Title of Invention	TRANSPORTING AND STORAGE CONTAINERS FOR LIQUIDS AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING FLEXIBLE INNER CONTAINERS FOR TRANSPORTING AND STORAGE CONTAINERS
Abstract	The transporting and storage container (1) for liquids has, as its main components, a flexible inner container (2), which is made of an inner enclosure (3) made of plastic sheeting and an outer enclosure (4) made of a woven fabric material, a grid casing (9), which is made of horizontal and vertical grid bars (10, 11) made of metal, and a pa,llet-like substructure (12). The flexible inner container (2) is fastened on the top frame (26) of the grid casing (9) of the transporting container (1), and the inner enclosure (3) is positioned in the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2).

Title of Invention

TRANSPORTING AND STORAGE CONTAINERS FOR LIQUIDS AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING FLEXIBLE INNER CONTAINERS FOR TRANSPORTING AND STORAGE CONTAINERS

Abstract

The transporting and storage container (1) for liquids has, as its main components, a flexible inner container (2), which is made of an inner enclosure (3) made of plastic sheeting and an outer enclosure (4) made of a woven fabric material, a grid casing (9), which is made of horizontal and vertical grid bars (10, 11) made of metal, and a pa,llet-like substructure (12). The flexible inner container (2) is fastened on the top frame (26) of the grid casing (9) of the transporting container (1), and the inner enclosure (3) is positioned in the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2).

