PALLET CONTAINER

Abstract

A pallet container for storing and transporting in particular flammable or easily ignitable liquid filling materials includes a thin-walled rigid internal container made from a thermoplastic plastics material, a tubular lattice frame that as a supporting jacket tightly encloses the plastics-material internal container, and a base pallet on which the plastics-material container bears and to which the tubular lattice frame is fixedly connected. The plastics-material internal container on all sides is enclosed by a fire-protection insulation mat which, while dispensing with a sheet-metal sheathing on all sides, is disposed directly between the tubular lattice frame and the plastics-material internal container. The fire-protection insulation mat is configured in a double-layered manner, and has an internal layer made from a heat-resistant non-woven and an external heat-resistant woven-fabric textile layer.

Claims

1.-18. (canceled)

19. A pallet container for storing and transporting a liquid filling material, said pallet container comprising: a thin-walled rigid internal container made from a thermoplastic plastics material, said internal container including an upper filling connector that is closed off by a screw cap, and a retrieval connector disposed in a base region of the inner container and having an attached retrieval fitting; a tubular lattice frame forming a supporting jacket to tightly enclose the internal container; a base pallet for support of the internal container bears, said tubular lattice frame being fixedly connected to the base pallet; and a fire-protection insulation mat composed of a plurality of individual composite parts and laterally enclosing the internal container within the tubular lattice frame, said fire-protection insulation mat being disposed on all sides around the internal container, also in front of lid and base regions of the internal container, with mutually adjacent lateral edges of the individual composite parts of the fire-protection insulation mat overlapping by a margin in four vertical rectangular corner regions and in horizontal upper and lower rectangular corner regions along lateral edges of the internal container, said fire-protection insulation mat being configured to include in a region about the screw cap and in a region about the retrieval fitting overlapping cover flaps, respectively, which are capable of being opened and of being reclosed, so as to enable the screw cap and the retrieval fitting to be completely covered and accessible at all times.

20. The pallet container of claim 19 for storing and transporting a flammable or easily ignitable liquid filling material.

21. The pallet container of claim 19, wherein the fire-protection insulation mat includes four separate blank panels configured for four side walls of the internal container and including affixed overlapping strips, respectively, each said blank panel being composed of two equally sized and two dissimilarly sized composite parts, said overlapping strips being sized sufficient to provide a large-area overlapping coverage of an upper base, including a filling opening of the filling connector.

22. The pallet container of claim 21, wherein two of the four separate blank panels are of equal size and provided for two longer ones of the side walls, said overlapping strips of the two blank panels having each a width of approx. 100 mm to 450 mm, preferably of approx. 300 mm, to define wide overlapping strips which for coverage are laterally foldable onto the upper base.

23. The pallet container of claim 21, wherein two of the four separate blank panels are dissimilar in size and provided for two shorter ones of the side walls, said overlapping strips of the two blank panels having different widths to define cover flaps for the upper base, with the overlapping strip of one of the two dissimilar blank panels, provided for a rearward one of the shorter side walls, being defined by a width of approx. 300 mm to 550 mm, preferably of approx. 450 mm, and with the overlapping strip of the other one of the two dissimilar blank panels, provided for a front-side one of the shorter side walls, being defined by a width of approx. 1100 mm to 600 mm, preferably approx. 850 mm.

24. The pallet container of claim 19, wherein the fire-protection insulation mat includes a blank panel provided for a base face of the internal container and having four lateral edges, each said lateral edge including an overlapping strip, with two opposite narrow ones of the overlapping strips on longer ones of the lateral edges of the internal container having an equal width of approx. 50 mm to 125 mm, preferably of approx. 75 mm.

25. The pallet container of claim 24, wherein the blank panel for the base face of the internal container on a shorter rearward one of the lateral edges of the internal container has an overlapping strip defined by a width of approx. 100 mm to 200 mm, preferably of approx. 150 mm, and on a shorter front-side lateral edge of the internal container has an overlapping strip defined by a width of approx. 100 mm to 300 mm, preferably of approx. 200 mm, with the overlapping strip of the blank panel on the shorter front-side lateral edge of the internal container being centrically interrupted and provided with a clearance for accessing the retrieval fitting.

