Portable liquid container

• US 4,746,034 A
• Filed: 02/13/1987
• Issued: 05/24/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ecolab USA Incorporated (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nalco Chemical Company (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ata, Ali D., Olewinski, Edward W.
• Primary Examiner(s): SKAGGS JR, H GRANT
• Application Number:
  US07/015,516
• Time in Patent Office: 466 Days
• Field of Search: 141/363, 141/364, 141/382, 141/383, 141/279, 206/511, 206/512, 220/1.5, 220/327, 414/607, 414/608, 414/414, 222/143, 222/460, 222/185
• US Class Current: 222/143
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 21/0215 Containers with stacking feet or corner elements B65D21/0211, B65D21/023 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2588/125 Intermediate bulk container [IBC]
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 88/128 tank containers, i.e. containers provided with supporting devices for handling

Abstract

A portable liquid container has a four-sided shell enclosed by a bottom wall and a top wall. The bottom wall is formed by four triangular portions sloping downwardly to a delivery opening. The top wall has an upwardly sloping configuration with an enlarged opening in the middle thereof. The opening is normally covered by a lid. Two lifting channels and a delivery pipe and valve are located on the underside of the bottom wall. Four legs attached to the bottom wall support the container at a height sufficient to clear the delivery pipe and lifting channels. Leg positioners are located at the upper corners of the container and are arranged to receive the legs of a second like container stacked on top of a first container.

Claims

1. A portable, stackable container for liquids, constituting a first container on which a second like container may be stacked, comprising:

a shell having four side walls of stainless steel in a generally rectangular configuration;

a stainless steel bottom wall closing the bottom of the shell and including triangular portions with the apex thereof displaced considerably nearer one side of the bottom wall than the opposed side, each triangular portion having a base adjoining a side wall and sloping downwardly, and a delivery opening at the apex of the bottom wall triangulation to assure complete drainage of liquid;

a delivery hose underneath the bottom wall, including a valve connected to the delivery opening in association therewith, access to the valve being facilitated by the closer position of the delivery opening aforesaid;

a stainless steel top wall enclosing the side walls of the shell and sloping upwardly to meet an enlarged opening which is normally closed by a removable lid, removal of the lid allowing cleaning equipment to be inserted through the enlarged opening and cleaning fluids to be drained therefrom upon inversion of the container, said lid having a filling opening, which filling opening is offset from the delivery opening and positioned nearer one side of the top wall than the opposed side to facilitate connection of said hose to the filling opening of a like, second container also having a delivery opening in the bottom wall offset from a filling opening in the top wall;

two elongated fork lift channels attached to the underside of the bottom well, each channel including a horizontal top plate which is spaced in protecting relation from the bottom wall to provide a lifting surface for the forks of a lift truck beneath the bottom wall while the channels allow for transporting, inversion and cleaning of the container when supported by a fork lift;

a plurality of bottom legs adjacent the four corners of the shell and extending downwardly therefrom to support the container;

a plurality of upwardly opening leg positioners, one for each leg, near the top of the container and also positioned at the corners of the shell to receive the legs of a second like container stacked thereon; and

horizontal support plates mounted to said leg positioners for supporting the legs of the second container without engagement between the legs and the top wall of the container therebeneath.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein the lid has one opening therein mounting a vacuum breaker and a second opening therein mounting a pressure relief valve, the length of the legs being such that when positioned on the support plates of a like, second container therebeneath the bottom wall of the second container is spaced above the vacuum breaker and relief valve of the first container;

and

a first shield surrounding the relief valve and vacuum breaker of the first container, with a second shield surrounding the valve associated with said delivery opening.

3. A container according to claim 2 wherein the fork lift channels are on opposite sides of said shield for said associated valve to provide further protection for said associated valve.

4. A container according to claim 2 in which the shell has four rounded corners along its length, in which the legs and leg positioners are separately attached to the shell adjacent the corners, and in which the leg positioners are wrapped about the corners.

5. A container according to claim 1 constituting a first container arranged in a system with a second, like container having its legs positioned in the leg positioners of the first container, with a hose in fluid connection between the valve associated with the outlet opening of the second container and the inlet opening of the first container therebeneath, the outlet opening being positioned nearer one side of the bottom wall of the second container than the opposed side facilitating access to the valve at said nearer side, and the inlet opening of the first container being positioned nearer one side of the top wall of the first container than the opposed side, facilitating connection of the hose between the outlet and inlet openings.

6. A dispensing system for providing an uninterrupted supply of liquid to a supplied device, comprising:

a lower liquid container having a delivery opening which is adapted to be connected to the supplied device;

an upper liquid container stackable on top of the lower container and in fluid communication therewith to replenish the supply of liquid in the lower container whereupon the upper container itself is removable and can be replaced with a like, full upper container during which time the supplied device continues to receive liquid from the lower container;

each container being of stainless steel having a top wall, four side walls in a rectangular shell configuration, and a bottom wall;

a plurality of dependent bottom legs on each container with the bottom legs attached to the shell adjacent the corners at the bottom of the shell, and of such length as to position the upper container bottom wall and the lower container top wall of stacked containers is spaced relation, each container having leg positioner brackets at the four rounded corners adjacent the top thereof whereby the legs of the upper container are fitted into the leg positioners of the lower container, and horizontal support plates mounted to said leg positioners of the lower container with the legs of the upper container engaging said horizontal support plates without engaging the top wall of the lower container;

each container having a delivery opening in its bottom wall offset from the vertical axis of the container in a first angular position relative to that axis, each container having a fill opening in its top wall offset from the vertical axis of the container in a second angular position relative to that axis such that the fill opening and delivery opening are axially displaced thereby enabling a fluid connection to be completed between the delivery opening of the upper container and the fill opening of the lower container within the spaced relation aforesaid;

the bottom wall of each container being formed of downwardly sloping triangular portions which meet at the delivery opening to assure complete drainage of the shell contents and the top wall having upwardly sloped triangular portions meeting at an enlarged opening into which washing equipment may be inserted, the triangulated top wall allowing complete drainage, when the interior of the shell is washed, upon inverting the container by a fork lift;

fork lift channels attached to the underside of the containers, between the legs, and configured to allow the container to be lifted, tilted and inverted; and

means providing fluid communication between the delivery opening of the upper container and the fill opening of the lower container.

7. A dispensing system according to claim 6 in which the corners of each shell are rounded for the length thereof, the legs and leg positioners being separate and separately attached at the four corners of the shell in alignment with the longitudinal axes of the four rounded corners of the shell.

8. A container system according to claim 6 wherein the lid of each container has one opening therein mounting a vacuum breaker and a second opening mounting a pressure relief valve, combined with a shield thereabout, all disposed within the spaced relation aforesaid when the containers are stacked.

9. A container system according to claim 6 wherein the connecting means includes a delivery valve, a covering shield to protect the delivery valve, and wherein the fork lift channels are on opposite sides of said covering shield to provide further protection for the delivery valve.