Collapsible drum with reinforced ends

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a collapsible drum for transporting materials. The present invention solves problems associated with reusing and efficiently transporting shipping containers designed for retaining bulk materials, including hazardous substances, and insuring reliable structural integrity with every use. The collapsible drum of the present invention is adapted for integration with standard handling equipment, and has a permanently secured, collapsible drum floor and fluted sidewalls that enable an operator to collapse and roll the empty drum into a compact tube. The collapsible drum provides one or more removable, ribbed disc-shaped inserts for reinforcing the drum floor and / or drum lid.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates generally to a collapsible shipping container for transporting bulk materials and more specifically to a reusable collapsible drum with a permanently attached, collapsible bottom panel and at least one selectively removable panel insert for reinforcing the collapsible bottom panel in its expanded state.[0003]2. Discussion of Background information[0004]Plastic and steel drum-style shipping containers commonly retain bulk materials for transportation. These drum containers often transport hazardous liquid and powder materials over long distances without any loss or seepage. Securely retaining hazardous materials in a transport drum is a highly desirable goal, but standard drums present a number of drawbacks that result in inefficiencies, lost profits, injuries and negative environmental impact.[0005]First, standard drums are cumbersome to maneuver. Operators managing these drums typically employ specialized ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]The present invention solves the problems associated with reusing and efficiently transporting shipping containers designed for retaining bulk materials, including hazardous substances, and insuring reliable structural integrity with every use. The collapsible drum of the present invention is adapted for integration with standard handling equipment. The collapsible drum has a permanently secured, collapsible drum floor and fluted sidewalls that enable an operator to collapse and roll the empty drum into a compact tube.

[0013]In one embodiment, the collapsible drum further comprises one or more removable ribbed disc-shaped reinforcement inserts sized and shaped for placement along the bottom of the drum. In one embodiment, the ribbed disc-shaped inserts are formed in the same manner and from the same materials as the collapsible drum such that the ribbed disc-shaped inserts, upon removal, flexibly curl around the collapsed, rolled drum for efficient, compact portage.

Problems solved by technology

Securely retaining hazardous materials in a transport drum is a highly desirable goal, but standard drums present a number of drawbacks that result in inefficiencies, lost profits, injuries and negative environmental impact.

First, standard drums are cumbersome to maneuver.

Once emptied, these standard drums, such as the commonplace 55 gallon steel drum, remain heavy and cumbersome to handle and load onto and off of pallets and shipment trucks.

These heavy 50-60 pound standard 55 gallon drums lack ergonomic handholds and require an operator to execute many repetitive, physically awkward motions to load a fully emptied shipment of drums back onto a truck or shipment pallet.

This repetitive movement lacks efficiency and raises the potential for injury every time an operator manually lifts or rolls each ergonomically-challenged drum.

Second, standard shipping drums made of steel, plastic, and aluminum, for example, occupy a significant amount of space during transport, even when the drums are empty.

This increases the number of trucks required to ship a large number of drums and thereby increases fuel consumption and harmful emissions associated with the carbon footprint of the shipping vessels.

In addition to causing increased carbon emissions, increased risk of injury and decreased efficiency related to maneuverability, standard drums induce frequent replacement costs because the number of reuses of each drum is limited.

These procedures wear the drum walls down and decrease wall thickness, thereby decreasing structural integrity.

This means that each drum will last through only a few rounds of reconditioning before failing to surpass minimum UN requirements.

Standard metal and plastic drums also are susceptible to structural compromise.

One dent in a sidewall will create a zone of weakness, lessening the axial compression strength and potentially leading to catastrophic collapse of the drum.

Standard steel and plastic drums, therefore, lack resiliency and catastrophically may fail UN compression strength tests after suffering a single indentation.

These bags and collapsible boxes typically are only semi-rigid at best, tend to bow outward when filled, and are difficult to lift and stack when filled.

Furthermore, these designs typically fail to integrate with existing drum handling equipment.

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