INLINER, COMPOSITE PACKAGE AND TRANSPORT CONTAINER WITH AN INLINER, AND ASSOCIATED METHOD

Abstract

An inliner, for receiving filling material and for being introduced through an opening into a container wall of a transport container, the inliner including shaping rods configured to open with the inliner in the transport container in a direction radially outward of an axis in a manner of an umbrella when the inliner is introduced into the transport container and to close in a direction radially inward of the axis when the inliner is extracted, where the shaping rods are composed of a flexible, resilient material and, as a result of an internal stress, are transferable from a deformed position into a rest position corresponding to the open position of the inliner.

Claims

1. An inliner, for receiving filling material and for being introduced through an opening into a container wall of a transport container, the inliner comprising: shaping rods configured to open with the inliner in the transport container in a direction radially outward of an axis in a manner of an umbrella when the inliner is introduced into the transport container and to close in a direction radially inward of the axis when the inliner is extracted, wherein the shaping rods comprise a flexible, resilient material and, as a result of an internal stress, are transferable from a deformed position into a rest position corresponding to the open position of the inliner.

2. The inliner in accordance with claim 1, wherein on the inliner there are provided fixing elements, at which the shaping rods are secured.

3. The inliner in accordance with claim 2, further provided with at least two shaping rods which, in the rest position, lie one above the other at at least one point and stretch an area at the corners of which the fixing elements are provided.

4. The inliner in accordance with claim 3, wherein the area is configured to cover at least one of an inner surface or a base surface of the transport container.

5. The inliner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the shaping rods are glass fibre rods.

6. The inliner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the inliner and the shaping rods in the deformed position are configured to be receivable in an application tube, the outer dimensions of which are smaller in cross section than a filling opening of the transport container.

7. A composite package configured for introducing an inliner through an opening into a container wall of a transport container, said composite package comprising an inliner, equipped with shaping rods, in accordance with claim 1, an application tube, in which there are receivable the inliner and the shaping rods in a deformed position and of which the outer dimensions are smaller than a filling opening of the transport container.

8. The composite package in accordance with claim 7, further comprising a moulded part configured to fix the inliner after introduction into the transport container at the filling opening thereof.

9. The composite package in accordance with claim 8, wherein the moulded part comprises air holes.

10. A transport container with an the inliner in accordance with claim 1.

11. The transport container in accordance with claim 10, further comprising a filling opening and provided with the inliner arranged in the transport container, the inliner being securable at the filling opening.

12. A method for introducing the inliner in accordance with claim 1, into a transport container through an opening in a container wall of the transport container, said method comprising the steps of: establishing an operative connection between shaping rods and the inliner, transferring the shaping rods into a deformed position by inserting the shaping rods and the inliner into an application tube, introducing the application tube with the inliner and the shaping rods received therein through a filling opening into the transport container, pulling off the application tube while releasing the shaping rods, which thereby stretch the inliner and move to the rest position on an inner surface of the transport container.

13. The method in accordance with claim 12, wherein the following steps are carried out to empty the inliner located in the transport container, removing the filling material, pulling the inliner upwards to form a sump, removing the filling material from the sump, removing the inliner from the transport container.

14. The method in accordance with claim 13, wherein the filling material is removed down to a residual quantity of filling material.

15. The method in accordance with claim 13, wherein the inliner is pulled upwards to form the sump above the shaping rods.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0044] The disclosure is explained in greater detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the attached Figures.

[0045] FIG. 1 a view of a laid out inliner,

[0046] FIG. 2 an illustration in accordance with FIG. 1 with shaping rods attached to it,

[0047] FIG. 3 an illustration of the inliner with deformed shaping rods,

[0048] FIG. 4, 5 views of the inliner with application tube attached thereto,

[0049] FIG. 6, 7 three dimensional views of a transport container into which the inliner with application tube is introduced and when the application tube is removed;

[0050] FIG. 6a an insertion funnel for inserting the inliner protected by the application tube into the transport container,

[0051] FIG. 8 an illustration of the transport container in accordance with FIG. 6 with an inliner introduced therein,

