AU610298B2 - Barrel - Google Patents

Description

F -~m~ls COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1952 610 Q COMPLETE S P EC I F I CATI ON

(ORIGINAL)

Application Number Lodged Complete Specification Lodged Accepted Published Priority Th;is ci'2vr! n:lt cn s ~l amzIndments mnae uixidr zci tiun 9 ,-ad is cur cct for printing 16 July 1988 S Related Art 00 0 o Name of Applicant Address of Applicant o Actual Inventor/s MAUSER-WERKE GmbH 5040 Bruhl Schildgesstrasse 71-163 Federal Republic of Germany Dietmar Przytulla 0 o 0 0o° Address for Service

ID

F.B. RICE CO.

Patent Attorneys 28A Montague Street, Balmain N.S.W. 2041 Complete Specification for the invention entitled:

BARREL

The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us/rg:- -COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

-A

-2- This invention concerns a barrel made from thermoplastic material with a rolling ring, which protrudes from the barrel casing near the bottom of the barrel as an axial extension of the cylindrical casing part, whereby that part of the barrel casing, which connects from the base of the groove between rolling ring and barrel casing, blends conically into the barrel bottom.

Normally, barrels are equipped with carrying and transportation rings of solid cross section at the barrel casing near the corresponding end face, which show a 4,ti ,horizontal and vertical contact face for the gripper arms i ip of a barrel gripper.

P In general, these barrels are manufactured as a unit in a blow moulding process, whereby the carrying and ,1 15 transportation rings are formea in one piece from the barrel casing. However, barrels are known, where the tubular barrel casing part and the two barrel end sections ,are manufactured separately. The end pieces with their carrying and transportation rings, which are manufactured in the blow moulding process, are welded onto the tubular 1 0 barrel trunk in a further working cycle.

o Since the carrying and transportation rings are vulnerable due to their relatively thin casing thickness, 0 when a full barrel falls from a certain height and hits the ground under an angle, the rings must be preceded by a so called crumple zone, in which most of the impact energy LJ is dissipated. This is accomplished in such a way;, that the rings are arranged at a distance below the top or bottom edges of the barrel. The regions of the barrel casing, which protrude past the ring groove, rise conically towards the axis of the barrel.

Upon an oblique or vertical impact of the falling barrel, the elastic end portions of the barrel, which lie above the rings, are deformed, before the rings are affected.

1~ 3 0 00 0 0 0 00 000 0 0000 0000 o co 0000 0 0 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 o oo 0 00 0 0 0 0 00 o 000000 0 0 o o

I

S0 00 000Q Due to the relatively low distance of the rings from the top end or the bottom end, the operator can grip the ring when the barrel is to be rolled obliquely, which results in very favourable handling.

When the full barrel is rolled obliquely, the bottom edge is pressed inwards due to the weight of the barrel, such that troublesome flexing work occurs during rolling.

With the support of the corresponding carrying and transportation ring, the bottom edge deformation shall be partly absorbed, thus reducing the troublesome flexing work.

Despite this, rolling the barrel over the lower edge is still very much impeded. Apart from this, the edge region at the transition between the barrel casing and the 15 barrel bottom is relatively thin and may be overloaded through rough handling, in particular oblique rolling by hand. Furthermore, the risk of accidents is increased, when the barrel is tipped or rolled, through the projecting rolling ring, whereby the foot of the operator 20 may be squeezed.

Since really only the upper carrying and transporting ring forms the support for the barrel gripper, with which the barrel is lifted and transported, the lower carrying and transportation ring offers the opportunity to be 25 redesigned for a different function. It should be born in mind, however, that the deformation forces exerted during the fall of a full barrel must be absorbed without destruction.

For this purpose, the lower carrying and transportation ring wt. be redesigned into a rolling ring and assume a slightly different position on the barrel casing.

This-oGCurs, ac ordin ,o4h-i- h rolling ring has in cross section the Iapproximate shape of s 'atrapezi-um7thienarrowest side of which lies in-t-he-bea.e--- 1; rA ~x 4 In one broad form the present invention provides a barrel made from a thermoplastic material and having a generally cylindrical casing, a generally flat base closing one end of the casing and having a circumferential edge portion which curves towards the casing, and a rolling ring which protrudes from the casing near a bottom edge of the barrel; wherein the rolling ring has, in cross-section, a narrow neck portion adjacent the casing, and an enlarged head portion having an axial end face generally coplanar 00o with the base, said ring and the circumferential edge 0 000 o portion of the base defining a groove, with the neck 0 0 0 00 o portion defining a base of the groove.

0o0 Preferably, the rolling ring is arranged such that a 0000 15 line approximately defining an axis of symmetry of the 00 0 rolling ring passes through a centre region of gravity of 00 0 the barrel.

0 0 0 0 The impact energy, which is generated through the oblique or vertical impact of a falling barrel, may be 20 absorbed directly in the rolling ring, which can buckle at 000o000 0,o the narrow neck portion at the barrel casing and thereby 0o00 deform elastically until it contacts the curved 0 circumferential edge portion of the casing and is thereby 600 0 0 0o 0o supported. This way, the impact energy can be dissipated through the deformation in the rolling ring.

