Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ADAPTE~ .
Background of the Invention
The invention relates to an adapter for the tilted
positionlng of an inverted drum when draining the residue
out of the drum.
The liquid or pumpable content of a drum with a
bunghole i5 generally withdrawn by pumping the contents out
by means of a drum pump or by means of a suctioning device
through the bunghole of a drum when the drum is in its
( normal upright standing position.
After the drum has been emptied in the standard -~
fashion, a residue of its content usually remains in the
bottom of the drum. This cannot be removed by pumping -
even if the drum is equipped with a lower pump sump.
If the drum is to be used or is to be processed along a
recycling route, the drum must be completely drained without
any residue, especially if it was previously filled with
hazardous fill substances.
This is usually done on an appropriate receiving device
for residual liquids. Here the drum that is being drained
is set in an inverted or upside-down position, and one tries
to drain the residual liquid through the fill or drainage
bunghole. During this process, the container must be moved
back and forth manually, in order to convey the residual
liquid to the b~nghole. When the drum is in its inverted
position, however, the operator cannot tell exactly whether
the drainage bunghole is always situated at the lowest point
of the tilted drum; consequently, such a drainage process
for the residual content is very laborious and time
consuming, and satisfactory residual drainage generally
cannot be achieved thereby.
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Drums equipped with bungholes are already known whose
bottoms have an appropriate structural design so that they
can be completely drained of residues by themselves when
they are in their inverted position. Most drums, especially
plastic drums, must be drained of their residue manually, in
a slanted inverted position, through the efforts o~ an
operator; This may be due to the bunghole housing being
constricted towards the inside of the drum or because .
special precautions have been included on the inside of the
upper lid of the drum, such as, e.g., funnel shaped aids,
for drainage and flow-guidance.
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Summary of the Present Invention ;
It is an object of the present invention to provide a
means for drums whose residue must be drained in a slightly
inclined inverted position, which makes it possible to drain
the residue of the drum almost completely and automatically.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by means
of an adapter for holding the drum in a tilted position when -; -
it i5 upside down in the course of draining the residue out ;1 ~~
20 of the drum. The adapter includes means for decentrally -~
fastening it to the upper end or lid of the drum and has a -
longitudinal length. As a result of this, the drum can be
set in a tilted position while it is upside down, with a I -
freely selectable and prescribable drum tilt-angle. The ~-¦
25 adapter is attachable to the upper lid of the drum, and the !
drum is then placed in an inverted position, on an
appropriate receiving device for the residual liguid. The
drum is thus held in a slightly inclined slanted position
and the residual contents can completely run out by itself. `-
The attachment of the adapter to the upper lid of the
drum is made at a position relative to the bunghole to
assure that the bunghole is always disposed at the lowest
point of the drum, and that the drum can be left completely
at rest while its residue is being drained. Swinging the
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drum back and forth manually is obviated thereby, since this
merely causes the residual liquid to splash back and forth
and unnecessarily extends the flow path of the residual
liquid. It is not necessary for an operator to be present
all the time, and the time required for adequate drainage of
the residue is advantageously shortened.
In one construction of the invention, the means for
decentrally fastening the adapter at the upper lid of the
drum consists of an outside thread disposed on one end of
the adapter. By means of this thread, the adapter can be
screwed into the inside thread of a second bunghole that is
( ~ situated in the upper lid diametrically opposite the
drainage bunghole of the drum that is being drained. At the
present time it is customary to use bunghole drums with two
bungholes in the top lid of the drum, eOg. with a larger
fill or drainage bunghole and with a smaller degassing or
ventilation bunghole which is situated exactly opposite.
With such drums, the second bunghole advantageously provides
means for decentrally fastening the drum adapter.
Furthermore, a screwed-out bunghole plug or an open
second bunghole i9 a reliable visual indication to the
operator that the residue of this drum is already completely
drained.
In another construction of the invention, the means for
decentralizing the attachment of the adapter at the upper
lid of the drum consists of a snap-lock device disposed on
one end of the adapter. By means of this snap-lock device,
the adapter can be locked and ~astened at the upper hand~ing
ring of the drum.
The construction of the adapter with a snap-lock device
3~ is best suited in particular for plastic drums having a
handling ring or a carrying- and transport-ring situated at
the top of the drum. Such rings typically include a
horizontal contact surface and an axial or vertical contact
surface for cooperating with the claws of a drum gripper.
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The snap~lock device is also suitable for drums with only
one drainage bunghole. In this embodiment the adapter has a
cone-shaped cam, fitted to engage within the V-shaped groove
between the handling ring and top of the drum. The cam here
has a support shoulder that is situated opposite the snap-
lock device. For using drums of different sizes, of e.g.,
120 liter or 220 liter capacity, or for setting an
especially freely selectable and prescribable tilting angle
of th drum, provision is suitably made that the adapter is
~esigned 50 as to be variable in its lengthwise extension,
eOg., that it can be pulled out in telescoping fashion.
