US2709539A - Container filling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

ay 31, 1955 N, JR 2,709,539

CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 20, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

H. A. SWANSONLJR.

ATTORNEYS W 1955 H. A. SWANSON, JR

CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 20, 1954 INVENTOR.

H. A. 5WAN$ON,JR.

AT TORN EYS ay 31, 1955 H. A. SWANSON, JR 2,709,539 CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 20, 1954 r 21/ E II U I. I 1 25 I III /[8 29 I II I INVENTOR.

LCLJVIIIVIETER H IL AT TOR NEYS FIG. 5.

H. A. SWANSON,JFI.

CONTAENER FILLING APPARATUS Herman A. Swanson, J12, Waco, Tex., assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company,

a corporation of Delaware Application August 20, 1954, Serial No. 451,111 7 Claims. ((31. 222-108) drums, which has resulted in individual drums varying in height as much as several inches. The diameters of these drums often vary as much as two inches, and the bung offset distances from the edge of the drum often vary from one to two inches. Because of these size variations, drum filling equipment must be flexible to accommodate the drums likely to be encountered.

in accordance with the present invention an improved drum filling system is provided which can readily accommodate drums of various sizes. The drums can be filled while resting on a scale so that a predetermined weight of oil can be placed in each drum. The filling apparatus of this invention comprises a spout which is adjustably mounted on a base assembly. The spout is pivotally mounted on a support plate and is lowered into the drum bung during the actual filling. provided to hold the spout within the drum. A drip pan is pivotally attached to the base assembly to swing below the spout automatically when the spout is raised out or" the drum. in addition, a branched conduit system having a fiowrneter therein is provided so that the filling apparatus can be fiushed with minimum loss of product when converting from one type of oil to another.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide adjustable drum filling apparatus which is capable of accommodating drums of various sizes.

Another object is to provide a metering system for use with container filling apparatus.

Other objects, advantages and features of this invention should become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of the drum filling apparatus of this invention;

Figure 2 is a top view of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the gear assembly employed to raise and lower the drum filling apparatus;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in Figure l; and

Figure 5 is a schematic view of metering equipment associated with the drum filling apparatus.

*leferring now to the drawing in detail and to Figures 1 and 2 in particular, there is shown a drum 1t) resting upon a scale ii. The drum filling apparatus of this invention is shown positioned beside scale 11. This apparatus comprises a base assembly 13 which includes an upright socket 14. A support shaft is fitted into socket 14 and held in position by set screws 16. A sleeve 17 is fitted about the upper portion of support shaft 15 and a gear box 18 is attached to the upper end of sleeve 17. The upper end of shaft 15 is provided with threads 29 which are engaged by the gears within box 18. A crank 21, having a handle 22, extends from gear box 18 to enable A latch arrangement is 9 m9; 9 v we; yo Faterttetl m y 1%55 the assembly of gear box 18 and sleeve 17 to be raised and lowered on shaft 15.

Gear box 18 is illustrated in detail in Figure 3. The front of box 18 is provided with a cover plate 2.5 through which extends a drive shaft 26. The outer end of drive shaft 26 is connected to crank 21. A bearing .28 is provided in cover plate to receive drive shaft 2d, and a frame assembly 29 extends outwardly from cover plate 25 to support drive shaft 26 within a bearing 30. The inner end of drive shaft 26 is attached to a miter gear 2". Miter gear 27 meshes with a second miter gear 32 which in turn meshes with the threaded end 20 of shaft 15. A ball bearing assembly 33 extends between miter gear 32 and the cover plate 34 of gear box 13. In this manner, rotation of drive shaft 26 by crank 21 results in the gear box being raised or lowered on shaft 15.

A mounting plate 36 is welded to sleeve 17, and an L-shaped hinge plate 37, see Figures 1 and 2, is pivotally attached to mounting plate 36 by a bolt 33. Hinge plate 37 is provided with a slot 40 which receives a stop pin 41 that extends outwardly from mounting plate 36. A filling arm comprising a pipe 43 is attached to hinge plate 37 by a pair of U-bolts 44. A filling valve 45* is attached to one end of filling arm 43, and a spout 46 depends from valve 45 as to enter drum 10 when filling arm 43 is pivoted counterclockwise about bolt 33. The second end of filling arm 43 is threaded at 47 to receive an oil supplying conduit 80 shown in Figure 5. Filling arm 43 is also provided with a side arm 4% which receives a second conduit 35, also shown in Figure 5.

