptying of viscous
filling materials.
It is the object of the present invention to propose a
pallet container of the type mentioned at the beginning, in
which the emptying of the liquid filling material, in
particular if viscous filling material is involved, can be
accelerated, wherein it is furtheLmore ensured that the
emptying cannot be disturbed and obstructed by the possible
creasing of the inliner.
AMENDED SHEET
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 2a -
This object is achieved according to the characterizing
features of patent claim 1 in that the inliner arranged
within the cube-shaped fabric cover is designed, for gas-
assisted emptying, as a double chamber inliner with a rear
chamber for blowing in compressed air or gas ("compressed
air chamber" below) and a front chamber for receiving the
liquid filling material ("filling material chamber" below).
The double chamber inliner is sometimes also referred to in
abbreviated form below as "inliner".
For the emptying-promoting blowing in of compressed air, it
is provided that the compressed air chamber is provided on
the upper side thereof with a small connection piece for the
connection of a compressed air line, wherein the front
filling material chamber has on the front side thereof a
base-side filling and removal connection piece for attaching
a filling and removal fitting (the filling and removal
fitting is also called "base valve" for short below).
So that the sensitive filling material can come only into
operative contact, but not into direct contact with the
compressed air - which would cause the aseptic filling
material to be contaminated - a flexible elastic film or
foil wall is provided within the double chamber inliner as a
separating wall between the compressed air chamber and the
filling material chamber.
AMENDED SHEET
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 3 -
Said separating wall runs vertically within the double
chamber inliner from the upper side thereof to the
lower side thereof in the unfilled state of the pallet
container when the fabric cover is stretched therein.
This expedient refinement advantageously results in the
fact that in the filled state of the pallet container,
the filling material chamber is completely filled with
liquid filling material and the compressed air chamber
is completely empty, while in the emptied state of the
pallet container, the filling material chamber is
completely empty and the compressed air chamber is
completely filled with compressed air, wherein, in the
filled state of the pallet container, the separating
wall between the compressed air chamber and the filling
material chamber bears completely against the rear side
of the double chamber inliner and, in the emptied state
of the pallet container, bears completely against the
front side of the double chamber inliner.
The cost-effective pallet containers according to the
invention are to be used instead of expensive stainless
steel IBCs. The filling installations for intermediate
bulk containers at the filling material manufacturers
(fillers) operate at a comparatively high filling
pressure, and therefore the liquid filling material
flows with a strong jet through the base-side filling
and emptying fitting into the inliner. In customary
pallet containers with film or foil inliners, this
generally results in creases forming in the base of the
film or foil inliner and the corners drawing in. Such
creases are then a nuisance during the removal of the
filling material through the base-side filling and
removal fitting and can block the removal opening on
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 4 -
the inside. In order to prevent this, a thin, stiff
base plate on which the double chamber inliner is fixed
is arranged within the fabric cover directly below the
double chamber inliner.
In addition, the pallet container according to the
invention is equipped with a residue emptying aid which
ensures that even the smallest quantities of even
highly viscous filling material can still be sucked out
of the inliner without there being the risk of the film
or foil of the inliner being able to be pulled in front
of the opening of the removal connection piece by the
powerful negative pressure for extraction by suction.
The invention is explained and described in more detail
below with reference to exemplary embodiments which are
illustrated schematically in the drawings, in which:
figure 1 shows, in an overall view, a pallet container
according to the invention with suspended
fabric cover and exchangeable inliner,
figure 2 shows a pallet container according to the
invention with suspended fabric cover and
cut-open illustration of the thin-walled
inliner,
figure 3 shows the special folding in of a double-
walled inliner for gas-assisted emptying of a
pallet container according to the invention,
figure 4 shows the operation for the gas-assisted
emptying of a pallet container according to
the invention,
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 5 -
figure 5 shows, in a perspective illustration, a
tubular residue emptying aid, and
figure 6 shows, in a side view, the residue emptying
aid according to figure 5.
Figure 1 illustrates a pallet container 10 according to
the invention with base pallet 12, lattice frame 14 and
suspended fabric cover 16 with inner-side inliner 18.
