GB2107272A - Lined fibre drums - Google Patents

Abstract

A drum for packaging of a hot- melt adhesive comprises a cylindrical fibre body 12 having a plastics lining 26, a removable top cover 28, and at the bottom end of the body a metal bottom member 18 locked to a metal chime 16 on the body by a band 20, the member being lined by a releasable liner 24. The hot-melt adhesive is removed by melting and extraction as a liquid, residual amounts of the adhesive being dispensed by removal of the bottom member and separation from the liner 24. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Lined fibre drums This invention relates in general to a new and useful improvements in drum construction, and more particularly to a fibre drum of a construction particularly adapted for use in packaging hot melt adhesives and like normally solid materials which are heated for dispensing.

At the present time hot melt adhesives are being packaged in 55 gallon steel drums having removable covers. When the product is to be dispensed, the cover is removed and a platen having a peripheral seal is seated in the top of the steel drum in sealed relation to the interior thereof and is heated. The hot platen heats the hot melt adhesive or the like to a dispensing temperature and the hot melt adhesive is discharged through a suitable tube or hose.

The difficulty with steel drums is that not all of the hot melt adhesive is removable from the drum utilizing the present mode of dispensing. One can expect to leave between five and fifteen pounds of the product in every drum. At an average cost of over $1.00 per pound, this becomes significant.

In addition, steel drums are normally reconditionable. Accordingly, there is a market for empty steel drums. However, when the steel drum contains a residue of little or no value to the reconditioner, the steel drum often becomes, instead of being a salable commodity, a disposal problem.

In accordance with this invention, it is proposed to provide a modified fibre drum as a replacement for the steel drum. In addition to a cost advantage, the fibre drum has a weight advantage, and therefore costs less to ship. Also, the fibre drum is more resilient than steel drums and is not subject to the same denting and dinging problem associated with steel drums which causes difficulties in the use of the heated platen.

Fibre drums also have an advantage over reconditioned steel drums because of nonuniformity of reconditioned steel drums as well as a slight price advantage and the foregoing weight advantage in addition to the advantage of being able to dispense all of the product.

A fibre drum, by the very nature of its manufacture, may also be supplied in different heights so that if desired the capacity of a fibre drum may be readily increased from 55 gallons to 75 gallons.

More particularly in accordance with this invention there is provided a fibre drum which includes a fibre drum body having a steel bottom which is removably secured to the lower portion of the drum body and is preferably provided with a cover in the from of a release paper disc. Thus, after dispensing of the hot melt product utilizing a heated platen in the normal manner, the product will be permitted to cool within the fibre drum, after which the metal bottom is removed and the previously undispensable product is removed with the bottom and is then separated from the bottom utilizing the release paper. Thus, the product, for all practical purposes, is salvagable.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevational view, with parts broken away and shown in section, of a fibre drum formed in accordance with this invention and having a fibre cover.

Figure 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a fibre drum according to Figure 1 filled with a hot metal product.

Figure 3 is a schematic sectional view through the fibre drum of Figure 2 with the cover removed and a heated platen in place dispensing the hot metal product.

Figure 4 is another schematic sectional view showing the hot melt product dispensed from the fibre drum as much as possible utilizing the heated platen method, and showing a layer of undispensable hot melt product overlying the drum bottom.

Figure 5 is a schematic elevational view showing the drum bottom removed and still carrying the layer of hot metal product.

Figure 6 is an exploded elevational view showing the salvaged hot melt product, the layer of release paper and the drum bottom separated from one another.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, reference is first made to Figure 1 wherein there is illustrated a first form of fibre drum particularly adapted for packaging a hot melt product such as a hot melt adhesive. The fibre drum is generally identified by the numeral 10 and includes a fibre drum body 12 which, in its simplest form, is provided with a square-cut upper end 14. The lower end of the drum body 12 is provided with a steel chime band 16 in the normal manner.The steel chime band has seated thereon in sealed relation a metal bottom 1 8. The metal bottom 1 8 is releasably secured in place by suitable locking means which, in the illustrated form, is in the form of a releasable locking band 20 which may be, for example, of the type disclosed in the patent to Scott et al, U.S. patent No. 2,579,975, granted December 1951.

The metal bottom 18 is preferably provided with a suitable gasket 22 to assure a positive sealing of the bottom of the drum body 12.

