Self-closing drum lids with controlled closing rates
AssigneeNew Pig Corporation
InventorsWilliam George Harvey, Gregory R. Harpster
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Self-closing drum lids that automatically close at controlled rates are disclosed. When the lid is manually rotated to a fully open position, it automatically begins self closing with a transition from a relatively slow rate that allows a user to add material and/or remove material from the drum without having to hold the lid open by hand. After the slow-closing stage, the lid begins to close at a faster rate until the lid rotates to a fully closed position on the drum. The self-closing drum lids may be attached to a drum via a drum band, and may include a latching mechanism.
Claims24
A self-closing drum lid comprising:
- a drum lid;
- a dampening bracket assembly attached to the lid comprising:
- a lid bracket including a radial arm extending radially outward from an outer rim of the drum lid and an upwardly extending vertical arm extending upward from the radial arm;
- a dampener bracket pivotally attached to the lid bracket extending downward from the radial arm including at least one downwardly extending vertical arm and a base adjacent a bottom end of the at least one downwardly extending vertical arm;
- and
- a dampener piston assembly comprising at least one dampener piston having an upper end pivotally attached to the upwardly extending vertical arm of the lid bracket and a lower end pivotally attached adjacent to the base of the dampener bracket.
A drum assembly comprising:
- a drum;
- a drum band attached to the drum comprising a drum band bracket;
- and
- a self-closing drum lid pivotally connected to the drum band bracket comprising:
- a drum lid;
- a dampening bracket assembly attached to the lid comprising:
- a lid bracket including a radial arm extending radially outward from an outer rim of the drum lid and an upwardly extending vertical arm extending upward from the radial arm;
- a dampener bracket pivotally attached to the lid bracket and fixedly attached to the drum band bracket extending downward from the radial arm including at least one downwardly extending vertical arm and a base adjacent a bottom end of the at least one downwardly extending vertical arm;
- and
- a dampener piston assembly comprising at least one dampener piston having an upper end pivotally attached to the upwardly extending vertical arm of the lid bracket and a lower end pivotally attached adjacent to the base of the dampener bracket.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.