Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02933800 2016-06-21
WASH FLUID CONTAINMENT SYSTEM
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Wash fluid containment systems, and more specifically, mobile wash
fluid
containment systems.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Washing items, especially large items such as vehicles and
equipment, may
result in environmental damage when washing fluid and debris from the items
accumulate on
and contaminate the site. Wash fluid containment systems, and in particular
mobile wash
fluid containment systems have been used to prevent wash fluid and debris from
contaminating the environment.
SUMMARY
[0003] In an embodiment, there is provided a fluid containment system, a
base
having a wash floor and a frame, for example a skid, supporting the wash
floor; a folding
assembly having at least one fluid impervious side floor pivotably connected
to the base; and
an actuator connected to the base and folding assembly to pivot the folding
assembly about
an axis; wherein the folding assembly is pivotable with respect to the base
when acted upon
by the actuator to move the folding assembly between an open position and a
closed
position. In an embodiment, the at least one side floor is aligned with the
floor in the open
position and the folding assembly is raised for transport in the closed
position. In an
embodiment, the folding assembly forms an extension of the wash floor when in
the open
position.
[0004] In an embodiment, there is provided a fluid containment system,
a base having a wash floor and a frame supporting the wash floor; a folding
assembly having
at least one side floor pivotably connected to the base; a raised walkway
extending from and
above the at least one side floor; and an actuator connected to the base and
folding assembly
to pivot the folding assembly about an axis, wherein the folding assembly is
pivotable with
respect to the base when acted upon by the actuator to move the folding
assembly between
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an open position and a closed position, the at least one side floor being
aligned with the floor
in the open position and the folding assembly being raised for transport in
the closed
position.
[0005] In various embodiments, there may be included any one or more of
the
following features: the frame has at least two beams extending parallel to the
at least one
side floor; the frame is a skid frame; the folding assembly has a raised
walkway extending
from and above the at least one side floor; the at least one side floor is a
first side floor and a
second side floor, and the first side floor and second side floor are spaced
from each other by
the base; the at least one side floor has an inner edge adjacent to. the floor
and an outer edge
opposite the inner edge, and a sidewall extending from the at least one side
floor from or
adjacent to the outer edge; at least a portion of the sidewall is a foldable
wall portion; the
raised walkway extends from the sidewall towards the wash floor and above a
portion of the
side floor in the open position; the raised walkway has an outer walkway edge
extending
along the walkway opposite the at least one side floor, and a walkway wall
extending from
or adjacent to the outer walkway edge and above the walkway; a hinge connects
the folding
assembly to the base and the folding assembly pivots about the hinge; linkage
extends from
the hinge to define a trajectory of rotation for the folding assembly; the
actuator comprises a
hydraulic cylinder or cable and winch system; the side floors are sloped
towards the wash
floor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0006] Embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures, in
which
like reference characters denote like elements, by way of example, and in
which:
[0007] Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of an embodiment of a fluid
containment
system in an open position;
[0008] Fig. 2 is a top perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in a
closed
position;
[0009] Fig. 3 is a bottom perspective view the embodiment of Fig. 1 in an
open
position;
[0010] Fig. 4 is top view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in an open position;
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[0011] Fig. 5 is a sectional view along line A-A of Fig. 4 showing a hinge;
[0012] Fig. 6 is a side view of an embodiment of the hinge of Fig. 5;
[0013] Fig. 7 is a top view of the embodiment of the hinge of Fig. 5;
[0014] Fig. 8 is a back view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in an open
position;
[0015] Fig. 9 is a detail view of Fig. 8 within line B ¨ B,, with ramp
raised;
[0016] Fig. 10 is a back section view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in an
open
position;
[0017] Fig. 11 is a back view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in an closed
position;
[0018] Fig. 12 is a detail view of Fig. 12 within line C ¨C;
[0019] Fig. 13 is a back view of a further embodiment of a fluid
containment system
in an open position; and
[0020] Fig. 14 is a back view of the embodiment of Fig. 14 in a closed
position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] Immaterial modifications may be made to the embodiments described
here
without departing from what is covered by the claims. In the claims, the word
"comprising"
is used in its inclusive sense and does not exclude other elements being
present. The
indefinite articles "a" and "an" before a claim feature do not exclude more
than one of the
feature being present. Each one of the individual features described here may
be used in one
or more embodiments and is not, by virtue only of being described here, to be
construed as
essential to all embodiments as defined by the claims.
