WO1995009120A1

WO1995009120A1 - Drum tilting apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO1995009120A1
Application number: PCT/CA1993/000394
Authority: WO
Inventors: George Poirier
Original assignee: George Poirier
Priority date: 1988-05-20
Filing date: 1993-09-27
Publication date: 1995-04-06

Abstract

In general, drum tilting apparatuses are somewhat complicated or not adapted to hold a drum in a variety of emptying positions. A relatively simple drum tilting apparatus includes a skeletal, rectangular frame carrying a pair of parallel, spaced apart tracks, which slidably receive rollers on the top inner end of a semi-cylindrical carriage; a catch on the carriage for releasably retaining a drum on the carriage; a pair of generally triangular arms pivotally connected at one corner to the carriage and at a second corner to the base of the frame; a pair of hydraulic cylinders pivotally connected to the base of the frame between the drum loading position and the bottom corners of the arms; and piston rods extending out of the cylinders to a shaft extending between the third corners of the arms so that the arms can be rotated around a horizontal axis to move the carriage between drum loading and drum tilting or emptying positions.

Description

DRUM TILTING APPARATUS

This invention relates to a drum tilting apparatus.

In general, in the field of waste disposal and in other disciplines, there is a somewhat urgent need for a simple, efficient apparatus for tilting drums for the purpose of emptying the drums. Such an apparatus should be easy to load and unload, and be capable of tilting the drum to a variety of unloading positions. For example, if the contents of the drum are extremely viscous or semi-solid, it may be necessary to use an auger or other device on the drum contents to remove such contents from the drum. In this case, it may be desirable to tilt the drum from the vertical to the horizontal position only.

A variety of tilting or dumping apparatuses have been proposed in the past. Examples of such apparatuses are described in Canadian Patents Nos. 455,982, which issued to N.B. Greene et al on April 19, 1949 and 940,079, which issued to S. . Roo e et al on January 15, 1974, and in United States Patents Nos. 2,662,653, which issued to P. Bianchi et al on December 15, 1953; 2,735,561, which issued to W.L. Van Doren on February 21, 1956; 3,261,486, which issued to L.D. Oliver on July 19, 1966; 4,213,727, which issued to CH. Lighthipe, Jr. on July 21, 1980; 4,219,298, which issued to M.G. Stragier et al on August 26, 1980; 4,313,707, which issued to J.W. Bing an et al on February 2, 1982; 4,427,333, which issued to F.D. Ebeling on January 24, 1984 and 4,538,951, which issued to K.L. Yeazel et al on September 3, 1985. The devices disclosed by the patents vary in terms of complexity and efficiency, but, in general, are not suitable for tilting drums in the manner described above. Alternatively, the devices are somewhat complicated and consequently expensive to produce.

The object of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple drum tilting apparatus, which is easy to load and unload, and which enables the user to tilt the drum to any desired angle for facilitating drum emptying. Accordingly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for tilting a drum comprising frame means; arcuate track means mounted in said frame means; carriage means movably mounted on said track means for carrying a drum; catch means on said carriage means releasably holding a drum on said carriage means; arm means pivotally connected at one end on said frame means and at the other end to said carriage means; and fluid actuated cylinder means for rotating said arm means around said one end for moving said carriage means between a loading position in which the drum is vertical and an emptying position in which the drum is tilted.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view from one side and one end of a drum tilting apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one end of the apparatus of Fig. 1 showing a drum in a tilted position;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the other end of the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 as seen from the side opposite that shown in Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view from above and the inlet end of a carriage and catch mechanism used in apparatus of Figs. 1 to 3; and

Figure 5 is a side elevation view of the catch mechanism used in the apparatus of Figs. 1 to 4.