26. The pallet container of claim 25, wherein a rectangular one of the composite parts of the fire-protection insulation mat is sewn to the shorter front-side lateral edge of the internal container on a lower side of the blank panel for the base face, in front of the clearance in the overlapping strip, said rectangular composite part being configured to cover the clearance for the retrieval fitting on the lateral edges thereof in a completely overlapping manner.

27. The pallet container of claim 19, wherein the fire-protection insulation mat is configured with two layers, with one of the two layers embodying an external heat-resistant woven-fabric textile layer and the other one of the two layers embodying an internal layer being made from a heat-resistant fibrous non-woven.

28. The pallet container of claim 27, wherein the external woven-fabric textile layer includes a metal-powder-containing polyurethane coating filled with aluminum powder so as to be electrically conductive (dissipating).

29. The pallet container of claim 19, wherein the cover flaps of the fire-protection insulation mat for the screw cap and for the retrieval fitting have an internal side provided with an electrically conductive woven-fabric textile layer.

30. The pallet container of claim 27, wherein the internal non-woven layer and the external woven-fabric textile layer of the fire-protection insulation mat are configured for a unilateral short-term temperature stress of at least approx. 600 C.

31. The pallet container of claim 27, wherein the internal non-woven layer and the external woven-fabric textile layer of the fire-protection insulation mat are configured for a unilateral long-term temperature stress of approx. 550 C.

32. The pallet container of claim 27, wherein the internal non-woven layer and the external woven-fabric textile layer of the fire-protection insulation mat are configured for a unilateral short-term temperature stress of approx. 1600 C.

33. The pallet container of claim 27, wherein the internal non-woven layer and the external woven-fabric textile layer of the fire-protection insulation mat are configured for a unilateral long-term temperature stress of 1200 C.

34. The pallet container of claim 27, wherein the fire-protection insulation mat, including the external woven-fabric textile layer and the internal non-woven layer, has an overall thickness between 5 mm and 8 mm, preferably of 7 mm, with a thickness of the external woven-fabric textile layer ranging from 1 mm to 2 mm, preferably being approx. 1.5 mm.

35. The pallet container of claim 21, wherein at least one of the blank panels of the fire-protection insulation mat for a front and/or rear one of the side walls of the internal container is extended upwards to allow placement thereof in a manner of a cover flap on top of the screw cap or in a direction toward the opposite one of the blank panels so as to be on top thereof, thereby completely and securely covering the screw cap.

36. The pallet container of claim 19, wherein the fire-protection insulation mat includes a rectangular blank panel to completely cover a base-side rectangular clearance in a front side-wall blank panel of the fire-protection insulation mat for protecting the retrieval fitting, said rectangular blank panel being sized larger than the rectangular clearance for the retrieval fitting, said blank panel of the fire-protection insulation mat having a lower periphery which on the base side is sewn to the fire-protection insulation mat below internal container such that the blank panel of the fire-protection insulation mat is foldable in a manner of a cover flap from bottom to top in front of the clearance and fixedly clampable behind a horizontal lattice bar of the inner container.

37. The pallet container of claim 19, wherein the internal container has a lower front wall formed with a recess below a smaller one of the cover flaps, and further comprising a bowl-shaped thermal-protection hood made from a same material as the fire-protection insulation mat and push-fitted as an additional separate protection cap over the retrieval fitting, when the smaller one of the cover flaps is in a closed state.

