Bulk bag with reduced midbody circumference

Abstract

A bulk bag includes a bulk bag body that is configured to have a varying circumference with a reduced circumference between the top and bottom of the bulk bag body to reduce bulging when the bulk bag body is filled with content.

Claims

1. A bulk bag comprising: a bulk bag body that includes a top portion, a bottom potion and a side portion, where the top portion defines a top of the bulk bag body and the bottom portion defines a bottom of the bulk bag body; a lifting mechanism attached to the bulk bag body, wherein the bulk bag body is configured so that a circumference of the bulk bag body at a particular height between the top and bottom of the bulk bag body is less than a circumference of the bulk bag body at the top of the bulk bag body and less than a circumference of the bulk bag body at the bottom of the bulk bag body to reduce bulging at the side portion of the bulk bag body when the bulk bag body is filled with content; and a plurality of circular fabrics that are attached to the side portion of the bulk bag body, the circular fabrics having different circumferences that define the circumference of the bulk bag body at different heights.

2. The bulk bag of claim 1, wherein the side portion of the bulk bag body is made of a circular tube of fabric, and wherein the side portion includes a plurality of pinches along a vertical direction from the bottom portion of the bulk bag body to the top portion of the bulk bag body that define the circumference of the bulk bag body at different heights.

3. The bulk bag of claim 2, wherein the pinches are formed on the side portion of the bulk bag body using stitches that pinch some of the fabric of the side portion of the bulk bag body.

4. The bulk bag of claim 2, wherein the pinches are located on vertical corners of the side portion of the bulk bag body defined by the top and bottom portions of the bulk bag body.

5. The bulk bag of claim 1, wherein the width of at least one of the pinches is about 4% of a width of a side of the bulk bag body.

6. The bulk bag of claim 1, wherein the circumference of the bulk bag body at the particular height is about 8% less than the circumference of the bulk bag body at the bottom of the bulk bag body.

7. The bulk bag of claim 1, wherein the particular height is located between 30% and 70% of the entire height of the bulk bag body.

8. The bulk bag of claim 1, wherein the side portion of the bulk bag body is made of four rectangular panels of fabric that are stitched together, and wherein vertical stitches on the four rectangular panels of fabric at one corner of the side portion follow a curved path that at least partly defines the circumference of the bulk bag body at different heights.

9. A bulk bag comprising: a bulk bag body that includes a top portion, a bottom portion and a side portion, where the top portion defines a top of the bulk bag body and the bottom portion defines a bottom of the bulk bag body, wherein the side portion is made of a circular tube of fabric; and a lifting mechanism attached to the bulk bag body, wherein the bulk bag body is configured so that a circumference of the bulk bag body at a particular height between the top and bottom of the bulk bag body is less than a circumference of the bulk bag body at the top of the bulk bag body and less than a circumference of the bulk bag body at the bottom of the bulk bag body to reduce bulging at the side portion of the bulk bag body when the bulk bag body is filled with content; and a plurality of circular fabrics that are attached to the side portion of the bulk bag body, the circular fabrics having different circumferences that define the circumference of the bulk bag body at different heights.

10. The bulk bag of claim 9, wherein the side portion includes a plurality of pinches along a vertical direction from the bottom portion of the bulk bag body to the top portion of the bulk bag body that define the circumference of the bulk bag body at different heights.

11. The bulk bag of claim 10, wherein the pinches are formed on the side portion of the bulk bag body using stitches that pinch some of the fabric of the side portion of the bulk bag body.

12. The bulk bag of claim 10, wherein the pinches are located on vertical corners of the side portion of the bulk bag body defined by the top and bottom portions of the bulk bag body.

13. The bulk bag of claim 9, wherein the width of at least one of the pinches is about 4% of a width of a side of the bulk bag body.

14. The bulk bag of claim 9, wherein the circumference of the bulk bag body at the particular height is about 8% less than the circumference of the bulk bag body at the bottom of the bulk bag body.