With reference to Fig. 1, the apparatus of the present invention includes a skeletal, rectangular frame generally indicated at 1 which is defined by a base 2, corner posts 3 and longitudinally extending top bars 4. A pair of elongated C-beams form the sides 6 of the base 2. The sides 6 of the base are interconnected at one end by an angle iron crossbar 7, and by metal strips 9, which extend beneath the sides 6. A pair of shafts 10 and 11 also extend between the sides 6 and are retained therein by disc-shaped end plates 12. The corner posts 3 are formed from lengths of angle iron; which are welded to the top bars 4. The posts 3 are maintained in the vertical position by diagonal braces 14, which extend outwardly and downwardly from the ends of the top bars 4. Feet 15 connect the bottom ends of the braces 14 to the sides 6 of the frame, and a reinforcing plate 17 (one shown) is provided at the bottom of each brace.

A pair of elongated, arcuate tracks 19 of generally C-shaped cross section are provided in the frame 1 for guiding a carriage generally indicated at 20 between a vertical loading position (Figs. 1 and 3) at one end of the frame 1, and an emptying or tilted position (Figs. 1 and 2). The carriage 20 is pivotally mounted on the ends 21 of a pair of generally triangular arms 22, which in turn are pivotally mounted in the frame.1. One bottom corner 23 of each arm 22 is pivotally mounted on the shaft 10 between the sides 6 of the base 2 for rotation around the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The arms .22 are also interconnected by a shaft 25 extending between bearings 26 in second corners 27 of the arms, and by a reinforcing crossbar 28 defined by a large cylinder extending between plates 30 (one shown - Fig. 3) on the inner surfaces of the arms 22 near the centre thereof.

The arms 22 are caused to rotate by a pair of large hydraulic cylinders 31, one end of each of which is pivotally connected to the shaft 11. The hoses 32 for the cylinders 31 extend through a protective sleeve 33 (Fig. 2) in a slot 34 in the sides 6 of the base 2 to a source (not shown) of hydraulic fluid under pressure. The piston rods 35 of the cylinders 31 extend outwardly to the stem of T-shaped sleeves 36 on the ends of the shaft 25 for pivotally connecting the piston rods to the shaft. A pair of helical springs 37 extend between the sides 6 of the base and the corners 23 of the arms 22 for biasing the latter to the rest or drum loading or receiving positions shown in solid lines in Fig. 1.

The carriage 20 includes a rectangular base plate 38 with an opening 39 in the centre thereof, and rectangular flanges 40 extending upwardly from the side edges thereof. An angular rear wall 42 and planar side walls 43 extend upwardly from the plate 38. Reinforcing plates 44 (Fig. 3) are provided on the outer surfaces of the side walls 43 where the disc-shaped ends 21 of the arms 22 are pivotally connected to the carriage by stub axles 45 extending outwardly from the plates 44. The rear wall 42 has a central longitudinally extending recess therein, with ribs 46 extending outwardly to define a semicylindrical area for receiving a drum 47. An arcuate plate 48 extends outwardly from the bottom of the rear wall 42 and from the side walls 43 near the bottom edges thereof for limiting movement of the drum 47 into the carriage 20. The bottom rim 49 (Fig. 1) of the drum 47 slides under the plate 48, so that when the drum is tilted the plate 48 prevents release of the drum by the carriage as described in greater detail hereinafter. An arm 50 extends upwardly and outwardly from each top corner of the rear and side walls 42 and 43, respectively. A sleeve 51 on the rear surface of the arm 50 rotatably supports a rod 52, which extends inwardly from a roller 53. Rollers 53 are mounted in the tracks 19 near closed ends 54 thereof.

Rubber, shock absorbing feet 55 extend downwardly from the base plate 38 of the carriage 20. Rollers 56 for receiving a drum 47 from a conveyor 58 (Fig. 1) are mounted in bearings 60 in the sides 43 of the carriage 20 beneath the level of the plate 48. A slide defined by a vertical plate 62 and reinforcing gussets 63 is provided at the front centre inlet end of the plate 38.

