Wash Pad

• US 20110253175A1
• Filed: 04/01/2011
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Petter Investments Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Petter Investments Incorporated
• Inventors: Petter, Douglas A., Petter, Matthew J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,499,774 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 134/18
• 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 3/14 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
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 3/042 Wheel cleaning devices integral with vehicle B60S1/00

Abstract

A wash pad that includes a wash floor for supporting a wash item and a catch trough disposed in fluid communication with a longitudinal central portion of the wash floor. The catch trough collects at least one of wash fluid and debris from the wash floor. The wash pad also includes an evacuator disposed in fluid communication with the catch trough and an elevator disposed in fluid communication with the evacuator. The evacuator substantially removes wash fluid received from the catch trough, and the elevator elevates debris from a collection height to a dump height for dumping.

Claims

1. A wash pad comprising:

a wash floor for supporting a wash item;

a catch trough disposed in fluid communication with a non-peripheral portion of the wash floor, the catch trough collecting at least one of wash fluid and debris from the wash floor;

an evacuator disposed in fluid communication with the catch trough, the evacuator substantially removing wash fluid received from the catch trough; and

an elevator disposed in fluid communication with the evacuator, the elevator elevating debris from a collection height to a dump height for dumping.

2. The wash pad of claim 1, further comprising a conveyer disposed along the catch trough and the elevator, the conveyer moving at least debris along the catch trough at the collection height and elevating the debris to the dump height for dumping.

3. The wash pad of claim 2, further comprising a conveyer drive disposed at one of a dumping end of the elevator and a free end of the catch trough, a conveyer idler disposed at the other of the dumping end and the free end, the conveyer comprising a continuous loop arranged about the conveyer drive and the conveyer idler, the conveyer drive driving the conveyer to move debris collected along the catch trough along a first direction of the continuous loop over the evacuator and up the elevator to the dumping end for dumping, the conveyer returning in an opposite direction of the continuous loop to the free end of the catch trough.

4. The wash pad of claim 2, wherein the conveyer comprises a plurality of flights arranged to move debris collected by the catch trough.

5. The wash pad of claim 2, wherein the elevator comprises a housing having an entrance connected to the evacuator and an exit at the dump height, the housing comprising conveyer guides for guiding the conveyer from the housing entrance to the housing exit.

6. The wash pad of claim 5, wherein the elevator housing is arranged to support the conveyer at an angle of between about 10 degrees and about 90 degrees with respect to the catch trough.

7. The wash pad of claim 1, wherein the catch trough extends along an entire length of the wash pad.

8. The wash pad of claim 1, wherein the evacuator is connected to one end of the catch trough, the catch trough arranged to cause fluid flow towards the evacuator.

9. The wash pad of claim 1, wherein the evacuator comprises:

an evacuator trough defining an aperture; and

a fluid mover disposed in fluid communication with the evacuator trough aperture, the fluid mover drawing wash fluid though the evacuator trough aperture for delivery to a wash fluid destination.

10. The wash pad of claim 9, wherein the wash fluid destination comprises at least one of a fluid treatment system and fluid recirculation system.

11. The wash pad of claim 9, wherein the evacuator comprises a debris collector disposed over the evacuator trough aperture.

12. The wash pad of claim 11, further comprising driven flights arranged to scrape away debris collected on the debris collector.

13. The wash pad of claim 1, wherein the wash floor defines channels for receiving at least one of wash fluid and debris, the channels in fluid communication with the catch trough.

14. The wash pad of claim 1, wherein the wash floor channels are inclined at an angle of between about 1 degree and about 60 degrees with respect to level ground for promoting at least one of wash fluid and debris movement toward the catch trough.

15. A wash pad comprising:

a wash floor for supporting a wash item;

a catch trough disposed in fluid communication with the wash floor, the catch trough collecting at least one of wash fluid and debris from the wash floor;

an evacuator disposed in fluid communication with the catch trough, the evacuator substantially removing wash fluid received from the catch trough, the evacuator comprising;

a debris collector; and

a fluid mover in fluid communication with the debris collector for drawing fluid through the debris collector, the debris collector configured to collect non-fluid debris; and

an elevator disposed in fluid communication with the evacuator, the elevator removing debris from the debris collector and elevating the removed debris from a collection height to a dump height for dumping.

16. The wash pad of claim 15, wherein the debris collector comprises a screen.

17. The wash pad of claim 16, wherein the screen is disposed substantially flush with a catch trough surface.

18. The wash pad of claim 15, further comprising a conveyor disposed along at least one of the catch trough and the elevator, the conveyor having flights that move at least one of the wash fluid and the debris collected in the trough to the evacuator.

19. The wash pad of claim 18, wherein the conveyer flights scrape collected debris off of the debris collector for elevation and dumping by the elevator.

20. The wash pad of claim 18, wherein the conveyor flights move scraped debris from the debris collector to the dump height for dumping.

21. The wash pad of claim 18, further comprising a conveyer drive disposed at one of a dumping end of the elevator and a free end of the catch trough, a conveyer idler disposed at the other of the dumping end and the free end, the conveyer comprising a continuous loop arranged about the conveyer drive and the conveyer idler, the conveyer drive driving the conveyer to move debris collected along the catch trough along a first direction of the continuous loop over the evacuator and up the elevator to the dumping end for dumping, the conveyer returning in an opposite direction of the continuous loop to the free end of the catch trough.