Full Text	The invention relates to transporting and storage containers for liquids and process for producing flexible inner containers for transporting and storage containers. Transporting and storage containers of the generic type which are known from DE 197 22 194 C2 and have a blow-molded inner container made of plastic are used for storing and for transporting all types of liquids in the chemical, pharmaceutical, mineral-oil and foodstuff industries. The stringent legal environmental-protection regulations require transfer from disposable containers, such as pallet containers and drums or barrels, for transporting and for storing different types of liquids to reusable containers, a changeover to larger-volume containers with the aim of reducing the residual quantities, and the development of new reusable containers which, in terms of relieving the environment of harmful substances, can be reconditioned and of which the plastic constituent parts contaminated by the liquid transporting and storage contents can be disposed of in optimum fashion by a low-pollutant or even pollutant-free destruction operation, e.g. by incineration. The object of the invention is further to develop the transporting and storage container of the generic type in terms of a cost-effective reconditioning capacity by inexpensive production and optimum disposal of the plastic inner container. This object is achieved according to the invention by the transporting and storage container for liquids having the features and production steps as described herein. Accordingly the present invention provides transporting and storage containers for liquids, having a pallet-like substructure which is designed for handling by a stacker truck, storage and retrieval unit or similar transporting means, having a cubical or cubic inner container made of plastic with in each case a closable filling and outlet opening or a closable filling and removal opening, and having a metal grid casing which butts against the inner container and is made of cross-crossing horizontal and vertical grid bars made of metal, characterized in that the flexible inner container comprises an inner enclosure made of plastic sheet material and an outer enclosure made of a woven fabric material, the inner container is fastened on the top frame of the grid casing and/or on a protective covering (cover bars) of the transporting container, and the inner enclosure is positioned in the outer enclosure of the inner container. The transporting and storage container for liquids according to the invention and the process for producing the plastic inner container of the transporting container are distinguished by the following advantages: Designing the inner container as a flexible container, which comprises an inner enclosure made of plastic sheet material and an outer enclosure made of a woven fabric material, makes it possible, in relation to liquid containers having an inner container blow-moulded from plastic, to reduce the empty weight and the transportation costs on account of the low thickness of the sheeting and of the woven fabric material and to decrease to a considerable extent the amount of plastic material contaminated by paints, varnishes and similar environmentally harmful liquids, with the result that the disposal of said plastic material does not pose any problems. The transporting container can be reconditioned cost-effectively at the production and liquid-filling companies by straight-forwardly exchanging the inexpensive inner container, the small amount of space required for the flexible inner container, on account of the fact that it can be folded together, and the low production costs of the inner container making inexpensive storage possible. Finally, the production of the flexible inner container from a plastic sheet material and a woven fabric material preferably made of plastic is more cost-effective than the production of blow-moulded plastic inner containers using expensive blow-molding machines, which require high investment costs. The transporting and storage container according to the invention and the process for producing the flexible inner container of the transporting container are explained hereinbelow with reference to the schematic drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a perspective illustration of a transporting and storage container. Figure 2 illustrates a plan view of the transporting container according to Figure 1, Figures 3 to 5 illustrate perspective illustrations of the casing blank, of the cover blank and of the base blank of the outer enclosure of the inner container of the transporting container, Figure 6 illustrates a perspective illustration of the outer-enclosure casing produced by sewing the casing blank. Figure 7 illustrates a plan view of the blank of the inner enclosure of the inner container with the arrangement of the weld seams in the top sheet-material web of the blank during the contour welding of the inner enclosure. Figure 8 illustrates a perspective illustration of the slightly opened-out blank of the inner enclosure for depicting the routing of the weld seams during the contour welding of the inner enclosure, and Figure 9 illustrates an end view of the opened-out inner enclosure filled with a liquid for leakage-testing purposes. The transporting and storage container 1 according to Figures 1 and 2, which is intended for liquids and is used as a disposable container and a reusable container, has, as its main components, an exchangeable, flexible, cubical inner container 2 with rounded corners 8, which is made of an inner enclosure 3 made of plastic sheeting, e.g. a polyethylene sheet material, and of an outer enclosure 4 which reinforces the inner enclosure 3 and is made of a woven fabric material, e.g. a polyamide fibre, said inner container 2 being equipped with a filling nozzle 5 which can be closed by a screw cover 6 and with an outlet nozzle 7 for connecting a removal valve, and also has a grid casing 9, which is made of cross-crossing horizontal and vertical grid bars 10, 11 made of metal, and a pallet-like substructure 12 which has European-standard length and width dimensions, is designed for handling by a stacker truck, storage and retrieval unit or the like and is equipped with a flat base tray 13 for accommodating with a form fit the liquid-filled inner container 2. The outer enclosure 4 of the inner container 2 comprises a casing blank, a base blank and a cover blank 14, 15, 16 (Figures 3-5). The closed inner enclosure 3, which is contour-welded from a blank 17 of a gusseted tube 18 made of plastic sheeting, is sewn or adhesively bonded, by way of welded longitudinal border strips 19, 20, 21, 22, to the casing blank, the base blank and the cover blank 14, 15, 16 of the outer enclosure 4 to form the inner container 2, and is positioned in the outer enclosure 4 in this way (Figures 4-9). Welded onto the blank 17 of the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2 is a blank 23 which has borders which are formed as loops 24, 25 and are intended for hanging the inner container 2 on cover bars 27, 28 of the transporting container 1, said cover bars being fastened on the top frame 26 of the grid casing 9 (Figures 1, 2, 7, 8). The blank 23 with the hanging loops 24, 25 has a central opening 29 which is arranged congruently with a central opening 31 in the top sheet-material web 30 of the blank 17 of the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2, the two openings 29, 31 serving as insertion openings for the filling nozzle 5, the latter being welded to the blank 23 and to the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2. Arranged in the cover blank 16 of the outer enclosure 4 of the inner container 2 is a further insertion opening 32, which is intended for the filling nozzle 5. Furthermore, retaining bands 33 are sewn on the cover blank 16 and are intended for fastening the inner container 2 on the top frame 26 of the grid casing 9. The process according to the invention for producing the flexible inner container for the previously described transporting and storage container for liquids is characterized by the following process steps: 1. Cutting a casing blank 14 for the outer enclosure 4 of the inner container 2 from a woven-fabric web on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings 34 and edge markings 35 for the cuboidal or cubic casing 36, which is to be sewn, of the outer enclosure 4 from the cutting table to the casing blank 14 for the purpose of positioning the casing 36, base blank 15 and cover blank 16 of the outer enclosure 4 during the subsequent operation of sewing or adhesive bonding to the inner enclosure 3 (Figures 3 and 6); 2. Sewing the casing blank 14 inside out at the abutment edges 37, 38 to form the casing 36 of the outer enclosure 4 (Figure 6); 3. Cutting a cover blank 16 from a woven-fabric web for the outer enclosure 4 of the inner container 2, with rounded corners 39 and an opening 32 for the insertion of the filling nozzle 5 of the inner container 2, on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings 40 from the cutting table to the cover blank 16 {Figure 4}; 4. Sewing on retaining bands 33 at predetermined locations of the cover blank 16; 5. Cutting a base blank 15 from a woven-fabric web for the outer enclosure 4 of the inner container 2, with rounded corners 41, on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings 42 from the cutting table to the base blank 15 (Figure 5); 6. Cutting a blank 17 for the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2 from a gusseted tube 18, which is folded in as far as the centre longitudinal axis 43-43 and is made of sheet material, on a cutting table, the longitudinal borders 44, 45 of the blank 17 being approximately twice the length 46 of the inner container 2 which is to be produced, and the transverse borders 47, 48 of the blank 17 being greater, by a certain distance, than the width 49 of the inner container 2. (Figures 2, 7, 9); 7 . Cutting out the openings 31, 50 for the insertion of the filling nozzle 5 and of the outlet nozzle 7, of the top and bottom sheet- material webs 30, 51 of the blank 17 of the inner enclosure 3 {Figures 7 and 8); Contour welding of the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2, it being the case that, with a blank 17 of a gusset ed tube 18 made of a single-layer sheet material, in a first welding cycle, the transverse borders 47, 47; 48, 48 located one above the other are welded to the borders 52a, 52b; 53a, 53b, located therebetween, of the fold-in portions 52, 53 of the folded blank 17, on the longitudinal borders 44, 45 of the top sheet-material web 30 of the blank 17, longitudinal border strips 19, 20 are welded, by a longitudinal weld seam 54, 55, from said top sheet-material web and the top section 52c, 53c, located there beneath, of the associated fold-in portion 52, 53, said longitudinal border strips running symmetrically to the centre 44a, 45a of the two longitudinal borders 44, 45 of the blank 17, and in each case from the two ends 54a, 54b; 55a, 55b of the longitudinal weld seams 54, 55, oblique weld seams 58-61 are made through the top sheet-material web 30 and the top section 52c, 53c, located there beneath, of the associated fold-in portion 52, 53, as far as the centre 47a, 48a of the transverse borders 47, 48 of the blank 17, for the purpose of welding corresponding sections of the top sheet-material web 30 and the fold-in portions 52, 53 of the blank 17, and it being the case that, in a second welding cycle, the same contour-welding operation is carried out for the bottom sheet-material web 51 of the blank 17 and the bottom sections 52d, 53d, adjacent to said blank, of the fold-in portions 52, 53 for the purpose of forming bottom longitudinal border strips 21, 22, as far as the welding of the transverse borders 47, 47; 48, 48 of the blank 17, which has already taken place in the first welding cycle (Figures 7 and 8); 9. Contour welding the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2, the blank 17 thereof [lacuna] a multi-layer sheet material, in particular a double-layer sheet material made of a weldable sheeting such as polyethylene and a non-weldable sheeting such as polyamide, in accordance with process step 8 in one welding cycle; 10. Welding a blank 23 made of sheeting, having two borders formed as fastening loops 24, 25 and a welded-on filling nozzle 5, onto the top sheet-material web 30 of the contour-welded blank 17 of the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2, the filling nozzle 5 being welded to the border region of the filling opening 31 (Figures 7 and 8); 11. Welding the outlet nozzle 7 to the border region of the outlet opening 5 in the bottom sheet-material web 51 of the contour-welded blank 17 of the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2; 12. Folding the contour-welded inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2 to the outline dimensions of the container, the welded longitudinal border strips 19, 20; 21, 22 being positioned flush with one another; 13. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the welded top longitudinal border strips 19, 20 of the folded-together inner enclosure 3 to the cover blank 16 of the outer enclosure 4; 14. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the welded longitudinal border strips 21, 22 of the folded-together inner enclosure 3 to the base blank 15 of the outer enclosure 4; 15. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the casing blank 14 of the outer enclosure 4, over the periphery, to the base blank 15 thereof and the bottom longitudinal border strips 21, 22 of the inner enclosure 3; 16. Turning bacjc the right way round the casing blank 14 together with the inner enclosure 3 and the base blank 15; and 17. Sewing or adhesively bonding the casing blank 14, turned back the right way round, of the outer enclosure 4, over the periphery, to the cover blank 16 of the outer enclosure 4 and the top longitudinal border strips 19, 20 of the inner enclosure 3. By virtue of the casing blank 14 of the outer enclosure 4 being turned back the right way round, the sewn-together abutment edges 37, 38 of the casing blank 14 pass to the inside of the latter, with the result that the outer appearance of the inner container 2 is not adversely affected in any way. However, the operation of turning back the right way round the casing blank 14 of the outer enclosure 4 following the process step 15 may be omitted. In this case, following the process step 14, the inner enclosure 3 is opened out, and then the casing blank 14 is sewn or adhesively bonded, over the periphery, to the base blank 15 of the outer enclosure 4 and the bottom longitudinal border strips 21, 22 of the inner enclosure 3 and to the cover blank 16 of the outer enclosure 4 and the top longitudinal border strips 19, 20 of the inner enclosure 3. WE CLAIM 1. Transporting and storage containers for liquids, having a pallet-like substructure which is designed for handling by a stacker truck, storage and retrieval unit or similar transporting means, having a cuboidal or cubic inner container made of plastic with in each case a closable filling and outlet opening or a closable filling and removal opening, and having a metal grid casing which butts against the inner container and is made of criss-crossing horizontal and vertical grid bars made of metal, characterized in that the flexible inner container (2) comprises an inner enclosure (3) made of plastic sheet material and an outer enclosure (4) made of a woven fabric material, the inner container (2) is fastened on the top frame (26) of the grid casing (9) and/or on a protective covering (cover bars 27, 28) of the transporting container (1), and the inner enclosure (3) is positioned in the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2). 2. Container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2) having a casing blank, a base blank and a cover blank (14, 15, 16), and the closed inner enclosure (3), which is contour-welded from a blank (17) of a gusseted tube (18) made of plastic material, is sewn or adhesively bonded, by way of welded longitudinal and/or transverse border strips (19, 20; 21, 22), to the casing blank, the base blank and the cover blank (14, 15, 16) of the outer enclosure (4) to form the inner container (2). 3. Container as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein a blank (23) which is welded onto the blank (17) of the iimer enclosure (3) of the inner container (2) and has borders which are formed as loops (24, 25) and are intended for hanging the inner container (2) on cover bars (27, 28) fastened on the top frame (26) of the grid casing (9). 4. Container as claimed in claim 3, wherein the blank (23) with the hanging loops (24, 25) has a central opening (29) which is arranged congruently with a central opening (31) in the top sheet-material web (30) of the blank (17) [sic] of the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2), the two openings (29, 31) serving as insertion openings for a filling nozzle (5) with a closure cover (screw cover 6), said nozzle being welded to the blank (23) with the hanging loops (24, 25) and to the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2). 5. Container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an insertion opening (32), which is arranged in the cover blank (16) of the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2) and is intended for the filling nozzle (5), and by retaining bands (33), which are sewn on the cover blank (16) and are intended for fastening the inner container (2) on the top frame (26) of the grid casing (9). 6. Process for producing flexible inner containers for transporting and storage containers as claimed in claims 1 to 5, comprising the steps of: 1. Cutting a casing blank (14) for the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2) from a woven-fabric web on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings (34) and edge markings (35) for the cuboidal or cubic casing (36), which is to be sewn, of the outer enclosure (4) from the cutting table to the casing blank (14) for the purpose of positioning the casing (36), base blank (15) and cover blank (16) of the outer enclosure (4) during the subsequent operation of sewing or adhesive bonding to the inner enclosure (3); 2. Sewing the casing blank (14) inside out at the abutment edges (37, 38) to form the casing (36) of the outer enclosure (4) ; 3. Cutting a cover blank (16) from a woven-fabric web for the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2), with rounded corners (39) and an opening (32) for the insertion of the filling nozzle (5) of the inner container (2) , on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings (4 0) from the cutting table to the cover blank (16) ; 4. Sewing on retaining bands (33) at predetermined locations of the cover blank (16); 5. Cutting a base blank (15) from a woven-fabric web for the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2), with rounded corners (41), on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings (42) from the cutting table to the base blank (15); 6. Cutting a blank (17) for the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2) from a gusseted tube (18), which is folded in as far as the centre longitudinal axis (43-43) and is made of sheet material, on a cutting table, the longitudinal borders (44, 45) of the blank (17) being approximately twice the length (46) of the inner container (2) which is to be produced, and the transverse borders (47, 48) of the blank (17) being greater, by a certain distance, than the width (49) of the inner container (2) . 7. Cutting out the openings (31, 50) for the insertion of the filling nozzle (5) and of the outlet nozzle (7), of the top and bottom sheet- material webs (30, 51) of the blank (17) of the inner enclosure (3) ; Contour welding of the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2), it being the case that, with a blank (17) of a gusseted tube (18) made of a single-layer sheet material, in a first welding cycle, the transverse borders {41, 47; 48, 48) located one above the other are welded to the borders (52a, 52b; 53a, 53b), located therebetween, of the fold-in portions {52, 53) of the folded blank (17) , on the longitudinal borders (44, 45) of the top sheet-material web (30) of the blank (17), longitudinal border strips {19, 20) are welded, by a longitudinal weld seam {54, 55), from said top sheet-material web and the top section (52c, 53c), located therebeneath, of the associated fold-in portion (52, 53), said longitudinal border strips running symmetrically to the centre (44a, 45a) of the two longitudinal borders (44, 45) of the blank (17) , and in each case from the two ends (54a, 54b; 55a, 55b) of the longitudinal weld seams (54, 55), oblique weld seams {58-61) are made through the top sheet-material web (30) and the top section (52c, 53c), located therebeneath, of the associated fold-in portion (52, 53), as far as the centre (47a, 48a) of the transverse borders (47, 48) of the blan)c (17), for the purpose of welding corresponding sections of the top sheet-material web (30) and the fold-in portions (52, 53) of the blank (17), and it being the case that, in a second welding cycle, the same contour-welding operation is carried out for the bottom sheet-material web (51) of the blank (17) and the bottom sections (52d, 53d) , adjacent to said blank, of the fold-in portions (52, 53) for the purpose of forming bottom longitudinal border strips (21, 22) , as far as the welding of the transverse borders (47, 47; 48, 48) of the blank (17), which has already taken place in the first welding cycle; 9. Contour welding the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2) , the blank (17) thereof [lacuna] a multi-layer sheet material, in particular a double-layer sheet material made of a weldable sheeting such as polyethylene and a non-weldable sheeting such as polyamide, in accordance with process step 8 in one welding cycle; 10. Welding a blank (23) made of sheeting, having two borders formed as fastening loops (24, 25) and a welded-on filling nozzle (5) , onto the top sheet-material web (30) of the contour-welded blank (17) of the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2), the filling nozzle (5) being welded to the border region of the filling opening (31); 11. Welding the outlet nozzle (7) to the border region of the outlet opening (5) in the bottom sheet-material web (51) of the contour-welded blank (17} of the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2); 12. Folding the contour-welded inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2} to the outline dimensions of the container, the welded longitudinal border strips (19, 20; 21, 22) being positioned flush with one another; 13. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the welded top longitudinal border strips (19, 20) of the folded-together inner enclosure (3) to the cover blank (16) of the outer enclosure (4); 14. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the welded longitudinal border strips (21, 22) of the folded-together inner enclosure (3) to the base blank (15) of the outer enclosure (4); and 15. Opening out the inner enclosure (3) and sewing or adhesively bonding the casing blank (14) of the outer enclosure (4), over the periphery, to the base blank (15) thereof and the bottom longitudinal border strips (21, 22) of the inner enclosure (3) and to the cover blank (16) of the outer enclosure (4) and the top longitudinal border strips (19, 20) of the inner enclosure (3). 7. Process having the steps 1 to 14 as claimed in Claim 6 for producing flexible inner containers, comprising the steps of: 1. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the casing blank (14) of the outer enclosure (4), over the periphery, to the base blank (15) thereof and the bottom longitudinal border strips (21, 22) of the inner enclosure (3); 2. Turning back the right way round the casing blank (14) together with the inner enclosure (3) and the base blank (15); and 3. Sewing or adhesively bonding the casing blank (14), turned back the right way round, of the outer enclosure (4), over the periphery, to the cover blank (16) of the outer enclosure (4) and the top longitudinal border strips (21, 22) [sic] of the inner enclosure (3). 8. Transporting and storage containers for liquids, substantially as hereinabove described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Full Text

