Stackable, flexible, intermediate bulk bag container having corner baffles
AssigneeBulk Lift International Incorporated
InventorDavid Nattrass
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bulk container bag of a flexible fabric has an essentially cubic configuration wherein vertically extending baffles are provided in the interior corners of the bags to permit the bags to better retain their cubic configuration and to improve stability when filled. The baffles have slits defining flaps, alternatively, apertures and flaps, so that the loose granular material captures the flaps after it is filled in the bulk container bag. A method of filling the bag with granular materials is also provided.
Claims19
A flexible container bag assembly comprising:
- an exterior body of flexible material including a plurality of sidewalls attached to each other at the edges of adjacent sidewalls, the sidewalls defining corners at the position of attachment of the sidewall edges thereby defining bag corners, and a bottom panel having plural bottom panel boundary edges, the bottom panel boundary edges being attached to sidewall edges not attached to each other, thereby providing an enclosed interior volume configuration capable of retaining loose or granular material and including lifting loops at or immediately adjacent at least two of the bag corners;
- a plurality of baffles comprising a web fabric, one baffle spanning each of the bag corners defined by the sidewall edges, the baffle having an essentially rectilinear shape, one longitudinal edge of each baffle being attached to a sidewall and the other longitudinal baffle edge being attached to an adjacent sidewall thereby defining a corner volume, the two longitudinal baffle edges defining between them a width w of a baffle, each baffle having at least two apertures in the web fabric of the baffle, the width of each aperture being less than the width w of the baffle, the apertures in the web fabric permitting access between the interior volume and the corner volumes, the baffles thereby assisting to maintain the rectangular configuration of the container;
- and
- at least one flap at least partially covering each of the at least two apertures, each flap comprising a flap base attached to the web fabric and a flap bend or point opposite the flap base that is not directly attached to the web fabric.
A flexible container bag assembly comprising:
- an exterior body including plural sidewalls of flexible material, corners to define a rectangular configuration and lifting loops at or immediately adjacent the corners;
- plural baffles adjacent the corners to maintain a rectangular configuration of the flexible container bag;
- and
- at least one of the baffles having a slit, the slit being upwardly concave and defining a flap that substantially covers the aperture, the flap being defined by the upwardly concave slit.
A flexible container bag assembly comprising:
- an exterior body including plural sidewalls of flexible material, corners to define a rectangular configuration and lifting loops at or immediately adjacent the corners;
- a baffle adjacent at least one of the corners, comprising an aperture, and coupled to the exterior body to maintain the rectangular configuration of the flexible container bag;
- and
- a flap that covers the aperture, wherein the flap comprises a base attached to the baffle and a cut bend or point opposite the flap base.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.