15. The bulk bag of claim 9, wherein the particular height is located between 30% and 70% of the entire height of the bulk bag body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a front side view of a bulk bag in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a front corner view of the bulk bag shown in FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 3 is an illustration of examples of different sewing patterns that can be used to produce pinches on the body of the bulk bag shown in FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 4 is a front corner view of a bulk bag in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments as generally described herein and illustrated in the appended figures could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of various embodiments, as represented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, but is merely representative of various embodiments. While the various aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically indicated.

(6) The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by this detailed description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

(7) Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussions of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

(8) Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.

(9) Reference throughout this specification to one embodiment, an embodiment, or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the indicated embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the phrases in one embodiment, in an embodiment, and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

(10) With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a bulk bag 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is described. As best shown in FIG. 1, the bulk bag 100 includes a bulk bag body 102 that is formed of a top portion 104, a side portion 106 and a bottom portion 108. In an embodiment, the bulk bag body 102 is made of polypropylene woven fabric or other suitable material. The bulk bag body 102 can be made of single layer of fabric or multiple layers of fabric. The bulk bag 100 further includes a lifting mechanism in the form of lift straps 110, which are attached to the bulk bag body 102. As an example, the lift straps 110 may be sewn onto the bulk bag body 102. In an embodiment, the lift straps 110 are made of monofilament material and have a similar elasticity with the bulk bag body 102. As used herein, having a similar elasticity with the bulk bag body means having an elasticity that is within 10 percent of the elasticity of the bulk bag body. In other embodiments, the lift straps 110 may be attached to the bulk bag body in different known ways. Also, in other embodiments, the bulk bag 100 may include lifting stevedores (not shown) or other lifting mechanism attached to the bulk bag body 102.

(11) In this embodiment, the side portion 106 of the bulk bag body 102 is made of a circular tube of fabric. The top and bottom portions 104 and 108, which are rectangular in shape, are sewn onto the tubular side portion 106 to form the bulk bag body. In order to reduce or eliminate bulging of the bulk bag 100 when the bulk bag is filled with content, the bulk bag body 102 is designed to have a gradual reduction of circumference at or near the middle of the bulk bag body (i.e., at or near the midway between the top and bottom of the bulk bag body). The amount of circumference reduction varies depending on the height position on the side portion 106 of the bulk bag body 102. At the very bottom and very top of the side portion 106 of the bulk bag body 102, the circumference reduction is zero or minimal. The circumference reduction increases gradually as the height position approaches the middle part of the bulk bag body 102. The maximum reduction area is at the height position of an area slightly below the middle of the bulk bag body, which corresponds to an area where the most bulging would normally occur in a typical bulk bag body of this type.

(12) In this embodiment, the gradual circumference reduction of the bulk bag body 102 is achieved by creating pinches 112 on the bulk bag body. As shown in FIG. 1, the bulk bag body includes pinches 112 that extend vertically along the length of the bulk bag body 102 (i.e., from the bottom of the bulk bag body to the top of the bulk bag body). As used herein, a pinch 112 is a feature on the bulk bag body 102 that is formed by sewing or otherwise attaching a portion of the bulk bag body together to reduce the circumference of the bulk bag body. In the illustrated embodiment, the bulk bag body 102 has four pinches 112 at four corners of the bulk bag body that are defined by the corners of the top and bottom portions 104 and 108 of the bulk bag body, which are made of stitches. The pinches 112 can be formed so that less bulk bag body 102 is pinched near the top and bottom of the bulk bag body and more bulk bag body is pinched near the middle of the bulk bag body to achieve the gradual circumference reduction of the bulk bag body, where the maximum circumference reduction is at the height position of an area slightly below the middle of the bulk bag body, as best illustrated in FIG. 2. In other words, the width of the pinch (the amount of the pinch) is the largest at about the mid-height of the bulk body bag 102, though it can be below or above that location. Thus, the largest amount of the pinch or the height of the bulk bag body 102 where the circumference reduction is the largest may be about 30% to 70% of the entire bag height measured from the bottom of the bulk bag body. As used herein, the term about or approximately means plus or minus 10%.