Description

[0022] The invention will be explained and described in more detail hereunder by means of an exemplary embodiment which is illustrated schematically in the drawings in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a pallet container according to the invention, having a fire-protection insulation mat;

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional partial view of the construction of a double-layered fire-protection insulation mat;

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the individual wall parts having external overlap regions, for the fire-protection insulation mat;

[0026] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the individual wall parts in an assembled cuboid shape in the case of an opened upper base;

[0027] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the individual wall parts in an assembled cuboid shape in the case of a closed upper base,

[0028] FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the individual blank panels, having external overlap regions for the lower base, the upper base, and the front and the rear wall;

[0029] FIG. 7 shows a plan view of the individual blank panels, having external overlap regions for the two opposite side walls;

[0030] FIG. 8 shows a plan view of the cover flap for the lower retrieval fitting;

[0031] FIG. 9 shows a perspective external view of a separate protective hood for the lower retrieval fitting; and

[0032] FIG. 10 shows a perspective internal view from below of the separate protective hood for the lower retrieval fitting.

[0033] A pallet container (UL-IBC) according to the invention, having a filling volume of 1000 l, having a thin-walled rigid internal container (not visible) made from a thermoplastic plastics material for storing and transporting in particular hazardous flammable liquids, having a tubular lattice frame 12 that as a supporting jacket tightly encloses the plastics-material container, and having a base pallet 14 on which the plastics-material container bears and to which the supporting jacket is fixedly connected is referred to with the reference sign 10 in FIG. 1. The tubular lattice frame 12 (external container) of the pallet container 10 is composed of welded-together vertical and horizontal tubes 16, 18. In order for a closed external container to be obtained, the encircling horizontal tubes 18 each are welded to one another. The base pallet 14 may be configured as a steel pallet, as a composite pallet (tubular steel frame with plastics-material feet), or as a special heat-resistant timber pallet. In the case of this pallet container 10, while dispensing with a sheet-metal sheathing on all sides, a fire-protection insulation mat 20 as a complete sheathing is disposed directly between the tubular lattice frame 12 and the plastics-material internal container. The fire-protection insulation mat 20 is composed of a plurality of, preferably five, dissimilarly sized composite parts that each mutually overlap by a margin in the corner regions of the plastics-material internal container and of the tubular lattice frame 12. This overlap or blanketing, respectively, of the mutually adjacent blank panels of the fire-protection insulation mat 20 should be at least approx. 20 mm to 120 mm, preferably approx. 75 mm. The overlapping strips 22 that are formed in this manner at the upper and the lower periphery of the tubular lattice frame 12, or of the plastics-material internal container, respectively, run in the horizontal direction, and in the rectangular corner regions of the mutually adjacent side walls of the tubular lattice frame 12 run in the vertical direction.

[0034] The screw cap that is screwed onto the filling connector that is disposed so as to be centric in the upper base of the internal container is covered by an upper large cover flap 24, and the lower retrieval fitting is covered by a smaller cover flap 26 such that the plastics-material internal container is completely sheathed and wrapped without a gap, no flames and any direct influence of heat (hot air) being able to get to said plastics-material internal container in the case of a fire. The composite parts of the fire-protection insulation mat 20 are not sewn together because this would be too labor-intensive and too cost-intensive. Said composite parts are simply placed into the tubular lattice frame 12, being self-jamming in the overlapping strip 22, until the internal container is inserted and all composite parts are fixedly jammed between the internal container and the tubular lattice frame. The only exception lies in the small rectangular composite part for covering the retrieval fitting, said rectangular composite part being fixedly sewn to the base composite part 32. This small cover flap 26, for fixing thereof in the closed state, is only pushed behind the first transversely running tubular lattice bar (horizontal bar) above the retrieval fitting and is fixedly jammed on account thereof. When accessing the lower retrieval fitting, the cover flap 26 may simply be manually pulled out from behind the transversely running tubular bar, and for closing may be push-fitted back therebehind. The long upper cover flap 24 for covering the screw cap on the upper filling connector, in the closure case, is push-fitted under the front edge of the opposite overlapping strip 44 that is folded back from the rear-wall composite part 42 onto the top of the plastics-material internal container up to a transverse support 48 that runs transversely thereabove, and is fixed on account thereof. For opening, or for exposing the screw cap, respectively, this cover flap 24 is pulled out from below the overlapping strip 44, and after filling of the internal container and screwing the screw cap back on, is again pushed under the opposite overlapping strip 44 and fixedly jammed.

