GB2616353A

GB2616353A - Pumping arrangement for a drum of hazardous material

Info

Publication number: GB2616353A
Application number: GB2302923.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paszke Gary
Original assignee: Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems Ltd
Current assignee: Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems Ltd
Priority date: 2022-02-28
Filing date: 2023-02-28
Publication date: 2023-09-06
Also published as: GB202302923D0; GB202202758D0

Abstract

A drum pump (barrel pump) 200 for extracting hazardous material from a drum (barrel) 210 of hazardous material. The drum pump has an outlet 100 with an outlet hole which in use is positioned more than 270 mm above the upper surface 190 of the drum. This clearance allows, e.g., a 5 litre (about 1 gallon) jerrycan 220 to be filled while resting on the upper surface 190 of the drum. The hazardous material may be dangerous, toxic, oil, waste material, acid, chemicals, reactive diluents, solvents, pigment dispersions, surfactants, monofunctional acrylate monomers, difunctional acrylate monomers and/or a glycol ether.

Description

Pumping arrangement for a drum of hazardous material The present invention relates to extraction of hazardous material from a drum, and in particular to pumping arrangements for drums of hazardous materials.

A popular approach for large-scale transportation of hazardous material/liquid, such as oil, waste material, acids or chemicals (e.g. for use in a laboratories) is the use of drums. Such drums are commonly made from steel (or other metals), and can alternatively be labelled "barrels". It is common for drums to have a nominal capacity of 200L.

Extracting hazardous material from a drum, e.g. for small-scale use, is a problematic procedure. Attempting to simply tip the material from the drum would likely result in spillages. One approach is to use a pump for extracting the material, commonly called a drum pump or a pumping arrangement.

There is an ongoing desire to improve pumping arrangements for drums of hazardous material.

Desirable improvements include making their use more convenient and to reduce a likelihood of spillage when using the pumping arrangement.

The present invention is defined by the claims.

According to examples in accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a pumping arrangement for extracting hazardous material from a drum of hazardous material.

The pumping arrangement comprises: a fixing arrangement for securing the pumping arrangement to an upper surface of the drum of hazardous material; an inlet tube comprising an inlet hole, wherein the inlet tube is configured to, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the upper surface of the drum, extend through a hole in the upper surface of the drum of hazardous material and position the inlet hole inside the drum; an outlet tube connected to the inlet tube and comprising an outlet hole, where the outlet tube is configured such that, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the outlet hole is positioned more than 270mm above the upper surface of the drum; and a manual reciprocal pump configured to, when activated, pump any hazardous material at the inlet hole to the outlet hole, via the inlet and outlet tubes, so as to extract the hazardous material from the drum.

The proposed pumping arrangement provides a mechanism by which hazardous material can be extracted from a drum and delivered to a location at least 270mm above the upper surface of the drum. This means that containers for which a distance between the opening to the container and the base of the container is equal to or less than the distance between the delivery location and the upper surface of the drum can be supported by the upper surface of the drum whilst material is transferred thereto. This improves a convenience of filling larger containers (e.g. >250mm in height) compared to conventional pumping arrangements, as the need for an individual to support the weight of the container during filling is removed. This approach also reduces a likelihood of spillage when filling such containers, as the container is likely to remain in the same position throughout filling (e.g. rather than being jostled or moved by an individual).

The proposed pumping arrangement also avoids any need to reposition a pumping arrangement (e.g. twist the pumping arrangement around) if a larger container needs to be filled. Historically, it would be necessary to twist the pumping arrangement until an outlet hole was positioned to the side of the drum to allow space for such containers to fit beneath the outlet hole. This requirement is advantageously avoided, thereby avoiding/reducing wear on the pumping arrangement.

The hazardous material may be a hazardous liquid or any other suitable matter that can be pumped.

The hazardous material may, for instance, comprise reactive diluents, solvents, pigment dispersions, surfactants and the like (e.g. material used for the ink industry). In some examples, the hazardous materials comprises monofunctional acrylate monomers, difunctional acrylate monomers and/or a Glycol Ether. These materials are particularly useful or relevant for use in the ink industry. The relevant parts of the pumping arrangement may be formed of suitable material for transporting and/or carrying the hazardous material, e.g. steel, aluminum or the like. Thus, the inlet and outlet tube may be formed of steel or a similar material (e.g. aluminum).