In order that the hot melt product will not adhere to the metal bottom 18, there is provided a release paper insert 24 which overlies the metal bottom 1 8 and which has its periphery clamped between the metal bottom and the chime 16.

At this time it is pointed out that the drum body 12 is formed by winding a plurality of layers of fibreboard about a mandrei and preferably in the body forming operation the first layer is in the form of a plastic sheet materiai which defines an inner coating or lining 26 for the drum body 12 so as to prevent adhesion of the hot melt product to the body 12.

The fibre drum 10 includes a cover, generally identified by the numeral 28, which may of a varied construction. The illustrated cover 28 of Figure 1 includes an elongated cylindrical shell 30 of an internal diameter snugly to receive the upper part of the drum body 12. A collar 32 is telescoped within the top part of the shell 30 and is secured to the shell by stitching or stapling 34.

A cover panel 36 is telescoped in the shell 30 and abuts the collar 32 and is adhesively secured in place.

It is to be understood that the fibre drum 10 will be filled in the normal manner and the hot melt product will be dispensed therefrom in the normal manner.

Referring now to Figure 2, it will be seen that there is illustrated a typical fibre drum 10 formed in accordance with this invention which is filled with a melt product 40. When it is desired to dispense the hot melt product 40, the cover 28, for example, is removed and a conventional heated platen 42 is placed in the top of the fibre drum to seat on the hot melt product 40, as shown in Figure 3. The platen 42 is provided with a peripheral seal 44 which sealingly engages the interior of the drum body 12 and which, when activated, will heat the hot melt product underlying it to a liquid dispensing form. The platen 42 is provided with a dispensing tube or hose 46 through which the liquid hot melt product is dispensed.

As previously described, the platen dispensing method cannot and does not remove all of the hot melt product from the container, whether it be a steel drum or a fibre drum in accordance with this invention. After the dispensing operation has been completed, the platen 48 is removed from the drum body 12 and the last remaining hot melt product 40 is permitted to cool with the result that a layer of hot melt product remains in the bottom of the fibre drum, as shown in Figure 4. In accordance with this invention, this remaining layer of hot melt product is to be salvaged. This is accomplished by releasing the metal bottom 1 8 and removing it together with the layer of hot meit product 40, as shown in Figure 6. Because of the use of the disc of release paper 24, the layer of hot melt product 40 may now be readily separated from the metal bottom 1 8 and the release paper peeled from the layer of hot melt product, as shown in Figure 6.

It will be readily apparent from the foregoing that a fibre drum constructed in accordance with this invention has particular application in the packaging of a hot melt product and that by utilizing the drum construction of this invention, there is substantially no residue of the hot melt product left in the drum after the aforementioned salvage operation.

Claims (10)

Claims

1. A container particularly adapted for containing a shipment of hot metal adhesive, said container comprising a cylindrical fibre drum body having open upper and lower ends, a metal chime engaged over said drum body lower end, a metal bottom sealed to said metal chime, locking means releasably retaining said metal bottom in operative association with said metal chime, a releasable liner overiying said metal bottom, liner means within said drum body, and a removable cover closing said drum body upper end.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein said locking means is in the form of a releasable locking band.

3. A container according to claim 1 wherein said releasable liner is in the form of a release paper disc.

4. A container according to claim 1 wherein said liner means is in the form of an inner layer of said drum body.

5. A container according to claim 1 wherein said container is filled with a hot melt adhesive.

6. A container according to claim 1 wherein said cover is a fibre cover and includes a cylindrical shell telescoped over an upper portion of said drum body.

7. A container according to claim 1 wherein said cover is a fibre cover and includes a cylindrical shell telescoped over an upper portion of said drum body, a collar secured within an upper part of said shell, and a cover panel telescoped within said shell and abutting a lower edge of said collar.

8. A method of obtaining complete removal of a hot melt adhesive and the like from a drum, said method comprising the steps of providing a drum filled with hot melt adhesive and having both a removable cover and a removable bottom, removing said cover and dispensing the hot melt adhesive in the customary manner wherein all of the hot melt adhesive cannot be removed from the bottom portion of said drum, then removing the drum bottom and the hot melt adhesive residual, and separating the hot melt adhesive residual from the drum bottom.

9. A container particularly adapted for containing a shipment of hot metal adhesive substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A method of obtaining complete removal of a hot melt adhesive and the like from a drum substantially as herein described.