[0035] FIG. 2, in a circular fragment, shows the structural concept of the fire-protection insulation mat 20 which is presently configured in a double-layered manner, having an external woven-fabric textile layer 28 and an internal fibrous non-woven layer 30: The external woven-fabric textile layer 28 is provided with a polyurethane coating. The coating is enriched using a metal powder. The metal powder is preferably composed of aluminum pigments. This surface coating made from polyurethane having aluminum powder is applied for high heat reflection, on the one hand. This polyurethane coating, apart from water-repellant properties, also has anti-static properties (3050 G100 V), on account of which the UL-IBC according to the invention is suitable for EX applications and may be certified according to the EX classification. The employed woven-fabric textile material of the external woven-fabric textile layer 28 is produced from high-quality and in part texturized and twisted yarns, and is outstandingly suitable for thermal and acoustic insulation with high temperature resistance. Said woven-fabric textile material is commercially freely available in a keenly priced embodiment for medium requirements with short-term temperature stresses of approx. 600 C. and long-term temperature stresses of approx. 550 C. under the isoTEX label and is usually used as a woven heat-protection fabric, for example for welding curtains and fire-extinguishing blankets.

[0036] For maximum temperature stresses with a short-term stress of approx. 1660 C. and a long-term temperature influence of approx. 1200 C., a particular woven-fabric textile material is commercially freely available and sourceable. This highly temperature-resistant protective woven silTEX fabric has been specially developed for the long-term and durable employment in the high-temperature sector and is not flammable. Said woven silTEX fabric is particularly suitable as heat protection and insulation woven fabric for maximum temperature stresses and offers outstanding protection even against liquid metal spillings and red-hot scum. In the case of the internal fibrous non-woven layer 30, the non-woven used is composed of mechanically needle-bonded silica-glass fibers, having excellent insulation properties and a high temperature resistance. The non-woven mats are very flexible and are employed on an industrial scale for damping or insulating; for these purposes, said non-woven mats are commercially available under the isoFLEX label.

[0037] All six individual wall composite parts having the external overlapping strips 22 of the fire-protection insulation mat are illustrated in FIG. 3. The base part is a large base-wall part 32 having dimensions of 1000 mm1170 mm, and having laterally encircling folded-up overlapping strips 22 on all four lateral edges, wherein the front and somewhat higher overlapping strip 34 has a clearance 36 for access to the retrieval fitting. The small rectangular cover flap 26 which is fixedly sewn on below the base-wall part 32 is provided for covering this clearance 36 in an overlapping manner, and for protecting the retrieval fitting. The fire-protection insulation mat furthermore comprises two mutually opposite composite parts 38, each having large overlapping strips 40 at the upper periphery, for the longer side walls. A composite part 42 having a large slightly trapezoidal overlapping strip 44 at the upper periphery is provided for the shorter side walls, that is to say for the rearward rear wall, and a rectangular composite part 46 having a very large slightly trapezoidal overlapping strip at the upper periphery is provided for the front wall, wherein this very large overlapping strip will be referred to as the upper large cover flap 24, since the latter is folded over the screw cap of the upper filling connector.

[0038] For a better understanding, FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of how the individual composite parts of the fire-protection insulation mat 20 in the assembled cuboid shape overlap with the overlapping strips 22 in the corner regions when the upper base is open, or with the upper overlapping strips 40, 44 unfolded and the upper cover flap 24 unfolded, respectively (without the enclosing tubular lattice frame of the pallet container).

[0039] The cuboid shape of the assembled composite parts of the fire-protection insulation mat 20 having the closed upper base or having the folded-in upper overlapping strip 40, 44 and the folded-in upper cover flap 24 can be seen in FIG. 5. Herein, the front side of the upper cover flap 24 is covered by a margin of the magnitude of approx. 50 mm to 100 mm by the wide upper overlapping strip 44.

