IE922352A1 - Material handling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Material handling apparatus 1, such as an Intermediate Bulk Container (I.B.C.) for transporting and/or storing say particulate material as is for example used in the food or pharmaceutical industry. The container 1 has, for the material, an inlet 2 to and outlet 3 from the container, and supports 4, 4 min whereby the container can be supported on a substrate 5 and/or can support another container 1, each support 4, 4 min and the container being secured together by securing means 6 which provides a smooth transition between adjacent surfaces. Thus the arrangement provides that there are no horizontal enclosed surfaces at a transition from one plate to another in or on the apparatus 1.

Description

MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS The invention relates to apparatus for handling flowable material and in particular an intermediate bulk container (I.B.C.) apparatus.

Material such as a liquid, slurry or particulate material is often housed in bulk in a bin or silo (I.B.C.), from which it may be discharged periodically at a fixed discharge station comprising a chute down which the material can flow from the bin or container. The bin usually has an inlet and an outlet, the outlet normally being obturated by a conical or frusto conical valve which sits on its base or rim on a converging exit throat at the outlet. When the outlet and chute are aligned, material can flow into the discharge station when the valve is raised off the exit throat by a suitable lifting device such as a bellows or complementary cone valve of the discharge station. One such device is that sold under the Registered Trade Mark MATCON and subject of U.K. Patent No. 2 084 969 B. Such systems work very well but they can suffer from a disadvantage in that the bin or container typically uses box section legs and/or have folded angle legs which are wrapped round the comer of the bin and welded up the side, thereby creating a trap between the meeting surfaces. Material may then become lodged in such traps or crevices and may remain there after the rest of the material has been discharged thereby posing a threat to container and environmental hygiene. This effect is enhanced because I.B.C.’S are transportable in that they are moved around in different locations in a plant such as a food processing plant, and are also moved between different locations such as from one plant to another. They are also often subjected to sometimes drastic variations of temperature. These temperature variations cause stress and so does mechanical shock brought about by movement both of which kinds of stress can induce faults at welds, such as pin holes which allow the contents of the container to seep out, hence the environmental hazards referred to previously, and such hazards may only arise after an I.B.C. is moved from one location to another for example from a safe location such as an environmentally sealed or controlled room, to a general or open store where the ostensibly sealed I.B.C. is held prior to discharge of its contents. Those contents can leak out through the pin holes. Moreover, the present welds are such that there are surfaces in the I.B.C. structure which are not readily washed.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to seek to mitigate these disadvantages.

According to the invention there is provided material handling apparatus, comprising a container having for the material, an inlet to and an outlet from the container, and supports whereby the container can be supported on a substrate and/or can support another container, each support and the container being secured together by securing means which provides a smooth transition between adjacent surfaces.

The securing means may comprise a weld on opposite sides of the support at a junction with the container.

The container may have a round to square contour transition, and the weld may follow the contour.

The weld may penetrate the support whereby to provide uniform weld material at the junction.

Each support may comprise a plate having a strut part which may extend in use from a substrate and may follow the contour of the round and square part of the container and a part which may be complementary to the round part and which may converge to the straight part.

The support for supporting another container may comprise a foot which has a part spaced from a boundary surface of the container to provide a space therebetween.

The part may be mounted on spaced apart legs which are complementary to a smooth to square transition surface of the container and which may be secured thereto by a weld on opposite sides of the legs at a junction with the container.

The inlet may be closed by a removable cover which may be held in place by a releasable fastening secured to the container by a weld on opposite sides of a mounting plate therefor.

There may be a lip defining the inlet, which lip may be secured to the container by a weld on opposite sides thereof.

The respective weld may penetrate the mounting plate or leg to provide a uniform weld material at the junction.

Material handling apparatus is hereinafter described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig.l is a perspective view of a lower part (as viewed and as in use) of apparatus according to the invention in the form of an Intermediate Bulk Container (I.B.C.); Fig. 1A, IB, and 1C are respectively elevational views of a plate or template before and after folding, and an end view; Fig.2 is a scrap section on the line ’X’-’X’ of Fig.l and to a larger scale than that Figure; Fig.3 is a perspective view of an upper part (as viewed and in use) of the container of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig.4 is a view in the direction of arrow Ύ’ in Fig.3; Fig.5 is a part sectional side elevational view of the part of the container of Fig.3; Fig.6 is an enlarged sectional view on the line ’Τ’-’T of Fig.5; Fig.7 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a further embodiment of I.B.C. according to the invention.

