WO1992021573A1

WO1992021573A1 - Liquid storage vessel

Info

Publication number: WO1992021573A1
Application number: PCT/AU1992/000258
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mervyn Ashley Rowlands
Original assignee: Caltex Oil (Australia) Pty Limited
Priority date: 1991-06-07
Filing date: 1992-06-03
Publication date: 1992-12-10
Also published as: ZA924074B

Abstract

The present invention discloses a drum for liquids or other flowable substances having a centrally located closeable opening (15) in its top face (3) and at least one aperture (4, 5) located adjacent the periphery of the top face. A method of filling such drums from a centrally aligned filling spout (23) without the need to orientate the drums by rotating them about their longitudinal axes prior to filling is also disclosed. After filling the central opening (15) is preferably permanently closed and thereafter the drum is used in conventional fashion. The invention is particularly applicable to 205 litre drums for petroleum products.

Description

LIQUID STORAGE VESSEL The present invention relates to drums and, in particular, drums for liquids or other flowable substances such as granulated fertilisers. The present invention particularly relates to 205 litre (44 imperial gallons) drums such as are widely used for petroleum products. Background Art

The conventional drums and the method of filling same, as used in the petroleum industry in Australia will now be described with reference to the following drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of the top face of the prior art drum;

Fig. 2 is a partly sectional, partly side elevational view of the drum of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a partly exploded, partly assembled cross-sectional view of the apertures of the drum of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 illustrates the steps involved in the filling of the drums of Figs. 1 and 2 with a liquid; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the filling steps of Fig. 4. As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, a conventional 205 litre drum 100 has a cylindrical side wall 1, a disc-shaped bottom face 2 and a disc-shaped top face 3. Located in the top face 3 are two standard apertures 4,5.

The smaller aperture 4 is a 20 mm opening located about 55 mm from the periphery 6 of the top face 3 whilst the larger aperture 5 is 50 mm in diameter and is located approximately 70 mm from the periphery 6. The apertures 4,5 are located on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis 7 of the drum 100.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, each of the apertures 4,5 is internally threaded in order to mate with a bung 8 and is preferably provided with a removable, tamper evident cap 9 which in addition to providing evidence as to whether or not the apertures 4,5 have been tampered with, also provides a seal for dust, dirt and the like.

The prior art method of filling such conventional drums 100 will now be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. In Fig. 4 each of five filling stage is illustrated on a single drum commencing at the top of the illustration and working towards the bottom. In Fig. 5 seven drums 101-107 are each illustrated in one of the filling stages.

As best seen in Fig. 4, the drums 101-103 are supplied by the manufacturer to the filler with both the apertures 4,5 being closed hv their respective bungs 8. It is necessary to orientate each of the drums 101-103 by rotating same about the longitudinal axis 7 in order to align the larger, filling aperture 5 with a filling spout 11. After this alignment has taken place, the bung 8 is removed from the larger aperture 5 and this is illustrated for drum 104. The drum then progresses under the filling spout 11 which is initially moved downwards to enable the interior of the drum 105 to be filled. The cessation of filling is normally determined by the weighing (not illustrated⁾ of the drum 105. After the drum 105 has been filled to the desired level, or weight, the spout 11 is removed. The drum then progresses onto the next station where the bung is reinserted and tightened. This is indicated for drum 106 in Figs. 4 and 5. Normally the liquid 12 within the drum does not reach completely to the top face 3 thereby leaving a small air space for thermal expansion purposes. Finally, as illustrated for drum 107, a tamper evident dust cap 9 is located on each of the apertures 4,5 in order to complete the filling procedures.

Occasionally the above described procedures are modified in the event that the liquid 12 1s a hazardous chemical. Under these circumstances, the bung 8 from the smaller aperture 4 is sometimes removed to assist the escape a d safe removal of air and hazardous vapours from the drum 100.

The filling of the drum 100 via the aperture 5 presents a number of disadvantages. As the aperture 5 is offset, the drum 100 must be orientated so that the aperture 5 is aligned with the filling spout 11 and held in that exact orientation for the entire filling and capping process. The bung 8 must be removed from the drum 104 and transferred to the drum 106 in order to be available for the re-bunging step.