In some examples, the pumping arrangement is configured such that, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the outlet hole is positionable vertically above the upper surface of the drum.

In some examples, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the outlet hole is positioned no more than 320mm above the upper surface of the drum.

It is recognized that there is a distinct class of container having opening positioned between 270mm and 320mm from a base of the container, e.g. 5L Jerry cans. By limiting the outlet hole to be positioned at no more than 320mm, a likelihood of spillage or splashing of the hazardous material during pumping is reduced for use with such containers.

As a working example, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the outlet hole may be positioned between 270 -300mm (e.g. 270mm -290mm) above the upper surface of the drum. One particularly common container has an opening at 280mm (e.g. a 5L Jerry can). By restricting the position of the outlet hole to fall within this range, a likelihood of spillage/splashing of the hazardous material is further reduced for a particularly advantageous use-case scenario.

In some examples, when fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, a first portion of the outlet tube, connecting the outlet hole to the remainder of the outlet tube, is more distant from the upper surface of the drum than the outlet hole. Effectively, this means that the first portion can act as a trap or U-bend, to prevent or reduce undesirable flow of the hazardous material. This approach also results in the outlet hole delivering the hazardous material in a direction toward the upper surface of the drum, improving an ease of filling a container with the hazardous material.

The first portion of the outlet tube may be curved. In some examples, the radius of curvature of the first portion of the outlet tube is greater than 50mm. A larger radius of curvature will improve the flow characteristics of the hazardous material out of the outlet hole, reducing splashing and/or sputtering of the hazardous material out of the outlet hole. This approach also reduces a likelihood of a build-up or blockage of hazardous material occurring in the transition from the remainder of the outlet tube to the outlet hole via the first portion.

In some examples, the outlet tube comprises: the first portion, a second portion coupled to the first portion and a third portion connected between the second portion and the inlet tube; and the third portion of the outlet tube is curved.

Optionally, the third portion is configured, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, to curve away from the upper surface of the drum. This approach increases an ease of positioning of the outlet hole over the surface of the drum.

In some examples, the second portion is substantially straight. The length of the second portion may be no less than 150mm. Thus, a majority of the distancing of the outlet hole from the upper surface may result from the second portion.

In some examples, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the angle between the second portion and the upper surface of the drum is no less than 45° and/or no more than 70°. This approach increase a likelihood that the position of the outlet hole will be over the upper surface of the drum.

In some examples, the radius of curvature of the third portion of the outlet tube is greater than 40mm.

This improves the flow characteristics of the hazardous material.

Optionally, the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the manual reciprocal pump is positioned more proximately to the upper surface of the drum than the outlet hole.

In some examples, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the manual reciprocal pump is no less than 80mm from the upper surface of the pump.

In some examples, the length of the inlet tube is no less than 800mm. This facilitates extraction of hazardous material from a majority of a (standard or conventional) 200L drum.

In at least one example, the manual reciprocal pump is a push pull pump. This provides improved ease and efficiency of extracting hazardous material from the drum.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a pumping arrangement; and Figure 2 illustrates a pumping system.

The invention will be described with reference to the Figures.

It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the apparatus, systems and methods, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the apparatus, systems and methods of the present invention will become better understood from the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the Figures are merely schematic and are not drawn to scale. It should also be understood that the same reference numerals are used throughout the Figures to indicate the same or similar parts.

The invention provides a pumping arrangement for extracting hazardous material from a drum and delivering extracted material to a location at least 270mm above the upper surface of the drum. A fixing arrangement fixes the pumping arrangement to the drum. An inlet tube extends through a hole in the upper surface of the drum. A manual redprocal pump moves hazardous material at an inlet hole of the inlet tube to an outlet hole of an outlet tube, the outlet hole being at least 270mm above the upper surface of the drum.

Disclosed approaches are based on the recognition that it would be advantageous to provide hazardous material at a position more than 270mm from the upper surface of the drum, to allow larger containers (such as 5L Jerry cans) to rest on the upper surface of the drum during transfer of hazardous material thereto. This reduces a burden on an individual filling the container, as well as reducing a likelihood of spillage or splashing.

