EP0458185A1 - Barrel made from thermoplastic material - Google Patents

Abstract

A barrel of thermoplastic material has at least one connecting portion having an emptying opening and arranged in a trough-like depression in the upper end part of the barrel. In the region of the connecting portion the barrel has at least one inclined surface which extends between the upper end part of the barrel and the side wall of the barrel. The inclined surface is of such a configuration that in a barrel emptying position the emptying opening forms the lowest part of the interior of the barrel to permit at least almost complete emptying of the barrel.

Description

The invention relates to a barrel according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such a barrel is subject to certain requirements, of which so far sufficient resistance to external forces such. B. by shocks, blows or falling loads in the design of the barrel have been in the foreground. Such a barrel is generally provided with circumferential rings which are arranged at a distance from the top or bottom bottom and are used for handling the barrel. Furthermore, it may be necessary to stack several barrels on top of each other, so that the top and bottom floors must have a sufficient and stable footprint. It is known to arrange the upwardly projecting nozzle part, which delimits the emptying opening, within a trough-shaped recess in the top floor. This also ensures that the protruding nozzle part is largely protected against external forces.

In the course of taking into account the concerns of the environment, the requirement to be able to completely empty such a drum must now be taken into account, in order to prevent residual quantities of the contents remaining in the drum from escaping into the environment in an uncontrolled manner and polluting them.

The known arrangement of the nozzle part within a trough-shaped depression has the disadvantage that areas are present on the inside of the barrel in the inclined position customary for emptying next to the trough, which in this position lie deeper than that lying on the inner wall deepest area of the discharge opening. It is therefore known to achieve the most complete emptying of a barrel or a similar container to arrange the nozzle part near the wall of the container, so that in the usual inclined position of the container when emptying there are no places on the inside of the latter that are deeper than the deepest area of the generally round discharge opening located on the inside of the barrel. However, this arrangement of the nozzle part in the immediate vicinity of the barrel wall has the disadvantage that the nozzle part is also little protected against forces acting laterally on the barrel from the outside when it is arranged in a trough-shaped recess in the top floor. This applies both to forces that act directly on the nozzle part, as well as to stresses acting on the barrel edge or the barrel wall, which, for. B. take effect in a case from a greater height. The deformations of the barrel edge or the barrel wall that occur inevitably also have an effect on the connecting piece part and the area of the upper floor that supports it, as a result of which stress peaks occur in this area, which can lead to the occurrence of cracks and other damage.

These difficulties can be reduced, for example, in that the neck part protrudes to a certain extent into the interior of the barrel. It is thereby achieved that on the one hand the upwardly projecting section of the connecting piece can be shorter and on the other hand the depth of the trough receiving the connecting piece can be reduced and thus the area of action for external forces is reduced. The inwardly facing section of the connecting piece must be made long enough to give a sealing plug which is screwed into the connecting piece provided with a corresponding internal thread, a sufficiently firm fit. However, that portion of the neck part that protrudes into the interior of the barrel is a shield on the inside of the emptying opening, so that one of the axial extent of this portion dependent amount of filling remains in the barrel. A complete or almost complete emptying of a barrel with a nozzle part designed in this way is not possible.

It is known from EP-A-0291695 to provide a barrel with such a connecting piece, the portion of which projects into the interior of the barrel and has openings which extend as far as the inner boundary wall of the trough-shaped depression. In this way, the remaining filling material can flow in the direction of the emptying opening without the section pointing inwards being a shield for the emptying opening. Such nozzle parts must, however, be attached to the finished container as separate elements, so that u. A weak point may arise, which could be destroyed by greater external forces. Furthermore, the formation of the nozzle part requires an increased manufacturing effort, which can affect the economy of the barrels generally manufactured in large numbers. In addition, in this embodiment of the barrel, the trough-shaped depression is designed to achieve the most complete possible emptying, in such a way that the surface of the upper floor serving as a standing surface is reduced.

The invention has for its object to design a barrel or a container of the type described in the introduction so that it can be at least approximately completely emptied. The production should be uncomplicated and the handling of the container should be simple when emptying. Since containers of this type are usually designed as a barrel, the following is predominantly referred to as a barrel, without this being intended to imply any restriction.

As a solution, the invention proposes to provide the barrel section between the upper floor and the circumferential handling ring with at least one inclined surface in the region of the neck part, which, when the barrel is upright, in the direction of the Ring is inclined. The course of this, the trough-shaped depression of the upper floor between the nozzle part and the ring intersecting oblique surface corresponds, depending on the design of the barrel section, approximately to an oblique cut surface in a cylinder or cone. The extent of the surface to the side of the trough-shaped depression is chosen so that in a draining position inclined by more than 90 ° with respect to the upright position, there is no point in the interior of the barrel which is deeper than the deepest area of the drain opening on the inside of the barrel. It is expedient to design or arrange the inclined surface symmetrically to the emptying opening.

