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US 5,395,007 AGranted
Reusable container unit
OwnerWilliam R. Housholder, William M. Arnold +1inventors
InventorsWilliam R. Housholder, William M. Arnold, Charles S. Brewer
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OwnerWilliam R. Housholder, William M. Arnold +1inventors
InventorsWilliam R. Housholder, William M. Arnold, Charles S. Brewer
Estimating the term…
A reusable container unit for flowable materials, having enhanced puncture resistance and leak containment characteristics, and being readily handleable by conventional fork lift or the like equipment, comprising a metallic, substantially closed and continuous first wall providing a containment vessel for flowable material, a metallic, substantially closed and continuous second wall providing a protective shell surrounding the vessel and spaced therefrom over at least a major portion of the outer surface thereof to provide protective spacing therebetween, spacer elements positioned between the vessel and shell for substantially maintaining the spacing therebetween, at least one aperture in adjacent portions of each of the vessel and shell and adapted to provide one or more access ports for of the vessel, individual closurer devices for each of the apertures, a tubular wall extending between and connecting the apertures forming each access port to provide a conduit for the flow of materials into and out of the vessel, and at least one base affixed to the shell for stabilizing the container unit in at least one operative position.
A reusable container unit for flowable materials, said unit having enhanced puncture resistance and leak containment characteristics and being readily handleable by conventional fork lift equipment, said unit comprising a metallic, substantially rigid, substantially closed vessel comprised of a substantially continuous first wall for holding said material and preventing leakage therefrom, a metallic, substantially rigid, substantially closed shell comprised of a substantially continuous second wall surrounding said vessel and spaced therefrom over at least a major portion of the outer surface of said first wall to provide a protective spacing between said walls whereby impact forces on said shell are not readily transmitted to said vessel, spacer cushion means positioned between said walls for maintaining said protective spacing therebetween, a first aperture through the wall of said shell and a second aperture through the wall of said vessel to provide access port means entering into said vessel for filling and emptying said vessel of the flowable material, a first closure device for said first aperture and a second closure device for said second aperture, said closure devices being operable for sealing or opening said apertures to allow the filling and emptying of said vessel, said closure devices being structurally and operably completely independent of each other and spaced apart from each other to maintain the integrity of said protective spacing, a tubular conduit having an inner end and an outer end and extending between said walls of said shell and vessel and having its inner end sealingly affixed to said vessel wall and its outer end sealingly affixed to said shell wall and encompassing said apertures to hermetically seal said conduit between said walls and provide for the flow of said materials therethrough into and out of said vessel, said tubular conduit being readily distortionable under impact forces applied to said shell in the vicinity of said first closure device for minimizing a portion of said impact forces transmitted to said vessel, and base means affixed to said shell for stabilizing said container unit in at least one operative position on a supporting floor, base or other groundwork.
A reusable container unit for flowable materials, said unit having enhanced puncture resistance and leak containment characteristics, and being readily handleable by conventional fork lift equipment, comprising a metallic, substantially rigid, substantially closed vessel having a generally tubular side wall with end caps sealed to each end of said side wall for holding said material and preventing leakage therefrom, a metallic, substantially rigid, substantially closed shell completely surrounding said vessel and comprised of a generally tubular side wall and end caps sealed to each end of said side wall, said shell being spaced from said vessel over at least a major portion of the outer surface of said vessel to provide a protective spacing therebetween, whereby impact forces on said shell are not readily transmitted to said vessel, spacer cushions positioned between said vessel and shell for substantially maintaining said protective spacing therebetween, substantially aligned apertures in each of said vessel and said shell to provide an access port entering into said vessel for filling and emptying said vessel of the flowable materials, an individual closure device for each of said apertures for sealing or opening the apertures to allow the filling and emptying of said vessel, said closure devices being structurally and operably completely independent of each other and spaced apart from each other to maintain the integrity of said protective spacing, a tubular conduit extending between said vessel and shell and having each end sealingly affixed to said vessel and shell and encompassing said apertures to provide for the flow of said materials therethrough into and out of said vessel, said tubular conduit being readily distortionable under impact forces applied to said shell in the vicinity of the closure device for minimizing the forces transmitted to said vessel, and base means affixed to said shell for stabilizing said container unit in at least one operative position on a supporting floor, base or other groundwork.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.