GB2026427A - A small drum or like container for powder like detergents and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

The peripheral wall B of a drum is formed from a collapsible tubular, e.g. cardboard, blank, which has longitudinal fold lines and which is both held in erected form and given rigidity by a bottom Q1 and top Q2. The top has an aperture 36 closeable by a plug in lid 38. A carrying bail handle 34 is pivotally attached to the top Q2 and may be lowered into a stowed position adjacent the top in which it does not obstruct the aperture. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A small drum or like container, destined in particular for materials in the form of powder like detergents and the like This invention relates to a small drum or like container, in particular powdered materials like detergents and the like.

Cylindrical drums for containing powdered detergents are well known and consist in general of a rigid body comprising a bottom and a cover as well as a handle at the top for carrying the container.

These known drums, having a relatively high capacity and designed to support a detergent weighing for example 5 kg, are rather complicated in making and, therefore, costly, besides being difficult to store and transport because of their bulk.

There are in addition also problems regarding the filling of the drums because of the presence of the carrying handle hindering the filling process.

The object of this invention is to obviate the drawbacks outlined hereinabove and other ones. The invention relates thus to a drum for containing a powder-like materials, for example detergents or the like, with the drum being made of a compound structure comprising a cardboard or similar body preferably made in a single piece and foldable along given lines, a pair of rigid frames substantially alike, one to act as bottom of the drum and the other one the top, with the latter comprising opportunely arranged the handle for carrying the assembled drum and, in addition comprising also the opening for filling and emptying the drum complete with a lid, preferably a pressure lid for this opening in the frame; the whole so designed as to allow the foldable drum to assume two fundamental configurations: a flat one allowing it to be trasnported and stored before filling with a minimum bulk possible, and the expanded configuration or working configuration of the foldable body after the opportune stable fixing or blocking of the said rigid frames at the part of the body they are intended for.

The basic concept of this invention allows the most varied embodiments thereof not only with regard to the materials for making the foldable body and rigid frames, but also with regard to the shape of the body determined by the shape of the rigid frames.

It is advantageous, for allowing to limit the bulk of the drum consisting of a compound structure and a foldable body, object of this invention, that this foldable body assumes in the working configuration the shape of a parallelepipedon with beveled corners, for example having an octagonal cross-section determined by the congruent outlines of the rigid framed, the said parallelepipedon shape with beveled corners being obviously taken also when the drum is wholly assembled.

According to an advantageous embodiment of this invention, the foldable body is obtained by punching a single cardboard piece which is then printed on the surface to form the outside when the drum is assembled, the piece being provided with given lines defining the sides of the body, that is of the assembled drum and being then welded or otherwise joined along its longitudinal edges to form a continuous cross section.

Each one of the frames consists of a principal side which, for the frame acting as bottom of the drum, is continuous, for that acting as top cover of the drum, is provided with the said opening; from this main side derives a perimetral flange substantially perpendicular to the said principal side, with the said perimetral flange being provided with a groove or channel following the periphery of the said main side for receiving the corresponding part of the foldable body allowing a perfectly sealed joint between the groove and body part.

These and other properties of this invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, with the description and drawings given only by way of example without being limited thereto.

In the drawings: Figure 1 shows the whole extension of the cut-out section, in this case a cardboard section, previously printed in chromography on the surface intended to form the outside of the assembled drum, section which, always in this case and preferable shall form a parallelopipedon body with beveled corners when assembled with and stiffened by the rigid frames; Figure 2 shows the section of Fig. 1 folded to obtain the flat configuration; Figure 3 is a cross-section through the assembled and expanded cardboard body; Figure 4 is a cross-section through the shown cardboard body, in continuous lines when almost flat and in dotted lines when fully expanded; Figure 5 is an exploded perpspective view of the parts of the container according to this invention showing the compoundability of the single parts;; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the drum complete with cover; Figure 7 is a vertical section through the drum shown in Fig. 6; Figure 8 is a part section through the rigid top frame showing details of the fixing of the handle.

Referring now to the drawings and first of all the Figs. 1 to 4, we have the cut-out cardboard section A presenting a suitable shape with the folding lines 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 parallel to another and to the dimension h indicating the height of the foldable body B formed of the section A; this section, instead being made of cardboard, may be made of any other suitable material.

The said folding lines form the front and back side C and D and the lateral sides F and G as well as the minor surfaces H, L, M, N constituting the beveled corners when the body is assembled, all of them being reactangular. 26 is a tongue to be glued to the surface 28 of the side C to ensure the continuity of the body of the foldable drum after the folding of the latter along the said folding lines.

30 and 32 are notches cut centrally into the top edges of the sides C, B of the section A for the purposes outlined hereinafter.

As mentioned already hereinbefore, the surface of the foldable cardboard section A intended to form the outside of the body B after folding is directly printed in polychromy with the legends, illustrations and drawings describing the contents.

It is obvious from the Figs. 1 to 4 that the container body B can be folded to form a flat shape B1 shown in Fig. 2, for storing with a minimum bulk and can be expanded for assuming the working shape B2 of Fig. 4, stiffened by the above-mentioned frames and capable to contain the powdered material it is intended for.