Embodiments may be employed in any environment in which hazardous material needs to be transferred out of a drum, e.g. into another container such as a Jerry can. Suitable example environments include laboratories or industrial factories.

In the context of the present disclosure, vertical means in a direction of gravity. Horizontal is perpendicular to a direction of gravity.

Figure 1 illustrates a pumping arrangement 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. The pumping arrangement acts as a drum pump for a drum containing hazardous material. The hazardous material may be any suitable hazardous material that can be pumped, e.g. hazardous fluid or other material that acts in a fluid-like manner.

The pumping arrangement 100 comprises a fixing arrangement 110, an inlet tube 120, an outlet tube 130 and a manual reciprocal pump 140. Each tube 120, 130 comprises a lumen through which hazardous material can pass. A tube may be alternatively labelled a pipe.

The fixing arrangement 110 is configured to fix or secure the pumping arrangement 100 to an upper surface 190 of a drum. Any suitable fixing arrangement may be employed, e.g. a threaded element to connect to a corresponding threaded element of the drum.

Typically, drums will contain an opening or hole in the upper surface, which is ringed or surrounded by a threaded connector. The fixing arrangement 110 may comprise a geometrically corresponding threaded connector to fix the pumping arrangement 100 to the upper surface 190 of the drum.

The inlet tube 120 is configured to, when the fixing arrangement 110 is fixed to the upper surface 190 of the drum, extend through a hole 192 or opening in the upper surface 190 of the drum of hazardous material. The inlet tube has an inlet hole 125 which, when the fixing inlet tube extends through the hole 192 of the upper surface 190 is positioned inside the drum of hazardous material. In this way, if the drum is filled with hazardous material, the inlet hole 125 makes contact with the hazardous material.

The inlet tube 120 is only partly illustrated, with dotted lines indicating non-illustrated parts of the inlet tube.

The outlet tube 130 is (fluidly) connected to the inlet tube 120, i.e. such that fluid is able to move from the outlet tube to the inlet tube and vice versa. The outlet tube has an outlet hole 135 through which hazardous material (transported thereto) can be output or dispensed from the outlet tube. The outlet tube 130 thereby acts as a spout for dispensing the hazardous material.

The inlet hole 125 and the outlet hole 135 may be positioned at the respective distal ends of the inlet 120 and outlet 130 tubes.

The manual reciprocal pump 140 is configured to, when activated, pump any hazardous material at the inlet hole 125 to the outlet hole 135, via the inlet 120 and outlet tubes 130, so as to extract or dispense the hazardous material from the drum. The manual reciprocal pump 140 may connect between the inlet 120 and outlet tubes 130. When activated (e.g. when an individual performs a pumping action with the reciprocal pump), the hazardous material is pumped from the inlet hole 125 to the outlet hole 135.

The manual reciprocal pump 140 may comprise a pump handle 141 and a routing connector 142. The routing connector 142 may fluidly connect the inlet tube 120 to the outlet tube 130 and control the passage of fluid through each tube. When the pump handle is moved (e.g. up and optionally down) by an individual, fluid moves through the routing connector to pump fluid from the inlet tube 120 to the outlet tube 130, thereby moving fluid from the inlet hole to the outlet hole. The manual reciprocal pump may be a push pull pump, so that both directions of movement of the pump (up or down) result in fluid being pumped to the outlet tube and thereby to the outlet hole. The operation of manual reciprocal pumps are well known to the person skilled in the art.

The outlet tube 130 is configured such that a distance d between the outlet hole 135 and the upper surface 190 of the drum (when the fixing arrangement has fixed the pumping arrangement to the upper surface of the drum) is no less than 270mm, e.g. no less than 280mm.

The distance d may be no greater than 350mm, e.g. no greater than 320mm, e.g. no greater than 310mm, e.g. no greater than 300mm.

Thus, the distance d may lie in any of the following ranges: 270mm -350mm; 270mm -320mm; 270mm -310mm; 270mm -300mm; 270mm -290mm; 280mm -350mm; 280mm -320mm; 280mm -310mm; 280mm -300mm; or 280mm -290mm.

