GB2196284A - Crushing drums - Google Patents

Abstract

A drum crusher comprises a frame (1) having a tubular-shaped housing (4) for accommodating a drum. The frame (1) supports lifting means (2) having movable grippers (10) for gripping a drum and lifting it upwards. A crushing plate (8) forces the drum downwards in a gripping direction (9) against pivotable arms (14) having support surfaces (19) acting as reaction surfaces during crushing. The arms (14) are provided with claws (20) for piercing the lower end of the drum before crushing to allow any fluid in the drum to drain away to be forced out and be collected if necessary. Preferably, creasing means are provided, e.g. an angle iron cruciform (21) (Fig. 3 not shown) on the underside of the crushing plate (8), for ensuring that the drum collapses in a substantially predictable manner during crushing. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Crushing Drums The present invention relates to apparatus for crushing drums.

Drum crushers are known in which drums are crushed hydraulically or pneumatically. If the drum still contains some fluid, e.g. a liquid, gel, powder or granules, this may spill or splash out during crushing. If the fluid is caustic or toxic, this could be a health hazard.

An object of the present invention is to provide a drum crusher in which the contents of the drum may be drained out before crushing takes place or forced out in a controlled manner during crushing.

The invention provides a drum crusher comprising means for lifting a drum, means for piercing the drum and allowing fluid to drain therefrom and means for crushing the drum.

Preferably, means for creasing an end of the drum are provided to facilitate crushing of the drum in a predictable manner.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a plan view of a drum crusher according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a section taken along the line ll-ll of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line Ill-Ill of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a side diagrammatic view of the drum crusher according to the invention connected to a crane mounted on a lorry or flat.

In Figs. 1 to 3, a drum crusher comprises essentially a frame 1 supporting drum-lifting means 2, drum-crushing means 2a and drum piercing means 3.

The frame 1 comprises a substantially cylindrical housing 4 having a circular end 5. The drum-crushing means 2a comprise a crushing platten 8 attached to two rams 6 slidable in hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders 7 mounted on the upper side of the end 5. The rams 6 move the crushing platten 8 axially within the frame 1 in a crushing direction indicated by arrow 9 in Fig. 2.

The drum-lifting means 2 comprise opposing gripping jaws 10 slidably mounted on guide bars 11 carried on the upper side of the crushing platten 8 and depending below the platten 8. The gripping jaws 10 are slidable towards and away from each other, by means of hydraulic or pneumatic rams 12 slidable in cylinders 13, from an open position shown in full line to a closed position shown in broken line in Fig. 2 to grip a drum (not shown) accommodated within the housing 4.

It should be pointed out that, for the sake of clarity, the section lines ll-ll and Ill-Ill of Fig.

1 have been turned through 45" for showing the gripping means 2 shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The piercing means 3 comprise four arms 14 mounted on pivots 15 on the inside of the housing 4 and extending outwardly through vertical slots 16 in the housing 4. Each arm 14 is pivotably connected to a ram 17 slidable in a cylinder 18 pivotably attached to the outside of the housing 4. The arms 14 may be pivoted by the rams 17 from a vertical inoperative position shown in Fig. 3 to a horizontal operative position shown in Fig. 2.

As can be seen from Fig. 2, the upper surface 19 of the arms 14 forms a reaction surface for supporting a drum during crushing.

The end of each arm 14 carries a piercing claw 20 extending upwardly in the operative position of the arms 14.

Drum creasing means are provided in the form of an angle iron cruciform 21 attached to the underside of the platten 8 as shown in Fig. 3. The cruciform 21 is arranged so that its longitudinal edge 22 is lowermost. It has been found that if the end rim of a drum is creased just before crushing, the drum collapses in a substantially predictable manner, thereby preventing undesirable sideways bursting or jamming of the crushed drum barrel in the drum crusher.

Fig. 3 also shows a collapsible linkage 23 for supporting a hose supplying the gripping means 2 with hydraulic fluid. The upper side of the end 5 of the frame 1 is provided with a bush 24 rotatably supporting a spigot 25 for connection with the end of an arm 26 of a crane 27 as shown in Fig. 4. The crane 27 may be mounted on a lorry or a collapsible flat 28. preferably, the brush 24 and the spigot 25 form a hydraulic rotator rotatable through about 120 to allow optimum angular positioning of the drum crusher over a drum, e.g. when packed close to neighbouring drums.