22. The wash pad of claim 18, wherein the conveyer comprises a plurality of articulated sections.

23. The wash pad of claim 15, wherein the evacuator is connected to one end of the catch trough, the catch trough arranged to cause fluid flow towards the evacuator.

24. The wash pad of claim 15, wherein the catch trough extends along an entire length of the wash pad.

25. A conveyer system for a wash pad, the conveyer system comprising:

a catch trough having at least one portion connectable to a wash floor of the wash pad, the catch trough collecting at least one of wash fluid and debris from the wash floor;

an evacuator disposed in fluid communication with the catch trough, the evacuator substantially removing wash fluid received from the catch trough;

an elevator disposed in fluid communication with the evacuator, the elevator elevating debris from a collection height to a dump height for dumping; and

a conveyer disposed along the catch trough and the elevator, the conveyer moving at least debris along the catch trough at the collection height and elevating the debris to the dump height for dumping.

26. The conveyer system of claim 25, further comprising a conveyer drive disposed at one of a dumping end of the elevator and a free end of the catch trough, a conveyer idler disposed at the other of the dumping end and the free end, the conveyer comprising a continuous loop arranged about the conveyer drive and the conveyer idler, the conveyer drive driving the conveyer to move debris collected along the catch trough along a first direction of the continuous loop over the evacuator and up the elevator to the dumping end for dumping, the conveyer returning in an opposite direction of the continuous loop to the free end of the catch trough.

28. The conveyer system of claim 25, wherein the conveyor comprises flights that move at least one of the wash fluid and the debris collected in the trough to the evacuator.

29. The conveyer system of claim 28, wherein the conveyer flights scrape collected debris off of the evacuator for elevation and dumping by the elevator.

30. The conveyer system of claim 28, wherein the conveyor flights move scraped debris from the evacuator to the dump height for dumping.

31. The conveyer system of claim 25, wherein the evacuator is connected to one end of the catch trough, the catch trough arranged to cause fluid flow towards the evacuator.

32. The conveyer system of claim 25, wherein the evacuator comprises:

an evacuator trough defining an aperture; and

a fluid mover disposed in fluid communication with the evacuator trough aperture, the fluid mover drawing wash fluid though the evacuator trough aperture for delivery to a wash fluid destination.

33. The conveyer system of claim 32, wherein the wash fluid destination comprises at least one of a fluid treatment system and fluid recirculation system.

34. The conveyer system of claim 32, wherein the evacuator comprises a debris collector disposed over the evacuator trough aperture.

27. The conveyer system of claim 27, wherein the elevator is arranged to support the conveyer at angle of between about 10 degrees and about 90 degrees with respect to the catch trough.

35. A method of washing a debris carrying item on a wash pad, the method comprising:

placing the item on a wash floor of the wash pad;

using wash fluid to remove the debris from the item;

collecting at least one of the wash fluid and debris in a catch trough disposed in fluid communication with the wash floor;

moving at least one of the wash fluid and debris to an evacuator disposed in fluid communication with the catch trough, the evacuator substantially removing wash fluid received from the catch trough; and

elevating debris from a collection height to a dump height for dumping.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising disposing the catch trough in fluid communication with a longitudinal central portion of the wash floor.

37. The method of claim 35, further comprising using a conveyer disposed along the catch trough and the elevator for moving at least debris along the catch trough at the collection height and elevating the debris to the dump height for dumping.

38. The method of claim 35, further comprising moving a conveyer disposed along at least one of the catch trough and the elevator to move debris collected on the evacuator to the elevator.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising moving a flight of a conveyer disposed along at least one of the catch trough and the elevator to scrape collected debris off of the evacuator.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising moving a flight of the conveyer to move the scraped debris to the dump height for dumping.

41. The method of claim 35, wherein the elevator comprises a housing having an entrance connected to the evacuator and an exit at the dump height, the housing comprising conveyer guides for guiding the conveyer from the housing entrance to the housing exit.

42. The method of claim 35, further comprising arranging the elevator to support the conveyer at angle of between about 10 degrees and about 90 degrees with respect to the catch trough.

43. The method of claim 35, further comprising arranging the catch trough to extend along an entire length of the wash pad.

44. The method of claim 35, further comprising arranging the wash floor to have at least one portion inclined at an angle of between about 1 degree and about 30 degrees with respect to level ground, the wash floor being inclined to promote at least one of wash fluid and debris movement toward the catch trough.

45. The method of claim 35, further comprising arranging the evacuator to be connected to one end of the catch trough, and arranging the catch trough to cause fluid flow towards the evacuator.

46. The method of claim 35, wherein the evacuator comprises:

an evacuator trough defining an aperture; and

a fluid mover disposed in fluid communication with the evacuator trough aperture, the fluid mover drawing wash fluid though the evacuator trough aperture for delivery to a wash fluid destination.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising delivering the wash fluid removed by the evacuator to at least one of a fluid treatment system and fluid recirculation system.

48. The method of claim 46, further comprising arranging a debris collector over the evacuator trough aperture.