The pumping arrangement may be configured such that, when the fixing arrangement has fixed the pumping arrangement to the upper surface of the drum, the outlet hole is positionable vertically above (i.e. over) the upper surface of the drum. This advantageously facilitates resting of a (suitably sized) container to be filled with the hazardous material upon the upper surface of the drum, thereby reducing a likelihood of spillage or unintentional tipping of the container to be filled.

In this context, the outlet hole being positionable vertically above means that if the drum is placed on a flat, horizontal surface (to which the upper surface is parallel), then the outlet hole can be positioned to lie above or over the upper surface of the drum. When the outlet hole lies above the upper surface of the drum, a hypothetical vertical line (i.e. a line in a direction of gravity) passing through the outlet hole will intersect with the upper surface of the drum.

The outlet tube 130 is formed of three portions. A first portion 131, a second portion 132 and a third portion 133, fluidly connected together in series. The first portion 131 connects the outlet hole 135 to the second portion 132. The second portion 132 connects the first portion 131 to the third portion 133 and the third portion 133 connects the second portion 132 to the inlet tube 120 (e.g. via the routing connector 142).

The first portion 131 is positioned to lie above the outlet hole 135 when the fixing arrangement 110 has fixed the pumping arrangement 100 to the upper surface 190 of the drum. Thus, the first portion 131 of the outlet tube 130 is more distant from the upper surface 190 of the drum than the outlet hole 135.

The illustrated first portion 131 is curved. The radius of curvature of the first portion 131 of the outlet tube may be greater than 50mm, e.g. greater than 75mm. A radius of curvature is equal to the radius of the circular arc that best approximate or fits the shape of a particular element (here: the first portion 131).

The second portion 132 is substantially straight. The length I of the second portion 132 may be greater than 150mm, e.g. no less than 160mm or no less than 200mm.

The second portion 132 may make a predetermined angle 0 with respect to the upper surface 190 (when the fixing arrangement 110 has fixed the pumping arrangement 100 to the upper surface 190 of the drum).

This predetermined angle 6 may be no less than 45° and/or no more than 70°, i.e. 45° 6 70°. For example, the predetermined angle may be between 45° and 60° or between 50° and 70° or between 50° and 60°. These example angle ranges provide a good compromise between ease of pumping (as it is easier to pump up an incline) and reducing a likelihood that the outlet hole 135 will not be positioned above the upper surface of the drum, which is advantageous for ease of resting a container to be filled upon the upper surface of the drum.

The illustrated third portion 133 is configured to curve away from the upper surface 190 of the drum. Thus, as distance from the inlet tube 120 increases, so a distance of the third portion from the upper surface 190 increases. The radius of curvature of the third portion of the outlet tube may be greater than 40mm, e.g. greater than 60mm.

Curving the third portion 133 away from the upper surface of the drum facilitates closer positioning of the outlet tube 135 to the inlet tube and pumping apparatus (with respect to distance along the upper surface 190 of the drum). This increases a likelihood that the outlet hole 135 will be positioned vertically above (i.e. over) the upper surface 190 of the drum, which is advantageous for ease of resting a container to be filled upon the upper surface of the drum.

In some examples, when the fixing arrangement 110 is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the manual reciprocal pump 140 is positioned more proximately to the upper surface 190 of the drum than the outlet hole 135. This reduces a risk of breakage of the manual reciprocal pump during operation, e.g. due to a reduced maximum magnitude of a possible moment that could be applied to the reciprocal pump.

In some examples, when the fixing arrangement 110 is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the manual reciprocal pump 140 is no less than 80mm from the upper surface of the pump. This approach improves an ease of pumping hazardous material to the outlet hole 135, as there is a reduced vertical distance for the hazardous material to travel when exiting the pump to reach the outlet hole 135.

In some examples, the length of the inlet tube 120 is no less than 800mm, e.g. no less than 820mm. This increases a likelihood that the inlet hole will be positioned towards the bottom of a conventional or normal container, to facilitate more efficient emptying of the drum.