0 The vertical stacking forces may be absorbed by the 00oo o00 o0 rolling ring and the barrel bottom, whereby the force 0ooooo distribution occurs through the cylindrical part of the 0 a casing into the ring and through the conical part of the casing into the barrel bottom. The end face of the barrel bottom may be reset slightly relative to the axial face of the rolling ring, so that an even support on the support floor can be achieved.

During rolling of an upright barrel, the cylindrical axis of the barrel is slightly inclined. The diagonal 7D ram 4a loading, which occurs during rolling over the edge, can be absorbed better if the rolling ring is slightly inclined towards the outside. That is, it is preferable that the extension of a central and symmetrical axis, which passes through the cross section of the rolling ring, intersects the centre region of gravity of the barrel. Accordingly, the rolling ring may be substantially free of bending forces during rolling since there would only be a small deformation, a relatively narrow floor contact can be achieved, which enhances the rolling process. Further, the stacking forces may be transmitted into the barrel casing directly through the o oo 00 0 S000 00 0 0 0 000 0 o0 0 0ooo00 0 0000 o 0 00 0 0 1 0 0oooo00 0 00 o o0 o o 0 000000 0 0 0000 0 0 0 00 0 0 00 0 o 00 0 00 0 00 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 000000 0 0 rolling ring.

If, in the contruction of the invention, the outside diameter of the radial end face of the rolling ring corresponds to the circumferential diameter of the barrel casing, then loss-free palletizing of the barrel is ensured.

By way of example, an embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a bung barrel; I. Fig. 2 an enlarged view of the top cut-away section Q. of the barrel of Fig. 1 and; ooo Fig. 3 an enlarged view of the bottom cut-away l oo u section of the barrel of Fig. 1.

'0 0 15 In the drawings, the cylindrical part of the barrel 9 0 0 S°oo is designated with 4, the top end face with 10 and the bottom end face with 7. The top of the barrel contains Soo the bungs, which are not shown.

0 o Near the top of the barrel is the carrying and 0 00 S°o0 0o 20 transportation ring 11, which is of massive cross section oo a and has a horizontal contact face 13 and a vertical contact face 14 for the gripper arms of a barrel gripper, o 000 which is not shown in the drawings.

0 2The carrying and transporation ring 11 is connected 00000ooooo0 0 0 25 in one piece to the barrel casing 4 through a connecting ring 15, which is joined to the horizontal contact face 13. The base of the groove between the connecting ring and that part of the casing 12, which rises conically towards the end face 10 of the barrel, is arranged at some distance below the horizontal contact face 13 of the carrying and transportation ring 11.

The rolling ring 1 in the region of the bottom of the barrel has an approximately trapezoidal shape in cross section. The smallest or narrowest part of the rolling ring 1 is near the base of the groove 2. Apart from the ~3L151~1 6 improved weldability of the material, which is upset during manufacturing, some kind of hinge has been created, about which the ring 1 can buckle inwards in the case of laterally occurring deformation forces. The ring 1 rises from the narrowest part into the thickened end region.

The axial end face 5 of the ring 1 terminates approximately in the plane of the barrel bottom 7, which transforms into the cylindrical barrel casing 4 via the conical part of the casing 6. The radial end face 3 corresponds to the circumferential diameter of the barrel casing 4.

Rolling ring 1 is inclined slightly towards the outside, starting from the base of the groove 2. The extension of the dash-point central axis 8, which passes 15 through the cross section of the ring, intersects the region of the centre of gravity of the barrel 9, which is o0 Snot shown in the drawings.

The rolling ring 1 and/or the transportion ring 11 may be provided with axially extending ribs (not shown) on 20 their outside or inside circumferential faces so as to a stiffen the ring i, 11. The ribs may be uniformly distributed circumferentially around the rings 1, 11.

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Claims (5)

1. A barrel made from a thermoplastic material and having a generally cylindrical casing, a generally flat base closing one end of the casing and having a circumferential edge portion which curves towards the casing, and a rolling ring which protrudes from the casing near a bottom edge of the barrel; wherein the rolling ring has, in cross-section, a narrow neck portion adjacent the casing, and an enlarged head portion having an axial end face generally coplanar with the base, said ring and the circumferential edge portion of the base defining a groove, with the neck portion defining a base of the.groove.

2. The barrel of claim 1 wherein the rolling ring is arranged such that a line approximately defining an axis of symmetry of the rolling ring passes through a centre region of gravity of the barrel.

3. The barrel of claims 1 or 2 wherein a radial end face of the rolling ring has approximately the same diameter as the casing.

4. The barrel of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein the rolling ring has axially extending ribs on an inside and/or an outside circumferential face thereof.

5. A barrel substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 8th day of February 1991 MAUSER-WERKE GmbH Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: 00 0 0 00 0 0o 00 0 oo o o 0 0 ~"~Ar.8 ~c~ F.B. RICE CO.