Referring now to the remaining figures and in particular to Fig. 5, it is at once possible to observe another fundamental property of this invention, that is the compound structure of the parallelepipedon container P. This structure comprises: the body B made of a cut-out cardboard section as shown hereinbefore consisting of a single section A; the lower rigid frame Q1 to form the bottom of the container P; the upper rigid frame Q2 to form the top cover of the container P and comprising the carrying handle 34 opportunely arranged for carrying the filled drum and the opening 36 for filling and emptying it: the lid 38 of a shape allowing it to close the opening 36 and preferably pressure inserted into the opening by means of the ribbing 42; in this case the lid 38 comprises a gripping tongue 40 for removing the lid.

The foldable body B thus can assume two fundamental shapes, that is the flat shape B1 as already mentioned for storing and transporting when empty occupying the least possible bulk, and the expanded working shape B2 indicated also only by B taken up by the body when the lower part 44 is fixed and locked to the frame Q1 and the upper part 46 is fixed and locked to the frame Q2, the combination of the two rigid frames Q1, Q2 with the body B resulting in the stiffening of the said body and the formation of the drum P, in this case and preferably having a parallel lepipedon shape with the beveled corners H, L, M, N.

The frame Q1 destined to form the bottom of the drum P consists of a continuous octogonal plate 48 with a rim 50 deriving therefrom substantially perpendicular to the plate 48 forming therewith a groove or channel 52 along the whole perimeter of the plate and provided to receive the lower part 44 of the foldable body, the insertion of the part 44 into the groove 52 resulting in a hermetic seal, for example by means of a suitable glue.

It is obvious that the joining between the frame Q1 and the part 44 may be obtained also by any other suitable means, for example, by heat-welding, sewing with metal clips and the like, it being sufficient to ensure a seal capable to preserve the material inside the drum.

The rim 50 has the inner wall 54 suitably shaped at the upper part 56, which is tapered to favour the sliding and insertion of the part 44 into the groove or channel 52.

The structural shape of the upper rigid frame Q2 is substantially equal to that of the lower frame Q1 and has a like perimeter rim 51 with its inner part 55 tapered for favouring the insertion of the upper part 46 of the body B into the groove 59.

The longitudinal sides of the rim 51 forming the groove 59 show the latter to be interrupted at the mid-points 65 for providing stiffenings or strengthenings of the material forming the upper frame Q2 at the zone in which this frame is fixed to the end pivots 67, 69 of the handle 34.

The means of fixing the handle 34 to the upper frame Q2 is characterized by the uttermost simplicity of its assembling while ensuring at the same time a safe and resistant connectiong to the said frame. Each pivot 67, 69 has, in fact, an oval head 71 to be pressed into the oval hole 73 provided in the full zone 65 of the rim 51. The perimeter of the oval holes 73 is slightly less than that of the oval heads 71 with the major axis of the said holes 73 being vertical. To insert the pivots 67, 69 into the holes 73, the handle 34 shall be held in the lowered position shown in Fig. 5, so that the major axis of the heads 71 of the pivots is parallel to the major axis of the oval holes 73. When in this position insert the heads 71 into the holes 73 using enough force to push the head which is slightly larger than the hole, through the hole until it emerges at the other side of the hole and also of the frame Q2. Putting the handle now into the carrying position as shown in Figs. 6; 7, 8, the major axis of the heads 71 will now be perpendicular to the major axis of the holes 73 as is clearly seen in Fig. 8. In this manner, the joint between the pivots 67, 69 and the holes 73, that is between the handle 34 and the frame Q2 will be as safe as possible, it being impossible to remove the the pivots from the holes because of the difference in length between the axes of the holes 73 and heads 71 as outlined hereinabove.

The handle 34 is seated at the inside of the rim 51 and, when lowered, does not impede the filling and emptying of the container, the opening 36 provided for this purpose remaining completely free, being provided at the center of the main plate 48 having thus a a rim 75 for receiving the lowered handle as shown in Fig. 6.

For assembling the upper frame Q2 with the foldable cardboard body B, the upper part 46 of this body is inserted into the groove 52 after application of a layer of glue or like adhesive material allowing to ensure the perfect joining and sealing between the frame Q2 and the body B. Because of the full zones 65 ensuring the strengthening of the frame at the points of connection of the handle, the upper part 46 of the body B is provided with notches 30, 32 allowing the sliding of the zone until the edge 77 adhers to the bottom 79 of the groove 52. As already mentioned, the joining of the body B to the frame 02 as well as to the frame 01 may be made in any suitable manner, for example by heat-welding, sewing with metal points and others.

At 81 are indicated the legends or illustrations directly printed to the outside surface of the foldable body B.

The drum P is completed with the lid 28 pressure inserted into the opening 36 by means of the ribbing 42 acting as seal for the said opening.

On hand of the foregoing description the advantages and performance of the drum object of this invention will be evident and can be recapitulated as follows.