The filling spout 11 which is lowered into the drum has a maximum filling rate determined by the combination of the diameter of the aperture 5 and the ability of air to escape from the annular opening between the spout 11 and the aperture 5. This maximum rate can be increased to some extent by removing the bung 8 from the small aperture a, however, the time required to reinsert and tighten the bung 8 in the small aperture 4 does not mean that this is a worthwhile procedure. After filling, the bung 8 must be reinserted into the aperture 5 and tightened. Finally the dust seals 9 must be applied and crimped into position. The above described operation is relatively complex and time consuming and therefore adds to the overall cost of the products supplied in such drums.

Prior art searches conducted after the priority date have indicated the following prior art. U.S. Patent No. 3,968,819 (Bochofer) discloses central filling of a drum which apparently only has a single aperture. This patent is concerned only with a safety interlock which prevents movement of the drum whilst the nozzle is within the drum. The description is entirely silent as to the question of how air is removed from the drum and whether the drum has any apertures other than the central filling hole 8. It is thought that the drum is a small drum (less than 2 litres) and therefore approximately the size of a can of food and is intended to be used with a "can opener" type spout which is attached to the drum and forms an opening in the drum during its attachment. The contents of the drum are then able to be poured from the drum via the spout.

U.S. Patent No. 4,804,024 (Arnemann) discloses a three station filling apparatus which operates in substantially the conventional fashion described above in relation to Figs. 4 and 5 in that the bungs or screw plugs must be unscrewed and then reinserted.

The following three U.S. Patents, Nos. 3,921,850 (Powers), 3,084,826 (Erlcson), and 2,339,255 (Dodson) each disclose a drum having a single central opening, however, the disclosure of these specifications is concerned with the structure of the bung and the position of the single central opening in the top of the drum is entirely incidental. It is also known from Australian Design Registrations Nos. 90368 and 90369 to provide a large cubic storage vessel (approximately 1,000 litres) adapted to be lifted by a fork lift and having a drain outlet in the base. These vessels have three closeable apertures arranged in the upper surface of the vessel. Each aperture is arranged to mate with n corresponding one of three different types of pump. Depending upon the type of liquid being stored in the vessel, a corresponding pump was mounted in the appropriate aperture. The vessel was filled and re-filled by tanker, either via the base drain outlet or via one of the apertures in the upper surface. Object of the Invention

It is the object of the present invention to substantially reduce or ameliorate the abovementioned disadvantages and provide a drum which can be filled more easily and less expensively so as to thereby reduce the cost of products supplied in such drums. Summary of the Invention

In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a storage drum for liquids or other flowable substances, said drum having a substantially cylindrical side wall defining a longitudinal axis of the drum and extending between substantially disc-shaped top and bottom faces, said top face having at least one first aperture located adjacent the periphery thereof, characterised in that a closeable opening is centrally located in said top face and is co-axial with said longitudinal axis.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of filling the abovementioned drums with a product comprising a liquid or other flowable substance, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) aligning said drums with their longitudinal axes contained in a vertical plane without having to rotate said drums about their longitudinal axes;

(2) advancing said drums towards a filling spout located in said vertical plane and above the top faces of said drums;

(3) filling each drum from said spout via said centrally located opening; and

(4) closing said centrally located opening. Description of the Drawings Two embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings in which:

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating the drum of the preferred embodiment;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating the drum of the preferred embodiment;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but illustrating the fillinq of the drum of the preferred embodiment;

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of the filling station in which the filling steps of Fig. 8 are carried out; Fig. 10 is a plan view similar to Fig. 5 illustrating the various filling steps of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is an exploded sectional view illustrating the central opening and its seal prior to sealing; Fig. 12 is a sectional view of the central opening of Fig. 11 following sealing;

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 11, but of a second embodiment; and Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 12, but of the second embodiment of Fig. 11. Description of the Preferred Embodiment

In the description of Figs. 6-14 and the drum 200 of the preferred embodiment, those parts which are common with the drum 100 of Figs. 1-5 will be numbered in like fashion. Thus, as seen in Figs. 6 and 7, the drum 200 of the preferred embodiment has apertures 4 and 5 in its top face 3 as before, however, a large diameter central opening 15 having a permanently fixed seal 16 is provided.