[0040] The assembly of the individual composite parts of the fire-protection insulation mat 20 is not performed in free space, of course, but in steps into the tubular lattice frame 12 of the pallet container. Herein, the base wall part 32 is initially placed symmetrically onto the surface of the base pallet 14, and the small cover flap 26 for the retrieval fitting is pulled out between the two central vertical bars. The somewhat longer overlapping strips 34 of the front wall and of the rear wall are placed upright from the inside against the tubular bars of the lattice frame, thereafter the two narrower overlapping strips 22 of the longer lateral edges are likewise placed upright from inside against the tubular bars. From among the four side walls, the front wall part 46 of the fire-protection insulation mat 20 is then hooked into the lattice frame 12, wherein the lateral overlapping strips 22 in the vertical corner regions are bent from inside against the neighboring side walls of the tubular lattice frame in such a manner that the outermost vertical bar of the neighboring side wall in each case is covered by at least 10 mm. The upper large cover flap 24 at the upper periphery of the front wall 46 initially remains freely folded outward. Thereafter, the opposite composite part of the fire-protection insulation mat for the shorter rear wall of the plastics-material internal container is inserted into the tubular lattice frame 12, wherein the lateral overlapping strips 22 in the vertical corner regions are bent from the inside against the neighboring side walls of the tubular lattice frame in a likewise manner such that the outermost vertical bar of the neighboring side wall is in each case covered by at least 10 mm. For completion, the two opposite longer side walls are now inserted and pressed from the inside against the tubular lattice frame and on the lateral edges in the vertical corner regions are pressed from the inside against the overlapping strips 22 of the front wall 46 and of the rear wall 42. Finally, the plastics-material internal container is pushed in, and the upper wide overlapping strips 40, 44, and the upper large cover flap 24, are folded in onto the upper base of the internal container.

[0041] Two elevated eyelets which are plug-fitted through slots, specifically provided therefor, in the upper overlapping strip 44 and in the cover flap 24 of the fire-protection insulation mat 20 such that said eyelets project upward (see FIG. 1) are configured on the upper base of the internal container, so as to be lateral next to the filling connector, or to the screwed-on screw cap. Two transversely running metal bars, the so-called transverse supports 48, are push-fitted through these elevated eyelets and are screwed to the upper external periphery of the tubular lattice frame 12. These transverse supports 48 serve for reliably fixing and holding down the mutually overlapping four component parts of the fire-protection insulation mat 20 (overlapping strips 40, 44, and large cover flap 24).

[0042] The individual blank panels, having external overlapping strips for the lower base, the front and the rear wall, and for the two opposite side walls, are once again illustrated with more details from the internal side in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. In this way, a region 50 in the shorter upper cover flap, or in the overlapping strip 44, respectively, at the upper periphery is embodied in a gray dotted manner; a gray dotted region 50 of this type is likewise embodied at the lower periphery of the base insulation mat 32, directly in front of the clearance 36 in the overlapping strip 34, and almost the entire lower side of the large cover flap 24 is drawn as a gray dotted region 50. These gray dotted regions 50 symbolize that the internal side (or the lower side, respectively) of the fire-protection insulation mat here too is covered with the silver-coloured external woven-fabric textile layer (28).

[0043] The small cover flap 26, illustrated in FIG. 8, as a gray dotted region 50 is covered in a fully planar manner by the electrically conductive woven-fabric textile layer. The fastening seam by means of which the cover flap 26 is sewn to the base component part 32 can still be seen at the lower periphery. These gray dotted sections during handling of the pallet container of the generic type are often manually gripped by the operators, for example when opening and closing the upper cover flap 24 in order to unscrew the screw cap when filling the pallet container, and when opening and closing the lower cover flap 26 in order to operate the retrieval fitting when retrieving filling material from the pallet container. The silver-coloured woven-fabric textile layer is far more agreeable to grip, in particular without protective gloves, than the glass-fiber non-woven on the internal side of the fire-protection insulation mat. Furthermore, these internal-side regions 50 are very important for direct contact between the plastics-material internal container and the electrically conductive woven-fabric textile layer, in order for an EX classification of the pallet container to be obtained, as said internal-side regions 50 guarantee the reliable dissipation of electric charges from the surface of the plastics-material internal container, and prevent undesirable dangerous sparking.

