Containment bag for use in a commercial disposal container
A non-self supporting containment bag used in conjunction with a dumpster container. The bag has a center opening that extends across the top of the bag, substantially centered on the top of the bag. The top of the bags is formed with sufficient spare material at the ends of the rectangular shaped bag to allow the top to be inverted over the sides of the container. The opening when closed, has sufficient material to form opposing triangular folds that extends above the top of the bag and the top of the container, when the bag is lining the container.
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This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/960,032 filed on Dec. 3, 2010, (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,562,212) which application was a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 11/464,114, filed on Aug. 11, 2006 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,845,511) which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 11/473,673 filed on Jun. 23, 2006 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,499,953), all of which this application claims priority to and which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to containment bags used with large dumpster style disposal containers in the storage, transportation and disposal of wastes.
PRIOR ARTIn plant renovations or other type of construction or cleanup projects, wastes are generated and stored in large on-site dumpster-containers, such as rolloff containers, end dump containers, and gondola rail car containers. When hazardous materials (such as tank cleaning sludge, wet or dry waste materials, chemical plant by-products, rail wastes, high heat wastes), odorous materials, or fine particulate matter (for instance, incinerator ashes, powders, asbestos materials) are to be stored in an onsite dumpster container for later transportation and disposal, it is desirable to line the container to protect the container from exposure to the materials and to make later disposal easier. Currently, either large sheets of plastic are used to line the container or container bags are utilized. The existing container bags have openings that are closable using a series of ties or cords. Given the large size of the containers, closing the series of ties can be a time consuming chore. Further, the ties fail to make an effective closure, allowing small particle materials to leak.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention consists of non-self supporting containment bag constructed with a single top opening, with sufficient spare material at the ends of the rectangular shaped bag to allow the top to be inverted over the sides of the container. The opening is then closed. The bag may include a plurality of pick-up or attachment loops or handles may also be attached to the outer bag material. The bag may additionally have an internal lining.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the invention to provide a simple easily installable liner for a dumpster container that is sealable.
It is another object to provide a liner for use in a dumpster container having attachment or pick-up handles.
It is another object of the invention to provide a containment bag for use in a dumpster container having a secondary liner on the interior of the containment bag.
It is an object to the invention to have an easily manufactured bag from a single piece of fabric, including a multilayered piece of fabric.
Three existing dumpster type containers are shown in
Shown in
The bag should have an opening 2 that is closable. Bag opening 2 should be placed on the bag for ease of loading and storage of materials and, in some instances, for ease of removal of the stored materials. For instance, the bag shown in
Also shown are support handles 5. The support handles 5 can serve two purposes: (1) to attach the bag to the container, and thereby support the bag for fill; and, in some instances, (2) to assist in moving or removal of the bag from the container. Handles 5 can be loops, such as double D-ring straps or 2-inch loops, or lines or ties, and can be made from suitable materials, such as polypropylene or polyester webbing. When used to attach the bag to the container, the handles will attach to points on the container, generally, at least one handle on each corner (see
Additionally, the bag 1 may incorporate a separate inner liner 10 (not shown). Inner liners are useful when the stored materials are wet or liquids. Suitable material can be low-density polyethylene, with 6-10 mil thickness being preferred. One such liner is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,005, herein incorporated by reference. Inner liner may be sewn to the outer bag, or attached by other means, for instance heat-sealed to the outer bag.
Shown in
As can be seen, when the bag of
Another bag design that provides access to the entire interior of the container is a single centered zippered bag, having excess material on the top surface to allow the top to be folded over the top edge of the container, in an inside out relationship. The following is a description of the construction of such a bag using a single sheet of material (or a single sheet of multilayered materials.
A preferred means of construction is to build the bag from a single fabric sheet 1005 or a single multilayer fabric sheet. The multiple sheets can be coextensive when laid on top of one another, or the innermost fabric can be shorter in height than that of the outermost fabric if it is not desired to have the top of the resulting bag lined. Additionally, multilayered designs are possible. For ease of explanation, construction will be described using a single sized multilayer fabric piece, with two side edges 1001A and 1001B, a bottom edge 1001C, and a top edge 1001D, as shown in
Also attached lengthwise and parallel to the half zipper chain is a strap band 1006. In the present embodiment, this strip is positioned so that when the bag is complete, the strap band 1006 is positioned at or near the top edge of the completed bag. The strap band 1006 can be eliminated depending if top closure straps are not needed. If the strap band is not used, it is still desired, in a multilayered fabric embodiment, to place a stitch along a horizontal line at or near the location that will become the top edge of the completed bag. Such a stitch or join will keep the inner liner top from separating from the outer liner top and collapsing into the bag interior.