As illustrated in Fig. 8, the drum 201 supplied by the manufacturer to the purchaser who fills same, is already provided with the apertures 4 and 5 each fitted with their bungs 8 and tamper evident caps 9. The central opening 15 is unsealed. As indicated in Figs. 9 and 10, such drums 201 are advanced towards the filling station on an infeed conveyor 20 without any regard as to the orientation of the apertures 4,5 relative to the longitudinal axis 7 of the drum. The empty drums are moved by a conveyor 21 onto a weighing unit 22 of conventional construction which is positioned immediately below a large diameter filling spout 23 which fills the drum 202 with the desired weight, and hence volume, of liquid 12. Alternatively, the quantity of liquid passingthrough the spout 23 can be controlled by a mass flow meter or volumetric meter.

Then the drum is moved via the conveyor 21 to be underneath a magazine 24 of seals 16. This is the position of drum 203 illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. The magazine 24 is provided at its lower end with a substantially conventional drop mechanism which places a seal 16 into the opening 15.

Next the conveyor 21 moves the drum so as to position same underneath a crimping or swagging tool 25. The tool 25 crimps or swages the seal 16 into the opening 15 to thereby seal the drum 204. The sealed drum is then delivered to an outfeed conveyor 26. The entire operation is capable of being automatically controlled by a control panel 27 in conventional fashion. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the entire operation of filling and sealing the drums 200 can be carried out simply and quickly because there is no need to orientate the drums prior to filling. Nor is there a need to unscrew and replace any of the bungs 8 and place on and crimp dust seals 9. Furthermore, the aperture of the central filling opening 15 can be made as large as is necessary to achieve the desired filling rate. Once filling is completed, the opening 15 is sealed with its seal 16 which preferably permanently closes the opening 15. Thereafter the opening 15 plays no role in the operation of the drum 200 and the apertures 4,5 assume their normal conventional roles. In this way, the drum 200 can be processed by conventional drum recyclers and even re-filled using conventional equipment.

Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate the detail of one form of the central opening 15 and seal 16. Here the central opening 15 is provided with a C-shaped flange 115 and the seal 16 is provided with an internal gasket 116. The seal 16 1s swaged into the opening 15 to form a permanent seal .

However, in the embodiment Illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14, the opening 15 is provided with an S-shaped flange 215 whilst the seal 16 is provided with an 0-ring 216. Here the seal 16 1s crimped into its final sealing position rather than being swaged. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other alternative arrangements can be provided in order to seal the opening 15.

The foregoing describes only two embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, a rotary indexing mechanism can be used instead of conveyor 21 in which case the drums move in an arc rather than a straight line between adjacent filling oeprations.

Claims

1. A storage drum for liquids or other flowable substances, said drum having a substantially cylindrical side wall defining a longitudinal axis of the drum and extending between substantially disc-shaped top and bottom faces, said top face having at least one first aperture located adjacent the periphery thereof, and wherein a closeable opening is centrally located in said top face and is co-axial with said longitudinal axis.

2. A drum as claimed in claim 1, having a second aperture therein located adjacent said periphery, said first aperture, said second aperture and said opening being aligned.

3. A drum as claimed in claim 1, wherein said opening is closeable by a permanent seal.

4. A drum as claimed in claim 3, wherein said permanent seal is selected from the class consisting of crimped seals and swaged seals.

5. A drum as claimed in claim 4, including a sealing gasket incorporated in said permanent seal.

6. A drum as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first aperture and said second aperture are releasably sealable.

7. A drum as claimed in claim 6, wherein said first and second apertures are threaded and are each releasably sealable by a corresponding threaded bung,

8. A drum as claimed in claim 7, wherein said apertures are covered by a tamper evident removable cap.

9. A method of filling drums as claimed in claim 1, with a product comprising a liquid or other flowable substance, said method comprising the steps of:

(3) filling each drum from said spout via said centrally located opening; and

(4) closing said centrally located opening.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein all said apertures in said top face are closed prior to filling.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein all said closed apertures in said top face are fitting with a tamper evident removable cap prior to filling.

12. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said centrally located opening is closed after filling with a permanent seal.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein said permanent seal is selected from the class consisting of crimped seals and swaged seals.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, including a sealing gasket incorporated in said permanent seal.