The present invention relates generally to support surfaces for loading a material or composition of materials into a container or for resting a material or composition of materials on a container so that they may be easily sorted or more easily transferred and/or deposited into the container. The invention more particularly relates to a fitment adapted to receive and support a load, e.g., a heavy bag or other container, during loading or transfer of material into the container proper.
The invention is believed to have application to all situations where it would be beneficial to rest the material to be placed into a container prior to placement in the container. Examples of such situations include, but are not limited to heavy loads of aggregate material that are to be measured into the container, loads of material that are to be sorted, fill and/or transfer prior to placement or deposit in the container or material that is to be mixed. Specifically, but not by way of limitation or exclusion of other applications, the present invention has application with containers like brine tanks. Some containers, such as brine tanks for regenerating the material used in water softeners, are periodically loaded with material, such as bagged rock salt crystal or pellets, that must be lifted from a lower level to the level of the container opening. This task is often difficult and cumbersome because of the weight of the material. The container walls are easily buckled during loading as the person loading rests the material-containing bag on the container opening edge.