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Brief Description of the Drawinqs
Fig. 1 shows a side view of a drum, partly in cross-
section, with the adapter of the present invention and
positioned on a receiving device for the residual drainage.
Fig. 2 is a side view of the adapter;
Fig. 3 is a side view of a modified embodiment of tne
drum adapter of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a side view of still another embodiment of
the adapter of the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a side view of the adapter of Fig. 5, taken
at right angles to Fig. 4; and
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the adapter
according to Figs. 4 and 5, shown attached to the rim of a
plastic drum.
Detailed Description
In Fig. 1, the reference number 10 refers to a plastic
drum in an inclined inverted position on an appropriate
receiving device for the residual drainage. The receiving
device for the residual drainage consists essentially of an
upper perforated plate or a grating 12 and a funnel 14
disposed underneath. The funnel has a funnel spout through
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which the residual liquid running out of the draining drum
10 flows for collection in a receiving container or residue
tank that is disposed underneath.
On one side of its upper end 16, the drum 10 has a
filling and draining bunghole 18 with a large diameter, and
on the other diametrically opposite side it has a venting or
aerating bunghole 22 with a smaller diameter. An upper
carrying- and transport-ring 24 is situated in the vicinity
of the upper end 16 o~ the drum, and a corresponding lower
carrying- and transport-ring 28 is situated in the vicinity
of the lower lid 26 of the drum.
( With the drum 10 in a slightly inclined slant position,
the adapter of the present invention is screwed into the
smaller bunghole 22. By means of the adapter 20, the drum
10 can be set on the receiving device for the residual
drainage, for example, the grating 1?, in a slanted inverted
position, at a freely selectable and prescribable drum-
tilting angle 30, so that the residual liquid can run out of
the drum 10 without further manual handling, and can do so
automatically and completely.
Fig. 2 shows the drum adapter 20. Here this drum
adapter is constructed as an elongated cylindrical hollow
body with an appropriate length of approximately five times
its diameter. For decentrally fastening the adapter at the
upper end 16 of the drum, an outside thread 32 is, disposed
on one end of the adapter. By means of this outside thread,
the adapter 20 can be screwed into the inside thread of the
second, smaller bunghole 22. The adapter 20 pre~erably is
designed as a blow-molded plastic hollow body with ends 34,
36, both of which are rounded or hemispherical. However,
the adapter can also be produced, e.g., by injection molding
or can be designed solid and fabricated, e.g., from a wooden
rod or a metallic pipe piece.
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Fig. 3 shows an embodiment of the adapter 20 whose
length is variable so that the desired tilting angle of the
drum can be prescribed in a freely selectable fashion. For
this purpose, th adapter 20 consists of a tubular lower
section 38, closed at one end, and an upper section 40
placed concentrically above this in telescope-like fashion,
and correspondingly c~osed at its upper end 34. The upper
section 40 has an outside thread 32 for screwiny into the
corresponding bunghole of the drum. A strip of spring steel
sheet 42 with a detent pin 44 is provided in the lower
section 38. This pin 44 can catch in the corresponding
( holes 46 in the upper section 40. Thus the adapter can be
drawn out and fixed at preselectable lengths.
However, the longitudinal variability of the adapter
could also be implemented between the upper section and the
lower section in a different way, for example, by means of
an appropriate mutual screw thread or a bayonet juncture.
Figs. 4 and 5 show another embodiment. There, the
adapter 50 consists of a snap-lock device 48 disposed on one
end of the adapter 50. The snap-lock device of the adapter
50 can be locked to the upper handling ring 24 of the drum
10. Fig. 6 clarifies by way of a section the arrangement
and fastening of the adapter 50 at the upper handling ring
24 of the drum 10. The fastening will be at a location
diametrically opposite the bunghole through which drainage
is to be accomplished.
So that it will be supported reliably at the drum body,
the adapter 50 has a cone-shaped cam 52, fi~ed so as to
engage the V~shaped groove disposed behind the handling ring
24 and normally used in conjunction with the drum being
gripped by a drum gripper. The cam 52 has a support
shoulder 54 which is situated opposite the snap-lock device
48. To increase flexibility and lockability, the snap-lock
device 48 has a hinge-like notch 56 on its inside.
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On the end of the adapter 50 which is situated opposite
the fastening means or the snap-lock device 48 the adapter
50 is constructed with drum keys for insertion into the
bunghole covers of the drum 10. More particularly, these
are two key-like pins 58, 60 designed to fit into the
respective recesses of the fill- and drainage-bunghole cover
and the ventilation bunghole cover. This advantageous
construction of the adapter 50 makes possible suitable
mulkiple use of the adapter.
By means o~ the adapter 20, 50, every drum that needs
to be drained can be set and held, for its residual
drainage, on the residual-drainage receiving device, in an
arbitrary desired tilt position with inclination angles
between 5 and 20, preferably about 12. Here it is
guaranteed that the drainage bunghole is always disposed at
the lowest point, so that the drum can drain completely all
by itself.