[0052] FIG. 9, 10 illustrations of the transport container in accordance with FIG. 8 when attaching or securing the filling region of the inliner,

[0053] FIG. 11 an illustration of the transport container in accordance with FIG. 10 during filling of the inliner,

[0054] FIG. 12, 13 illustrations of the transport container in accordance with FIG. 11 with closed inliner or closed filling region,

[0055] FIG. 14 an illustration of the transport container during emptying,

[0056] FIG. 15 an illustration of the transport container in accordance with FIG. 14 with the inliner partially pulled out,

[0057] FIG. 16 an illustration of the transport container in accordance with FIG. 15 with sucked-out inliner,

[0058] FIG. 17 an illustration of the transport container in accordance with FIG. 16 when the inliner is pulled out,

[0059] FIG. 18 an illustration of draining any residual quantity from the inliner into a tray.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] Before describing the disclosure in detail, it should be pointed out that it is not limited to the various components of the device and the various method steps, as these components and methods may vary. The terms used herein are merely intended to describe particular embodiments and are not used in a limiting manner. Furthermore, when the singular or indefinite articles are used in the disclosure, this also refers to the plurality of these elements, unless the overall context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0061] When the term filling material 40 is used in these documents, it refers in particular to, for example, liquid, paste-like or free flowing transport goods with which transport containers such as IBC containers are filled in order to transport these goods.

[0062] Such a transport container 12 is shown in FIG. 6. In the exemplary embodiment, it is an IBC container which, as explained at the outset, comprises a blow moulded transport container 12 accommodated in a wire mesh. In principle, such a transport container can be made of plastics materials or metal, such as stainless steel. Other materials are also usable, for example glass or cardboard packaging, such as cardboard packaging made of heavy duty corrugated cardboard.

[0063] To protect the transport container from contamination, an inliner 10 is accommodated in this transport container 12 in the exemplary embodiments.

[0064] In accordance with FIG. 1, the inliner 10, which is preferably made of a film, but can also be made of other suitable materials, is pre formed by welding seams and a fold so that the shape of the inliner 10 can adapt as precisely as possible to the inner shape of an IBC container or another possible transport container when it is opened. The filling region 10a at the top of the inliner 10 is welded into a funnel shape to make filling easier.

[0065] In accordance with FIG. 2, there are attached to this inliner, which can be equipped with one or more layers, shaping rods 14. The base 10b of the inliner 10 with flexible shaping rods 14 attached to fixing elements 10c is visible in the foreground. These shaping rods are preferably made of glass fibre or a flexible plastics or metal or another flexible material. The shaping rods 14 are fixedly connected to the base 10b of the inliner 10 by the fixing elements 10c. In principle, any other form of connection of the shaping rods 14 to the base 10b is also possible, for example gluing or welding into the film. In expanded form, the shaping rods 14 stretch the base 10b of the inliner 10 into a, for example, preferably rectangular shape, which corresponds to an inner surface, preferably the inner base, of the transport container 12. Preferably, the shaping rods are fixed in the base region, but can also be fixed at any other suitable location of the inliner that serves the intended purpose.

[0066] These shaping rods 14 are preferably fixed crosswise on the inside or outside of the base 10b, for example by means of pads made of plastic which can be glued, welded or clipped to the film of the inliner. The fixing elements 10c in turn fix the shaping rods 14 so that they lie splayed out on the base 10b. The splayed shaping rods 14 are captured at the fixing elements 10c and brought towards each other so that they are bent and meet at the ends. As the inliner film is fixed to the fixing elements 10c, it is automatically entrained and pre folded. This gives the inliner 10 a centred form.

[0067] In accordance with FIG. 3, the flexible properties of the shaping rods 14 allow them to be bent under internal stress in such a way that they enable the entire inliner 10 to be folded into a very slim shape. By connecting the shaping rods 14 to the base film of the inliner at the fixing elements 10c, as soon as they move into their rest position or starting position, they transform the base into a flat shape that follows the shape of the inner base during expansion.