Fig.7A is an enlarged scrap sectional view of the part indicated at 7A in Fig.7; and Fig.8 is a plan view of a yet further embodiment of I.B.C. of Fig.7.

Referring to the drawings, in which like parts are indicated by like numerals, there is shown material handling apparatus 1, such as an Intermediate Bulk Container (I.B.C.) for transporting and/or storing say particulate material as is for example used in the food or pharmaceutical industry. The container 1 has, for the material, an inlet 2 to and outlet 3 from the container, and supports 4, 4’ whereby the container can be supported on a substrate 5 and/or can support another container 1, each support 4, 4’ and the container being secured together by securing means 6 which provides a smooth transition between adjacent surfaces. Thus the arrangement provides that there are no horizontal enclosed surfaces at a transition from one plate to another in or on the apparatus 1.

At the lower or bottom (in use) part of the container 1 there is a square to round change in configuration adjacent the outlet 3 normally obturated by a cone valve 7. In order to support the container 1 and to provide for physical integrity of the container, each support 4 (there are four in the embodiment, one at each comer) is secured to the container by the securing means 6 which is in the form of a weld on opposite sides of the support at a junction with the container. The weld also follows the contour of the transition from round to square contour, and penetrates the support to provide uniform weld material at the junction. This is achieved by welding from both sides to provide full penetration by fusing the material.

The comers 8 of the container are each welded in a similar way too (Fig.2) to provide integrity of the weld 6.

Each support 4, is formed from an initially flat plate or template 9 of generally triangular shape which has a nose 10 which curves to a notch 11 along one side 12 and a fold line 13 from the notch 11 to the opposite side 14. When the plate 9 is bent about the fold line 13 to provide part of the opposite side 14 at 90° to the fold line and a deformation at the notch is simultaneously achieved, the side 12 with the notch 11 provides a complementary shape to the external configuration of the container 1, there being parts 4a, 4b, forming struts with no external horizontal surfaces, and being secured to the container 1 with a full double-sided weld 6.

Channels 15 are welded to the base of the struts 4a, 4b to form the guides for the forks offork-lift trucks, nylon block, feet 16 being secured in position as by screwing and by a silicon mastic material. At the upper (as viewed) end, the supports 4’, receive the supports 4 and comprise stacking feet for stacking container on container. Again, the supports 4’ comprise vertical (as viewed) side plates 17 having a curved part complementary to the shape of the (curved) top 18 of the container and extending down the side. The plates are again welded with double-sided, full or through welds 6 and support horizontal (as shown) plates 19 and inclined guard or guide plates 20 overlying the container 1. The horizontal plates 19 are spaced from the upper surface 18 to provide an open top cup or rebate 21 which is ample enough for washing media such as water or steam to penetrate for cleansing purposes.

The inlet 2 comprises a circular (in the embodiment) upstanding lip 22 secured to the body of the container 1 and defining a boundary of the inlet 2. The lip 22 is secured by welds 6 such as butt welds which are on both sides of the lip 22 and penetrate and are fused to provide a full weld with a smooth transition from the lip to the body of the container with no horizontal part.

The inlet 2 is sealed closed by a gasket or seal 23 such as a neoprene seal clipped round an outtumed part 24 of the lip 22 and on which is received a spun metal lid 25. The lid 25 has secured thereto, again by double side welds 6 such as butt welds which penetrate the metal, a fixing plate 26. There are in fact three equi-angularly spaced fixing plates 26, each with a U-shaped notch 27 in them in which is received a bolt 29 which is secured as by screwing in a swivel pin 30 mounted in a yoke 31 which is itself mounted on the container by welds such as butt welds from both sides of a mounting palte 32 and fused to provide full penetration and hence an integral weld with, as before, no enclosed traps. There is a hand knob 32 which can be screwed up or down to secure the lid 25. Thus when the knob 32 is released and the bolt 29 is pivoted up about the swivel pin 30, pivotably mounted in the yoke 31, so that the bolt 39 is received in the UIE 922352 shaped notch 27 with the knob 32 above the plate 26, the lid 25 is ready to be secured. This is achieved by screwing the knob 32 down to engage the plate 26 and thus in turn bear the lid 25 down on the seal 23 to provide a sealed mounting of the lid 25 on the lip 22 so sealing thei nlet 2. The lid 25 is removed by unscrewing the knob 32 and pivoting the rod 29 out of the U-shaped notch 27. The knob 32, rod 29, swivel pin 30 and yoke 31 provide a releasable f astening.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 7A, the apparatus 100 shown is an I.B.C. which is similar to that 1 shown in Figs 1 to 6, the supports 4 having re-entrant parts 4a, 4b which instead of terminating substantially at a waist of the I.B.C. as before, has a part 4c which extends upwardly along the body of the I.B.C. to provide rigidity, and also extends peripherally via part 4d and a gusset 4e so providing support.