Figure 2 illustrates the constructional design of the
pallet container 10 according to the invention. The
pallet container 10 according to the invention is
formed as follows:
The lattice frame 14 with the fixedly connected base
pallet 12 thereof serves for load and transport
handling. It can be lifted and transported by
industrial trucks and has already been tried and tested
as a standard IBC with a polyethylene bubble. The
fabric cover 16 with inliner 18 located on the inside
is referred to by definition as a modular unit. The
modular unit fulfills two tasks. Firstly, the static
and dynamic forces which occur are absorbed by the
strength and elasticity of the outer fabric cover 16
and, secondly, the inner-side inliner 18 serves for the
gas and liquid tightness of the entire container. The
fabric cover 16 is stretched in the lattice frame 14 by
the four straps 40. In the unfilled state, the inliner
18 lies on the base of the fabric cover 16 and does not
have any filling volume in this state. The inliner 18
is designed, for gas-assisted emptying, as a double
chamber inliner. A gas connection 35 for the gas-
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 6 -
assisted emptying is attached on the upper side of the
inliner 18. Said gas connection 35 is fastened at the
top to the fabric cover 16 but does not have any
influence on the unfolding of the inliner 18 during the
filling. The filling and removal connection piece 28 is
fixed on the lattice frame 14 by means of the adapter
plate 32. The adapter plate 32 has a trough toward the
inside and therefore ensures the necessary positioning
of the filling and removal connection piece 28 with
attached filling and removal fitting 30 such that the
latter does not protrude outward beyond the projection
area of the lattice frame 14. The adapter plate 32
permits easy connection of the filling and removal
fitting 30 to existing filling and emptying
installations. The inliner 18 has a special folding
configuration and is fixed on a base plate 20, for
example by means of double-sided adhesive tape. The
base plate 20 is located under the inliner 18 and also
in front of the inliner 18 in the valve region. The
base plate 20 is not fixed in the fabric cover 16. It
is merely positioned over the basic area within the
lattice frame 14 and the adapter plate 32. The function
of the base plate 20 also includes protecting the
inliner 18 against the penetration of sharp objects
from below, and the horizontal support at high filling
speeds. The access to the internal volume of the
inliner 18 takes place via the filling and removal
fitting 30, wherein the volume of the inliner 18
corresponds to zero in the unfilled state and to that
of the filling material in the filled state. The volume
of the inliner 18 is limited by that of the fabric
cover 16. Optionally, a degassing connection piece can
be attached on the upper side of the inliner 18. If the
filling material is intended to be agitated by a gas
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 7 -
prior to removal, the quantity of gas which exceeds the
volume of the fabric cover 16 has to be let out via the
degassing connection piece. For this purpose, as
irreversible access, the viewing window 34 is opened or
cut open and a sterile filter is screwed onto the
degassing connection piece. The filling and removal
fitting 30 is fixed on the lattice frame 14 by the
adapter plate 32. The adapter plate 32 ensures the
necessary distance of the filling and removal fitting
30. Said filling and removal fitting must not protrude
beyond the projection area of the lattice frame 14. The
adapter plate 32 permits an easy connection of the
filling and removal fitting 30 to filling and emptying
installations. Commercially customary filling cannons
can be connected directly by means of the geometry
thereof to the filling and removal fitting 30. The
inliner 18 stands up by itself during the filling. A
manipulation from the outside by the filler is neither
required nor desired nor possible through the closed
fabric cover 16.
The special folding-in of said double chamber inliner
18 and positioning on the base plate 20 for gas-
assisted emptying of a filled pallet container 10 is
illustrated schematically in figure 3. The inliner 18
is folded flat and fixed on the base plate 20. The
separating wall is designed so as to run vertically
within the double chamber inliner 18 from the upper
side thereof to the lower side thereof in the unfilled
state when the fabric cover 16 is suspended therein,
wherein the gas connection 35 is fixed at the top to
the fabric cover 16.
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 8 -
Figure 4 shows the operation of said gas-assisted
emptying in a corresponding sequence of images. The
separating wall of the double chamber inliner 18 stands
vertically in the fabric cover 16. The introduction of
a gas or gas mixture (for example nitrogen, inert gas,
compressed air) at a working pressure of below 500 mbar
into the compressed air chamber 36 on the side opposite
the filling and removal connection piece 28 results in
the formation of a working bubble which replaces the
volume of the flowing-out filling material with air or
gas. The overall volume in the fabric cover 16 remains
constant here. The volume of the gas bubble is also
limited by the film or foil available. The film or foil
is subjected to a tensile force which lifts the final
aprox. 20% of the liquid and pushes same in the
direction of the filling and removal connection piece
28. An additional effect is that the internal pressure
causes a positive pressure at the base valve 30 and,
despite the negative pressure of the pump, the inliner
18 in the region of the base valve 30 does not
collapse. A further advantage is the easier or assisted
discharge of the liquid. The pumps used are often not
self-priming.
Figure 5 shows a tubular residue emptying aid 42 in a
perspective illustration, and figure 6 shows the side
view of the residue emptying aid 42.
For optimum functioning of the pallet container 10
according to the invention with inserted modular unit
when filling and unfolding the inliner 18 in the
filling plant at a filling company and when extracting
the liquid filling material by suction at the customer
(= emptier), the inliner 18 is equipped on the inside
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 9 -
upstream of the opening of the base-side removal
connection piece 28 with a particular means for the
improved residue emptying of the filling material. Said
means for the improved residue emptying of the filling
material consists of a short tubular residue emptying
aid 42 which is designed as a flexible corrugated pipe
44 which is composed of thin plastics material and has
a multiplicity of lateral bores 46, as illustrated in
figure 6. The thin-walled corrugated pipe 44 has a wall
thickness of approx. 1 mm, a length of approximately
300 to 500, preferably 400 mm, and a diameter of 35 to
57 mm, suitable for a 2" connection. Said corrugated
pipe is inserted through the filling and removal
connection piece 28 into the double chamber inliner 18
and is screwed to the base valve 30 on the filling and
removal connection piece 28 of the inliner 18.
As becomes clear in Figure 6, the lateral bores 46 are
introduced into the corrugated pipe 44 from four
directions, and therefore a row of bores 46 is always
located just above the inliner base. It is thereby
ensured that even very small quantities of residue
liquid can still be sucked out of the inliner 18
without there being the risk of the film or foil of the
inliner 18 being able to pull in front of the opening
of the removal connection piece because of the powerful
negative suction pressure.
With the refinement according to the invention of the
pallet container 10 with double chamber inliner 18, a
compressed-air-assisted emptying of in particular
highly viscous filling materials, such as fruit
concentrate with fruit pieces, is substantially
improved in an advantageous manner.
CA 02903926 2015-09-03
- 10 -
List of reference numbers
10- Pallet container
12- Base pallet
14- Lattice frame
16- Fabric cover
18- Double chamber inliner
20- Base plate
22- Extension of the base plate
24- Film hinge
25- Double-sided adhesive tape
26- Opening in (22)
28- Filling and removal connection piece
30- Filling and removal fitting
32- Adapter plate
34- Closed viewing window
35- Gas connection
36- Compressed air chamber
38- Filling material chamber
40- Strap for tensioning the fabric cover
42- Tubular residue emptying aid
44- Flexible corrugated pipe
46- Lateral bores
48- Flange border end
