Lift loop assembly test process and apparatus
AssigneeAmeriglobe, LLC
InventorsClifford Dunlap, Brody Alan Viator
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hand-held lift loop assembly tester apparatus and method tests peel strength of a heat seal connection between a lift loop patch and a bulk bag body as an indicator of shear strength of the connection and whether the bag will pass industry safety lifting requirements. A lifting platform of the hand loop tester is inserted between the patch and the bag body in an unsealed area and measures the amount of peel and thus the peel strength of the heat seal bond or connection at the edges or sides of the unsealed area. If the peel strength is adequate, this is a reliable indicator that the shear strength of the bond or connection is also adequate and that the bag will meet the current industry required 5 to 1 safety lifting requirements.
Claims20
An apparatus for testing adequacy of a connection between flexible fabrics, the apparatus comprising:
- a) a lifting member that is able to be raised and lowered, the lifting member sized so that at least a portion of the lifting member is able to be inserted in between a first flexible fabric and a second flexible fabric in an unsealed area that has a sealed area adjacent the unsealed area;
- b) wherein the sealed area includes the connection which couples the first flexible fabric to the second flexible fabric;
- and
- c) wherein a distance the lifting member is able to rise in the unsealed area provides information on whether a strength of the connection in the sealed area is adequate.
An apparatus for testing adequacy of a connection between flexible fabrics of a bulk bag, the apparatus comprising:
- a) an insert portion that is sized so that at least a portion of the insert portion can be inserted into an unsealed area in between a first flexible fabric and a second flexible fabric, wherein the unsealed area is adjacent a sealed area between the first flexible fabric and the second flexible fabric that includes the connection;
- and
- b) wherein the insert portion is able to be raised while inserted into the unsealed area to lift the first flexible fabric and test whether peel occurs in said sealed area, wherein whether peel occurs is an indicator of whether a strength of the connection between the first flexible fabric and the second flexible fabric is adequate.
A test system for measuring adequacy of a connection between flexible fabrics, the test system comprising:
- a) a tester having a lifting member that is sized so that at least a portion of the lifting member can be inserted into an unsealed area in between a first flexible fabric and a second flexible fabric, wherein the unsealed area is adjacent a sealed area between the first flexible fabric and the second flexible fabric;
- b) the lifting member able to be raised while the lifting member is in the unsealed area;
- c) a control panel in communication with the tester;
- and
- wherein a distance that the lifting member rises during the test provides information on an amount of peel that occurs in the sealed area and information on strength of the sealed area.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.