Abstract:
A portable hose bridge for use in spanning a flexible wall of a portable spillage container so as to prevent the hose or other equipment extending from the container from distorting the flexible wall of the container and impairing the environmental integrity of the container. The hose bridge includes a pair of perpendicularly disposed archways, a pair of perpendicularly disposed and differently sized saddles disposed above and extending parallel to the archways and four support legs bordering the archways for securely supporting and positioning the bridge such that one of the archways extends along and over a portion of the spillage container wall and one of the saddles extends perpendicular to and above the wall for carrying a hose or other equipment over the wall.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Portable spillage containers, also known as portable berms, are commonly used under tanks, pumps, boxes and other portable equipment to capture leaking liquids or solids and contain the leakage to protect the environment from contamination. These portable spillage containers typically comprise a flooring and upstanding perimeter wall and are constructed of a lightweight flexible material so that they can be easily transported and deployed. The equipment typically disposed within the walls of these containers often have hoses, cables and pipes extending therefrom to locations or other equipment located outside the walls of the spillage container. When these hoses or other connections pass over the flexible wall of the container, they may cause the wall to collapse and compromise the integrity of the container by providing an escape path for the contained material. It would therefore be desirable to provide a bridge for spanning the flexible wall of the spillage container that could carry the various hoses, cables and pipes over the container wall to preserve the integrity of the spillage container. Such a device should be light in weight so as to be readily portable, be able to fit in tight areas, yet be very stable so that the bridge is not easily upset or overturned by the movement of the hose or other equipment carried thereby during use. The bridge also should be configured to accommodate hoses, cables, pipes and any other equipment of different sizes and to prevent such equipment from being readily dislodged from the bridge during use and falling onto the containment wall. 
     The present invention provides such a bridge. 
     In addition to spanning spillage containment walls and providing the above-described portability, stability and versatility, it also would be desirable if such a bridge could be configured such that it could cooperate with one or more other such bridges and with one or more lateral extensions to provide a versatile and lightweight elevated temporary system for supporting hoses, cable and pipe over varying paths and distances above the ground. Such a system could keep hose, cable and pipe elevated above wet ground surfaces. It could eliminate abrasion and chemical damage to hoses by keeping high pressure hoses out of water and chemicals as, for example, during hydro-blasting. It also could be used to provide a versatile elevated hose support to eliminate acute bending in the hose in those applications involving elevated connections (e.g. elevated water tank) where the weight of the hose can put an undue loading stress on the hose connections and can cause kinking in the hose. The present invention also provides such a support system. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly, the present invention comprises a portable hose bridge for use in spanning the wall of a portable spillage container so as to prevent hoses and other equipment extending from the containers from collapsing or distorting the wall of the containers and compromising the environmental integrity of the containers. The hose bridge of the present invention is of a durable, light weight, and single piece construction, preferably rectangular in configuration and defines a pair of perpendicularly disposed archways for spanning the wall in two different orientations, a pair of perpendicularly disposed and preferably differently sized saddles disposed above and extending parallel to the archways for carrying one or more hoses or other equipment over the wall, and four support legs bordering the archways for securely supporting and positioning the bridge such that one of the archways extends along and over a portion of the spillage container wall, orienting one of the saddles perpendicular to and above the container wall. So positioned, the saddle can receive and support one or more hoses, cables, pipes or other connections and direct those connections over the container wall without distorting the wall and adversely affecting the integrity of the spillage container. By providing the bridge with a rectangular configuration and differently sized saddles, a larger saddle can be disposed over the container wall in a highly stable position for most applications to best support and secure the particular hose or other connection or connections to be extended from the container over the container wall, thereby minimizing the chance of the bridge being overturned on the hose or other items thereon being inadvertently pulled from the saddle during use and collapsing the container wall. However, for applications in which space adjacent the container wall is very limited, the bridge can be rotated ninety degrees such that the shorter side of the bridge spans the wall and the second saddle spans the container wall to support the hose and/or other equipment. 
     In certain applications, it is necessary to support more hoses and/or other equipment from the spillage container area over the container wall that then can be securely carried by the larger of the two saddles formed by the bridge. Accordingly, the bridge is preferably provided with a plurality of support surfaces proximate one of the saddles therein that are adapted to receive correspondingly configured surfaces on an equipment support tray whereby the tray can be securely carried by a pair of the hose bridges so as to provide a larger elevated support over the container wall or an extended elevated support in applications where it is desirable to maintain equipment above the ground. 