The lid as shown in Fig. 7A is similar to that shown in Fig.5, the gasket being snub-nosed in Fig. 7A. As in the first embodiment there is a smooth transition between all adjacent surfaces.

In Fig. 7, the supports 4 are only secured to the body 101 of the container 100 by welding at the part 4c and 4d, the gussets 4e providing a support for the part 4d. Thus the part 4a and 4b, whilst providing support struts, are not welded to the body 101 of the I.B.C. Thus if the I.B.C. is dropped onto the legs 4, those legs absorb the force through the struts 4a and 4b which can crumble or buckle in dissipating the force of the impact, and this is achieved without that impact force impinging on the body of the I.B.C. Thus the physical integrity of the I.B.C. is maintained, even when the apparatus is mishandled and is dropped onto the struts 4j, 4b via the feet 16. The gussets 4g whilst giving support to the struts 4a, 4Jj also act as a kind of cushion, whilst allowing the struts to buckle progressively, the gussets 4g being shaped to follow the contour of the exterior of the body 101 and being secured as by welding to the part 4d and 4a, &.

The embodiment of I.B.C. 100 also has supports 4’ by which the I.B.C. can receive and support in superposed relation a similar I.B.C. Also, the lip 22 is designed so that if the I.B.C. is dropped on the top, that is on cover 25 or on the lip per se if the cover is removed, impact force is distributed round the periphery of the body 101 of the I.B.C., so again maintaining the physical integrity of the I.B.C.

Referring now to Fig. 8, there is shown in I.B.C. 200 which is virtually identical to that of Figs. 7 and 7A save that there is a peripheral guard ring 201 welded to the body 101 of the I.B.C. 200 at a height at or adjacent the level of the support 4’, to protect the I.B.C. from damage by way of collision with say a crane or fork-lift truck. This guard ring is secured b y a smooth weld 6 as with other welds described. It will be understood that the I.B.C. 200 has legs 4, 4a, fc. £, d, £, as in the embodiment of Figs. 7 and 7A so that the operation is the same on absorbing any unwanted impact load.

It will be understood that a complete container 1, 100, 200 in addition to providing no enclosed traps or likelihood of weld penetration, also provides for shedding of cleansing medium such as water as it has no traps or crevices therefor. The hinge arrangement 27, 29, 30, 31 is also able to be washed through with water, and is readily dismantleable, so providing a hygienic arrangement.

Claims (12)

1. Material handling apparatus, comprising a container having for the material, an inlet to and an outlet from the container, and supports whereby the container can be supported on a substrate and/or can support another container, each support and the container being secured together by securing means which provides a smooth transition between adjacent surfaces.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, the securing means comprising a weld on opposite sides of the support at a junction with the container.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 2, the container having a round to square contour transition, and the weld following the contour.

4. Apparatus accoridng to Claim 2 or Claim 3, the weld penetrating the support whereby to provide uniform weld material at the junction.

5. Apparatus according to Claim 4, each support comprising a plate having a strut part which extends in use from a substrate and follows the contour of the round and square part of the container and a part which is complementary to the round part and which converges to the straight part.

6. Apparatus accoridng to any preceding claim, the support for supporting another container comprising a foot which has a part spaced from a boundary surface of the container to provide a space therebetween.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6, the part being mounted on spaced apart legs which are complementary to a smooth to square transition surface of the container and which are secured thereto by a weld on opposite sides of the legs ίο at a junction with the container.

8. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, the inlet being closed by a removable cover held in place by a releasable fastening secured to the container by a weld on opposite sides of a mounting plate therefor.

9. Apparatus according to Claim 8, there being a lip defining the inlet, secured to the container by a weld on opposite sides thereof.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 8 or Claim9, the respective weld penetrating the mounting plate or leg to provide a uniform weld material at the junction.

11. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, the supports being spaced from the container over at least part of the length thereof.

12. Material handling apparatus, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.