Apparatus for holding and discharging drums

1 . An interface device for an apparatus for holding and discharging drums comprising:

a cylindrical tubular element extending along a predetermined longitudinal axis and having opposite open ends, respectively, a first end and a second end;

a first closure located proximate to said first end, and

a second closure located proximate to said second end,

wherein:

each of said first and second closures can be operated to reversibly move from a closed state to an open state in which it respectively shuts and clears a passage defined by the respective first and second ends, and

each of said first and second closures comprises:

a respective first portion rigidly joined to said cylindrical tubular element by a releasable fixation means, to be removed from the cylindrical tubular element and replaced, and

a respective second portion rigidly joined to an operating member to allow each operating member to actuate the first and second closures, respectively, between said closed and open states,

wherein said releasable fixation means comprise quick-release fixation means selected from the group consisting of pneumatically, hydraulically and mechanically operated means.

2 . The interface device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said quick-release fixation means comprise at least one:

elements that can be deformed and/or inflated/deflated by changes in pneumatic or hydraulic pressure, and

elements that can be deformed or undergo changes in configurations or changes by deformation of parts or changes in configuration of mechanical parts that can be achieved using elastically deformable elements and/or mechanisms undergoing changes in the configuration of mechanical parts.

3 . The interface device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said deformable and/or inflatable/deflatable elements comprise respective inflatable tubular elements, susceptible to reversibly move by inflation/deflation from a smaller-volume state to a larger-volume configuration in which the inflatable tubular elements directly or indirectly act upon said first portion of the respective closure to cause said first portion to be rigidly joined to said cylindrical tubular element.

4 . The interface device as claimed in claim 3 , wherein said seats accommodate at least a portion of said deformable and/or inflatable/deflatable hollow elements and at least part of said first portion of said first and second closures, so that at least a portion of said deformable and/or inflatable/deflatable hollow elements, in said seats, will act upon at least part of said first portion of said first and second closures, thereby fixing said first and second closures in position relative to said cylindrical tubular element.

5 . The interface device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said releasable fixation means comprise annular elements inserted in said cylindrical tubular element to engage and retain said first portion of said first and second closures, and said deformable and/or inflatable/deflatable elements radially act against said annular elements to hold the annular elements in position inside said cylindrical tubular element.

6 . The interface device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said deformable and/or inflatable/deflatable elements are made of an elastomeric material.

7 . The interface device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said quick-release fixation means comprise a tubular seal having a channel for blowing compressed air inside.

8 . The interface device as claimed in claim 1 , comprising actuators selected from the group consisting of pneumatic, hydraulic and/or mechanical actuators to achieve the actuation of said quick-release fixation means.

9 . The interface device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said quick-release fixation means comprise deformable and/or inflatable/deflatable hollow elements operable by a variation of internal pressure.

10 . The interface device as claimed in claim 3 , wherein said deformable and/or inflatable/deflatable hollow elements are at least partially accommodated in seats formed in an interior surface of a side wall of said cylindrical tubular element, and in said larger-volume configuration, said deformable and/or inflatable/deflatable hollow elements radially project toward a center of said cylindrical tubular element to cause the first portion of the respective closure to be rigidly joined to said cylindrical tubular element.

11 . The interface device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said first and second closures are diaphragm closures.

12 . An apparatus for holding and discharging drums, comprising an isolator, an interface device for loading/unloading drums and a coupling device with a loading point,

wherein said interface device, for loading/unloading drums, is the interface device as claimed in claim 1 .

13 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 12 , wherein:

said isolator has openings with gloves sealingly connected to a body of said isolator, and/or

said coupling device has a loading point comprising a flange or a hatch, and

said apparatus comprises a device for lifting and rotating the loading/unloading drums which is designed to load cylindrical drums into said interface device.