Patent Application
20180148255
The present invention relates to apparatus for bulk handling of materials such as particulate material. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a container suitable for the storage and/or dispensing of particulate material.
A “bin” is a known term of art for a container of the kind commonly used for storing bulk quantities of particulate material, such as loose, powdered or granular plastics, minerals, chemicals or agricultural products. Such materials may also be blended or mixed within a bin, e.g. if the bin is secured within an appropriate device for rotating the bin about a horizontal axis.
Such bins often form part of a discharge assembly configured to allow material to be discharged in a controlled manner. However, such bins are generally rigid and of fixed dimensions, so are not readily reconfigurable to adapt to suit the physical or chemical properties of the particular material to be dispensed, e.g. to adapt to the specific size of loads or viscosity of the material etc. As a result, industrial processes incorporating such bins contain inefficiencies resulting ultimately in higher operating costs. In addition, known bins cannot easily be dismantled, nor do they allow for easy and/or thorough cleaning between loads. As a result, there is a risk of cross-contamination between loads of different material types held within the bin at different times.
The present invention seeks to overcome or at least mitigate/alleviate one or more problems associated with known bins.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a container for bulk handling, the container comprising: a body defined by an upper portion, a lower portion and a central portion extending between the upper portion and the lower portion; wherein the lower portion includes an outlet for the discharge of product from the container; and wherein the upper portion is of rigid construction, the lower portion is of rigid construction, and the central portion is of flexible construction.
The lower portion may define a discharge cone having said outlet at a lower end thereof, for the discharge of product from the container.
The central portion may be removably coupled to the upper portion and/or the lower portion.
The central portion may be sealingly coupled with the upper portion and/or lower portion.
The central portion may be sealingly coupled with the upper portion and/or lower portion by means of an interference fit connection therewith.
The central portion may be sealingly coupled with the upper portion and/or lower portion by means of a clamp.
The upper portion may include a surface over which part of the central portion extends, and wherein said part may be sealingly and removably held in place against said surface. The surface may comprise an outer edge at a distal end of said upper portion. The surface may comprises a circumferential surface, e.g. a circumferential band or a circumferential bead.
The lower portion may include a surface over which part of the central portion extends, and wherein said part may be sealingly and removably held in place against said surface. The surface may comprise an outer edge at a distal end of said upper portion. The surface may comprises a circumferential surface, e.g. a circumferential band or a circumferential bead.
The upper portion may include an inlet for charging the container with product.
The body, with the upper, lower and central portions assembled together, may define a chamber for bulk handling of product.
The body may define a central axis and the outlet is concentric therewith.
The upper portion may define a cone.
The central portion may be of substantially optically transparent material.
The central portion may be of polyurethane material.
The upper portion may be manufactured from a metallic material, e.g. from steel.
The lower portion may be manufactured from a metallic material, e.g. from steel.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a container for bulk handling, the container comprising: a body defined by an upper portion, a lower portion and a central portion extending between the upper portion and the lower portion; wherein the lower portion includes an outlet for the discharge of product from the container; and wherein the central portion is removably coupled between the upper portion and the lower portion.
The central portion may be sealingly coupled with the upper portion of the body, e.g. by means of an interference fit connection or clamp.
The upper portion may include a surface over which a part of the central portion extends, wherein said part may be sealingly and removably held in place against said surface. The surface may comprise an outer edge at a distal end of said upper portion. The surface may comprise a circumferential surface, e.g. a circumferential band or circumferential bead.
The lower portion may include a surface over which a part of the central portion extends, wherein said part may be sealingly and removably held in place against said surface. The surface may comprise an outer edge at a distal end of said upper portion. The surface may comprise a circumferential surface, e.g. a circumferential band or circumferential bead.
The lower portion may define a discharge cone having said outlet at a lower end thereof, for the discharge of product from the container.
The upper portion may include an inlet for charging the container with product.
The body, with the upper, lower and central portions assembled together, may define a chamber for bulk handling of product.
The body may define a central axis and said outlet may be concentric therewith.
The upper portion may define a cone.
The central portion may be of flexible construction.
The central portion may be of polyurethane material.
The central portion may be of substantially optically transparent material.
The lower portion may be of rigid construction.
The lower portion may be manufactured from a metallic material, e.g. steel.
The upper portion may be of rigid construction.
The upper portion may be manufactured from a metallic material, e.g. steel.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a discharge assembly for bulk handling, the discharge assembly comprising a container according to the first or second aspects.
The discharge assembly may comprise a frame, and wherein the container may be removably mounted on said frame.
