WO2000035802A1

WO2000035802A1 - Device for draining oil residues from oil drums

Info

Publication number: WO2000035802A1
Application number: PCT/SE1999/002225
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mikael Abrahamsson
Original assignee: Mikael Abrahamsson
Priority date: 1998-11-30
Filing date: 1999-11-30
Publication date: 2000-06-22
Also published as: SE9804136D0; SE511604C2; EP1178944A1; AU1594500A; SE9804136L

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for draining of oil residues from oil drums (1). The device has a stand (3) with an inclined cradle (13) with a knife (23) mounted on its lower front edge. On the insides of the front legs there are hooks (15, 16) attached catching and gripping behind the border (2) on an oil drum (1) placed into the cradle. When the oil drum is tilted backward, the lower gable rotates around an axis (A) so that the border (2) is pressed against a point (25) on the knife (23) by a force that is magnified through the relationship between the moment lever between the axis (A) and the border and the moment lever between the axis (A) and the centre of gravity or an externally applied force. The point of the knife cuts through the inner edge of the border and penetrates the gable plate in the inner plane of the drum and gives the oil residues free way out of the drum down into a collecting tray (11).

Description

Device for draining oil residues from oil drums

The present invention relates to a device for draining oil residues from oil drums. When emptying an oil drum by pumping or emptying out from the drum, some oil always remains in the drum. Pumping leaves a residue in the drum depending on that the foot-valve for practical reasons is not able to catch all oil. When tilting an oil drum and emptying the content through the opening, located in the upper gable at a small distance from the border formed by the border between mantle and gable plate, a small amount of oil will be left depending on that the opening is located at a distance from the surface of the mantle plate. Consequently there is an obstacle to complete emptying of the drum. It makes no difference to tilt the drum further since the oil instead spreads over the gable plate or flows to another place inside the border. The amount of oil remaining in the drum is not insignificant. Volumes of one litre are not unusual and can consequently be of certain economic significance. The big problem however, that is of considerable economic significance is, that a drum that is not completely emptied is classified as environmental danger and must be cleaned according to the regulations in ISO 14000. This means that the drums must be transported to a cleaning plant, be cut open and washed before being sent to recycling. It costs money and burdens the cleaning plant by that the drums are bulky. However by self-draining an approved result can be obtained. The minimum requirement for regarding a drum as cleaned and fulfilling the ISO 14000 is that it delivers less than one drop of oil per minute at 15° C. Therefore a drum emptied by self-draining does not constitute any environmental risk but can be delivered directly for recycling without cleaning. It represents a big saving for the user and a reduced load on the cleaning plant. A further environmental aspect is that transportation to and from the cleaning plant becomes unnecessary.

There are devices on the market with which the drums can be opened and then be put in a position for self-draining by the user. Generally such a device is like a tin opener that cuts the plate close to the border of the drum. There will then be a small obstacle to oil flow left by the thickness of the plate in the border. Even if the drum is put in an inclined position a small oil residue will be left inside the edge of the border. If a complete emptying should be obtained a groove must be filed or cut to clear the inner surface of the mantle plate of the drum. Use of hand tools and accessories is troublesome and comprises more working moments; cutting the gable of the drum, putting the drum in an inclined position optimised for fastest and most effective draining and putting a collecting tray under the drum.

Complete draining of a drum with known devices and methods thus implies a troublesome procedure and costs time and money for the oil user through inconvenient handling.

The object with present invention is to achieve a device that solves all the above mentioned problems to cut and handle the drums after the oil has been emptied out by pumping or pouring. A desirable solution is to put the drum in a particular device in one working moment for a specific period of time that guarantees emptying to such a degree that the drum does not constitutes any environmental risk at further handling and recycling. Consequently one object is that such a device does not require any separate tools or collecting trays. A further object is that the device could be placed stationary in oil storage or is mobile to be moved easily to the area where the drums are stored.

These objects are achieved with a device according to the preamble of claim one and the characteristics that are stated in the accompanying claims.