[0068] In principle, the inliner 10 is operatively connected to the shaping rods 14 in such a way that the inliner 10 in the transport container 12 opens with the shaping rods 14 in a manner comparable to an umbrella principle when the inliner is introduced into the transport container and closes when the inliner is extracted. The shaping rods preferably move here into their rest position when opening and into a deformed position when closing by pulling out the emptied inliner. The umbrella principle envisions the shaping rods 14 connected at one end to the inliner 10 and opening in a radially outward manner, pivoting away from an axis of the inliner 10, for example a central axis, The shaping rods 14 are capable of moving in the opposite direction, pivoting toward the axis to assume a closed configuration, similar to the movement of an umbrella.

[0069] The shaping rods 14 also assume this deformed position when they are introduced into the inliner 10, as they are received in an application tube 16 in the deformed state. Here, deformed means that the shaping rods 14 are preferably made of a resilient material-for example elastically deformable glass fibre rods. The shaping rods 14 are inserted into the inliner in a pre stressed state and released there to relax. For example, the shaping rods can be bent into a semi circle and are thus stressed. The application tube 16 then holds the rods pre stressed in this position until it is removed.

[0070] The filling opening 12a of the transport container 12 is generally limited in size, so that the inliner 10 must be folded to the size of the diameter of the filling opening 12a in order to be able to insert it through the filling opening 12a of the transport container 12 and into the latter. In order to prevent the inliner 10 from expanding after production and before insertion into the transport container 12, the folded inliner 10 together with the shaping rods 14 is held in the folded shape by an application tube 16 pulled over it, in accordance with FIGS. 4, 5. In their deformed position, the inliner and the shaping rods 14 are arranged to be received in the application tube 16. The outer dimensions of the application tube 16 are smaller than the filling opening 12a of the transport container 12. Specifically, the application tube 16 is smaller for this purpose than the cross section or diameter of the filling opening 12a of the transport container 12, so that the inliner 10 can be inserted through the filling opening 12a in folded form. As a transport safety device and simultaneous insertion aid, the application tube 16 completely encases the folded inliner 10 and also holds the folded shaping rods 14, which are under stress, in a deformed position drawn into the application tube so that the inliner 10 can be inserted through the filling opening 12a of the transport container 12.

[0071] Preferably, an insertion funnel 42 in accordance with FIG. 6a can be attached to the filling opening 12a of the transport container 12. This advantageously simplifies the insertion of the folded inliner with application tube 16 and at the same time the application tube can be fixed to the stud bolts 44 attached to the insertion funnel 42, so that the application tube 16 can be removed simply by pressing in the entire inliner package. At the same time, the insertion funnel 42 serves as protection against sharp edges in the filling opening 12a of the transport container. However, insertion is also possible without such an insertion funnel.

[0072] The inliner 10, which is fixed in its folded form in this position by the application tube 16, is first inserted together with the application tube 16 through the filling opening 12a of the transport container 12 and further inserted into the transport container in accordance with FIG. 6. In accordance with FIG. 7, the application tube 16 is preferably pulled upwards and out of the transport container 12 outside the filling opening 12a of the transport container 12. As a result, the flexible shaping rods 14 are released from their shape determined by the application tube and expand outwards into their original unbent shape. As a result of their fixation, for example on the base 10b of the inliner 10, they pull it outwards due to their internal stress. This results in a flat basic shape, in the exemplary embodiment a flat base shape, of the inliner, which follows the shape of the transport container 12.

[0073] Since the shaping rods 14 do not always open completely on their own, especially after long storage in the application tube 16, it is expedient to pull the stretched inliner upwards a few times at the filling region through the filling opening 12a and then to let it sink back down towards the base of the transport container 12. The up and down movement creates an air cushion under the inliner base stretched by the shaping rods 14, which escapes upwards around the sides of the base and thus spreads out the inliner base even better in the transport container 12.

[0074] According to FIG. 8, the base 10b of the inliner 10 is drawn into a flat shape by the shaping rods 14 expanded in this way, which corresponds to the shape of the inner base of the transport container 12, for example. As a result, it lies flat on the inner base of the transport container 12 or flat against another surface of the transport container.