(13) In the illustrated embodiment, the gradual circumference reduction of the bulk bag body 102 is achieved by vertically sewing the four corners of the bulk bag body in a curved manner to pinch the four corners to gradually reduce the circumference of the bulk bag body from the top and bottom of the bulk bag body. The vertical sewing of the bulk bag body 102 at the four corners produces the pinches 112 on the bulk bag body. Examples of different sewing patterns or paths that can be used to produce the pinches 112 on the bulk bag body 102 are illustrated in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the sewing patterns or paths can include a curved line, a line with multiple straight line segments and a line with a combination of one or more curved line segments and one or more straight line segments.

(14) Turning back to FIG. 1, the locations of the pinches 112 are not limited to the four vertical corners of the bulk bag body 102. In other embodiments, the vertical pinches 112 can be positioned near the center of the bag walls, i.e., near the middle between the vertical corners of the bulk bag body 102. In fact, the vertical pinches 112 can be located at other locations as long as the overall circumference of the bulk bag body is reduced in the manner described herein. In addition, the number of the vertical pinches 112 are not limited to four pinches. In other embodiments, the bulk bag 100 may include any number of pinches, such as eight or more pinches.

(15) The bulk bag body 102 with the pinches 112 can significantly reduce the bulging of the bulk bag 100, which is illustrated in FIG. 1. On the left side of FIG. 1 is a conventional bulk bag 100-1. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional bulk bag 100-1 due to its contents has significant bulging beyond the footprint of the bag. In comparison, the bulk bag 100 with the gradual circumference reduction caused by the pinches 112 exhibit significant less bulging, which may be eliminated by increase in the width of the pinch (increased reduction in the circumference of the bulk bag body). In one testing, a 4% pinch (pinch width per corner/bag width) reduced the budging overhang amount by 40%. In this testing, the circumference of the bulk bag body at its minimum (near the middle of the bulk bag body) is 8% less than at its maximum (at the top and bottom of the bulk bag body).

(16) In other embodiments, the bulk bag body 102 may be made of a U panel or four different side panels. In a U-panel bulk bag, the side portion of the bag is formed by sewing two rectangular side panels to a U panel. In a 4-panel bulk bag, the side portion of the bag is formed by sewing four side panels together. For these U-panel and 4-panel bags, the sides of the wall of the bulk bag body can be sewn together along a vertical curve in such a way so the circumference varies according to the vertical position, similar to the circumference reduction using the pinches 112. For other bag styles, a similar treatment can be done on the sewing to achieve the same result on the bulk bag body. The extra edge outside of the sewing stitches that function as pinches can be left on the bag or can be trimmed off either before, during or after the sewing.

(17) Turning now to FIG. 4, a bulk bag 400 in accordance with another embodiment of the invention is shown. The bulk bag 400 has a bulk bag body that has a varying circumference, similar to the bulk bag 100. However, the bulk bag 400 uses circular fabrics 402, 404, 406, 408 and 410 of varying circumferences to gradually reduce the circumference of the bulk bag body 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the circular fabric 408 is the fabric with the smallest circumference. Thus, as an example, the circumference of the circular fabric 408 may be 8% smaller than the circumference of the bulk bag body 102 at the top or bottom of the bulk bag body, where there is no reduction in the bulk bag body circumference. The circular fabrics 406 and 410 are the fabrics with the second smallest circumference. The circular fabrics 402 and 404 are the fabrics with the third smallest circumference, and thus, are the fabrics with the largest circumferences but smaller than the circumference at the top or bottom of the bulk bag body 102.

(18) In summary, the bulk bags described herein can reduce or eliminate bulging caused their contents. In addition, the bulk bags can lower material and manufacturing cost since baffles are not needed to reduce bulging, which also makes manufacturing of the bulk bag easier. The bulk bags can also be much more stable since the footprint is relatively large or similar compared to the bulk bag body, unlike conventional bulk bags that have smaller footprint relative to the bulging bulk bag body. This can result in reduction of transportation cost due to more efficient use of truck space. Furthermore, due the bulging reduction, bag damage caused by any bulges of the bag is reduced.

(19) Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts so described and illustrated. The scope of the invention is to be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.