[0022] As shown in Figs. 1 ¨ 4, a fluid containment system 20 comprises a
base 22
and a folding assembly 24 having at least one fluid impervious side floor 26.
There may for
example be two side floors 26. The base 22 has a wash floor 30 and a frame 32,
for example
a skid, supporting the wash floor 30, and a first end 34, a second end 36, and
sides 38. The
folding assembly 24 is pivotably connected to opposite sides 38 of the base 12
and aligned
with the wash floor 16 in an open position shown in Fig. 1. An actuator 40 is
connected to
the base 22 and folding assembly 24 to pivot the folding assembly 24 about an
axis. The
actuator 40 may be of several types, for example the hydraulic system shown,
or pneumatic,
or a cable and winch system. A cable and winch system, for example
electrically or
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hydraulically operated, may include a rack at one or both of the hack end 34
and front end 36
of wash floor 16 on which winches are installed that use respective cables to
lift each side
26. In addition to this a center winch can be installed on the center of the
rack to pull smaller
skidded equipment up onto the containment unit to be able to wash it.
[0023] The folding assembly 24 is pivotable with respect to the base 22
when acted
upon by the actuator 40 to move the folding assembly 24 between an open
position and a
closed position and side floors 26 are aligned with the wash floor 30 in the
open position as
in Fig. I and the folding assembly 24 is raised for transport in the closed
position, for
example as shown in Fig. 2. The fluid containment system 20 thus forms a
complete unit
which can be folded from an open position for use to wash equipment and a
closed position
with a reduced footprint for transportation.
[0024] Each of the side floors 26 has an inner edge 42 adjacent to the
wash floor 30
and an outer edge 44 opposite the inner edge 42, and may have a sidewall 46
extending from
or adjacent to the outer edge 44 which may provide a barrier to prevent debris
and fluid from
falling outside of the fluid containment system 20 or to provide a safety
barrier for workers.
At least a portion of each sidewall 46 may be a foldable wall portion or
handrail 48, such as
a typical oilfield style fold down handrail with solid walls for containment,
extending from
the sidewall 46. Each sidewall 46 may also support a walkway 50 extending
inwardly from
the sidewall 46. Each raised walkway 50 may extend from a sidewall 46 towards
the wash
floor 30 and above a portion of the side floor 26 when the folding assembly 24
is in the open
position.
[0025] The handrail 48 and walkway 50 may be fixed together and rotatable
as a
unit, or may each independently fold to a closed position seen in Fig. 2. When
the folding
assembly 24 is in an open position, the walkways 50 are fixed in place for
stability.
[0026] The frame 32 may have at least two lengthwise beams 52 extending
parallel
to the at least one side floor 26. As shown in Fig. 3, the frame 32 may have
five lengthwise
beams 52. The frame 32 may also have a number of transverse beams 53. The
frame 32 may,
for example, be a skid frame, such as an oil-field type skid, to allow the
frame 32 to easily
slide along a surface.
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[0027] As shown in Figs. 5 ¨ 7, the folding assembly 24 may be connected
to the
base by hinges 54. The hinge 54 may be part of a linkage system 56 for
pivoting the side
floor 26 relative to the base 22. Each linkage system 56 may be connected to
the base 22 by
a hinge 54 and may have linkage 58 which extends from the hinge 54 and is
affixed to the
side floor 26 to define a trajectory of rotation for the folding assembly 24.
Linkage 58 may
be affixed to the side floor 26 for example by fastening to a stiffener plate
60. Linkage 58
may be fastened to the stiffener plate 60 by a variety of fasteners, including
for example
bolts 61. The hinge 54 may be for example located on a bearing 62 of the base
12. The
bearing 62 may for example be a pillow block bearing. Each side floor 26 may
be pivoted
around the hinge 54 by the operation of actuator 40 acting on the folding
assembly 24.
[0028] As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the actuator 40 may be for example a
hydraulic
cylinder. The actuator 40 may be operated by a generator (not shown), which
for example
may run a 120V power pack which provides power to the actuator 40. The
generator may be
fixed to the base 22 or side floors 26 to form part of the fluid containment
system 20. There
may be several actuators 40 which may be provided at each end 34 and 36 of the
base 22,
each actuator 40 joining a side floor 26 to the base 22. The base 22 may have
several hinges
54 along each side connecting the base 22 to the side floors 26. Each actuator
40 is rotatably
connected to the base 22 and a side floor 26 such that extending the actuator
40 rotates the
side floor 26 along a trajectory limited by the hinges 54.