[0075] The funnel shaped filling region 10a of the inliner 10 protrudes upwards through the filling opening 12a of the transport container 12. In accordance with FIG. 9, a moulded part 18 is drawn over this region, which makes it possible to fix the funnel shaped filling region 10a of the inliner 10 during the filling process by means of a clamp 20 to prevent the filling region from possibly slipping into the transport container 12. At the same time, the moulded part 18 allows the air displaced from the transport container 12 during filling of the inliner 10 to escape safely to the outside through air holes 18a.

[0076] The filling region 10a of the inliner 10 is secured in the moulded part 18 in accordance with FIG. 10 by means of a clamp 20 to prevent it from slipping into the transport container 12.

[0077] The inliner can now be filled with filling material in accordance with FIG. 11 and opens upwards into the transport container 12, starting from the base region, due to the rising filling material 40, in order to line the transport container. In doing so, the inliner lies snugly and precisely against the inner walls of the transport container 12.

[0078] After filling, the filling region 10a of the inliner 10 is closed, for example with a cable tie or an appropriate material for binding, and is folded inwards into the transport container 12. The transport container 12 can be closed for safe transport by the original lid 22 at the top at the filling opening 12a and at the bottom at the valve 24 in accordance with FIG. 13.

[0079] For emptying, the liquid in the inliner 10 is suctioned out from above through the filling opening 12a of the transport container 12 and the filling region 10a of the inliner 10 in accordance with FIG. 14. As much liquid as possible is sucked out of the inliner 10 down to a residual quantity in the base region. In order to concentrate this in the centre as in a sump 38, the inliner 10 is pulled upwards at the filling region 10a so that a sump like tank is formed (FIG. 15). The residual quantity can now be extracted. Preferably, a rigid suction lance with a small filter basket should be used for this. This allows the liquid to be removed almost completely without the inliner sticking to the suction lance. Once the liquid has been extracted down to a small residual quantity, the suction lance or the suction hose is removed.

[0080] Now, in accordance with FIG. 17, the inliner 10 is pulled upwards in the direction of the arrow, whereby the flexible shaping rods 14 bend into a U shape due to the contact with the filling opening 12a of the transport container and the pulling force, so that they can be pulled upwards and outwards together with the inliner 10, for example by pulling with a loop belt 26 wrapped around the upper region of the inliner 10, which loop belt is pulled upwards by the fork of a forklift truck or by another lifting device.

[0081] When removing by hand, the inliner 10 is pulled upwards on any side until one of the shaping rods 14 with fixing elements 10c is visible in the filling opening 12a of the transport container 12. This first shaping rod is first pulled out with one of its fixing elements 10c, followed by the film of the inliner 10, and then the other ends of the two shaping rods 14 with fixing elements 10c, which were previously located in the inner region of the transport container 12, are pulled out piece by piece.

[0082] Should there still be a small residual quantity in the inliner 10, it can be swung over a tank 28, for example, in accordance with FIG. 18 and cut open there, for example with a cutter knife, so that the residual quantity can flow out and the inliner can then be sent for thermal recycling. A new inliner is then drawn into the now empty transport container 12.

[0083] The transport container can now be re-fitted with an inliner for the next filling.

[0084] The inliner 10 equipped with the shaping rods 14, together with the application tube 16, in which the inliner 10 and the shaping rods 14 are receivable in their deformed position and the outer dimensions of which are smaller than a filling opening 12a of the transport container 12, forms a composite package which is arranged for introducing an inliner 10 through an opening in a container wall of a transport container 12. It can be made available in this form to users of such transport containers and is readily deployable quickly and easily.

[0085] Likewise, the composite package may additionally comprise the moulded part 18 in order to fix the inliner 10 after introduction into the transport container 12 at the filling opening 12a of the latter, the moulded part 18 preferably having air holes 18a.

[0086] On a transport container 12, which has a filling opening 12a and optionally an outlet opening 36 and is provided with the inliner 10 arranged in the transport container 12, the inliner 10 can preferably be securable at the filling opening 12a.