[0044] Two stitched slots 52 through which the eyelets for the transverse supports are push-fitted in the completely assembled pallet container are illustrateddrawn in an oval manner on the leftin the shorter upper cover flap, or in the overlapping strip 44 (FIG. 6), respectively, and in the large cover flap 24.

[0045] It becomes clear from the previous description and from the illustrations of the figures that in each case a rather large region is overlapped in the corner regions on the upper base of the internal container, and thus a double wall thickness of the fire-protection insulation mat exists therein. To this end, the overlapping strips 40, 44, 24 of the fire-protection insulation mat on the upper base of the plastics-material internal container are made considerably wider in order for in particular the corner regions of the internal container to be even better protected from above. This is very expedient, on the one hand, because an air bubble is always located at the top in the internal container, even in the case of complete filling with liquid, and because the liquid cannot perform any dissipation of heat from the surface wall of the internal container. On the other hand, because the corner feet that are composed of a plastics material may start to burn when stacked, and may represent an additional source of a fire, or an additional heat source, respectively.

[0046] It is advantageously provided for the particular protection of the retrieval fitting that projects from the lower retrieval connector that within the recess in the lower front wall of the plastics-material internal container (doghouse) a bowl-shaped heat-protection cover, as a protective hood 54, made from the same material as the fire-protection insulation mat is placed around or push-fitted over the retrieval fitting, respectively, behind the lower small cover flap 26 such that said protective cover 54 almost fills the free space within the recess around the attached retrieval fitting, behind the cover flap 26, thus preventing hot air from reaching the retrieval fitting which is also composed of a plastics material. To this end, the protective cover may also be designed in the manner of a cushion or so as to be voluminous. The separate additional heat-protection cover hood 54 is illustrated in two different perspective views in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. This protective cover 54 is used in particular in the case of long retrieval connectors or long retrieval-fitting housings, such as in the case of a Camlock connector, for example.

CONCLUSION

[0047] A flame-tight insulation of the outflow region is fundamentally very important. This has been demonstrated by a 15-minute flammability test using a known UL IBC of the prior art as mentioned at the outset, in which the fire-protection insulation did not remain tight because the protective sheet-metal parts had buckled in a non-uniform manner. Apart from the flame tightness, it has also to be ensured that the combustion air which is approx. 900 C. hot cannot penetrate the outflow region (doghouse). This was able to be implemented without any leakage in the case of a 45-minute flammability test using a pallet container according to the invention, having a good overlap of the insulation-mat parts. The individual woven-fabric parts remain so as to be tightly adjacent, do not deform, so that even the handle of the retrieval fitting remained unaffected. Increased safety in terms of the retrieval fitting and of the handle may be achieved in particular cases by using a separate protective hood.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0048] 10 Pallet container 50 Part-surface having a [0049] 12 Tubular lattice frame woven-fabric textile layer [0050] 14 Base pallet 52 Stitched slots [0051] 16 Horizontal tubular bars 54 Protective hood [0052] 18 Vertical tubular bars [0053] 20 Fire-protection insulation mat [0054] 22 Overlapping strip [0055] 24 Upper large cover flap (20) [0056] 26 Lower small cover flap (20) [0057] 28 External woven-fabric textile layer [0058] 30 Internal fibrous non-woven layer [0059] 32 Base wall part (20) [0060] 34 Front higher overlapping strip (32) [0061] 36 Clearance (32) [0062] 38 Side-wall composite parts (20) [0063] 40 Upper higher overlapping strip (38) [0064] 42 Rear-wall composite part (20) [0065] 44 Large overlapping strip (42) [0066] 46 Front-wall composite part [0067] 48 Transverse support