For instance, to form an 8′4″×8′10′ bag, a single or multilayer fabric piece of 12′×14′6′ is used. To construct the bag, the single piece of bag fabric 1001 has the two ends 1001A and 1001B joined together, creating an opened top and bottom oblong cylinder
If a rectangular box like structure is desired for the bottom, the bottom closed end of the tube structure is flattened inwardly, with excess bottom fabric forming two triangular shaped flaps 1010A and 1010B that extend outwardly from the tube bottom (see
As described above, an open top boxlike or (tubelike) structure is constructed from a single fabric sheet. Alternatively, this same structure may be formed from two fabric pieces, the first fabric piece forming the sidewalls of the structure having the ½ zipper chain 1005 attached and strap band 1006 attached. A separate bottom is then sewn in, such as shown in
The next step is to form the top of the bag. Along the open top edge 1001D of the boxlike structure 1060 is the single side of a zipper chain 1005. The opposing sides of the open top are now operationally joined into a closable opening by attaching a zipper slide to the two half zipper chains, creating a functional zipper 1070. Two zipper slides may be added if desired. Zipper stops are added at the two opposing ends of the zipper to maintain the zipper slide on the resulting zipper 1070. A #10 nylon coil zipper has been employed. The zippered top, when closed, again creates a toothpaste tube-like top end. The top end is pushed inwardly, again creating two triangular folds 1060A and 1060B on the top 1080 of the box shaped bag with the zipper bisecting the two triangular folds. See
These top triangular flaps, 1060A and 1060B, are designed to allow the top, when unzipped along the centerline, to be inverted “inside out” thereby allowing the top portion 1080 be folded over the edges of the container or frame that the bag is placed in, thereby exposing the interior of the bag, and the exposed opening is substantially aligned with the open top of the container or frame. The bag is now ready for loading. (See
When used for debris, the bag may include an inner support liner 30, lining all or part of the interior. The liner can be constructed in multiple layers of differing fabrics or materials for strength, puncture resistance, water resistance, or other desired physical properties. Generally, the inner liner will be a nonwoven layer and the outer layer a woven material. Sandwiched between the two layers may be a liquid impervious material. A preferred material for the innermost layer is non-woven polypropylene of various weights. One embodiment uses a 16oz weight material. A preferred material for the outermost layer is a woven polypropylene: a typical weight is 6.0 oz. The outer woven polypropylene layer may have a coating on one side (generally the exterior side) of polyethylene, such as 1-2 mills thickness. A layer impervious to water and other liquids that can be used is a polyethylene material, such as 6-10 mil thickness. Other materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC, reinforced or non-reinforced), woven or non-woven polyethylene or other suitable materials, such as woven fiberglass, may be used.
