Assembly comprising a loading container and a flexible receptacle The present invention relates to a loading container for conveying goods, such as packed goods, bulk material and/or fluids, which loading container can form part of a lorry or container, comprising boundary walls, such as a base, and an end wall. Loading containers of this kind are used to convey a very wide variety of goods. Receptacles are used for conveying bulk material and/or fluids. These receptacles may, for example, be tanks, i.e. tankers which cannot be used for conveying packaged goods. Another possibility is to convey such substances in drums. In this case, however, there is the problem that such drums have to be removed again after they have been emptied. Another possibility is transportation in so-called in- termediate bulk containers, but here too the return packaging continues to present a problem. The most effective solution known hitherto from the prior art is conveyance in bags, but the volume which can be transported per bag is limited, prtly as a result of pressure from the authorities.

Moreover, loading bags requires a certain degree of care, since it is impe- rative that the load does not disappear from the bags during transport and cannot move. Finally, only a limited number of products can be conveyed in such stackable bags.

As a result, it is at present not unusual for a considerable part of the loading space of transporter devices of both bulk materials and/or fluids as well as packed goods not to be employed usefully or to be filled with returned packaging.

The object of the present invention is to avoid this drawback and to provide a transportation concept which allows a loading space to be arranged in a simple manner to match the type of material available for transportation without later being confronted with very extensive returned packaging.

This object is realised in the case of a loading container as described above in that at least one of the said boundary walls is provided with at least one through-opening, the edge of the said opening being provided with attachment means for attaching thereto a flexible receptacle which extends inside the loading container, which opening can be closed off using a cover.

The invention is based on the insight of using relatively large, flex- ible receptacles with a volume of between a few hundred litres and a few tens of cubic metres for conveying fluids and/or bulk materials. Relatively

large receptacles of this kind are fixed to the boundary wall of the load- ing container at a location which comprises the opening through which the bulk material or fluid in question is introduced or removed. This means that in the filled state the flexible receptacles in question do not move with respect to the loading container. If the flexible receptacles are not required, it is possible to store them in a space-saving manner. This can be done both in the loading space itself, for example by moving them towards the filling opening in the manner of bellows, or outside the load- ing space, for example in the pallet storage area which is provided beneath many lorries.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the flexible receptacle is designed in such a manner that when being filled with the relevant material as far as possible it does not adopt a round shape, but rather at least a part of it adopts a parallelepipedal shape. As a result, the space inside the loading container can be utilized optimally. The tran- sition from the parallelepipedal part to the filling opening (at the top) will generally be conical.

The flexible receptacle may comprise a single receptacle part, but is preferably composed of two receptacle parts. In that case, the outer recep- tacle part provides the receptacle to be filled with its shape and supports the fluid introduced. The inner receptacle part, which may be disposable, ensures that the fluid or bulk material introduced is sealed with respect to the surroundings. It is possible to make both receptacles essentially gas-tight. Owing to the more or less fixed shape which the outer receptacle part acquires during filling, it is possible to place the inner receptacle part under pressure by applying pressure between the two receptacle parts.

Such a pressure, which is generated by gas or liquid, may be important for transportation, but may also be important for the purpose of removing the load from the inner receptacle. Moreover, it is possible for a gas or liquid of this kind to be used in combination with the product filled in the inner receptacle. Possible examples of this are the transportation of beer and carbon dioxide. The above-described receptacle parts may comprise any material which is known from the prior art. The outer receptacle part may comprise a thin-walled thermoplastic material, but preferably comprises a fibre-reinforced material, in which case in particular a fibre-reinforced elastomeric material is used. Fibre-reinforced rubbers of this nature have particularly favourable properties. The rubber surrounds, locates and pro- tects the network of fibrous material. A dimensionally stable outer recep-

tacle part can be produced in this way. For the inner receptacle part, a fluid-tight material is generally used, which may have a relatively small thickness owing to its support against the outer receptacle part. Na- turally, a material of this kind should provide resistance to the fluid to be transported and in certain cases will have to be tight to gases.

Examples mentioned are (combinations of) PE, EVOA, PVA, PA or a metal foil.

If it is intended to use the loading container according to the present invention to convey packed goods, the outer receptacle parts at any rate will be stored somewhere in the loading container. If it is important to convey fluids and/or bulk materials, one or more receptacles according to the invention can be "folded out".

This design makes it possible to convey every conceivable material in the receptacles. This may even be living material, such as plants and/or fish.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment which is illustrated in the drawing, in which: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view, partially cut away, of an embodiment of a loading container according to the invention which is provided with flex- ible receptacles; and Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of a flexible receptacle according to the invention attached to the loading container according to the invention.

