Material or article handling – Device for emptying portable receptacle – Rotary cradle
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-02
2001-07-03
Keenan, James W. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Device for emptying portable receptacle
Rotary cradle
C141S114000, C141S285000, C414S291000, C414S420000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06254330
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of drum charging apparatus and, more particularly, apparatus for facilitating the transfer of materials within a drum or similar container into a reaction vat or other type of vessel.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of industries involve operations which require the manual transfer of solid materials from transportable drums into processing equipment. Such activities are typically referred to as “the charging” of drums of materials into the process equipment. Such process equipment may comprise reaction vessels, tanks or other similar types of apparatus utilized to mix or otherwise process materials. These activities occur throughout commercial industry, but may be of particular concern in the pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetic and food processing industries, where environmental and contaminant concerns are of a particularly high priority. For example, in the pharmaceutical and other chemical processing industries, potential hazards may exist with respect to chemical exposure and like dangers.
The drums which are utilized throughout these industries may be of a substantial weight. For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, drums comprising chemical materials may often weigh up to 80 kilograms. If employees attempt to manually manipulate such drums without the use of mechanical equipment to facilitate operations and otherwise provide mechanical assistance, such manual manipulation may often involve awkward “postures,” thereby increasing risks of injury. Accordingly, drum charging clearly involves potential ergonomic hazards.
Another issue associated with drum charging systems, even those where substantial mechanical assistance may be provided, relates to the generation of air-transported particles in the form of dust and the like. Such dust may be readily generated within the work area when the materials are actually being transferred from the drum to the reaction vessel or similar container. Again, particularly within the pharmaceutical and other chemical industries, such dust may be highly toxic. Also, within any industry, the dust generated within the work area typically represents product loss. With expensive materials, the financial loss resulting from the dust generation may be significant.
Apparatus for facilitating the manipulation of drums during charging functions is known in the prior art. For example, the Habicht U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,699 issued Apr. 27, 1993 discloses a method and apparatus for lifting and tilting drums of flowable material. Referring specifically to the drawings and numerical references within the Habicht patent, a lifting and tilting apparatus
10
includes a base supported assembly
12
, column assembly
14
and container support assembly
16
. Contents of a receptacle
94
placed in the container support assembly
16
are dumped therefrom by vertical extension of the column assembly
14
. The base support assembly
12
of the lifting and tilting apparatus
10
is relatively wide within respect to dimensions of the column assembly
14
.
Habicht also generally discloses the concept of the use of a telescoping column attached to a base support. Interior of the column is a hydraulic cylinder to lift the sliding portion of the tubular column. As the sliding portion is lifted, the container support is lifted at twice the lift rate of the column. The container support is independently tilted at any convenient height between the lifting extent of the apparatus. The tilting of the container support is provided by an air-operated gear motor and carried on a moveable carriage. The moveable carriage and gear motor are fully contained interior of the telescoping column. A slot is provided in the column so as to allow the independent lifting and tilting of the container support by an operator.
In general, Habicht discloses a system comprising a lifting and tilting apparatus capable of being tilted independently of the lift. The system is considered useful with equipment having non-uniform receiving heights for their apertures, mouths, openings and the like which accept the material discharge from the receptacle. Accordingly, the Habicht patent is described as providing an apparatus capable of being utilized with a variety of processing equipment.
Another system is disclosed in the Haynes U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,485 issued Sep. 24, 1996. The Haynes patent discloses a lifting and dumping apparatus
10
in which a container
12
is lifted and dumped. The container
12
is pivotally attached to the lift and dump apparatus
10
by means of pivot pins
52
. A hydraulic cylinder
56
tips the container
12
, and dumps the contents therein when the hydraulic cylinder
56
is extended. The lift and dump apparatus
10
is stabilized by a pair of rearwardly extending base legs
40
. In particular, the Haynes arrangement is described as providing an apparatus which can be manually maneuvered into position adjacent a conveyor belt, so that a worker can unload articles therefrom hydraulically onto the conveyor belt.
The Elliott U.S. Pat. No. 731,442 is an extremely early disclosure of a sack holder having a pivotable holder H. The holder H is normally disposed in a vertical orientation, but can be lifted and pivoted by grasping at handle z. The lifting and pivoting of holder H allows the contents of a sack resting therein to be emptied into a hopper c. The lift is manually powered and includes a base having feet m radiating so as to form a relatively broad base of support.
Another disclosure of a lifting and tilting mechanism is shown in the Wheat U.S. Pat. No. 3,057,498. The Wheat patent discloses a trash holder having a receptacle
50
automatically lifted and tilted to dump the contents therefrom. The receptacle
50
includes a closure member or lid
70
pivotally attached to the receptacle
50
at a hinge connection
72
. Upon lifting and tilting the receptacle
50
, gravity is utilized so as to rotate the closure member
70
downward, thereby opening the receptacle
50
and allowing the contents to be emptied. As the contents of the receptacle
50
are emptied, the closure member
70
apparently forces the contents to travel along the length of the member
70
before undertaking a “free fall” into a receiving structure.
Issues associated with dust removal have also been addressed in the prior art. For example, the Schulte U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,245 discloses an arrangement for charging the coal bins of hopper cars. The arrangement includes a weighing bunker
1
which extends in a downward direction as a tubular discharge connecting piece
2
. The tubular discharge connecting piece
2
comprises a suction port
20
which removes dust generated by the dumping of the coal. The suction port
20
is connected to a tubular wall which forms an annular chamber for collection and removal of coal dust.
Correspondingly, the Borgner U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,781 discloses a bag cutting and emptying device
1
having a connected, collective dust removal filter. The device
1
includes a bag chute
8
connected to a transfer funnel
30
, into which the contents of the bag are dumped. The bag chute
8
is provided with a pivotable flap
8
.
1
, through which empty bags can be delivered to an empty bag compacting device
26
. The device
1
includes a suction filter
32
disposed on its top, which serves to prevent dust from escaping into the working environment.
Another device is disclosed in the Mori U.S. Pat. No. 3,405,820. The Mori device comprises a hopper which is constructed with an absorption element
12
utilized to create an air curtain
9
. The air curtain
9
serves to prevent dust from escaping into the outside environment. The air curtain
9
apparently comprises a flow of air in a single, linear direction.
A further device is disclosed in the Wendler U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,662. The Wendler, et al. patent discloses a flooring material applicator device
10
having a mixing chamber
20
, which mixes material dumped therein from first and second component hoppers
22
,
24
, resp
Steffen Nathan D.
Weaver Neil R.
EHS Solutions, L.L.C.
Keenan James W.
Varnum Riddering Schmidt Howlett LLP
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