Fig. 1 shows a total view of the device with an oil drum in a draining position. Fig. 2 shows a sequence of cutting a drum. Fig. 3 shows a plane view of a hook. Fig. 4 shows an adjustable knife. From fig. 1 it can be seen how an oil drum with a border2 in one of its gables is placed in a stand 3 for draining. The stand has two front legs 4 and 5, two rear legs 6 and 7 (not visible). Between the front and rear legs, longitudinally in the stand, binding upper and lower beams 8 and 9 are provided. The lower ends of the legs are fixed to a lower frame 10. On the lower frame 10, between the legs a removable collecting tray 11 is placed. The tray can of course be provided wit a draining device (not shown). A smaller, fixed collecting device connected to an external tray is another solution but presupposes no leaks in the mantle plate of the drums.

The stand in the preferred embodiment is made of square steel profiles, welded together, but can of course be made of different profiles or tubes. A supporting beam 12, visible in a cross section in fig. 4, connects the front legs 4 and 5. The beam in the preferred embodiment is rolled to a curved shape, following the shape of the mantle surface of the drum and thereby the shape of a cradle 13, which rests upon the curved supporting beam. The beam can also have a straight shape as shown in fig. land constitute a support under the centre point of the cradle 13. The shape of the cradle is a part of a cylindrical mantle with a diameter corresponding to a drum of 200 litres volume and it is fixed to the supporting beam 12 and the front legs 4 and 5. A transversal beam 14 between the longitudinal beams 8 and 9 supports the rear part of the cradle. The rear edge of the cradle is rounded to avoid sharp edges. The transversal beam 13 and the supporting beam 12 have a position relative each other that gives the longitudinal axis of the cradle an inclination downward in the forward direction of approximately 45 degrees relative the horizontal plane. The front edge of the cradle is cut parallel to the front legs 4 and 5 and welded to these.

Hooks 15 and 16 are attached to the inner sides of the front legs and to the ends of the supporting beam 12. For the sake of clarity the shape of a hook is shown in a plane view in fig. 3. The hooks are fixed to the stand by that a first edge 17 on the hook is welded to the supporting beam 12 and a part of a second edge 18 is welded to the inner sides of the front legs. The plane 19 of the hooks is substantially directed radially towards the centre axis of the cradle, which corresponds with the centre axis of the drum when the drum lies in the cradle. The shape of the bottom of the hooks is circular and the openings 19, directed towards the centre axis of the drum, permits the border 2 of an oil drum put into the cradle to be received and to slide along the cradle 13. The openings are designed with a point 20 on the inside of the front edge, gripping behind a folded rear part 21 (see fig. 2) of the border of the drum when it is lowered into the hooks. There are inner edges 22 opposite to the point 20 constituting an approximately right angle with the mantle plane of the cradle in order to catch a drum that is placed in the cradle and slides down into the hooks.

Just opposite the front edge of the cradle a knife 23 is mounted, having its point 24 in the same plane as the inner surface of the mantle plate of an oil drum laying in the cradle (see fig. 4). The knife 23 is rigidly attached to the supporting beam 12 and has an inclination of 3 - 4 degrees relative the mantle plate plane. The knife 23 is so positioned that its point 25 is located near the border 2 on the oil drum when it is placed with the border in the hooks. The point of the knife is preferably made of hard metal. In the preferred embodiment it is made of an angle iron bar, pointed in the end facing the cradle.

In fig. 3 is shown how the knife 23' in another preferred embodiment is adjustably mounted on a bracket 24'. There might be a need of adjustability if the drum to be drained, due to deformations in the border or the mantle plate, will not reach a position that the point 25' of the knife takes the right penetration point into the border. The knife is journalled in a point 26 behind its point and has a nut 27 welded to its rear end and a screw 29 with a hand wheel 28. The end of the screw rests on the bracket 24' so that turning the wheel results in raising or lowering of the point relative the border of an oil drum placed in the cradle. Fig. 2 shows in a sequence 2a), 2b) and 2c) how an oil drum is placed for draining in the device.

