Portable fluid containment pad
A portable fluid containment pad, which includes a pan having in interior fluid containment cavity with a bottom, opposed sides, and opposed ends. At least two structural load bearing beams are provided which rest upon the bottom of the pan and extend between the opposed ends in parallel spaced relation to the opposed sides and to each other. The maximum span between the at least two structural load bearing beams being less than three feet. A rigid substrate is supported on a substantially horizontal plane by the at least two structural load bearing beams.
The present invention relates to a portable fluid containment pad and, in particular, a portable fluid containment pad adapted to support a drilling rig.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHydro Engineering Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah sells portable wash pads and fluid containment systems for use in cleaning heavy equipment under the brand name “Hydropad”. Hydropads are advertised as having a weight bearing capacity of up to 15,000 pounds per square foot. These weight limits are not sufficient to support the weight of an operating drilling rig.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONWhat is required is a portable fluid containment pad suitable for use to support drilling rigs.
According to the present invention there is provided a portable fluid containment pad, which includes a pan having an interior fluid containment cavity with a bottom, opposed sides, and opposed ends. At least two structural load bearing beams are provided which rest upon the bottom of the pan and extend between the opposed ends in parallel spaced relation to the opposed sides and to each other. The maximum span between the at least two structural load bearing beams being less than three feet. A rigid substrate is supported on a substantially horizontal plane by the at least two structural load bearing beams.
A number of the portable fluid containment pads, as described above were transported to a drill site and assembled. The assembly of the portable fluid containment pads took less than twenty minutes. A drilling rig was then positioned on the portable fluid containment pads. An immediate increase in the efficiency of the drilling rig was noted. The drilling rig could pull a heavier load, as the portable fluid containment pads provided a more stable base. Less environmental damage was done, as the portable fluid containment pads spread the weight of the drilling rig.
The full details of the individual portable drilling rig pads, the manner in which they were assembled and the flow of drilling fluids will hereinafter be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThese and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
The preferred embodiment, a portable fluid containment pad generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
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In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the Claims.
Claims
1. A portable fluid containment pad, comprising:
- a pan having an interior fluid containment cavity with a bottom, opposed sides, and opposed ends;
- at least two structural load bearing beams which rest upon the bottom of the pan and extend between the opposed ends in parallel spaced relation to the opposed sides and to each other, the maximum span between the at least two structural load bearing beams being less than three feet;
- a rigid substrate supported on a substantially horizontal plane by the at least two structural load bearing beams.
2. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 1, wherein the at least two structural load bearing beams are “I” beams.
3. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 1, wherein there is a first structural load bearing beam positioned along a first of the opposed sides, a second structural load bearing beam positioned along a second of the opposed sides and a central structural load bearing beam which is centrally positioned between the opposed sides.
4. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of transverse beams which and extend between the opposed sides in parallel spaced relation to the opposed ends and to each other, the maximum span between the transverse beams being less than three feet.
5. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 1, wherein there are fluid containing appendages which extend upwardly and outwardly from each of the opposed sides of the pan adjacent to the bottom and terminate at the substantially horizontal plane, the rigid substrate extending past the opposed sides to cover the appendages.
6. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 1, wherein the rigid substrate is grating.
7. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 5, wherein the appendages have interlocking profiles adapted to enable adjacent pans to be connected in side by side relation while maintaining fluid containment to prevent leakage between the adjacent pans.
8. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 7, wherein a first appendage on a first side of the pan has a projecting lip which extends between the opposed ends and a second appendage on a second side of the pan has a recess which extends between the opposed ends, the lip engaging the recess.
9. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 2, wherein each of the at least two structural beams has a plurality of transverse drainage passages to accommodate fluid flow.
10. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 4, wherein there are gaps below each of the transverse beams to accommodate fluid flow along the bottom of the pan.
11. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 1, wherein at least two pans are positioned adjacent to each other.
12. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 11, wherein a bridge plate bridges between adjacent pans, the bridge plate having a depending tongue which extends downwardly between the adjacent pans to limit movement of the bridge plate.
13. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 12, wherein the bridge plate has a spine with two diverging downwardly inclined ramp surfaces.
14. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 1, wherein the pan has fittings with hose couplings, such that the pan can rapidly be adapted to be in fluid communication with another pan by connecting hoses to the hose couplings.
15. A portable fluid containment pad, comprising:
- a pan having an interior fluid containment cavity with a bottom, a first side, a second side, and opposed ends;
- structural load bearing “I” beams which rest upon the bottom of the pan and extend between the opposed ends in parallel spaced relation to the first side and the second side and to each other, including a first structural load bearing beam positioned along the first side, a second structural load bearing beam positioned along the second side and at least one central structural load bearing beam positioned between the first structural load bearing beam and the second structural load bearing beam, the maximum span between each of the structural load bearing “I” beams being less than three feet, and each of the structural load bearing “I” beams having a plurality of transverse drainage passages to accommodate fluid flow;
- a plurality of transverse “I” beams which extend between the first side and the second side in parallel spaced relation to the opposed ends and to each other, the maximum span between the transverse “I” beams being less than three feet, gaps being provided below each of the transverse beams to accommodate fluid flow along the bottom of the pan;
- a rigid grating substrate supported on a substantially horizontal plane by the structural load bearing “I” beams;
- a fluid containing first appendage on the first side and a fluid containing second appendage on the second side, each of the first appendage and the second appendage extending upwardly and outwardly from the first side and the second side of the pan, respectively, adjacent to the bottom and terminating at the substantially horizontal plane, the rigid substrate extending past the first side and the second side to cover the first appendage and the second appendage, respectively, the first appendage on the first side of the pan having a projecting lip which extends between the opposed ends and the second appendage on the second side of the pan having a recess which extends between the opposed ends, the lip engaging the recess to enable adjacent pans to be connected in side by side relation while maintaining fluid containment to prevent leakage between the adjacent pans; and
- fittings with hose couplings in the pan, such that the pan can rapidly be adapted to be in fluid communication with another pan by connecting hoses to the hose couplings.
16. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 15, wherein pans are coupled in side by side relation, the projecting lip on the first appendage of one pan engaging the recess on the second appendage of another pan.
17. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 15, wherein pans are provided in end to end relation, a bridge plate bridging a gap between the pans, the bridge plate having a depending tongue which extends downwardly into the gap between the pans to limit movement of the bridge plate.
18. The portable fluid containment pad as defined in claim 17, wherein the bridge plate has a spine with two diverging downwardly inclined ramp surfaces.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 28, 2005
Publication Date: Jun 15, 2006
Inventor: Gary Robinson (Edmonton)
Application Number: 11/261,418
International Classification: B65D 1/34 (20060101);