In one embodiment, the inclined surface is flat. Such a configuration, however, requires exact compliance with the angular position of the barrel during emptying both with respect to the tilting axis and with respect to twisting, e.g. around the barrel’s main axial axis. In order to prevent the contents from collecting in the barrel next to the emptying opening when the barrel is slightly rotated, it is expedient to subdivide the inclined surface into two partial surfaces, which are arranged slightly pivoted with respect to a dividing line running radially to the cross-section of the barrel, so that they are on the Include an angle on the inside of the barrel that is slightly less than 180 °. This ensures that an almost complete emptying is possible even with a slight twist, since the deepest area of the emptying opening is located in the channel formed by the two partial surfaces.

It can also be advantageous to subdivide the inclined surface into two partial surfaces, which are arranged slightly pivoted with respect to a chord which runs through the deepest region of the emptying opening, so that they enclose an angle on the inside of the barrel which is somewhat smaller than Is 180 °. So that the barrel can almost be completely emptied if the tipping position deviates slightly from the optimal emptying position.

Accordingly, it is of course also possible to subdivide the inclined surface such that the two partial surfaces, which are arranged slightly pivoted with respect to an approximately radial dividing line, are each additionally subdivided into two partial surfaces, which are arranged slightly pivoted with respect to the above-mentioned chord. The inclined surface is therefore made up of four partial surfaces that form a funnel-like pyramid, the lowest point of which corresponds to the lowest area of the emptying opening. It is thus possible that the barrel can be at least almost completely emptied from its optimal emptying position even when the barrel is twisted or pivoted slightly.

In any case, the barrel can be brought into an optimal emptying position in which it can be emptied without additional measures, apart from, of course, those components which adhere to the barrel wall.

Furthermore, it may be expedient for the inclined surface to be provided with a channel-like depression which runs radially to the emptying opening and opens into the emptying opening, which can likewise simplify the emptying process.

It is also expedient to design the inclined surface so that the latter merges directly into the side wall and the top of the barrel without leaving a shoulder, thereby avoiding hollows or pockets within which contents can otherwise collect.

Of course, it is also possible to make the inclined surface or the partial surfaces described above slightly convex on the inside, the apex line or apex lines the area (s) corresponds to the above-mentioned dividing lines.

In general, the inclined surface will be designed so that its apex lying on the outer wall of the barrel is arranged near the ring used for handling and the surface extends next to the emptying opening to the corresponding, possibly conical side wall of the upper barrel section when the barrel is upright . To achieve a favorable angle of inclination, it may be necessary to arrange the ring used for handling at a greater distance from the top floor than is generally the case. However, this does not affect the handling. Furthermore, in the case of two opposing openings, each such opening can be assigned to each opening.

Due to the design of the barrel according to the invention, it is possible that the barrel can be emptied without any problems whatsoever, and at the same time it can be arranged on the top floor at a distance from the side wall of the barrel to protect it from damage.

The arrangement of an inclined surface in the region of the barrel section between the upper floor and the handling ring also has the consequence that, on the one hand, the standing area of the upper floor is reduced and, on the other hand, the section of the connecting piece protruding from the barrel contour is not well protected.

The invention therefore further provides the possibility of providing at least one supplementary body which is designed and arranged on the inclined surface in such a way that on the one hand it at least approximately compensates for the reduction in the essentially horizontal footprint caused by the inclined surface. On the other hand, it can advantageously also be designed in such a way that at the same time it largely protects the connecting piece part from external forces.

The supplementary body is advantageously designed according to the invention so that its lower surface corresponds to the upper contour of the inclined surface, while the upper surface of the supplementary body in its effective position runs essentially horizontally and in alignment with the surface of the upper floor serving as a standing surface. It is possible for the supplementary body to have a plurality of vertical ribs or a vertically arranged lattice structure, the upper boundary of which is aligned with the horizontal surface of the top floor serving as a standing surface.

The supplementary body can e.g. be produced by injection molding or blow molding or in some other way and be hollow or solid. So that the supplementary part can absorb the necessary loads, it is advisable to glue or weld it to the barrel. Since such a barrel is generally produced by means of blow molding, in which a substantially tubular preform is expanded under internal pressure in a divided blow mold which delimits a mold cavity, it may be expedient to insert the supplementary body into the blow mold before the expansion process. This enables a particularly good adaptation of the lower side of the supplementary body to the outer contour of the inclined surface. If the supplementary body and barrel also consist of plastics that can be welded together, a particularly durable connection of the two parts can be brought about in this way.

