Abstract:
A collapsible drive-on containment basin configured to retain a collection of hazardous materials is presented. In one embodiment, the collapsible drive-on containment basin includes a non-porous liner that comprises a plurality of fastening mechanisms and a plurality of elongated barriers. Initially, the containment basin may be in a collapsed state and later expanded as part of an effort to prevent the spread of hazardous materials at a job site, particularly to prevent the spread of hazardous materials coming from vehicles and machinery. Once in an expanded state, operators can drive vehicles on and off the collapsible drive-on containment basin. Thus, the collapsible drive-on containment basin reduces the amount of time spent preparing a job location against the potential spread of hazardous materials.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of, and priority to, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/172,323, entitled “Collapsible Drive-On Containment Basin,” and filed on Jun. 8, 2015, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Environmental containers may be used to contain hazardous materials at various job locations, such as at maintenance shops, field locations, drilling sites for oil and gas wells, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, user facilities, etc. In this context, environmental containers may be brought to the job location to prevent the spread of contaminants, such as spilled oil or gas, in the environment. Potential sources of hazardous spills may be vehicles, trucks, tankers, frac tanks, and other equipment used at a job location. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a collapsible drive-on containment basin according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an example of the collapsible drive-one containment basin shown in  FIG. 1  in an unassembled state according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example of the collapsible drive-one containment basin shown in  FIG. 1  in an assembled state according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present disclosure relates to a collapsible drive-on containment basin that may be used to retain hazardous materials. Work crews may use several vehicles and pieces of equipment that handle hazardous materials at various job locations, such as at maintenance shops, field locations, drilling sites for oil and gas wells, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, user facilities, etc. Spills of hazardous materials may occur due to improper handling of materials, equipment malfunctions, vehicle malfunctions, vehicle leaks, or operator errors. 
     An operator may prepare the job location by setting up environmental containment items. These environmental containment items may be arranged to catch potential leaks that may occur while the operator is performing his or her job responsibilities. In some scenarios, setting up environmental containment items to catch spills from large vehicles and equipment may call for several containment items to be used to cover the area under a large truck or piece of equipment. An operator may arrange the multiple environmental containment items in such a way to ensure there are no gaps for spills to fall between. It may take a relatively long period of time to prepare a job location in this manner. However, described herein is an environmental drive-on containment basin that provides a solution that may reduce the amount of time spent protecting a job location against potential hazardous spills from vehicles and machinery. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , shown is an example of a collapsible drive-on containment basin  101  according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. According to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101  comprises a non-porous liner  103 , a first elongated barrier  106   a , a second elongated barrier  106   b , a third elongated barrier  106   c , and a fourth elongated barrier  106   d  (collectively “the elongated barriers  106 ”). 
     The non-porous liner  103  is configured to collect and retain hazardous materials, such as various types of fuel, chemicals, and hydrocarbons. The non-porous liner  103  may be configured in numerous shapes and comprised of various materials. A rectangular shape may be used to provide containment of spills caused by vehicles brought to a job location. Alternatively, the non-porous liner  103  may be configured in a square shape to provide containment of spills caused by various types of machinery. In some embodiments, the non-porous liner  103  comprises a desiccant pad and a polyethylene bottom layer. In addition, the non-porous liner  103  may comprise a plurality of fastening mechanisms, such as tie-offs and hook and loop fasteners. The fastening mechanisms may be connected along the edges of the non-porous liner  103 . Each of the fastening mechanisms may be used to connect one of the elongated barriers  106  to an edge of the non-porous liner  103 . For example, in some embodiments, multiple fastening mechanisms may be used to connect four elongated barriers  106  along the edges of a rectangular non-porous liner  103 . 
     The elongated barriers  106  are configured to assist in the retention of hazardous materials on the non-porous liner  103  by serving as a barrier along the edges by forming a retention barrier. The elongated barriers  106  may be configured in numerous shapes and may be comprised of a pliable material. In some embodiments, an elongated barrier  106  may be manufactured in a cylindrical shape and composed of a foam material. In other embodiments, the elongated barrier  106  may require some assembly before the elongated barrier  106  can be secured to the non-porous liner  103 . For example, the elongated barrier  106  may include multiple rod-shaped parts that may be connected to form a longer barrier. Alternatively, the elongated barrier  106  may be comprised of a malleable material that is initially in a compressed state, and the elongated barrier  106  may be expanded by folding the parts of the elongated barrier  106  until it is fully expanded. In some embodiments, the elongated barrier  106  may not require any assembly. 
     Next, a description of the operation of the various components of the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101  is provided. As described above, before an operator may begin working, a job site may be prepared to prevent the spread of hazardous materials into the environment. In this context, potential sources of hazardous spills may be vehicles, trucks, tankers, frac tanks, and equipment. A collapsible drive-on containment basin  101  may be transported to the job site in a collapsed state. After arriving at the job site, the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101  may be deployed by removing the various components from a traveling bag. The various components may be initially in a collapsed state. 