[0029] The base 22 may have a ramp 64 extending from the first end 34 to
allow
equipment, including vehicles, to be easily transported onto the wash floor
30. The ramp 64
may for example be pivotably connected to the base 22 such that the ramp 64
may be moved
from an open position for using the fluid containment system 20 to wash
equipment as
shown in Fig. 1 and a closed position for transporting the fluid containment
system 20,
shown in Fig. 2. Alternatively, the ramp 64 may be detachable from the base
20.
[0030] In use, a vehicle may be driven up the ramp 64 onto the wash floor
30.
Workers may stand on the side floors 26 or walkways 50 to wash the vehicle,
for example by
spraying water and washing fluids on the vehicle using spray wands. During the
washing
process, fluid and debris may be deposited on the wash floor 30, side floors
26 and sidewalls
46. A seal may be formed between each side floor 26 and the wash floor 30, for
example by
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insertion of a J-strip seal into a gap 66 between the side floor 26 and the
wash floor 30.
Alternatively, the side floor 26 and wash floor 30 may not have a gap 66 in an
open position,
or may have a catch basin located under the gap 66 to prevent fluid from
reaching the
ground.
[0031] The side floors 26 and wash floor 30 may be configured to allow
fluid to
accumulate on either end 34 and 36 of the base 22. For example, the side
floors 26 may slope
towards the wash floor 30 to prevent fluid build-up on the side floors 26 and
the wash floor
30 may have layers which allow fluid to accumulate without pooling such as a
grating layer
and catchment layer. Each end 34 and 36 of the base 22 may have collars which
provide a
catchment for fluids. Fluid collected in the collars may be drained for
example by using a
hose attached to the collar. The collars may for example be 3-inches wide.
Other
conventional methods may be used to collect and remove fluids.
[0032] The fluid containment system 20 may be transported on a transport
surface of
a vehicle such as a truck trailer. The fluid containment system 20 when in a
closed position
may be moved from a position on the ground onto the transport vehicle by
winching. As
shown in Figs 1 ¨4, the base 22 may have a connecting element 70, such as a
hitch, for
receiving a winch cable. The connecting element 70 may be fixed to the base 22
at either
end, and may include multiple connectors. The fluid containment system 20 may
for
example be transported using a winch truck trailer. Connecting elements 70 may
be formed
on either end of the base 22, and may for example be part of frame lip 71 of
the frame 32.
The frame lip 71 may extend beyond the wash floor 30 of the base 22. As shown
in Fig. 4,
the ramp 64 may extend from the frame lip 71.
[0033] In an embodiment, a base 22 has a wash floor 30 and a frame 32
supporting
the wash floor 30. A folding assembly 24 has at least one side floor 26
pivotably connected
to the base and a raised walkway 50 may extend from and above the at least one
side floor
26. The raised walkway 50 may rotate to be brought from an open position in
Fig. 1 to a
closed position as shown in Fig. 2. The walkway 50 may have an outer walkway
edge 44
extending along the walkway 50 opposite the corresponding side floor 26, and
the walkway
wall 48 may extend from or adjacent to the outer walkway edge 44 and above the
walkway
50.
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[0034] In a further embodiment, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14, a raised
walkway 72
may extend from and above the at least one side floor 26. The raised walkway
72 may have a
walkway wall or railing 74 which may be collapsible to permit side floors 26
to be pivoted to
a closed position such as in Fig. 14. The walkway 72 may have an outer walkway
edge 76
extending along the walkway 72 opposite the corresponding side floor 26, and
the walkway
wall 74 may extend from or adjacent to the outer walkway edge 76 and above the
walkway
72. Walkway supports 78 may extend from the side floors 26 to support the
platform 72
above the side floors 26 and also may provide a splash guard.
[0035] The walkway wall or handrail 48 or 74 may act as a barrier to
prevent
workers from falling off the walkway 72 or 50, and may also prevent fluid and
debris from
washing of equipment from escaping the fluid containment system 20. As shown
in Fig. 13,
a vehicle 80 may be driven onto the base 22, and workers 82 may spray the
vehicle 80 with
wash fluid. Fluid and debris may be prevented from passing through gap 66 by
sealing or
catchment element 84.
[0036] When in a closed position, the fluid containment system 20 may be
for
example 10' tall and 9' 6" wide in order to fit within certain legal transport
dimensions. This
closed position allows the fluid containment system 20 to be transported
without detaching
the constituent parts of the fluid containment system 20.
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