Fig. 1

die Seitenansicht eines Fasses gemäß der Erfindung,

Fig. 2

die dazugehörige Draufsicht,

Fig. 3

die Frontansicht in Richtung des Pfeils III der Fig. 1,

Fig. 4

die Innenansicht eines Fasses gemäß einer anderen Ausführungsform,

Fig. 5 a-c

das Faß in drei aufeinanderfolgenden Positionen der Entleerung , teilweise im Schnitt,

Fig. 6

einen Schnitt entsprechend der Linie VI-VI der Fig. 5b,

Fig. 7

eine Ausführungsform eines Fasses mit Ergänzungskörpern und

Fig. 8

eine andere Ausführungsform des Ergänzungskörpers.

A currently preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing, the same reference numbers being used in the individual figures to denote the same parts. Show it:

Fig. 1

the side view of a barrel according to the invention,

Fig. 2

the corresponding top view,

Fig. 3

the front view in the direction of arrow III of FIG. 1,

Fig. 4

the inside view of a barrel according to another embodiment,

Fig. 5 ac

the barrel in three consecutive positions of emptying, partly in section,

Fig. 6

a section along the line VI-VI of Fig. 5b,

Fig. 7

an embodiment of a barrel with supplementary bodies and

Fig. 8

another embodiment of the supplementary body.

The barrel 1 shown in the drawing has a barrel body 10, an upper floor 3 and a lower floor, not shown. A circumferential ring 9 is arranged at a distance from the top floor 3 and can be attacked by handling means. The upper floor 3 is provided on two opposite sides, each with a trough-shaped recess 5, within which a nozzle part 7 is arranged, which has an emptying opening 6. The barrel shown in the drawing has two such arrangements, the emptying openings have different diameters. Of course, the nozzle parts can also have the same dimensions. Such an arrangement can also be provided only on one side.

In the area of the nozzle part 7, the conical barrel section 4 between the top 3 and the circumferential handling ring 9 has an inclined surface 11 which extends approximately up to the ring 9. As shown in Fig. 1, the inclination and the extent of this surface 11 are chosen so that the latter adjoins the area 16 of the emptying opening 6, which in the emptying position represents the deepest area of the emptying opening 6 on the inner wall of the barrel. The inclination of the inclined surface 11 depends, inter alia, on the distance between the side 15 of the connecting piece facing the outer wall of the barrel 7 from the outer wall and the distance of the circumferential handling ring 9 from the top floor 3. The inclination can be approximately 45 °, for example. The areas 13 and 14 of the inclined surface 11, which run next to the trough-shaped recess 5, extend to the boundary wall of the upper barrel section 4. In a conventional barrel, as shown in the drawing, the barrel section 4 is conical, since this is for the engagement of the handling means is cheap with the handling ring. But it is possible that this barrel section has approximately vertical side walls and thus has a substantially cylindrical shape.

The geometric definitions listed in the description are only intended to provide a better description of the geometric shape. Such a barrel does not exactly correspond to the geometric shapes mentioned, since during cooling after the manufacturing process it e.g. through blow molding, experiences deformations that are not predictable and not strictly geometric.

Fig. 5 ac represent the emptying process at different inclination positions of the barrel. It can be seen that an optimal emptying position (Fig. 5b) can be found by the arrangement of the inclined surface 11 in the barrel area 4, in which there is no place inside the barrel which is lower than the deepest region 16 of the emptying opening 6 lying on the inner wall of the barrel.

In Fig. 4 it is clear that a slightly pivoted arrangement of the sub-areas 13 and 14 around an approximately radially extending dividing line 17 (Fig. 7) an almost complete emptying of the barrel will be possible even if the barrel is so twisted that the dividing line 17 no longer runs through the lowest point on the inside of the barrel wall in the tilted position.

6 also shows a radially running, groove-like depression 31 of the inclined surface 11, which extends from the wall of the barrel to the emptying opening 6. This can simplify the emptying process.

It can be seen in particular from FIG. 5b that the sub-areas 13, 14 are subdivided into two further sub-areas, which are slightly pivoted with respect to the chord 18 (FIG. 7), which at least approximately runs through the point closest to the outer wall are a further simplification of the emptying process can be achieved. With at least a portion of its circumference lying on the inside of the barrel wall, the emptying opening represents the deepest area in the emptying position even if the barrel deviates slightly from the optimal emptying position (FIG. 5b) with respect to the tilting position. It is of course also possible to subdivide the inclined surface 11 only with respect to the chord 18.

The maximum permissible extent of the deviations from the optimal emptying position both with regard to the tilting position and with respect to rotation is reached in any case when one of the partial surfaces assumes a horizontal position and, in the event of a further deviation, the emptying opening does not have the deepest part with no part of its circumference lying on the inner wall Area of the barrel forms.