The drum 47 is retained in the carriage 20 by a catch mechanism generally indicated at 65. As best shown in Fig. 5, the catch mechanism 65 includes an arcuate rod 66, which extends between the outer ends of a pair of generally chevron-shaped arms 68. The outer ends of the arms 68 are rotatably connected to the base plate 38 by clevises 71, nuts 72 and a bolt 73. The rod 66 is reinforced by end plates 75. The rod 66 is caused to rotate from the rest or release position (Fig. 4 and solid lines in Fig. 5) to the latch position (Figs. 1, 3 and phantom outline in Fig. 5) by triangular levers 76 and hydraulic cylinders 77. The bottom corner 79 of each lever 76 is pivotally connected to one flange 40 by the rear or innermost roller 56. Clevises 80 pivotally connect the ends of a rod 82 to the inner end 83 of the arm 68 and an adjacent corner 84 of the lever 76. The rod 82 extends through an opening 86 in the rear wall 42 of the carriage 20. The inner end 83 of the arm 68 is guided by a strip 87 connected to the side wall 43 and to the ledge 48 (Fig. 4). The upper inner end 89 of the lever 76 is connected to the outer end of a piston rod 90 by a clevis 91. The piston rod 90 extends out of the cylinder 77. A clevis 93 on the top end of the cylinder 77 pivotally connects the cylinders 77 to a triangular plate 94 on the top rear of the carriage 20. The hydraulic lines 95 also pass through the slee e 33 and the slot 34 to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure.

In operation, the conveyor 58 carrying drums 47 is actuated to move a drum into the carriage 20. The drum 47 slides across the plate 62 and the rollers 56 until one surface thereof engages the plate 48. The conveyor 58 is stopped, and the catch mechanism 65 is actuated. By extending the piston rods 90 from the retracted positions shown in solid lines in Fig. 5 to the extended positions shown in phantom outline in Fig. 5, the levers 76 are caused to rotate around the longitudinal axis of the rear or innermost roller 56 which moves the rods 82 on the arms 68 inwardly. Thus, the arcuate rod 66 is pulled against the drum 47 above the beaded bottom edge thereof.

The cylinders 31 are then actuated to extend the piston rods 35. Extension of the rods 35 causes the carriage 20 and the drum 47 to rise from the rest or loading position (Fig. 3 and on the left in Fig. 1). The carriage 20 and the drum 47 tilt as the carriage moves along the tracks 19. The carriage 20 can be stopped at any location, with the drum 47 in the horizontal, partly tilted or fully tilted positions (see Fig. 2 and the righthand side of Fig. 1). In some situations, e.g. when the drum contains very viscous or solid material, the drum is unloaded in the horizontal position by introducing an auger or other tool into the open top end thereof. When the contents of the drum are more liquid, the drum can be fully tilted, so that the contents are discharged therefrom by gravity.

The springs 37 extending between the arms 22 and the base 2 of the frame 1 bias the arms 22 to the loading position, so that there is no jerking as the arms pass over dead centre position during rotation between the loading and emptying positions.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. An apparatus for tilting a drum comprising frame means; arcuate track means mounted in said frame means; carriage means movably mounted on said track means for carrying a drum; catch means on said carriage means releasably holding a drum on said carriage means; arm means pivotally connected at one end on said frame means and at the other end to said carriage means; and fluid actuated cylinder means for rotating said arm means around said one end for moving said carriage means between a loading position in which the drum is vertical and an emptying position in which the drum is tilted.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said frame means is skeletal, including a rectangular base and a pair of parallel sides for supporting said track means in parallel, spaced apart relationship.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said arm means is pivotally connected to the base of said frame means for rotation between a substantially horizontal rest position and a substantially vertical fully emptying position.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said cylinder means includes at least one hydraulic cylinder pivotally connected to the base of said frame between the drum loading position and the bottom end of said arm means; and a piston rod extending out of said cylinder and connected to said arm means for pushing the latter from the loading to the emptying position.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said arm means includes a pair of parallel, spaced apart, generally triangular arms pivotally connected at one corner to the base, at a second corner to said carriage means, and at the third corner to each other and to said piston rods.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, including spring means biasing said arms to the loading position, whereby jerking of said carriage means during movement thereof is prevented.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said carriage means includes roller means defining a base for slidably receiving a drum.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said catch means includes arcuate rod means rotatable in said carriage means for movement between a lower release position and an upper drum engaging position.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said catch means includes lever means for moving said rod means from the release to the drum engaging position, and hydraulic cylinder means for operating said lever means.