Apparatus and method for automatically loading drums into drum container

An apparatus for automatically loading drums, comprising:

• a drum feeder for transferring drums;
• a drum container into which drums transferred through the drum feeder are sequentially loaded;
• a support frame on which a lid of the drum container is placed when the drums are being loaded into the drum container;
• a crane including
• a gripper that grips and transfers a drum or the drum container lid, and
• a lifter on which the gripper is mounted for upward and downward movement and which is transferred along guide rails in forward and backward, or left and right, directions;
• and
• a drum container clamp including
• drum container pedestals on which corners of the drum container are supported, and
• a pusher that pushes the drum container, supported on the drum container pedestals, on a first side of the drum container and fixes the drum container in contact with the drum container pedestals on a second side of the drum container.

A method of automatically loading drums into a drum container, the method comprising:

• placing the drum container on pedestals for the drum container into which the drums are loaded;
• pushing a first side of the drum container placed on the drum container pedestals using a pusher and fixing the drum container in contact with the drum container pedestals located on a second side of the drum container;
• separating a lid of the drum container from a body of the drum container using a gripper;
• transferring drums to a turntable using a plurality of conveyor modules;
• rotating the turntable to position a drum placed on the turntable to face a direction where the drum can be gripped by the gripper;
• sequentially loading drums into the drum container using the gripper;
• and
• placing the drum container lid on the drum container body using the gripper when the loading of the drums has been completed.