The frame may comprise an upper section and a lower section, wherein the upper and lower sections may communicate to clamp or securely hold the container in discharge orientation.
The frame may comprise a plurality of adjustable legs, for varying the distance between the upper and lower sections of the frame.
The lower section may include a first plurality of legs, and the upper portion may include a second plurality of legs, wherein the second plurality of legs may be movably received within said first plurality of legs.
The discharge assembly may be configured for rotation of the frame, in order to rotate the container through multiple revolutions of 360 degrees, during which an uppermost end of the frame or bulk container becomes lowermost after a first 180 degrees of rotation and is returned to an uppermost position after a further 180 degrees of rotation.
The discharge assembly may include a valve for controlling discharge of product from the container, and wherein the outlet of said container may be arranged in flow communication with said valve.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a discharge system for bulk handling, the discharge system comprising: a first discharge station and a second discharge station; wherein the first discharge station comprises a first discharge cone of a first rigid configuration, and the second discharge station comprises a first discharge cone of a second rigid configuration, different to said first rigid configuration; wherein, for the purpose of discharge at each or said first and second discharge stations, the system further comprises the following components: one or more lengths of flexible tubing, the or each length having a lower end configured for releasable connection to an upper end of the first discharge cone and the upper end of the second discharge cone, respectively; and one or more container closures, each configured to be releasably connected to an upper end of the or each length of flexible tubing, respectively; such that a respective first or second discharge cone can be releasably assembled together with one of said lengths of flexible tubing and one of said container closures, to define a container having a chamber for bulk handling of product at the respective discharge station.
The container may be defined by the releasable assembly of said respective first or second discharge cone with one of said lengths of flexible tubing and one of said container closures is a container in accordance with the first aspect or the second aspect. Each respective first or second discharge cone may define the lower portion of the container, said length of flexible tubing defines the central portion of the container, and the container closure defines the upper portion of the container.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring firstly to
As will be described in more detail below, the central portion 106 is removably coupled between the upper and lower portions 102, 104. This allows each of the upper, lower and central portions 102, 104, 106 to be removed, such that they may be replaced with a differently configured upper, lower and/or central portions 102, 104, 106, respectively. In this way, the container 100 can be adapted to suit the nature (e.g. chemical and/or mechanical properties) and the processing requirements of the particulate material load to be contained therein.
Advantageously, the container 100 may be fully disassembled, e.g. by separating the upper and lower portions 102, 104 from the central portion 106. In this way, each of the three component parts 102, 104, 106 can be individually cleaned and/or sterilised when required. The risk that subsequent loads held within the container 100 will be contaminated by remnants of a previous load is therefore greatly reduced. This is a particularly important consideration in the processing of loads where product integrity is critical, or to avoid harmful contamination of subsequent loads, e.g. as a result of allergen residue. In addition, maintenance of the container 100 is made more straightforward, as each of the upper, lower and central portions 102, 104, 106 may be replaced individually, e.g. in the event that they become worn, damaged or defective. This advantageously provides for improved operational efficiency and reduced maintenance costs.
Upper portion 102 takes the form of a cone. To that end, upper portion 102 has a first end 108, a second end 110, and a side wall 112 extending between the first and second ends 108, 100, wherein the second end 110 has a greater diameter than the first end 108. In the illustrated embodiment, the side wall 110 defines a substantially frusto-conical shape.
Similarly, lower portion 104 takes the form of a cone. To that end, lower portion 104 has a first end 114, a second end 116, and a side wall 118 extending between the first and second ends 114, 116, wherein the second end 116 has a greater diameter than the first end 104. In the illustrated embodiment, the side wall 118 defines a substantially frusto-conical shape.
In the embodiment of
The first end 108 of the upper portion 102 may define an inlet 122 for the charging of material to the assembled container 100, e.g. as shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the first end 114 of the lower portion 104 is specifically configured to serve as an outlet 124 of the container, for the discharge of the product from the container 100 under gravity (see
The inlet 122 and outlet 124, as well as the second ends 110, 116 are concentric with a central longitudinal axis X-X of the container.
In the illustrated embodiment, the first end 108 of the upper portion 102 defines a collar 126 (which, in turn, defines the inlet 122), by means of which the container 100 can be arranged in communication with other apparatus, for example for the purpose of charging the container. Central longitudinal axis X-X extends through the centre of the collar 126.
