Industrial bag lift loop assembly
AssigneeAmeriglobe, LLC
InventorsClifford Dunlap, Daniel R. Schnaars, Sr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lifting assembly and method for a flexible bag includes one or more lift members, wherein each lift member is coupled to a layer of material, e.g., a fabric layer. The fabric layer can be coupled to a flexible bag wherein the fabric layer is an intermediate layer between the lift member and the flexible bag. The fabric layer can be heat fused or otherwise coupled to a bag without stitching or sewing, which eliminates the creation of sew or stitch holes that breach a containment area of the bag and which can weaken the bag fabric. The one or more lift members, however, can be sewn or stitched to one or more intermediate layers.
Claims58
A flexible bulk bag that can hold 500 to 5,000 pounds of bulk material, the bag made of woven fabric and comprising:
- a side wall made of woven fabric;
- and
- a lift assembly, the lift assembly including a lift member coupled with a coupler to an intermediate layer that is made of woven fabric;
- wherein the woven fabric of the intermediate layer is coupled to the woven fabric of the bag side wall with a heat seal coupler;
- and
- wherein a heat sealed bond between the woven fabric of the intermediate layer and the woven fabric of the bag has at least 90% of the original fabric strength;
- and
- wherein the heat seal bond extends above the coupler and between the coupler and an upper portion of the intermediate layer to a location that is at least 1 inch above the coupler to protect the heat seal bond from being put into a peel position if the flexible bulk bag is picked up by the lift member when the lift member is positioned in a direction other than upwards.
A lift member assembly on a flexible bulk bag made of woven fabric that has a bag outer fabric surface, the bag of the type that can hold 500 to 5000 pounds, the lift member assembly comprising:
- a lift member coupled with a coupler to a woven fabric layer that has a fabric layer fabric outer surface;
- wherein the fabric layer fabric outer surface is coupled to the bag outer fabric surface without stitching, sewing or puncturing the bag outer fabric surface;
- wherein the fabric layer is an intermediate layer between the lift member and the flexible bag;
- wherein a heat seal bond formed by a heat seal coupler directly connects the bag outer fabric surface to the fabric layer fabric outer surface;
- and
- wherein the heat seal bond extends above the coupler and between the coupler and an upper portion of the fabric layer to a location that is at least 1 inch above the coupler to protect the heat seal bond from being put into a peel position if the bag is picked up by the lift member when the lift member is positioned in a direction other than upwards.
A flexible woven fabric bulk bag of the type that can hold 500 to 5,000 pounds of bulk material, the bag comprising:
- a body side wall made of woven polypropylene fabric;
- a lift assembly including a fabric patch made of woven polypropylene fabric that is heat sealed to the body side wall with a heat seal coupler and without sewing, and a lift loop sewn to the patch at a sewn connection such that the lift loop is not sewn to the body side wall;
- and
- wherein the heat seal coupler directly connects the woven polypropylene fabric of the patch to the woven polypropylene fabric of the body side wall;
- and
- wherein the heat seal coupler extends above the sewn connection of the lift loop and between the sewn connection and an upper portion of the patch to a location that is at least 1 inch above the sewn connection.
A flexible woven fabric bulk bag of the type that can hold 500 to 5,000 pounds of bulk material, the bag comprising:
- a body including a side wall having a body outer polypropylene fabric surface;
- and
- a lift loop assembly comprising a lift loop sewn to a polypropylene fabric patch at a sewn connection, the patch having a patch outer polypropylene fabric surface;
- wherein the patch outer polypropylene fabric surface is heat sealed to the body outer polypropylene fabric surface such that the patch is an intermediate layer between the lift loop and the body side wall, and wherein a heat seal coupler directly bonds the body outer polypropylene fabric surface to the patch outer polypropylene fabric surface at a heat seal bond;
- and
- wherein the heat seal bond extends above the sewn connection and between the sewn connection and an upper portion of the patch to a location that is at least 1 inch above the sewn connection to protect the heat seal bond from being put into a peel position if the bag is picked up by the lift loop when the lift loop is positioned in a direction other than upwards.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.