The invention relates to transporting and storage containers for liquids and process for producing flexible inner containers for transporting and storage containers.
Transporting and storage containers of the generic type which are known from DE 197 22 194 C2 and have a blow-molded inner container made of plastic are used for storing and for transporting all types of liquids in the chemical, pharmaceutical, mineral-oil and foodstuff industries.
The stringent legal environmental-protection regulations require transfer from disposable containers, such as pallet containers and drums or barrels, for transporting and for storing different types of liquids to reusable containers, a changeover to larger-volume containers with the aim of reducing the residual quantities, and the development of new reusable containers which, in terms of relieving the environment of harmful substances, can be reconditioned and of which the plastic constituent parts contaminated by the liquid transporting and storage contents can be disposed of in optimum fashion by a low-pollutant or even pollutant-free destruction operation, e.g. by incineration.
The object of the invention is further to develop the transporting and storage container of the generic type in terms of a cost-effective reconditioning capacity by inexpensive production and optimum disposal of the plastic inner container.
This object is achieved according to the invention by the transporting and storage container for liquids having the features and production steps as described
herein.

Accordingly the present invention provides transporting and storage containers for liquids, having a pallet-like substructure which is designed for handling by a stacker truck, storage and retrieval unit or similar transporting means, having a cubical or cubic inner container made of plastic with in each case a closable filling and outlet opening or a closable filling and removal opening, and having a metal grid casing which butts against the inner container and is made of cross-crossing horizontal and vertical grid bars made of metal, characterized in that the flexible inner container comprises an inner enclosure made of plastic sheet material and an outer enclosure made of a woven fabric material, the inner container is fastened on the top frame of the grid casing and/or on a protective covering (cover bars) of the transporting container, and the inner enclosure is positioned in the outer enclosure of the inner container.
The transporting and storage container for liquids according to the invention and the process for producing the plastic inner container of the transporting container are distinguished by the following advantages:
Designing the inner container as a flexible container, which comprises an inner enclosure made of plastic sheet material and an outer enclosure made of a woven fabric material, makes it possible, in relation to liquid containers having an inner container blow-moulded from plastic, to reduce the empty weight and the transportation costs on account of the low thickness of the sheeting and of the woven fabric material and to decrease to a considerable extent the amount of plastic material contaminated by paints, varnishes and similar environmentally harmful liquids, with the result that the disposal of said plastic material does not pose any problems. The transporting container can be reconditioned cost-effectively at the production and liquid-filling companies by straight-forwardly exchanging the inexpensive inner container, the small amount of space required for the flexible inner container, on account of the fact that it can be folded together, and the low production costs of the inner container making inexpensive storage possible. Finally, the production of the flexible inner container

