Method and apparatus for pressure washing

• US 6,402,855 B1
• Filed: 09/19/2000
• Issued: 06/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ESD Waste2Water, Inc.
• Original Assignee: EZ Environmental Solutions, Corp.
• Inventors: Eliason, Scott, Damron, Michael D., Garcia, Eduardo M., Driscoll, Rudolph W. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Stinson, Frankie L.
• Application Number:
  US09/665,150
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• Field of Search: 134/104.1, 134/169.A, 134/109, 134/65, 134/132, 134/110, 134/111, 134/10, 210/523, 210/532.1, 210/538, 210/409, 210/411, 210/521
• US Class Current: 134/10
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 17/00 Methods preventing fouling preventing accumulation of deposits in pneumatic conveyors B65G53/521
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 17/025 Prevention of fouling with liquids by means of devices for containing or collecting said liquids
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/006 Cabinets or cupboards specially adapted for cleaning articles by hand
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/026 Cleaning by making use of hand-held spray guns; Fluid preparations therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/14 Removing waste, e.g. labels, from cleaning liquid; Regenerating cleaning liquidstreatment of water in general C02F
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 3/00 Vehicle cleaning apparatus not integral with vehicles cleaning in general B08B; cleaning peculiar to waterborne vessels B63B57/00, B63B59/00; ground equipment for cleaning aircraft B64F5/30

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for removing a contaminant from an object. According to one aspect, an apparatus for washing an object which has contaminant is arranged to recover the contaminant. The apparatus includes a support floor that supports an object to be washed and a basin mounted below the support floor. The basin is divided into a plurality of chambers which include a clean water chamber, a secondary water chamber, an oil containment chamber, and a contaminated water receiving chamber which receives water which is contaminated after it is flowed over the object to remove the contaminant. The contaminated water received in the contaminated water receiving chamber must pass sequentially through the oil containment chamber and the secondary water chamber prior to entering the clean water chamber. The clean water chamber is flowably coupled to the secondary water chamber by a first flowpath near the operational water level, while the secondary water chamber is flowably coupled to the oil containment chamber by a second flowpath near the bottom of the basin. The oil containment chamber is flowably coupled to the contaminated water receiving chamber by a third flowpath near the operational water level. The apparatus also includes a first pump which draws and filters water from the secondary water chamber and returns the filtered water to the clean water chamber.

Claims

1. A pressure washing apparatus for washing an object, having a contaminant, and supported by a subfloor assembly adapted to direct contaminated fluids which are flowed over the object to remove the contaminant towards a run-off portion thereof, said washing apparatus comprising:

a settling compartment having a collection end, in fluid communication with the run-off portion of the subfloor assembly for receipt of substantially all the run-off contaminated fluids therefrom, and an accumulation end, positioned downstream from and flowably coupled to said collection end through a relatively long first flowpath adapted to create a substantially uniform, relatively slow, non-turbulent flow from the collection end toward the accumulation end to separate the relatively lightweight contaminants of the contaminated fluids from the relatively heavyweight contaminants of the contaminated fluids, said light contaminants being caused to substantially rise toward an operational fluid level in said settling compartment while said heavyweight contaminants are caused to substantially settle toward a bottom of said settling compartment during flow along the first flowpath; and

a pump assembly arranged to draw and filter fluid from the accumulation end and return the filtered fluid into a separate clean fluid compartment;

whereby fluid pumped from the clean fluid compartment may be used to wash contaminants from the object and a circulation flowpath defined by the settling compartment promotes the removal of the contaminants from the collected run-off contaminated fluid.

2. A pressure washing apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein, said first flowpath is generally U-shaped having an upstream leg portion and a downstream leg portion separated by a bight portion therebetween, said accumulation end being positioned proximate a distal end of downstream leg portion while the collection end is positioned along the upstream leg portion.

3. A pressure washing apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein, said collection end is positioned proximate a distal end of said upstream leg portion.

4. A pressure washing apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including:

a filtering device in fluid communication with the collected run-off contaminated fluid passing from the run-off portion of the subfloor assembly to the collection end of the settling compartment to filter out relatively coarse contaminants.

5. A pressure washing apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including:

a skimmer assembly positioned proximate the accumulation end of said settling compartment and in fluid communication with the operational fluid level of the collected fluid in said settling compartment, said skimmer assembly being adapted for removing the lightweight contaminants therefrom.

6. A pressure washing apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein,

said skimmer assembly includes a belt device adapted to remove floating lightweight contaminants from a top surface of the collected fluid is said settling compartment.

7. A pressure washing apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including:

an inlet compartment fluidly coupled between the pump assembly and the accumulation end of said settling compartment through at least one inlet orifice positioned sufficiently below the operational fluid level of the collected fluid in said settling compartment to draw fluid and retain therein.

8. A pressure washing apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein,

a second flowpath positioned at a predetermined fluid level in said clean fluid compartment which flowably couples the clean fluid compartment to the inlet compartment at a location slightly above the operational water level for recirculation of the filtered fluid from the clean fluid compartment to the inlet compartment.

9. A pressure washing apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein, said separate clean fluid compartment is separated from said inlet compartment through an interior wall, and said second flowpath is provided by at least one recirculation slot extending therethrough.

10. A pressure washing apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including:

an ozone generator; and

a gas-liquid mixer arrangement connected to the ozone generator, wherein the gas-liquid mixer is arranged to inject ozone into the fluid proximate the collection end of said settling compartment.

11. A contaminant settling assembly for use in a closed-loop pressure washer system having a pressure washer and a subfloor assembly for supporting an object to be washed, and adapted to direct contaminated fluids which are flowed over the object to remove the contaminant towards a run-off portion thereof, said settling assembly comprising:

a settling compartment having a collection end, in fluid communication with the run-off portion of the subfloor assembly for receipt of substantially all the run-off contaminated fluids therefrom, and an accumulation end, positioned downstream from and flowably coupled to said collection end through a relatively long first flowpath adapted to create a substantially uniform, relatively slow, non-turbulent flow from the collection end toward the accumulation end to separate the relatively lightweight contaminants of the contaminated fluids from the relatively heavyweight contaminants of the contaminated fluids, said light contaminants being caused to substantially rise toward an operational fluid level in said settling compartment while said heavyweight contaminants are caused to substantially settle toward a bottom of said settling compartment during flow along the first flowpath.

12. The settling assembly as defined in claim 11 wherein,

said first flowpath is generally U-shaped having an upstream leg portion and a downstream leg portion separated by a bight portion therebetween, said accumulation end being positioned proximate a distal end of downstream leg portion while the collection end is positioned along the upstream leg portion.

13. The settling assembly as defined in claim 12 wherein,

said collection end is positioned proximate a distal end of said upstream leg portion.

14. The settling assembly as defined in claim 11 further including:

a filtering device in fluid communication with the collected run-off contaminated fluid passing from the run-off portion of the subfloor assembly to the collection end of the settling compartment to filter out relatively coarse contaminants.

15. The settling assembly as defined in claim 11 further including:

a skimmer assembly positioned proximate the accumulation end of said settling compartment and in fluid communication with the operational fluid level of the collected fluid in said settling compartment, said skimmer assembly being adapted for removing the lightweight contaminants therefrom.

16. The settling assembly as defined in claim 11 further including:

an ozone generator; and

a gas-liquid mixer arrangement connected to the ozone generator, wherein the gas-liquid mixer is arranged to inject ozone into the fluid proximate the collection end of said settling compartment.