Filling arm 43 is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 at approximately its central position. Normally, this pipe occupies a position wherein spout 46 is elevated above the position shown. First ends of a pair of springs 50 are inserted through respective hooks 51 on filling arm 43. The second ends of these springs are inserted through hook eyes 52 that are attached to brackets 53 on mounting plate 36. Springs 55 thus tend to rotate the filling pipe and hinge plate clockwise about bolt 33 such that the left-hand side of slot 40 engages stop pin 41. When it is desired to lower spout 46 into barrel llll, the operator depresses the end of filling arm 43 until stop pin 41 engages the right-hand side of slot The filling spout is retained in this down position by a latch 55 that is pivotal ly secured to a mounting arm 56 which depends from filling arm 43. A lock pin 57 extends outwardly from mounting plate 36 to engage latch 55 when spout 46 is l wered. A torsion spring 58 is secured to a collar 59 on arm 56 at one end and to a screw 60 on latch 55 at its second end. This torsion spring holds latch 5'5 in engagement with pin 57. A trip rod 62 is attached to the upper end of latch 55. When this rod is pulled, the force of torsion spring 58 is overcome and latch 55 is released from pin 57. Spout 46 then moves upwardly out of drum 10 by the force of springs St).

A drip pan assembly is provided to prevent leakage of oil onto the tops of the drums when spout 46 is removed. This assembly comprises a pan 65 which is secured to one end of a rotatable arm 66. A conduit 67 communicates with the bottom of drip pan 65 to remove any oil caught by pan 65. The second end of arm 66 is pivotally mounted on a support plate 68 which extends outwardly Trout mounting plate 36. Arm 66 is attached to plate 63 by a bolt 69. As shown in greater detail in Figure 4, a plate 70 depends from filling arm 43 and a cam plate '71 is attached to plate 70 by screws 72. Arm 66 is fitted within cam plate '71. The sides of cam plate 71 are at such an angle that arm 66 is moved laterally away from spout 46 when the spout is lowered, but is moved under spout 46 when the spout is raised. In this manner, the drip pan is positioned under spout 46 automatically when the spout is elevated from drum 10.

Valve 45 preferably is a two-way solenoid actuated valve that is provided with two open positions as well as a closed position. When the drum is nearly filled, valve 45 is closed to a second open position whereby the volume of liquid transmitted therethrough is greatly diminished. The upper portion of the drum is then filled at a slower rate. The valve is then closed completely. Valves of this type are available commercially and are desirable because they enable the drum to be filled at a high rate, but still provide an accurate shutoil when the desired amount of liquid is supplied to the drum. Furthermore, valve 45 can be actuated automatically by a suitable switch associated with scale 11. Equipment of this type is also available commercially.

In Figure 5 there is shown a conduit system which can be attached to the valve filling apparatus. This system comprises a conduit 30 which is attached to the end 4-7 of filling arm 43. Conduit 8%, having a valve 81 therein, is connected at its second end to a strainer 82. The second end of strainer 82 is connected to a conduit 83 which supplies oil to the filling apparatus. A conduit 85, having a valve 86 therein, is attached at one end to side arm 43 of filling arm 43. The second end of conduit 85 is connected through a flowmeter 87 to the first end of a conduit 88, which has a valve 89 therein. The second end of conduit 88 is connected to conduit 8% between valve 81 and strainer 82. In normal operation, valves 86 and 8) are closed and valve 81 is open. The oil is supplied to the drums through conduit 80, filling arm 43 and valve 45 until the desired weight of oil has been added to the barrel. At this time valve 4-5 is closed. When it is desired to fill drums with a difierent type of oil, it is necessary to flush out the filling apparatus. This is accomplished without an excessive waste of oil by closing valve 81 and opening valves 86 and 89. A predetermined volume of oil is then passed through the filling apparatus as indicated by a fiowmeter 87. When the desired volume of oil has been passed through the equipment, valves 86 and 8 are again closed and valve 81 is opened. The drum filling operations can then be continued.

In view of the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of. this invention, it can be seen that there is provided adjustable filling apparatus for use in filling drums. The apparatus can readily be raised and lowered to accommodate drums of varying heights. A latching arrangement is provided to retain the spout within the drum during the filling operation to prevent the spout from being forced out of the drum due to the jet action of the oil leaving the spout. Furthermore, a drip pan is provided to swing under the spout automatically whenever the spout is removed from the drum. This prevents leakage of oil onto the top of the drum.

While this invention has been described in conjunction with a present preferred embodiment, it should be apparent that the invention is not limited thereto.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for filling containers with a liquid c01nprising, in combination, a support, a filling arm pivotally attached to said support, a spout depending from the first end of said filling arm, the second end of said filling arm being adapted to be connected to a source of liquid, means biasing said filling arm whereby said spout normally occupies a first upper position relative to said support, said filling arm being rotatable from said first position to a second position whereby said spout is lowered, locking means to retain said filling arm in said second position against the force of said biasing means, a drip pan pivotally attached to said support, and means responsive to movement of said filling arm to position said drip pan whereby said drip pan is beneath said spout when said filling arm is in said first position and said drip pan is displaced from beneath said spout when said filling arm is in said second position.