     It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a durable lightweight bridge for supporting hoses, piping and cables over the flexible wall of a portable spillage container without distorting the wall and adversely affecting the integrity of the container. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide such a bridge which is particularly adapted to securely support hoses, piping and cables of different sizes so as to reduce the likelihood of a hose or other connection or connections being carried thereby from being dislodged from the bridge during use and falling onto the container wall. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a bridge that is that occupies minimal space during use yet is very stable as hoses or other equipment are moved thereon. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a bridge which is of simple construction, chemically resistant and economical to manufacture. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a highly portable device for supporting hoses and cables in an elevated position where the weight of the hose and/or cable would otherwise cause excessive loading on the hose and/or cable connections and/or acute bending in the hose and/or cable sufficient to damage the hose and/or cable. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a bridge which is adaptable for use with one or more such bridges and lateral extensions to provide a highly versatile and lightweight elevated temporary support for use in a wide variety of applications wherein it is desirable to raise the hose, pipe and/or cable or other equipment carried thereby off the ground and support the elevated hose, pipe and/or cable over varying paths and distances. 
     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a bridge which is configured to nest with other such bridges to reduce the cost of storage and shipping. 
    
    
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the hose bridge of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment of the hose bridge of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the hose bridge of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is an end view of the preferred embodiment of the hose bridge of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line  5 — 5  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the hose bridge of the present invention in use carrying a large discharge hose over a spillage container wall. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a hose/cable support tray used with the bridge of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line  8 — 8  in FIG.  7 . 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the use of a pair of hose bridges of the present invention with a hose/cable support tray. 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the hose bridge of the present invention. 
     FIG. 11 is a plan view of the second embodiment of the hose bridge of the present invention. 
     FIG. 12 is a side view of the second embodiment of the hose bridge of the present invention. 
     FIG. 13 is an end view of the second embodiment of the hose bridge of the present invention. 
     FIG. 14 is a side view of a plurality of nested hose bridges. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now in detail to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the hose bridge  10  of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1-6. Bridge  10  is preferably constructed of either high density, low density or crosslink polyethylene resin so as to render the bridge durable, light in weight and chemical resistant. The bridge  10  defines a first archway  12 , a second archway  14 , a first primary saddle  16 , a second saddle  18  and four support legs  20 - 26 . The first archway  12  is defined by aligned arches  12 A and  12 B and is perpendicularly disposed with respect to the second archway  14  formed by aligned arches  14 A and  14 B. Arches  12 A and  12 B each define a vertical height H and a transverse opening W greater than the height h and opening w defined by arches  14 A and  14 B. While the exact dimensions of the archways are not critical, in one example of bridge  10 , H=17{fraction (17/32)} in., W=42{fraction (3/32)} in., h equals 12 in. and w equals 20{fraction (7/32)} in. The primary saddle  16  has an arcuate contour defined by a segment of a constant radius circle 13½ in. in diameter. The second smaller saddle  18  is formed by and disposed between curvilinear surfaces  18 A and  18 B and has an arcuate contour defined by a segment of a constant radius circle of about 8⅝ in. in diameter. Thus, the primary saddle  16  is relatively deep and extends substantially the major length of the bridge to provide excellent support and securement for a single hose  19  up to twelve inches in diameter or one or more smaller hoses, cables, pipes or other equipment. Saddle  18  is configured to support hoses up to about six to eight inches in diameter. To provide bridge  10  with a highly stable platform, the support legs  20 - 26  are all inclined outwardly in two dimensions and terminate at their lower ends in feet 20′-26′, each foot defining a footprint of about 5¾ in. by about 12½ inches. 
