Pallet container

Abstract

A pallet container for storing and for transporting liquid filling materials includes a base pallet, a lattice frame fastened thereon and made of metal bars, and a fabric cover suspended in the lattice frame for accommodating a liquid-tight inliner for receiving the liquid filling material. The fabric cover and the inliner with preassembled filling and removal fitting is provided in the delivery state as a separately premanufactured, flat-folded package in the form of a modular unit which can be exchanged only as a complete modular unit. To bring the pallet container into a use-ready state, the unfolded fabric cover is fastened by straps to the upper lattice frame, and the removal connection piece of the filling and removal fitting is fastened with an adapter plate to the lower area of the lattice frame by a snap/latching connection.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 .- 19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . A pallet container for storing and transporting an aseptic liquid filling material, comprising:
 a base pallet;   a lattice frame fastened on the base pallet and including metal bars; and   a modular unit exchangeable only as a unit and comprising an outer fabric cover which is suspended in the lattice frame and has upper corners fixed to an upper area of the upper lattice frame, a liquid-tight inliner which is placed in the fabric cover without being fixed thereto and composed of a plastics film and/or metal foil for receiving the liquid filling material and which has a filling and removal connection piece, a filling and removal fitting which is preassembled on the filling and removal connection piece of the inliner and fixed centrally to a lower area of the lattice frame, and a thin, stiff base plate which is arranged within the fabric cover and on which the folded inliner together with the filling and removal fitting is fixed,   said modular unit, before being suspended via the fabric cover in the lattice frame, having a folded configuration of a dimension which is smaller than an internal size within the lattice frame, with the inliner defining, when folded, a basic area of a dimension which is smaller than the internal size within the lattice frame, with the filling and removal connection piece disposed on an upper side of the inliner in immediate proximity to a front-side border of the folded inliner.   
     
     
         21 . The pallet container of  claim 20 , wherein the inliner is rectangular in shape. 
     
     
         22 . The pallet container of  claim 20 , wherein the base plate is connected on a front side thereof in a manner of a buckling fold via a film hinge to an extension which is sized to extend beyond the internal size within the lattice frame. 
     
     
         23 . The pallet container of  claim 22 , wherein the extension has a central opening for passage of the filling and removal connection piece of the inliner with attached filling and removal fitting which is fastened from the outside. 
     
     
         24 . The pallet container of  claim 22 , wherein the extension, in a delivery state of the modular unit, is folded back flatly onto the folded inliner. 
     
     
         25 . The pallet container of  claim 22 , wherein the fabric cover is stretched and fixed in the lattice frame, when being suspended in the lattice frame, said extension being folded upward by 90° to assume a vertical position, said modular unit including an adapter plate sized to reach behind the filling and removal fitting and provided to fasten the extension to a front side of the lattice frame. 
     
     
         26 . The pallet container of  claim 20 , wherein the inliner, when being laid out flat, is rectangular in shape and has an upper side and a lower side with two longer side edges and two short side edges to a front side and to a rear side, and further comprising a degassing connection piece provided centrally on the upper side of the inliner, said filling and removal connection piece being larger in size than the degassing connection piece and arranged in close proximity to the front-side, short side edge of the inliner, said inliner being obtained by
 folding, in a first step, corners of the inliner to a center toward the degassing connection piece, while leaving a narrow web transversely with respect to the long side edges,   folding, in a second step, two outer edges of the narrow web by a short distance toward the center in a direction of the degassing connection piece to produce an approximately diamond-shaped form with front-side and rear-side diamond points, with the filling and removal connection piece placed on a lower side of the front-side diamond point,   folding, in a third step, two side borders of the narrow web by a short distance toward the center, and   folding, in a fourth step, the front-side and rear-side diamond points toward the center until being in close proximity of the degassing connection piece so as to form the basic area of the folded inliner.   
     
     
         27 . The pallet container of  claim 20 , wherein the inliner is fixed on the base plate by an adhesive applied in a sheet-like manner. 
     
     
         28 . The pallet container of  claim 20 , wherein the inliner is fixed on the base plate by double-sided adhesive tape. 
     
     
         29 . The pallet container of  claim 20 , wherein the fabric cover has a transparent clear viewing pane as a viewing window. 
     
     
         30 . The pallet container of  claim 29 , wherein the transparent clear viewing pane is arranged centrally in the fabric cover. 
     
     
         31 . The pallet container of  claim 20 , further comprising a closable degassing connection piece fixedly incorporated in the inliner. 
     
     
         32 . The pallet container of  claim 31 , wherein the degassing connection piece is fixedly incorporated centrally in the inliner. 
     
     
         33 . The pallet container of  claim 20 , further comprising means for improved residue emptying of the filling material arranged on an inner side of the inliner anteriorly of an opening in the filling and removal connection piece. 
     
     
         34 . The pallet container of  claim 33 , wherein the means for improved residue emptying of the filling material is a flexible corrugated pipe made of thin plastics material and having a multiplicity of lateral bores. 
     
     
         35 . The pallet container of  claim 34 , wherein the corrugated pipe has a flange border end which, in a fitted state, is clamped between the filling and removal connection piece and attached filling and removal fitting. 
     
     
         36 . A method for folding an inliner for automatic unfolding of the inliner during filling of a pallet container through a base-side filling and removal connection piece, comprising:
 laying out flat a rectangular blank with an upper side and a lower side with two longer side edges and two short side edges to a front side and to a rear side;   folding corners of the blank to a center toward a short degassing connection piece arranged there while leaving a narrow web transversely with respect to the long side edges;   folding two outer edges of the narrow web by a short distance toward the center in a direction of the degassing connection piece to produce an approximately diamond-shaped form with front-side and rear-side diamond points, with the filling and removal connection piece placed on a lower side of the front-side diamond point;   folding two side borders of the narrow web by a short distance toward the center; and   folding the front-side and rear-side diamond points toward the center until being in close proximity of the degassing connection piece so as to produce an inliner with a basic area defined by a final folding area of a dimension which is smaller than an internal size within a lattice frame, with the filling and removal connection piece being folded onto an upper side of the inliner and placed in close proximity of a front-side border of the inliner.   
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , further comprising placing the inliner onto a thin base plate and fixing the inliner on the base plate.