2. Apparatus for filling containers with a liquid comprising, in combination, a base, a support movably attached to said base so that said support is movable in a generally vertical direction, a filling arm pivotally attached to said support, a spout depending from the first end of said filling arm, the second end of said filling arm being adapted to be connected to a source of liquid, means biasing said filling arm whereby said spout normally occupies a first upper position relative to said support, said filling arm being rotatable from said first position to a second position whereby said spout is lowered, locking means to retain said filling arm in said second position against the force of said biasing means, a drip pan pivot ally attached to said support, and means responsive to movement of said filling arm to position said drip pan whereby said drip pan is beneath said spout when said filling arm is in said first position and said drip pan is displaced from beneath said spout when said filling arm is in said second position.

3. The combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein said base includes an upright threaded rod; and said support includes a gear box, a first gear in said box threaded to said rod, said first gear being provided with external threads, a second gear in said box, said second gear having threads meshing with the threads of said first gear, and a handle attached to said second gear to rotate said second gear whereby said first gear is rotated on said rod to move said second gear relative to said rod, said first gear being in engagement with said box whereby said box is also moved with said first gear.

4. Apparatus for filling containers with a liquid comprising, in combination, a support, a filling arm attached to said support, a valve having one port thereof connected to the first end of said filling arm, a spout depending from the second port of said valve, the second end of said filling arm being adapted to be connected to a source of fluid, said filling arm being movable with respect to said support whereby said spout can be lowered into a container to be filled, means normally biasing said filling arm in a first position whereby said spout is in an elevated position, latching means to retain said filling arm stationary against the force of said biasing means when said spout is lowered, a drip pan attached to said support, and means responsive to movement of said filling arm to position said drip pan relative to said support whereby said drip pan is beneath said spout when said spout is in said lowered position and said drip pan is displaced from beneath said spout when said spout is in said elevated position.

5. Apparatus for filling containers with a liquid comprising, in combination, a support, a filling arm pivotally attached to said support whereby said filling arm is rotatable in a generally vertical plane, means secured to said support to limit rotation of said filling arm, a spout depending from the first end of said filling arm, the second end of said filling arm being adapted to be connected to a source of liquid, a spring nor- 5 mally biasing said filling arm in a first position whereby said spout is in an elevated position, a latch attached to said filling arm to engage said support when said filling arm is rotated so that said spout is in a lowered position, said latch retaining said filling arm in said lastmentioned position against the force of said spring, means for releasing said latch from said support, a support arm,

a drip pan mounted on one end of said support arm, the

second end of said support arm being pivotally attached to said support whereby said support arm is free to rotate in a generally horizontal plane, and a cam member de pending from said filling arm to engage said support arm whereby said drip pan is moved beneath said spout when said spout is in said elevated position and said drip pan is displaced from beneath said spout when said spout is in said lowered position.

6. Apparatus for filling containers with a liquid comprising, in combination, a base including an upright threaded rod, a gear box, a first gear in said box threaded to said rod, said first gear being provided with external threads, a second gear in said box, said second gear havgreases ing threads meshing with the threads of said first gear, a handle attached to said second gear to rotate said second gear whereby said first gear is rotated on said rod to move said second gear relative to said rod, said first gear being in engagement with said box whereby said box is also moved with said first gear, a support attached to said gear box and movable therewith, a filling arm pivotally attached to said support whereby said filling arm is rotatable in a generally vertical plane, means secured to said support to limit rotation of said filling arm, a spout depending from the first end of said filling arm, the second end of said filling arm being adapted to be connected to a source of liquid, a spring normally biasing said filling arm in a first position whereby said spout is in an elevated position, a latch attached to said filling arm to engage said support when said filling arm is rotated so that said spout is in a lowered position, said latch retaining said filling arm in said last-mentioned position against the force of said spring, means for re leasing said latch from said support, a support arm, a drip pan mounted on one end of said support arm, the second end of said support arm being pivotally attached to said support whereby said support arm is free to rotate in a generally horizontal plane, and a cam member depending from said filling arm to engage said support arm whereby said drip pan is moved beneath said spout when said spout is in said elevated position and said drip pan is displaced from beneath said spout when said spout is in said lowered position.

7. Apparatus for filling containers with a liquid comprising, in combination, a support, a filling arm pivotally attached to said support, a valve having one port thereof connected to the first end of said filling arm, a spout depending from the second port of said valve, a first conduit connected at one end to the second end of said filling arm, the second end of said first conduit being adapted to be connected to a source of liquid, a second valve in said first conduit, a second conduit connected atone end to said filling arm and at its second end to said first conduit between said second valve and the second end of said first conduit, and a third valve in said second conduit, means biasing said filling arm whereby said spout nor mally occupies a first upper position relative to said support, said filling arm being rotatable from said first position to a second position whereby said spout is lowered, locking means to retain said filling arm in said second position against the force of said biasing means, a drip pan pivotally attached to said support, and means responsive to movement of said filling arm to position said drip pan whereby said drip pan is beneath said spout when said filling arm is in said first position and said drip pan is displaced from beneath said spout when said filling arm is in said second position.

No references cited.

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