The oil drum slides downward in an almost vertical position, moving its lower border into the hooks 15 and 16. The points 20 are then located outside the border 2, under its folded part 21. The hard metal point 25 is close to the edge of the border. In a first step 2a), when the drum has taken a somewhat backward inclined position, the points 20 grip behind the folded part of the border on the outside of the drum. When the drum is tilted further in step 2b), making the gable of the drum rotate around an axis A (see fig. 1 ) between the two points 20, the hard metal point 25 on the knife 23 will penetrate the border in a point 30 on the upper side of the edging. Further tilting of the drum in step 2c), the weight of the drum or an externally applied, downward directed force on the drum will be magnified by the ratio of the lever between the axis A and the centre of gravity or between the location for the applied force and the lever between the axis A and the point 30, where the point penetrates the border.

The magnified force brings the point 25 to make a cut along an arc 31 , with its centre in the axis A, in the inner plate of the border and also in the mantle plate of the drum and get in through the gable plate of the drum, in the surface of the mantle plate of the drum. Any large oil residue is drained inside or around the knife, through the opening in the gable plate. The last critical residues is then easily drained through the cut in the mantle plate, under the knife, since its point has left the inner surface of the mantle plate in the last moment of rotation of the drum around the axis A. The oil is pouring down into the collecting tray 1 1on the lower frame of the stand.

The inclination of the knife relative the plane of the mantle plate also creates a wedge shaped space behind the point of the knife, which facilitates the draining of the last residues from the drum.

The device can be given other shapes within the scope of the characterising parts of the claims. The plate of the cradle can for instance be substituted for inclining, longitudinal beams supporting the drum, and the hooks can be integrated in the inside of the upper ends of the supporting legs if their length is adapted to the position of the hooks. The device can also be mobile by providing the lower frame with multidirectional wheels (not shown). The front and rear legs can be provided with lifting eye bolts 32 in their upper ends.

Claims

1 Device for draining of oil residues from an oil drum, c h a r a c t e r i s e d by that a stand (3) carries a cradle (13) having the shape of a partial cylindrical surface with the same diameter as an oil drum (1) and with an inclination of approximately 45 degrees relative the horizontal plane, that the front edge of the cradle is carried by a supporting beam (12), that hooks (15, 16) are attached to the front edge of the cradle, which hold the drum in place and constitutes end points of an axis (A) around which the oil drum rotates when it is placed with its lower border (2) in the cradle (13) and the border slides into the hooks (15, 16) and the drum then is tilted backwards in the cradle, that just opposite to the front edge of the cradle a knife (23) is mounted on the supporting beam (12) by means of a bracket (24), that the knife is directed with a small angle relative the plane of the cradle and has its point (25) in the plane of the inside of the drum lying in the cradle and that the point of the knife is made of hard metal, whereby the lower front part of the drum gable and thereby the border (2) describes a circular movement towards the point (25) of the knife, which hits the edge of the border and cuts through the inner plate of the border, down into the mantle plate and then penetrates the gable plate of the drum and in the last phase of rotation, raises a small distance above the inside of the mantle plate of the drum, giving oil residues free way out above and under the knife when the drum rotates around the axis (A).

2. Device according to claim ^ c h a r a c t e r i s e d by that the stand has two front legs (4, 5) and two rear legs (6, 7) fixed to a bottom frame (10) and has a collecting tray (11) placed on the bottom frame so it covers the whole bottom frame for collecting oil spillage.

3. Device according to claim ^ c h a r a c t e r i s e d by that the supporting beam (12) is curved to the same shape as the cradle (13) and mounted in contact with this.

4. Device according to claim ^characterised by that the knife (23'), in a point (26) behind the point (25') of the knife, is flexibly mounted to the bracket (24') and that its angle relative the longitudinal axis of the drum can be adjusted with a hand wheel (28) provided with an adjusting screw (29) acting against the bracket (24').

5. Device according to claim 1 or 3, characterised by that the knife has a point of hard metal.

6. Device according to claim 1 to 3, characterised by that the hooks that are fixed to each of the insides of the front legs (4, 5) and the ends of the supporting beam (12), each have upward directed openings (19) with an forward directed point (20) in its respective upper edge, which grips behind an edge (21 ) on the outside of the border when the oil drum border slides down into the hooks and against a supporting edge (22), opposite to the point and perpendicular to the cradle plane.

7. Device according to claim 2, characterised by that the bottom frame (10) is provided with multidirectional wheels.

8. Device according to claim 2, characterised by that the front and rear legs (4, 5, 6 and 7) has lifting eyebolts (32) in their upper ends.