Liquid containment system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9745124-B2
Application number	US-201514720799-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 24, 2015
Priority date	Mar 8, 2013
Publication date	Aug 29, 2017
Grant date	Aug 29, 2017

Abstract

System for preventing the leakage of liquid from an outdoor work-site around the perimeter of the work-site includes a load-supporting surface having at least two adjacent mats and a plurality of berm members configured to be disposed around the perimeter of the load-supporting surface.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for preventing the leakage of liquid from an outdoor work-site onto the ground around a perimeter of the work-site, the system comprising:
a load-supporting surface having an upper surface and including at least two adjacent, reusable mats forming a perimeter thereof, said perimeter of said load-supporting surface including at least four sides, said load-supporting surface being arranged and adapted to support the weight of people, vehicles and equipment thereupon, each said mat being constructed of impermeable plastic;
a plurality of berm members configured to be positioned at least partially around said perimeter of said load-supporting surface, extend upwardly relative to said-mats and prevent liquid disposed upon said upper surface of said load-supporting surface from leaking off of said load-supporting surface around said perimeter of said load-supporting surface; and
at least one liquid drain assembly releasably engageable with said load-supporting surface and configured to collect liquid disposed upon said load-supporting surface and provide controlled drainage of liquid off of said load-supporting surface.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said perimeter of said load-supporting surface includes at least first and second said perimeter sides each having an upper lip extending horizontally outwardly therefrom and configured to be spaced above the ground, and at least third and fourth said perimeter sides each having a lower lip extending horizontally outwardly therefrom and configured to rest on the ground, further including a plurality of flat spacers, each said spacer having a first section configured to be positioned below said upper lip of at least one among said first and second perimeter sides of said load-supporting surface and a second section extending horizontally outwardly from said first section and configured to extend beyond said corresponding upper lip.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein each said mat is sealingly engaged with each respective adjacent said mat to form a liquid-tight seal therebetween and each said berm member is sealing engaged with each respective adjacent said mat and each respective adjacent said berm member to form a respective liquid-tight seal therebetween, wherein said load-supporting surface and said berm members are configured to preventing the leakage of liquid from the outdoor work-site onto the ground without the need for any liners disposed beneath or adjacent to said load-supporting surface.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said load-supporting surface includes at least one outer edge extending therearound and each said berm member is configured to sealing engage a portion of said at least one outer edge.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said perimeter of said load-supportingsurface including a corner formed at the intersection of each adjacent said side thereof, further wherein said plurality of berm members includes a plurality of elongated linear berm members and a plurality of corner berm members, said elongated linear berm members being configured to be positioned on the first, second, third and fourth perimeter sides of said load-supporting surface, said corner berm members being configured to be positioned on the corners of said load-supporting surface between two of said linear berm members.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of berm members includes at least one drive-over berm member, each said drive-over berm member being configured to be driven over by vehicles moving onto and off of said load-supporting surface.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said at least one drive-over berm member is configured to be releasably engageable with at least one other said berm member on said perimeter of said load-supporting surface, each said drive-over berm member including an elongated, upwardly-angled ramp.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein each said berm member includes first and second ends and a plurality of laterally-oriented holes formed therein at each end thereof, further including at least one releasable fastener configured to extend through one of said laterally-oriented holes at said first end of a first said berm member and one of said laterally-oriented holes at said second end of a second said berm member.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein each said berm member is configured to at least partially extend above said upper surface of said load-supporting surface by at least 12 inches.

10. A system for preventing the leakage of liquid from an outdoor work-site onto the ground around a perimeter of the work-site, the system comprising:
a load-supporting surface having an upper surface and including at least two adjacent, reusable mats forming a perimeter thereof, said perimeter of said load-supporting surface including at least four sides, at least first and second said perimeter sides each having an upper lip extending horizontally outwardly therefrom and configured to be spaced above the ground, and at least third and fourth said perimeter sides each having a lower lip extending horizontally outwardly therefrom and configured to rest on the ground, said load-supporting surface being arranged and adapted to support the weight of people, vehicles and equipment thereupon;
a plurality of spacers separate and distinct from said mats, each said spacer having a first section configured to be positioned below said upper lip of at least one among said first and second perimeter sides of said load-supporting surface and a second section extending horizontally outwardly from said first section and configured to extend beyond said corresponding upper lip; and
a plurality of berm members configured to be positioned around said perimeter of said load-supporting surface and extend upwardly relative to said mats, wherein at least some of said berm members are configured to rest at least partially atop said respective second sections of at least some of said spacers.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein each said berm member includes front and rear portions, each said front and rear portion having a respective bottom surface, wherein said bottom surface of said front portion is higher relative to said bottom surface of said rear portion, said rear portion of each said berm member being configured to be positioned at least partially atop at least one among said second section of at least one said spacer and at least one lower lip of said third or fourth perimeter sides of said load-supporting surface.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein each said mat includes a plurality of locking pin holes extending therethrough, each said berm member includes at least one locking pin hole extending therethrough and each said spacer includes at least one locking pin hole extending therethrough, further including a plurality of releasable locking pins, each said locking pin being configured to extend through and releasably couple together an adjacent pair of said locking pin holes in any among an adjacent pair of said mats, one of said mats and either an adjacent said berm member or an adjacent said spacer, and one of said berm members and an adjacent said spacer.

13. The system of claim 10 further including at least one liquid drain assembly releasably engaged with said load-supporting surface and configured to collect liquid disposed upon and provide controlled drainage of liquid off of said load-supporting surface.

14. The system of claim 10 wherein each said berm member includes a plurality of back supports configured to provide rigidity to at least part of said berm member.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein each said berm member includes at least

Assignees

• Newpark Mats & Integrated Services Llc

Inventors

• Mcdowell James Kerwin

Classifications

• B65D90/26

  Overfill prevention · CPC title

• E02B8/04

  Valves, slides, or the like; {Arrangements therefor;} Submerged sluice gates · CPC title

• E01H1/001

  Treatment of dispersed oil or similar pollution on roads, for instance devices for applying treating agents (hydraulic loosening or removal of liquids E01H1/10; from surface of open water E02B15/04) · CPC title

• E02D31/002

  Ground foundation measures for protecting the soil or subsoil water, e.g. preventing or counteracting oil pollution (not used, see subgroups and E02D31/00) · CPC title

• E01C9/086 Primary

  made of concrete, wood, bitumen, rubber or synthetic material or a combination thereof · CPC title