When using a multilayered construction, each of the layers may each have separate closure means, such as separate zippers, such as shown in
Also, the inner liner 3010 may be cut longer, and not attached to the outer fabric 3000 near the top zipper chain 1007. It is preferred, however, that the inner liner be attached to the outer fabric near the top edge or at the edge strip (is so equipped). The enclosure is formed with the inner liner (zippered or not) 3010 extending above the top of the outer fabric 3000 (see
The edge strip 1006, if attached, may be used as a means of attaching the bag support handles 5 (if so equipped) and to provide a place to affix or attach top straps, it the bag is so equipped (the handles 5 may be separately attached to the bag, such as shown on the bag depicted in
Instead of a single band with slits as shown in
The two triangular shaped folds may be secured to each other with a linking strap 2000 or other type of connector, such as a linear connector (rope, strap or band, bungy cord, etc), to allow the triangular shaped folds be drawn down toward one another and secured to one another or to the top of the container, adjacent to the closed top portion of the containment bag. See
It is intended that the following claims be interpreted as covering all such alterations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A containment bag for use in a dumpster container having a plurality of sidewalls defining a top and a bottom, said bottom being closed, said top being substantially open for accepting bulk materials, said plurality of sidewalls including two opposing endwalls, and said bottom defining a dumpster container interior, said containment bag comprising a bag adapted to fit within and line the interior of said dumpster container, said containment bag having a top portion substantially alignable with said top of said dumpster container, said containment bag further having a top edge alignable with the open top of said dumpster container when said containment bag is positioned in and lining a dumpster container, said containment bag having a closable opening positioned on said top portion and said closable opening substantially centered on said top portion, said containment bag top portion being adapted to form two opposing triangular shaped folds that extend above said top of said dumpster container when said closable opening is closed; and when said closable opening is opened, and said triangular shaped folds are unfolded, said closable opening on said top portion of said containment bag can be substantially aligned with the open top of a dumpster container when said containment bag is positioned in and lining the dumpster container, said top portion, when said closable opening is opened and said triangular folds are unfolded, is adapted to be inverted inside out over said top of said dumpster container; said containment bag being configured to allow said top portion triangular shaped folds to be positioned and retained in a folded position immediately adjacent the remaining portion of said top portion of said containment bag when said containment bag is loaded and said closable opening is closed, wherein said closable opening has two terminal ends, said containment bag further having a linear connector attachable to said bag top near said two terminal ends of said closable opening, said linear connector adapted to draw said terminal ends of said closable opening toward one another thereby drawing said top portion triangular shaped folds towards one another in order to position and retain said triangular shaped folds in a folded position immediately adjacent the remaining portion of said top portion of said containment bag when said containment bag is loaded and said closable opening is closed.
2. The containment hag according to claim 1 wherein said containment bag further has a lining positioned on said interior surface of said containment bag.
3. The containment bag according to claim 2 wherein said liner further has a top portion having a second separate closeable opening substantially centered on said liner top portion.
4. The containment bag according to claim 2 wherein said liner and said bag are joined to each other near said opening.
5. The containment bag according to claim 1 further having a series of handles positioned near said top portion.
6. The containment bag according to claim 1 adapted to fit into the interior of a dumpster container selected from the set of roll off containers, gondola rail car containers and end dump containers and the dumpster container includes a sidewall of at least four feet in height.
7. The containment bag according to claim 1 wherein said containment bag is constructed of a woven material.
8. A containment bag according to claim 7 wherein woven material is woven polypropylene.
9. A containment bag for use in a dumpster container having a plurality of sidewalls defining a top and a bottom, said bottom being closed, said top being substantially open for accepting bulk materials, said plurality of sidewalls including two opposing endwalls, and said bottom defining a dumpster container interior, said containment bag comprising a bag configured to fit within and line the interior of said dumpster container, said containment bag having a top portion substantially alignable with said top of said dumpster container, said containment bag further having a top edge alignable with the open top of said dumpster container when said containment bag is positioned in a dumpster container, said containment bag having a closable opening positioned on said top portion and said closable opening substantially centered on said top portion, said containment bag top portion being configured to form two opposing triangular shaped folds that extend above said top of said dumpster container when said closable opening is closed; and when said closable opening is opened, and said triangular shaped folds are unfolded, said closable opening on said top portion of said containment bag can be substantially aligned with the open top of a dumpster container when said containment bag is positioned in the dumpster container, said top portion, when said closable opening is opened and said triangular folds are unfolded, is configured to be inverted inside out over said top of said dumpster container; said containment bag being configured to allow said top portion triangular shaped folds to be positioned and retained in a folded position immediately adjacent the remaining portion of said top portion of said containment bag when said containment bag is loaded and said closable opening is closed, wherein said closable opening has two terminal ends, said containment bag further having linking straps attachable to said top of said bag configured to secure said two opposing triangular shaped folds to each other in a position adjacent to said top portion of said containment bag.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Jun 13, 2017
Date of Patent: Sep 8, 2020
Assignee: PacTec, Inc. (Clinton, LA)
Inventors: Lewis Strickland (Subic Bay Freeport), Troy Town (Clinton, LA), Michael Schilling (Clinton, LA)
Primary Examiner: Jeffrey L. Gellner
Application Number: 15/621,727
International Classification: B65D 1/06 (20060101); B65D 88/16 (20060101); B65D 90/04 (20060101); B65D 88/12 (20060101);