from a plastic sheet material and a woven fabric material preferably made of plastic is more cost-effective than the production of blow-moulded plastic inner containers using expensive blow-molding machines, which require high investment costs.
The transporting and storage container according to the invention and the process for producing the flexible inner container of the transporting container are explained hereinbelow with reference to the schematic drawings, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a perspective illustration of a transporting and storage container.
Figure 2 illustrates a plan view of the transporting container according to Figure 1,
Figures 3 to 5 illustrate perspective illustrations of the casing blank, of the cover blank and of the base blank of the outer enclosure of the inner container of the transporting container,
Figure 6 illustrates a perspective illustration of the outer-enclosure casing produced by sewing the casing blank.
Figure 7 illustrates a plan view of the blank of the inner enclosure of the inner container with the arrangement of the weld seams in the top sheet-material web of the blank during the contour welding of the inner enclosure.
Figure 8 illustrates a perspective illustration of the slightly opened-out blank of the inner enclosure for depicting the routing of the weld seams during the contour welding of the inner enclosure, and

Figure 9 illustrates an end view of the opened-out inner enclosure filled with a liquid for leakage-testing purposes.
The transporting and storage container 1 according to Figures 1 and 2, which is intended for liquids and is used as a disposable container and a reusable container, has, as its main components, an exchangeable, flexible, cubical inner container 2 with rounded corners 8, which is made of an inner enclosure 3 made of plastic sheeting, e.g. a polyethylene sheet material, and of an outer enclosure 4 which reinforces the inner enclosure 3 and is made of a woven fabric material, e.g. a polyamide fibre, said inner container
2 being equipped with a filling nozzle 5 which can be
closed by a screw cover 6 and with an outlet nozzle 7
for connecting a removal valve, and also has a grid
casing 9, which is made of cross-crossing horizontal
and vertical grid bars 10, 11 made of metal, and a
pallet-like substructure 12 which has European-standard
length and width dimensions, is designed for handling
by a stacker truck, storage and retrieval unit or the
like and is equipped with a flat base tray 13 for
accommodating with a form fit the liquid-filled inner
container 2.
The outer enclosure 4 of the inner container 2 comprises a casing blank, a base blank and a cover blank 14, 15, 16 (Figures 3-5). The closed inner enclosure 3, which is contour-welded from a blank 17 of a gusseted tube 18 made of plastic sheeting, is sewn or adhesively bonded, by way of welded longitudinal border strips 19, 20, 21, 22, to the casing blank, the base blank and the cover blank 14, 15, 16 of the outer enclosure 4 to form the inner container 2, and is positioned in the outer enclosure 4 in this way (Figures 4-9).
Welded onto the blank 17 of the inner enclosure
3 of the inner container 2 is a blank 23 which has
borders which are formed as loops 24, 25 and are