To protect the laterally exposed nozzle part 7, supplementary bodies 21, 22 are provided which are fastened on the inclined surface 11 by gluing or welding. The lower sides 23, 24 of the supplementary bodies 21, 22 facing the inclined surface 11 are designed such that they essentially correspond to the contour of the partial surfaces 13, 14. The height of the supplementary body 21, 22 and the inclination of the lower sides 23, 24 are dimensioned such that the upper sides 25, 26 of the supplementary body in their position connected to the barrel upright barrel run horizontally and complete the horizontal base of the top 3. Another supplementary body 29 is shown in FIG. 8, which is formed in one piece.

The invention is applicable regardless of how the barrel is made. It is possible to manufacture the barrel by extrusion blow molding, the emptying opening (s) being in the parting plane of the blow mold and thus in the weld seam 32 of the top floor, through which the preform from which the barrel has been blown can be welded was closed. However, it is also possible to have at least one opening outside the weld seam in relation to z. B. offset by 90 °.

Otherwise, reference is also made to the attached drawing to clarify the design of the top of the barrel according to the invention.

Claims (21)

Barrel made of thermoplastic material, which has at least one connecting piece (7) with an emptying opening (6) on its upper floor (3), which is arranged in a trough-shaped depression (5) of the upper floor (3), the barrel with at least one in one Distance from the top or bottom floor extending ring (9) is provided for the attack of handling means, characterized in that the barrel section (4) between the top floor (3) and ring (9) in the region of the at least one emptying opening (6) with at least an inclined surface (11) is provided, which is inclined towards the ring (9) when the barrel is upright, and the extension of the trough-shaped recess (5) between the nozzle part (7) and ring (9) intersecting inclined surface (11) laterally next to the trough-shaped recess is chosen so that when the emptying position of the barrel is inclined by more than 90 ° with respect to the upright position, no place in the interior of the barrel lies lower than that lowest area (16) of the emptying opening (6) lying on the inner wall of the barrel. Barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that the line of intersection between the inclined surface (11) and the trough-shaped recess (5) extends approximately tangentially to the point (16) of the emptying opening (6) facing the inclined surface (11) or close to this point. Barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that the inclined surface (11) is arranged to run essentially symmetrically to the emptying opening (6). Barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that the inclined surface (11) merges directly into the side wall of the barrel section (4) located above the ring (9) when the barrel is upright. Barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that the inclined surface (11) is essentially flat. Barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that the inclined surface (11) is divided into two partial surfaces (13, 14) and the dividing line (17) extends at least approximately radially to the barrel cross-section and to the emptying opening and the two partial surfaces are arranged to be slightly pivoted about this dividing line such that they enclose an angle on the inside which is slightly less than 180 °. Barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that the inclined surface (11) is divided into two partial surfaces and the dividing line approximately corresponds to a chord (18) running through the deepest region of the emptying opening and the two partial surfaces are arranged so as to be slightly pivoted about this dividing line such that they enclose an angle on the inside that is slightly smaller than 180 °. Barrel according to claim 1, 6 and 7, characterized in that the inclined surface (11) is subdivided both along the radial dividing line (17) and along the chord (18) by the deepest region of the emptying opening and the surfaces are each an angle on the Have inside each other, which is less than 180 °. Barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that a groove-like depression (31) is provided on the inner surface (2) of the inclined surface (11) in the area between the side wall and the discharge opening, said groove extending approximately radially to the barrel cross-section and to the discharge opening. Barrel according to claim 9, characterized in that the channel (31) opens into the emptying opening (6). Barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that the inclined surface (11) is slightly convex on the inside. Barrel according to claim 1, 6, 7 or 8, characterized in that the partial surfaces are slightly convex on the inside. Barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that the apex (33) of the inclined surface lying on the barrel wall is arranged close to the ring (9) used for handling. Barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that such an inclined surface is assigned to each opening of the barrel suitable for emptying. Barrel in particular according to claim 1, characterized in that the reduction in the shape of the barrel which favors the most complete possible emptying of the barrel, when the barrel is upright, the surface of the upper floor (3) running essentially horizontally by at least one supplementary body (21,) connected to the barrel. 22, 29) is at least partially compensated for, a boundary surface (25, 26, 30) of the supplementary body being flush with the surface of the upper floor (3). Barrel according to claim 15, characterized in that the supplementary body is hollow. Barrel according to claim 15, characterized in that the supplementary body is designed as a blow molded part. Barrel according to claim 15, characterized in that the supplementary body is designed as an injection molded part. Barrel according to Claim 15, characterized in that the surface of the supplementary body which is flush with the surface of the top floor consists of partial surfaces which are formed by ribs connected to the supplementary body. Barrel according to claim 15, characterized in that the supplementary body is glued to the barrel. Barrel according to claim 12, characterized in that the supplementary body is welded to the barrel.

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