Method of overpacking a package using an overpack salvage drum

Abstract

A method of packing a package in an overpack salvage drum that includes a drum body for holding the package to be overpacked, a lid adapted to be rotatably threaded onto the drum body to seal the package held in the drum body therein, and a clip adapted to be operatively associated with the lid before the lid is rotatably threaded onto the drum body. The method includes placing the package into a drum body, operatively associating a clip to a lid that is adapted to be rotatably threaded onto the drum body, and rotatably threading the lid with the clip operatively associated therewith onto the drum body to seal the package therein, wherein the clip is adapted to break in preference to the lid and the drum body when the seal between the lid and the drum body is first compromised.

1 . A method of overpacking a package comprising:
 providing a drum body having a bottom wall provided with at least one channel that crosses a central axis of the bottom wall of the drum body, a sidewall, and an open top, wherein the bottom wall and sidewall cooperate to define an interior volume of the drum body;   providing a lid for closing the open top of the drum body, wherein the lid includes lid threads for engaging with drum threads provided on the drum body;   disposing the package in the interior volume of the drum body;   placing the drum body onto a beam such that at least a portion of the beam is received in the at least one channel; and   threading the lid onto the drum body while the at least a portion of the beam is received in the at least one channel and the package is disposed in the interior volume so as to close the open top and seal the package in the interior volume, wherein the beam inhibits rotation of the drum body as the lid is threaded onto the drum body.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the drum body is placed onto the beam before the package is disposed in the interior volume of the drum body. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the drum body is placed onto the beam after the package is disposed in the interior volume of the drum body. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein an installer stands on a portion of the beam that extends beyond the drum body and which is not received within the channel as the lid is being threaded onto the drum body. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the beam is fixed to a floor. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the beam is made of wood and has a generally rectangular cross-section measuring about 1.5″ by about 3.5″. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the lid has a top side provided with a plurality of castellations with gaps therebetween, and wherein the method further comprises accommodating a second beam between at least a first pair of gaps aligned across a central axis of the lid and using the second beam as a lever to assist threading the lid onto the drum body. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the first pair of gaps aligned across the central axis of the lid has a width dimension that is greater than or less than a width dimension of a second pair of gaps aligned across the central axis of the lid. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the second beam is made of wood and has a generally rectangular cross-section measuring about 1.5″ by about 3.5″, and wherein the first pair of gaps accommodates one cross-section dimension of the second beam and wherein the second pair of gaps accommodates the other cross-section dimension of the second beam. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the lid is threaded 720° from a starting position to a fully seated position on the drum body during the threading step. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the disposing step involves lowering the package into the drum body when the drum body is upright. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the disposing step involves laying the drum body on its side and sliding the package therein and then standing the drum body upright with the package therein. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the lid is provided with a plurality of blocks, and wherein the method further comprises stacking a second drum body having a bottom wall provided with at least one channel that crosses a central axis of the bottom wall of the second drum body onto the drum body in which the package was sealed in the threading step such that the plurality of blocks are received within at least one channel of the second drum body. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing a frangible clip; and   operatively associating the frangible clip with the lid; and   wherein during the threading step, the lid is threaded onto the drum body with the frangible clip operatively associated therewith to dispose the frangible clip relative to a blocking surface of a projection provided on an outer portion of the drum body such that if the lid is subsequently unthreaded from the drum body the frangible clip will bear against the blocking surface and break in preference to the lid and the drum body and thereby indicate that the seal between the lid and the drum body has been compromised.   
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the frangible clip includes a tail portion, wherein the projection provided on the outer portion of the drum body includes a camming surface, and wherein during the rotatably threading step the tail portion of the frangible clip contacts the camming surface of the projection and the camming surface lifts the tail portion over the projection without breaking the frangible clip. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein two or more projections are provided on the outer portion of the drum body, and wherein each of the two or more projections includes a blocking surface and a camming surface. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the frangible clip comprises a head portion, a hook portion and a body portion that spans between the head portion and the hook portion, and wherein the step of operatively associating the frangible clip with the lid includes disposing a lower tip end of the hook portion into a bottom recess formed in an interior side of an annular skirt depending from the lid and subsequently disposing an upper tip end of the head portion into a top recess formed in a top side of the lid. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the clip is received within a recessed area formed in the annular skirt such that sides of the recessed area provide lateral support for the clip when the clip is operatively associated with the lid. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 14 , further comprising fastening the frangible clip to the lid using a fastener before the lid is rotatably threaded onto the drum body. 
     
     
         20 . A method of overpacking a package comprising:
 providing a drum body having a bottom wall provided with at least one channel that crosses a central axis of the bottom wall of the drum body, a sidewall, and an open top, wherein the bottom wall and sidewall cooperate to define an interior volume of the drum body;   providing a lid for closing the open top of the drum body, wherein the lid includes lid threads for engaging with drum threads provided on the drum body; and   disposing the package in the interior volume of the drum body by placing the package on the lid and then placing the drum body over the package such that the package is received in the interior volume;   placing at least a portion of a beam in the at least one channel; and   threading the drum body onto the lid while the at least a portion of the beam is received in the at least one channel and the package is disposed in the interior volume, using the beam as a lever to assist threading the drum body onto the lid.