     The non-porous liner  103  may be unfolded by pivoting a portion of the non-porous liner  103  away from another portion of the non-porous liner  103 . This action may be repeated until the non-porous liner  103  has reached an expanded state in the shape of a rectangle. Next, each of the four elongated barriers  106  may individually be assembled by aligning shorter components and connecting them to each. Thereafter, the four elongated barriers  106  may be connected to the non-porous liner  103  via the fastening mechanisms. In one embodiment, tie-offs may be used to secure one elongated barrier  106  to each of the four edges of the non-porous liner  103 . Then, the four elongated barriers  106  may be connected to each other. At this point, an operator may drive a truck over one of the elongated barriers  106  of the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101 . The operator will stop the truck once the entire area of ground underneath the vehicle is covered by the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101 . 
     Now, any liquid spills or leaks occurring underneath the vehicle will be captured by the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101 . Likewise, the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101  will collect any spillage occurring as a result of machinery operating on the truck. After a job assignment is complete, the operator may drive the truck over one of the elongated barriers  106  to exit the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101 . The operator may reverse the steps discussed above to collapse the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 2 , shown is an example of the collapsible drive-one containment basin shown in  FIG. 1  in an unassembled state. In particular,  FIG. 2  illustrates the various components of the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101  for one embodiment, among others. According to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101  includes the non-porous liner  103 , the first elongated barrier  106   a , the second elongated barrier  106   b , the third elongated barrier  106   c , and the fourth elongated barrier  106   d.    
     The non-porous liner  103  may comprise a first end, a second end, a third end, and a fourth end. The non-porous liner  103  may also include a first hook-and-loop fastener strip  206 , such as a Velcro® strip, attached to the first end, a second hook-and-loop fastener strip  209 , such as a Velcro® strip, attached to the second end, a third hook-and-loop fastener strip  212 , such as a Velcro® strip, attached to the third end, and a fourth hook-and-loop fastener strip  215 , such as a Velcro® strip, attached to the fourth end. 
     In addition, the non-porous liner  103  may include a first set of tie-offs  218  attached to the first end, a second set of tie-offs  221  attached to the second end, a third set of tie-offs  224  attached to the third end, and a fourth set of tie-offs  227  attached to the fourth end. The non-porous liner  103  may also include a first closable flap  230  attached to the first end, a second closable flap  233  attached to the second end, a third closable flap  236  attached to the third end, a fourth closable flap  239  attached to the fourth end. 
     The first closable flap  230  comprises a first inside hook-and-loop fastener strip  242 , such as a Velcro® strip. The second closable flap  233  comprises a second inside hook-and-loop fastener strip  245 , such as a Velcro® strip. The third closable flap  236  comprises a third inside hook-and-loop fastener strip  248 , such as a Velcro® strip, and the fourth closable flap  239  comprises a fourth inside hook-and-loop fastener strip  251 , such as a Velcro® strip. 
     Next, a description of the operation of the various components of the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101  is provided. To begin, the collapsible drive-on containment basin  101  can be assembled by positioning the first elongated barrier  106   a  along the first end of the non-porous liner  103 . In turn, the first elongated barrier  106   a  will be positioned next to the first hook-and-loop fastener strip  206 . The first elongated barrier  106   a  can be attached to the first end of the non-porous liner  103  using the first set of tie-offs  218 . The first closable flap  230  can be wrapped around a portion of the first elongated barrier  106   a . The first closable flap  230  can be attached to the first end of the non-porous liner  103 . In one embodiment, among others, the first closable flap  230  is attached by joining the first inside hook-and-loop fastener strip  242  to the first hook-and-loop fastener strip  206  of the non-porous liner  103 . As one skilled in the art can appreciate, the second elongated barrier  106   b , the third elongated barrier  106   c , and the fourth elongated barrier  106   d  can be attached to the non-porous liner  103  in a similar manner as described above with respect to the first elongated barrier  106   a.    
     In some embodiments, the elongated barriers  106  are attached to each other to form a square or rectangular shape. For example, each of the elongate barriers  106  may comprise a first end with a male connector and a second end with a female connector. The female connector  254  of the first elongated barrier  106   a  may be connected to the male connector  257  of the fourth elongated barrier  106   d . In this non-limiting example, the elongated barriers  106  may be comprised of a pliable material. Thus, each of the elongated barriers  106  can be bent at the ends to connect with another elongated barrier  106  while also attached to the non-porous liner  103 . When attached to each other, the elongated barriers  106  form a retainer barrier for liquids, solids, and other materials. 
     Turning to  FIG. 3 , shown is an example of the collapsible drive-one containment basin shown in  FIG. 1  in a fully assembled state. Specifically, the illustrated embodiment shows each of the elongated barriers  106  inside of a respective closable flap.  FIG. 3  also illustrates the first elongated barrier  106   a  connected to the second elongated barrier  106   b  and the second elongated barrier  106   b  connected to the third elongated barrier  106   c . The third elongated barrier  106   c  is connected to the fourth elongated barrier  106   d . The elongated barriers  106  are connected to each by bending the ends and inserting one into the other. For example, one end of the first elongated barrier  106   a  can be inserted into another end of the second elongated barrier  106   b . The connection of the two elongated barriers  106  forms a corner connection. In the illustrated embodiment, the corner connection is attached to the non-porous liner  103  via a corner hook-and-loop fastener strip  303 , such as a Velcro® strip. 
     The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations to set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. 
     Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may be either X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z). Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and should not, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present. 
     It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.