Similarly, in the illustrated embodiment, the first end 114 of the lower portion 104 defines a collar 128 (which, in turn, defines the outlet 124), by means of which the container 100 can be arranged in communication with other apparatus, for example for the purpose of discharging from the container. Central longitudinal axis X-X extends through the centre of the collar 128.
In exemplary embodiments, the upper and lower portions 102, 104 are each of rigid construction, e.g. produced from metal material, such as stainless steel. Providing rigid upper and lower portions 102, 104 advantageously confers a high level of structural stability to the container 100. In addition, metallic materials such as stainless steel can offer desirable and tailored mechanical properties such as high toughness and high strength. Stainless steels are also advantageously resistant to corrosion, whilst being relatively low cost to both procure and process. In alternative embodiments however, an alternative metallic or non-metallic material may be used to manufacture the rigid upper and lower portions 102, 104.
In exemplary embodiments, the central portion 106 defines a tube of flexible construction, e.g. produced from a sheet of flexible plastics or rubber material. The central portion 106 is sealing coupled between the upper and lower portions 102, 104 (e.g. via the respective second ends 110, 116, as will be described in more detail below).
The central portion 106 defines a cylinder between the upper and lower portions 102, 104. In the embodiment of
The use of a central portion 106 of flexible material between the rigid upper and lower portions 102, 104 is advantageous for multiple reasons, but primarily because it can be cut from a sheet of material at variable lengths, meaning that capacity of the container can be easily changed, e.g. by replacing a first central section with another central section of different length (i.e. the distance between the upper and lower ends 132, 134 of the central section 106) or by changing the distance from the upper and/or lower end of the central portion at which the material is sealingly and securely clamped in communication with the second ends 110, 116 of the respective upper and lower portions 102, 104. This configuration allows the container to be readily adapted for charging with loads of different size
In exemplary embodiments, the central portion 106 is manufactured from polyurethane. Polyurethane is relatively low cost to both procure and process, whilst advantageously offering desirable mechanical properties such as flexibility, resilience and a high strength to weight ratio. In alternative embodiments, an alternative material may be used to manufacture the central portion.
In exemplary embodiments, the sidewall 120 of the central portion 106 is substantially optically transparent (i.e. manufactured from substantially transparent polyurethane). This allows an operator to see what is in the container without being required to open it. This is particularly advantageous should a hazardous material be contained therein and exposure to said material could be of detriment to the operator's health, or should the material contained therein be of high purity, and its contamination be of concern. This configuration is also particularly advantageous should the load be subject to a mixing or blending step. In such circumstances, an operator may be able to view the current extent to which the load has been blended without being required to open the container.
It will be understood that the configuration of the container may be adapted for different materials and applications, e.g. by varying the configuration of the upper, lower and/or central portions of the container.
Examples of other such configurations are shown in
In the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
In use, it is preferable to mount containers of the kind illustrated herein within a support frame, e.g. for the easy of transport, storage and/or as a discharge assembly for connection of the container into a process line. An example is illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiment, the support frame 560 has upper and lower sections 562, 564, which are separable from one another, in order to allow easy installation of containers therein. The upper section 562 is configured for communication with the upper portion 502 of the container 500, and the lower section 564 defines a seat (not shown) for seating the lower end of the container 500. It will be understood that the seat must include an aperture or passage through which the outlet of the container may be arranged, e.g. for product flow communication with a valve or process line etc.
In use, the upper and lower sections cooperate to secure the container in place in a generally upright orientation, e.g. as shown in
In this embodiment, the upper section 562 is configured to be adjustably coupled to the lower section 564, via a telescopic action between legs 566, 568 of the upper and lower sections 562, 564. This enables the frame 560 to be adaptable to different heights of container, e.g. dependent on the size and dimensions of the upper and lower portions 502, 504 of the container, or the length of the central section 506. Each of the upper and lower sections 562, 564 has four legs, defining a rectilinear enclosure, with the legs of the upper section 562 received within or slidable relative to the legs of the lower section 564 (or vice versa). The moving legs (typically the ‘upper’ legs) may be secured at different locations relative to the stationary legs, e.g. via pins or the like interacting to prevent relative axial movement between the two sets of legs. Other options will be readily apparent to the person skilled in the art.
In the embodiment of
A particular advantage of the types of containers described herein is that they are ideally suited to form part of a modular discharge system. Such a modular system may include a plurality of different discharge cones (e.g. for use at different discharge stations), which can each be used interchangeably as the lower portion of the container, together with a suitable length of flexible tubing (to define the central portion of the container) and one or more different configurations of container closure (to define the upper portion of the container).
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1619993.7 | Nov 2016 | GB | national |
