EP0648708B1

EP0648708B1 - Container

Info

Publication number: EP0648708B1
Application number: EP94112878A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Henri Michel Joseph Steinmetz; Giljam Jacobus Corneles Voet
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1993-10-18
Filing date: 1994-08-18
Publication date: 1997-06-11
Anticipated expiration: 2014-08-18
Also published as: DE69403749D1; ES2102747T3; JPH07206076A; CA2118059A1; DE69403749T2; KR950011285A; CN1109836A; EP0648708A1; TW257746B; NL9301796A

Description

The present invention relates to a container filled with a high-viscosity fluid such as silicone paste, the container comprising an outlet aperture near its lower side.
It has so far been common practice to store such high-viscosity fluids, for example, silicone paste, in containers having a capacity of approximately 200 litres. The fluid is present in such containers in a large synthetic resin pouch sealed at its lower side by a sealing sheet. In addition, a few pouches containing hygroscopic material are usually incorporated in the container to prevent moisture from contacting the said fluid.
After emptying such a container, the pouch in which the paste is incorporated, and the sealing sheet remain behind as waste material, while comparatively much material adheres to said waste material and is also discarded. The processing of such waste material is becoming a problem which is more and more difficult to solve and only at higher and higher costs. Moreover, a rather large quantity of valuable fluid is lost.
The use of pouches for viscous and semi-viscous products has been described in US-A-4,796,788.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a container for storing high-viscosity fluids in which the disadvantages inherent in the so far commonly used solutions for storing such fluids can be avoided.
According to the invention this can be achieved in that the container is constructed from two equal parts which are connected together near the centre of the container according to a plane extending at least substantially perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the container, one end of a diaphragm which can be moved between a first position in which the diaphragm substantially engages the inner wall of one container half and a second position in which the diaphgragm substantially engages the inner wall of the second container half, being clamped between the interconnected ends of the container halves, and which container comprises an outlet aperture near its lower side and a connection for providing a pressurised medium between the inner wall of the container and the diaphragm on the side remote from the outlet aperture.
"GB-A-2 098 667 describes containers for water. The container described in GB-A-2 098 667 is also provided with a diaphragm.
When using a container according to the invention, an effective and uniform emptying of the container can be achieved, also when containers are used which have a considerably larger capacity than the above-mentioned so far conventionally used containers of approximately 200 litres, by moving the diaphragm from the above-mentioned first position to the above-mentioned second position, as a result of which the fluid will effectively be forced out of the container. Such a container can be used several times, as a result of which the release of waste material will be effectively avoided.
The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to an embodiment of a container according to the invention shown in the accompanying drawing. The left-hand half is a cross-sectional view of the container; the right-hand half is an elevation of the same container.
As shown in the Figure, the container or tank 1 shown in the Figure comprises two equal container parts 2 and 3 which at their facing open ends comprise flanges 4 and 5 and are connected together by means of bolts which are passed through the flanges but are not further shown. So the container or tank 1 comprises two halves 2 and 3 which are at least substantially mirror-symmetrical with respect to a plane A-A extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal centre line 6 of the container.
The container 1 is supported by a frame 7 which is built up from a number of vertically extending columns 8 and a chassis 9, preferably in the form of a conventional pallet, so that the frame 7 with the container 1 supported by the frame 7 can be transported by means of a fork-lift truck or the like in a manner similar to that of a conventional pallet optionally comprising a load.
A more or less hat-shaped diaphragm 10 is present in the interior of the container or tank and comprises at one end a circumferential rim 11 which is clamped between the flanges 4 and 5.
A sealing member 12, for example, a ball valve or the like, via which the container can be emptied and/or filled, is secured to the bottom of the lower container half 3.
A connector 14 to which a duct for supplying pressurised medium, for example, compressed air, can be connected, is provided on top of the upper container part 2.
The above-described container can be filled by forcing the fluid into the holder via the sealing member 12. The hat-like diaphragm will gradually be moved from the solid line position shown in the lower left part of the figure and the broken-line position shown in the lower right-hand part of the Figure to the position of the lines 10' shown in the Figure.
For emptying the container, pressurised medium, for example, compressed air, may be forced into the interior of the container via the connector 14. If simultaneously the sealing member 12 is opened, the fluid present in the container will be forced out of the container in advance of the diaphragm and the diaphragm will gradually be moved back from the broken-line position shown in the Figure to the solid-line position shown in the Figure.
In the two extreme positions the diaphragm engages at least substantially the inner wall of the container so that on the one hand the capacity of the container may be used optimally for receiving the fluid and on the other hand substantially all the fluid can be forced again out of the container. For reasons of clarity the spacing between the inner wall of the parts 2 and 3 and the diaphragm is not drawn to scale.
Only the inner wall of the lower container half 3 will be in contact with the fluid. If desired, the inner wall of the said container half may optionally be provided with a suitable lining, for example teflon or polyethylene.
The container may have a capacity of, for example, from 1,600 to 2,000 litres, the dimensions and/or the weight of the container with the structure supporting the said container nevertheless remaining such that the container can be moved by means of a fork-lift truck and can be transported by means of a truck.
If so desired, hoisting means 13 may be provided on the container 1 so that the container together with the frame 7 can be hoisted by means of a hoisting apparatus. For purposes of cleaning, checking or replacement of, for example, the diaphragm, the container half 2 may also be separated from the container half 3 with supporting frame 7, by only lifting container part 2 with the aid of the hoisting means 13.

Claims

A container filled with a high-viscosity fluid such as silicone paste, the container being constructed from two equal container parts (2, 3) which are connected together near the centre of the container according to a plane (A) extending at least substantially perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis (6) of the container, one end of a diaphragm (10) which can be moved between a first position in which the diaphragm substantially engages the inner wall of one container half and a second position in which the diaphragm substantially engages the inner wall of the second container half, being clamped between the interconnected ends (4,5) of the two container halves, and which container comprises an outlet aperture (12) near its lower side and a connection (14) for providing a pressurized medium between the inner wall of the container and the diaphragm on the side remote from the outlet aperture.
A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container is supported on a frame (7) which comprises a framework which has a structure which may be compared with a pallet.
A container as claimed in any of the preceding Claims, wherein the container part comprising the outlet aperture is internally covered with a coating preventing the sticking of the fluid.