intended for hanging the inner container 2 on cover bars 27, 28 of the transporting container 1, said cover bars being fastened on the top frame 26 of the grid casing 9 (Figures 1, 2, 7, 8).
The blank 23 with the hanging loops 24, 25 has a central opening 29 which is arranged congruently with a central opening 31 in the top sheet-material web 30 of the blank 17 of the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2, the two openings 29, 31 serving as insertion openings for the filling nozzle 5, the latter being welded to the blank 23 and to the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2.
Arranged in the cover blank 16 of the outer enclosure 4 of the inner container 2 is a further insertion opening 32, which is intended for the filling nozzle 5. Furthermore, retaining bands 33 are sewn on the cover blank 16 and are intended for fastening the inner container 2 on the top frame 26 of the grid casing 9.
The process according to the invention for producing the flexible inner container for the previously described transporting and storage container for liquids is characterized by the following process steps:
1. Cutting a casing blank 14 for the outer enclosure 4 of the inner container 2 from a woven-fabric web on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings 34 and edge markings 35 for the cuboidal or cubic casing 36, which is to be sewn, of the outer enclosure 4 from the cutting table to the casing blank 14 for the purpose of positioning the casing 36, base blank 15 and cover blank 16 of the outer enclosure 4 during the subsequent operation of sewing or adhesive bonding to the inner enclosure 3 (Figures 3 and 6);

2. Sewing the casing blank 14 inside out at the abutment edges 37, 38 to form the casing 36 of the outer enclosure 4 (Figure 6);
3. Cutting a cover blank 16 from a woven-fabric web for the outer enclosure 4 of the inner container 2, with rounded corners 39 and an opening 32 for the insertion of the filling nozzle 5 of the inner container 2, on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings 40 from the cutting table to the cover blank 16 {Figure 4};
4. Sewing on retaining bands 33 at predetermined locations of the cover blank 16;
5. Cutting a base blank 15 from a woven-fabric web for the outer enclosure 4 of the inner container 2, with rounded corners 41, on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings 42 from the cutting table to the base blank 15 (Figure 5);
6. Cutting a blank 17 for the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2 from a gusseted tube 18, which is folded in as far as the centre longitudinal axis 43-43 and is made of sheet material, on a cutting table, the longitudinal borders 44, 45 of the blank 17 being approximately twice the length 46 of the inner container 2 which is to be produced, and the transverse borders 47, 48 of the blank 17 being greater, by a certain distance, than the width 49 of the inner container 2. (Figures 2, 7, 9);
7 . Cutting out the openings 31, 50 for the insertion of the filling nozzle 5 and of the outlet nozzle 7, of the top and bottom sheet-

material webs 30, 51 of the blank 17 of the inner enclosure 3 {Figures 7 and 8);
Contour welding of the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2, it being the case that, with a blank 17 of a gusset ed tube 18 made of a single-layer sheet material, in a first welding cycle, the transverse borders 47, 47; 48, 48 located one above the other are welded to the borders 52a, 52b; 53a, 53b, located therebetween, of the fold-in portions 52, 53 of the folded blank 17, on the longitudinal borders 44, 45 of the top sheet-material web 30 of the blank 17, longitudinal border strips 19, 20 are welded, by a longitudinal weld seam 54, 55, from said top sheet-material web and the top section 52c, 53c, located there beneath, of the associated fold-in portion 52, 53, said longitudinal border strips running symmetrically to the centre 44a, 45a of the two longitudinal borders 44, 45 of the blank 17, and in each case from the two ends 54a, 54b; 55a, 55b of the longitudinal weld seams 54, 55, oblique weld seams 58-61 are made through the top sheet-material web 30 and the top section 52c, 53c, located there beneath, of the associated fold-in portion 52, 53, as far as the centre 47a, 48a of the transverse borders 47, 48 of the blank 17, for the purpose of welding corresponding sections of the top sheet-material web 30 and the fold-in portions 52, 53 of the blank 17, and it being the case that, in a second welding cycle, the same contour-welding operation is carried out for the bottom sheet-material web 51 of the blank 17 and the bottom sections 52d, 53d, adjacent to said blank, of the fold-in portions 52, 53 for the purpose of forming bottom longitudinal border strips 21, 22, as far as the welding of

the transverse borders 47, 47; 48, 48 of the blank 17, which has already taken place in the first welding cycle (Figures 7 and 8);
9. Contour welding the inner enclosure 3 of the
inner container 2, the blank 17 thereof
[lacuna] a multi-layer sheet material, in
particular a double-layer sheet material made of a weldable sheeting such as polyethylene and a non-weldable sheeting such as polyamide, in accordance with process step 8 in one welding cycle;
10. Welding a blank 23 made of sheeting, having two borders formed as fastening loops 24, 25 and a welded-on filling nozzle 5, onto the top sheet-material web 30 of the contour-welded blank 17 of the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2, the filling nozzle 5 being welded to the border region of the filling opening 31 (Figures 7 and 8);
11. Welding the outlet nozzle 7 to the border region of the outlet opening 5 in the bottom sheet-material web 51 of the contour-welded blank 17 of the inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2;
12. Folding the contour-welded inner enclosure 3 of the inner container 2 to the outline dimensions of the container, the welded longitudinal border strips 19, 20; 21, 22 being positioned flush with one another;
13. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the welded top longitudinal border strips 19, 20 of the folded-together inner enclosure 3 to the cover blank 16 of the outer enclosure 4;

14. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the welded longitudinal border strips 21, 22 of the folded-together inner enclosure 3 to the base blank 15 of the outer enclosure 4;
15. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the casing blank 14 of the outer enclosure 4, over the periphery, to the base blank 15 thereof and the bottom longitudinal border strips 21, 22 of the inner enclosure 3;
16. Turning bacjc the right way round the casing blank 14 together with the inner enclosure 3 and the base blank 15; and
17. Sewing or adhesively bonding the casing blank 14, turned back the right way round, of the outer enclosure 4, over the periphery, to the cover blank 16 of the outer enclosure 4 and the top longitudinal border strips 19, 20 of the inner enclosure 3.
By virtue of the casing blank 14 of the outer enclosure 4 being turned back the right way round, the sewn-together abutment edges 37, 38 of the casing blank 14 pass to the inside of the latter, with the result that the outer appearance of the inner container 2 is not adversely affected in any way.
However, the operation of turning back the right way round the casing blank 14 of the outer enclosure 4 following the process step 15 may be omitted. In this case, following the process step 14, the inner enclosure 3 is opened out, and then the casing blank 14 is sewn or adhesively bonded, over the periphery, to the base blank 15 of the outer enclosure 4 and the bottom longitudinal border strips 21, 22 of the inner enclosure 3 and to the cover blank 16 of the outer enclosure 4 and the top longitudinal border strips 19, 20 of the inner enclosure 3.

WE CLAIM
1. Transporting and storage containers for liquids, having a pallet-like substructure which is designed for handling by a stacker truck, storage and retrieval unit or similar transporting means, having a cuboidal or cubic inner container made of plastic with in each case a closable filling and outlet opening or a closable filling and removal opening, and having a metal grid casing which butts against the inner container and is made of criss-crossing horizontal and vertical grid bars made of metal, characterized in that the flexible inner container (2) comprises an inner enclosure (3) made of plastic sheet material and an outer enclosure (4) made of a woven fabric material, the inner container (2) is fastened on the top frame (26) of the grid casing (9) and/or on a protective covering (cover bars 27, 28) of the transporting container (1), and the inner enclosure (3) is positioned in the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2).
2. Container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2) having a casing blank, a base blank and a cover blank (14, 15, 16), and the closed inner enclosure (3), which is contour-welded from a blank (17) of a gusseted tube (18) made of plastic material, is sewn or adhesively bonded, by way of welded longitudinal and/or transverse border strips (19, 20; 21, 22), to the casing blank, the base blank and the cover blank (14, 15, 16) of the outer enclosure (4) to form the inner container (2).
3. Container as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein a blank (23) which is welded onto the blank (17) of the iimer enclosure (3) of the inner container (2) and has borders which are formed as loops (24, 25) and are intended for hanging the inner container (2) on cover bars (27, 28) fastened on the top frame (26) of the grid casing (9).

4. Container as claimed in claim 3, wherein the blank (23) with the hanging loops (24, 25) has a central opening (29) which is arranged congruently with a central opening (31) in the top sheet-material web (30) of the blank (17) [sic] of the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2), the two openings (29, 31) serving as insertion openings for a filling nozzle (5) with a closure cover (screw cover 6), said nozzle being welded to the blank (23) with the hanging loops (24, 25) and to the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2).
5. Container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an insertion opening (32), which is arranged in the cover blank (16) of the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2) and is intended for the filling nozzle (5), and by retaining bands (33), which are sewn on the cover blank (16) and are intended for fastening the inner container (2) on the top frame (26) of the grid casing (9).
6. Process for producing flexible inner containers for transporting and storage containers as claimed in claims 1 to 5, comprising the steps of:
1. Cutting a casing blank (14) for the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2) from a woven-fabric web on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings (34) and edge markings (35) for the cuboidal or cubic casing (36), which is to be sewn, of the outer enclosure (4) from the cutting table to the casing blank (14) for the purpose of positioning the casing (36), base blank (15) and cover blank (16) of the outer enclosure (4) during the subsequent operation of sewing or adhesive bonding to the inner enclosure (3);

2. Sewing the casing blank (14) inside out at the abutment edges (37, 38) to form the casing (36) of the outer enclosure (4) ;
3. Cutting a cover blank (16) from a woven-fabric web for the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2), with rounded corners (39) and an opening (32) for the insertion of the filling nozzle (5) of the inner container (2) , on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings (4 0) from the cutting table to the cover blank (16) ;
4. Sewing on retaining bands (33) at predetermined locations of the cover blank (16);
5. Cutting a base blank (15) from a woven-fabric web for the outer enclosure (4) of the inner container (2), with rounded corners (41), on a cutting table and transferring the axis markings (42) from the cutting table to the base blank (15);
6. Cutting a blank (17) for the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2) from a gusseted tube (18), which is folded in as far as the centre longitudinal axis (43-43) and is made of sheet material, on a cutting table, the longitudinal borders (44, 45) of the blank (17) being approximately twice the length (46) of the inner container (2) which is to be produced, and the transverse borders (47, 48) of the blank (17) being greater, by a certain distance, than the width (49) of the inner container (2) .
7. Cutting out the openings (31, 50) for the insertion of the filling nozzle (5) and of the outlet nozzle (7), of the top and bottom sheet-