In Fig. 1, a loading container according to the invention is denoted overall by 1. It is coupled to a diagrammatically depicted lorry 2. The loading container shown here is designed as a trailer. However, it will be understood that the loading container can also comprise containers for shipping and other loading spaces. The only important fact is that the loading container is provided with a number of boundary walls. Fig. 1 shows a base 3, a roof 4, a front end wall 5, side walls 11 and a loading flap 6 which can be lowered (not shown in detail). The roof 4 is provided with openings 8 and flexible receptacles 11 are attached at one end to the edge of the openings 8. Fig. 1 shows the position in which two such flexible receptacles 11 have been unfolded and possibly filled, while the flexible receptacles situated further towards the rear end of the loading container have been pushed upwards. This results in loading space for packed goods 10. The lowered flexible receptacles 11 have a rectangular shape in the region of the underside. This shape is determined not only by the boundary walls of the loading container but also by the design of such receptacles themselves. That is to say that a suitable choice of reinforcements or a

suitable choice of material and design of the blanks from which receptacles of this kind are produced allows the shape shown to be obtained. The shape of the receptacles 11, and the fact that they bear against one another, allows the loading space to be employed in a particularly effective and stable manner while also as far as possible preventing movement of the load situated in the receptacles 11. It is possible to arrange corner pieces or the like between the receptacles 11 on the floor of the loading space in order to ensure that the corners of the receptacles 11 are held in place both during transportation and in the event of an accident.

It will be understood that depending on the load which is to be trans- ported all the receptacles 11 can be raised into the upper position or one or more of these receptacles can be brought downwards.

It is not absolutely necessary to store the folded receptacles inside the loading container, such as against the roof of the latter, or to let them down onto the floor; rather, it is also possible to use the existing pallet storage space 7 for this purpose.

Although in the design depicted here the opening 8 is situated at the top of the receptacle, it must be understood that this opening may also be arranged on the side or on the underside or end side. These openings 8 are closed off by a cover 17. The bulk material and/or fluid in question is introduced through this opening 8.

Fig. 2 shows details of the receptacle and the opening in the roof of the loading container. It should be emphasized that this is merely one embodiment of the invention and that numerous variants are possible. This applies in particular to the attachment between receptacle 11 and roof 4.

In the design shown, receptacle 11 comprises an outer receptacle part 14, which is connected to a pallet-like structure 13, and an inner receptacle part 15. In view of the possibility that the weight of receptacle 11 may be greater than 25 kg, a design with a pallet-like structure 13 allows convey- ance using a fork-lift truck in a simple manner. In the region of the edge 16 of opening 8, outer receptacle part 14 is folded over outwards and clamped in position by ring 18. Inner receptacle part 15 is accommodated between this ring 18 and cover 17. There is a clamping action between these two components. An opening 19 which can be closed off by cover 17 is pre- sent, through which opening, as indicated by an arrow 20, gas can be intro- duced or removed. Obviously, it is also possible to introduce or remove a different fluid. By resting the pallet-like part 13, on the base of the loading container and as a result of the weight of the load resting on this

pallet-like part, in combination with the corner pieces described above, pallet part 13 will have little or no tendency to move. Moreover, this is prevented by the fact that the pallet part 13 has a shape which approxi- mates to the form of the loading platform. Obviously, it is also possible to omit the pallet part and to provide for other reinforcements at the bottom part of outer receptacle 14. Outer receptacle 14 is designed to provide the receptacle 11 with its shape, as shown in Fig. 1. To this end, it is made from fibre-reinforced material. An example which may be men- tioned is an elastomeric fibre material which, on the one hand, guarantees the mechanical properties of the receptacle and, on the other hand, enables the receptacle to be flexible. According to an advantageous embodiment, an outer receptacle part of this kind is permanently connected to the roof of the loading container. In such a case, it is not necessary to use the seal shown in Fig. 2. This is only necessary for the inner receptacle part 15, which is preferably designed as a single-use part. This seals the fluid or bulk material with respect to the surroundings. After emptying manner recep- tacle 15, which can be carried out by introducing a suction nozzle through opening 8 in receptacle 11, this inner receptacle 15 can be removed. In this way it is possible to successively transport all kinds of materials.

The inner receptacle part will be designed as a function of the material which is transported therein. Details of the structure for moving the pal- let-like part 13 upwards and keeping it in this position are not shown in the drawing and are obvious to the person skilled in the art. It is pos- sible, in a manner not illustrated in more detail, to apply pressure between the inner receptacle part and the outer receptacle part. As a result, it is possible to empty the inner receptacle part while the shape of the outer receptacle part remains stable. The pressure used is prefera- bly less than 10 atmosphere.

It will be understood that the above text merely represents a preferred embodiment of the invention. Numerous variants will be obvious to the per- son skilled in the art after reading the above and lie within the scope of the appended claims.