     In use, the portable bridge  10  is preferably positioned over a portion of the upstanding wall  30  of a portable spillage container  32  such that the arches  12 A and  12 B span wall  30  as seen in FIG.  6 . As the height H of the arches and the elevation of the bottom of saddle  16  are sufficient to clear a conventional spillage container wall  30 , typically about twelve in. high, the bridge  10  and hose  19  or other object or objects carried by the bridge will clear the container wall without distorting the wall and adversely impacting the integrity of the spillage container  32 . In this position, the bridge is oriented such that the larger primary saddle  16  is disposed perpendicularly to the container wall  30  to provide excellent nesting and support of the hose  19  in the bridge  10 . The height H of the arches  12 A and  12 B are sufficient to provide adequate wall clearance and a highly stable platform is provided due to wide footprint provided by the rectangular configuration of the bridge, the outwardly inclined legs  20 - 26  and the relatively large support feet 20′-26′: In applications where minimal space is available to accommodate the bridge  10  adjacent the container wall, the bridge could be rotated such that arches  14 A and  14 B span the container wall  30  so as to shorten the distance the bridge extends beyond the wall, whereupon the smaller saddle  18  would be aligned perpendicular to the wall  30  for carrying a base or other equipment. While saddle  18  is neither as wide or deep as saddle  16 , it still provides a nesting support for hoses up to about eight inches in diameter and thus is well suited for a great majority of spillage container applications, whose space is at a premium, thereby significantly increasing the versatility of the bridge  10 . 
     In addition to providing a versatile configuration for carrying hoses and other items of varying sizes over a flexible container wall, the preferred embodiment of bridge  10  allows multiple bridges to be nested or stacked together to reduce shipping and storage costs. This is achieved by tapering the legs  20 - 26  and the outer surfaces of archways  12  and  14  outwardly and downwardly as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, the exterior surfaces of one of bridges  10  will mate with the interior surfaces thereof move to the desired nesting or stacking. 
     The bridge  10  also is preferably provided with a pair of recessed surfaces  40  laterally adjacent each of the end portions of the primary saddle  16  that are adapted to receive correspondingly configured depending ears  42  on a hose/cable tray  44  illustrated in FIGS. 7-9 to provide a highly versatile and portable hose, pipe and cable support system. Two of the bridges  10  can be used in conjunction with the tray  44  to support one or more hoses, cables, pipes or other equipment above the ground over longer distances than can be accomplished with single bridge  10 . For example, when it is desirable to keep the hoses, cables, pipes or other equipment off a muddy ground or out of water or chemicals on the ground surface, the hose or other equipment can be extended over a container wall  30  with a single bridge and carried above the ground to a desired location by one or more pairs of bridges  10  carrying support trays  44 . Such a support system could, of course, be used to provide an elevated support of desired length and configuration when no containment wall is present. The support tray  44  is preferably concave between a pair of lateral support ridges  46  from which ears  42  depend and is preferably additionally provided with a plurality of equidistantly spaced support ribs  48  disposed between ribs  46  (see FIGS.  7  and  8 ). It is to be understood that other tray configurations and means of securing the trays  44  to the bridges  10  could be employed. Thus, tray  44  provides a support surface  50  similar in cross-section to saddle  16  to securely support one or more hoses or other items thereon. For certain applications, e.g., a temporary elevated pipe support system, the use of the elongated trays  44  may not be necessary as a plurality of aligned bridges  10  and saddles would provide the necessary support and securement due to the rigidity in the pipe and the shape of the aligned saddles. 
     An alternate embodiment of the present invention for carrying smaller hoses than bridge  10  is illustrated in FIGS. 10-13. The hose bridge  100  illustrated therein is of a square configuration and includes perpendicularly a disposed saddles  116  and  118 . By way of example, saddle  116 , has an arcuate contour defined by a segment of a constant radius circle of about 6⅝′, terminating in outwardly inclined wall portions  116 ′. Saddle  118  has an arcuate contour defined by a segment of a constant radius inch of about 4⅝ in., terminating in outwardly inclined wall portions  118 ′. In one embodiment of hose bridge  100  having these hose saddle sizes, the bridge measures 30 inches on each side and has an archway clearance of about 13 inches. While highly suitable for carrying smaller hoses over a spillage container wall, if the scale of bridge  100  were increased to that of bridge  10  to accommodate larger hoses, the overall elevation of the bridge would be such as to decrease its stability during use. Accordingly, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the bridge  10  is of a rectangular configuration and employs a secondary saddle  18  of substantially reduced size. 
     Various changes and modifications may be made in carrying out the present invention. Insofar as these changes and modifications are within the purview of the appended claims, they are to be considered as part of the present invention.