The foldable body B can be obtained by means of an industrial cartotechnical procedure from the section A, cut out and printed in polychromography followed by folding and gluing the edge 26 to the edge 28, taking then the flattened position B1 shown in Figs.

2 and 4, in which it can be stored in piles or batches and transported to the points of assembling, that is the firms interested in filling the drum with a powdered product. In this manner the bulk space occupied by the flattened body is equal to 1 /8th of the volume of the assembled bodies in operating configuration with the therefrom ensuing advantage of the reduction in space occupied by the bodies when flattened. For example, 250,000 containers when flat occupy the space of 32,000 assembled drums.

The rigid frames Q1 and 02, for example made of polyamide resin and structured as outlined hereinabove and the lid 38 are prepared separately.

Also these frame are piled up so as to occupy a limited space. Given the equal shape of both types of frame and the tapered form of the inside plates, the frames can be partly inserted one into the other thereby reducing the height of each pile.

For assembling the drum P, step which may be made also mechanically, the foldable body B is folded to receive the expanded working shape B2 by inserting the part 44 and sealing it into the groove 52 of the lower frame 01 to act as bottom of the drum and the part 46 and sealing into the groove 52 of the upper frame Q2, the fixing of the assembly being such to allow the container to support the forces determined by the weight of the material to be contained in the drum.

At this point the compound structure of the container P is completed and forms a sole rigid body. The presence of the beveled corners determined by the walls H, L, M, N still further reduce the bulk of the completed container which, in lieu of assum the normal cylindrical shape, has that of a parallelepipedon-like body with beveled corners resulting in an octagonal cross-section of the completed body, it being naturally understood that the shape of the said body may also be different while maintaining the determinant properties of the modularity of the structure and foldability of the body.

Having now assembled the container, the powder material can be filled in through the opening 36 with the handle 34 being lowered to the position shown in Fig. 5 without creating an obstacle to the filling process as would be the case with the handle fitted to the outside of the upper part of the container.

Then close the latter with the lid 38 and the container will be ready for delivery to the user.

As already mentioned the materials for making the various parts of the container may be the most suitable ones, though always maintaining the rigidity of the frames Q1, Q2 and the condition of foldability of the section A; also the methods for fixing the frames to the body B may be varied, but shall always ensure a sufficiently strong seal between the body and the frames.

In practice, the details of embodying and constructing the container may vary without thereby leaving the limits of this invention and patent.

Claims (10)

1. A drum for containing powder-like materials and in particular detergents and the like, consisting of a modular compound structure having a foldable body receiving the final shape by applying and fixing suitable stiffening means.

2. A drum according to claim 1, which consists of a compound structure comprising: a body of cardboard or other material, preferably prepared in a single piece being foldable along given folding lines; a pair of rigid frames substantially alike, with one frame forming the bottom of the drum and the other frame the top cover of the drum, with the said top cover comprising in a suitable position the handle for carrying the assembled drum and comprising still further an opening for filling and emptying the drum as well as a lid preferably pressure inserted into the opening provided in the said top cover of the drum; the whole so designed that it allows the foldable body to have two fundamental shapes, that is a flat shape for storing and transporting when empty with a minimum bulk and occupied space and an expanded or working shape assumed by the foldable body after the fixing of the rigid frames which are sealed securely to the foldable body as required.

3. A drum according to claim 1, with the said drum, for limiting the overall dimensions of the assembled body, assuming a parallelepipedon shape with beveled corners when fully assembled, having for example an octagonal cross-section determined by the outlines also of the rigid frames when sealed to the body section.

4. A drum according to claim 1, in which the foldable body is made by cutting out as required a single cardboard elernent, the latter element being printed as desired on the outer side of the future drum; the said cardboard element being provided with predetermined folding lines for defining the sides of the body, that is of the assembled drum, being then sealed or otherwise joined along the longitudinal end edges to form a continuous cross section.

5. A drum according to claim 1, in which each frame consists of a main plate, continuous for the frame intended to form the bottom and with an opening in the frame acting as top, and with the said main plate ending in perimetral edge substantially perpendicular to the plate, with the edge forming a channel or groove along the whole periphery of the main plate, into which are inserted the respective parts of the foldable element forming the body forming thus a seal between groove and part.

6. A drum according to claim 1, in which the groove of each frame is tapered to facilitate the insertion of the relative part of the body.

7. A drum according to claim 1, in which the upper rigid frame comprises, suitably fixed to the frame, the carrying handle for the drum being so fixed to the inside of the rim of the frame that it does not interfere with the filling opening of the drum because lowered.

8. A drum according to claim 1, in which the handle is fixed to the upper frame rim by means of inserting the relative oval head pivots into corresponding oval holes, with the axes of the heads and holes being parallel when the handle is lowered and perpendicular to another when it is raised, it thus being impossible to remove the handle from the frame when in working position.

9. A drum according to claim 1, in which the groove of the upper frame is interrupted at the position of the holes for fixing the handle pivots to form a full part capable to reinforce the points of fixing the handle and ensure the necessary strength for resisting the stresses caused by the carried load.

10. A drum according to one or more foregoing claims made in conformity with the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.