The inlet tube may be formed from an at least partially flexible material, such as nitrile rubber or polytetrafluoroethylene. More particularly, the inlet hole 120 may be formed in a part of the inlet tube 120 that is formed of a flexible material e.g. so that the inlet tube may act as a hose that can lie across the bottom of the drum for even more efficient emptying of the drum.

If present, the portion of the inlet tube that is formed from at least partially flexible material is formed at a distal end of the inlet tube (i.e. an end of the inlet tube that is most distant from the outlet tube). Of course, in some examples, the entirety of the inlet tube is formed of the at least partially flexible material.

Figure 2 illustrates a pumping system 200. The pumping system 200 comprises a pumping arrangement 100, such as that previously described. The pumping system 200 demonstrates advantages of the proposed pumping arrangement 100.

The pumping system 200 further comprises a drum 210 containing hazardous material, and a container 220 to be filled with the hazardous material. The opening of the container 220 is no less than 250mm from a base of the container. A suitable example container is a 5L Jerry can.

As the pumping arrangement 100 is configured so that the outlet hole is positioned more than 270mm above the upper surface 190 of the drum 210, this means that the container can rest upon the upper surface 190 of the drum as the pumping arrangement is used to transfer the hazardous material from the drum 210 to the container 220. This reduces a burden on an operator performing the pumping (e.g. to hold the container whilst pumping) and reduces a likelihood that the hazardous material will splash or fall.

Variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality.

The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

If the term "adapted to" is used in the claims or description, it is noted the term "adapted to" is intended to be equivalent to the term "configured to". If the term "arrangement" is used in the claims or description, it is noted the term "arrangement" is intended to be equivalent to the term "system", and vice versa. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims

Claims 1. A pumping arrangement for extracting hazardous material from a drum of hazardous material, the pumping arrangement comprising: a fixing arrangement for securing the pumping arrangement to an upper surface of the drum of hazardous material; an inlet tube comprising an inlet hole, wherein the inlet tube is configured to, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the upper surface of the drum, extend through a hole in the upper surface of the drum of hazardous material and position the inlet hole inside the drum; an outlet tube connected to the inlet tube and comprising an outlet hole, where the outlet tube is configured such that, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the outlet hole is positioned more than 270mm above the upper surface of the drum; and a manual reciprocal pump configured to, when activated, pump any hazardous material at the inlet hole to the outlet hole, via the inlet and outlet tubes, so as to extract the hazardous material from the drum.
2. The pumping arrangement of claim 1, wherein the pumping arrangement is configured such that, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the outlet hole is posifionable vertically above the upper surface of the drum.
3. The pumping arrangement of claim 1 or 2, wherein, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the outlet hole is positioned no more than 320mm above the upper surface of the drum.
4. The pumping arrangement of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, a first portion of the outlet tube, connecting the outlet hole to the remainder of the outlet tube, is more distant from the upper surface of the drum than the outlet hole.
5. The pumping arrangement of claim 4, wherein the first portion of the outlet tube is curved.
6. The pumping arrangement of claim 5, wherein the radius of curvature of the first portion of the outlet tube is greater than 50mm.
7. The pumping arrangement of any of claims 4 to 6, wherein: the outlet tube comprises: the first portion, a second portion coupled to the first portion and a third portion connected between the second portion and the inlet tube; and the third portion of the outlet tube is curved.
8. The pumping arrangement of claim 7, wherein the third portion is configured, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, to curve away from the upper surface of the drum.
9. The pumping arrangement of any of claims 7 or 8, wherein the second portion is substantially straight.
10. The pumping arrangement of claim 9, wherein the length of the second portion is no less than 150mm.
11. The pumping arrangement of claim 9 or 10, wherein, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the angle between the second portion and the upper surface of the drum is no less than 45° and/or no more than 70°.
12. The pumping arrangement of any of claims 7 to 11, wherein the radius of curvature of the third portion of the outlet tube is greater than 40mm.
13. The pumping arrangement of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the manual reciprocal pump is positioned more proximately to the upper surface of the drum than the outlet hole.
14. The pumping arrangement of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein, when the fixing arrangement is fixed to the drum of hazardous material, the manual reciprocal pump is no less than 80mm from the upper surface of the pump.
15. The pumping arrangement of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the length of the inlet tube is no less than 800mm.