material webs (30, 51) of the blank (17) of the inner enclosure (3) ;
Contour welding of the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2), it being the case that, with a blank (17) of a gusseted tube (18) made of a single-layer sheet material, in a first welding cycle, the transverse borders {41, 47; 48, 48) located one above the other are welded to the borders (52a, 52b; 53a, 53b), located therebetween, of the fold-in portions {52, 53) of the folded blank (17) , on the longitudinal borders (44, 45) of the top sheet-material web (30) of the blank (17), longitudinal border strips {19, 20) are welded, by a longitudinal weld seam {54, 55), from said top sheet-material web and the top section (52c, 53c), located therebeneath, of the associated fold-in portion (52, 53), said longitudinal border strips running symmetrically to the centre (44a, 45a) of the two longitudinal borders (44, 45) of the blank (17) , and in each case from the two ends (54a, 54b; 55a, 55b) of the longitudinal weld seams (54, 55), oblique weld seams {58-61) are made through the top sheet-material web (30) and the top section (52c, 53c), located therebeneath, of the associated fold-in portion (52, 53), as far as the centre (47a, 48a) of the transverse borders (47, 48) of the blan)c (17), for the purpose of welding corresponding sections of the top sheet-material web (30) and the fold-in portions (52, 53) of the blank (17), and it being the case that, in a second welding cycle, the same contour-welding operation is carried out for the bottom sheet-material web (51) of the blank (17) and the bottom sections (52d, 53d) , adjacent to said blank, of the fold-in portions (52, 53) for the purpose of forming

bottom longitudinal border strips (21, 22) , as far as the welding of the transverse borders (47, 47; 48, 48) of the blank (17), which has already taken place in the first welding cycle;
9. Contour welding the inner enclosure (3) of the
inner container (2) , the blank (17) thereof
[lacuna] a multi-layer sheet material, in
particular a double-layer sheet material made of a weldable sheeting such as polyethylene and a non-weldable sheeting such as polyamide, in accordance with process step 8 in one welding cycle;
10. Welding a blank (23) made of sheeting, having two borders formed as fastening loops (24, 25) and a welded-on filling nozzle (5) , onto the top sheet-material web (30) of the contour-welded blank (17) of the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2), the filling nozzle (5) being welded to the border region of the filling opening (31);
11. Welding the outlet nozzle (7) to the border region of the outlet opening (5) in the bottom sheet-material web (51) of the contour-welded blank (17} of the inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2);
12. Folding the contour-welded inner enclosure (3) of the inner container (2} to the outline dimensions of the container, the welded longitudinal border strips (19, 20; 21, 22) being positioned flush with one another;
13. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the welded top longitudinal border strips (19, 20) of the folded-together inner enclosure (3) to

the cover blank (16) of the outer enclosure (4);
14. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the welded longitudinal border
strips (21, 22) of the folded-together inner enclosure (3) to the base blank (15)
of the outer enclosure (4); and
15. Opening out the inner enclosure (3) and sewing or adhesively bonding the
casing blank (14) of the outer enclosure (4), over the periphery, to the base
blank (15) thereof and the bottom longitudinal border strips (21, 22) of the
inner enclosure (3) and to the cover blank (16) of the outer enclosure (4) and
the top longitudinal border strips (19, 20) of the inner enclosure (3).
7. Process having the steps 1 to 14 as claimed in Claim 6 for producing flexible inner containers, comprising the steps of:
1. Sewing or adhesively bonding inside out the casing blank (14) of the outer enclosure (4), over the periphery, to the base blank (15) thereof and the bottom longitudinal border strips (21, 22) of the inner enclosure (3);
2. Turning back the right way round the casing blank (14) together with the inner enclosure (3) and the base blank (15); and
3. Sewing or adhesively bonding the casing blank (14), turned back the right way round, of the outer enclosure (4), over the periphery, to the cover blank (16) of the outer enclosure (4) and the top longitudinal border strips (21, 22) [sic] of the inner enclosure (3).

8. Transporting and storage containers for liquids, substantially as hereinabove described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

992-mas-2000 abstract-duplicate.pdf

992-mas-2000 abstract.jpg

992-mas-2000 abstract.pdf

992-mas-2000 claims-duplicate.pdf

992-mas-2000 claims.pdf

992-mas-2000 correspondence-others.pdf

992-mas-2000 correspondence-po.pdf

992-mas-2000 description (complete)-duplicate.pdf

992-mas-2000 description (complete).pdf

992-mas-2000 drawings-duplicate.pdf

992-mas-2000 drawings.pdf

992-mas-2000 form-1.pdf

992-mas-2000 form-19.pdf

992-mas-2000 form-26.pdf

992-mas-2000 form-3.pdf

992-mas-2000 form-5.pdf

992-mas-2000 others.pdf

992-mas-2000 petition.pdf

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Patent Number

217193

Indian Patent Application Number

992/MAS/2000

PG Journal Number

21/2008

Publication Date

23-May-2008

Grant Date

26-Mar-2008

Date of Filing

22-Nov-2000

Name of Patentee

PROTECHNA S.A.

Applicant Address

RUE SAINT-PIERRE 8, CH 1701 FRIBOURG,

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	UDO SCHUTZ	SCHUTZSTRASSE, D 56242 SELTERS, WESTERWALD,

PCT International Classification Number

B65D 19/02

PCT International Application Number

N/A

PCT International Filing date

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1	199 57 215.1	1999-11-27	Germany