The drum crusher operates as follows: a) The drum crusher is positioned over a drum 29 and then lowered until the drum is within the frame 1 as shown in Fig. 4. If necessary, the rams 6 are actuated to lower the lifting means 2 to an appropriate position around the upper end of the drum 29. The rams 12 are then actuated to move the grippers 10 towards each other until they grip the top of the drum, and the rams 6 are reversed to raise the crushing platten 8, and hence the drum, upwardly.

b) The rams 17 are then actuated to pivot the arms 14 into the operative position shown in Fig. 2. Rams 6 are actuated to force the crushing plate 8 downwards so that the lower end of the drum is forced onto the surface 19 of the arms 14. The lower end of the drum is pierced by the claws 20 and any fluid still in the drum is forced out or drains away.

c) The rams 12 are extended to retract the gripping means 10 and the rams 6 are actuated to force the edge 22 of the angle iron 21 against the upper end of the drum so as to crease it. Further actuation of the rams 6 forces the crushing platten 8 still further downwardly to crush the drum against the surfaces 19 of the arms 14.

d) The grippers 10 are fully retracted and the arms 14 pivoted to the inoperative position to allow the crushed drum to fall downwardly out of the drum crusher. Additionally, the rams 6 may be fully extended as shown in Fig. 3 to expel the crushed drum from the drum crusher.

It will be appreciated that further steps may be incorporated. Thus, between steps a) and b) the crane 27 may be operated to position the drum crusher over a tank for collecting liquid or other fluid from the pierced drum, e.g. if the liquid is caustic or toxic, or is required for recovery. Furthermore, between steps c) and d) the crane 27 may be re-positioned so that the crushed drum is expelled at an appropriate collection position, e.g. over a waste-metal container.

Various modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment. Thus, the frame 1 may be merely a supporting framework. Alternatively, the frame 1 may comprise a housing 4 as shown for confining the drum, and may be provided with screened openings through which crushing may be observed. If required the screened openings could be covered by transparent material, e.g. perspex, to prevent liquid splashing through the openings.

The spigot 25 may be modified or replaced with other means for connecting the drum crusher to any suitable crane or other lifting device.

Claims (16)

1. A drum crusher comprising means for lifting a drum, means for piercing the drum and allowing fluid to drain therefrom; and means for crushing the drained drum.

2. A drum crusher as claimed in claim 1, wherein the piercing means are movable from an operative position for piercing the drum into an inoperative position in which the crushed drum may be removed.

3. A drum crusher as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the piercing means comprise claws mounted on arms cqnstituting reaction means against which the drum is crushed.

4. A drum crusher as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lifting means comprise a pair of grippers movable towards each other for gripping the drum.

5. A drum crusher as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein means for creasing an end of the drum are provided to facilitate crushing of the drum in a predictable manner.

6. A drum crusher as claimed in claim 5, wherein the drum creasing means comprise a member having a creasing edge extending in a direction transversely of a crushing direction.

7. A drum crusher as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the creasing means are attached to the crushing means.

8. A drum crusher as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lifting means, piercing means and crushing means are mounted on a frame for accommodating a drum being crushed.

9. A drum crusher as claimed in claim 8, wherein the piercing means are pivotably mounted on the frame.

10. A drum crusher as claimed in claim 8 or 9, and claim 2 wherein the piercing means are movable between the operative and inoperative positions by hydraulic or pneumatic ram and cylinder means attached to the frame.

11. A drum crusher as claimed in claim 8, 9 or 10, and claim 4, wherein the drum crushing means comprise a crushing platten movably mounted within the frame and supporting grippers.

12. A drum crusher as claimed in claim 11, wherein the frame has an upper end supporting hydraulic or pneumatic ram and cylinder means attached to the crushing platten for moving the crushing plate in a crushing direction.

13. A drum crusher as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the frame comprises a tubular-shaped housing for confining a drum during crushing.

14. A drum crusher as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

15. A drum crusher as claimed in any one of the previous claims and attached to a crane.

16. A drum crusher as claimed in claim 15, wherein the crane is attached to a vehicle.