Patent Abstract:
An inexpensive and replaceable fluid absorbing device for capturing fluid leaked from a machined assembly such as an oil pan or transmission is described. The device includes an absorbent material that absorbs the leaked fluid, which is attached to the first mounting strip and the first mounting strip is attached to a second mounting strip. The second mounting strip is attached to an exterior portion of the machined assembly. When the first mounting strip is attached to the second mounting strip, the absorbent material is positioned at a location where fluid leaked from the machined assembly is absorbed by the absorbent material. Once saturated with fluid, the device can be removed by simply detaching the first mounting strip from the second mounting strip and a new device can be attached.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/207,053 filed May 25, 2000. 
     
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    The invention relates generally to the field of fluid absorbing devices, and more particularly to a device for attaching to an oil pan or transmission pan to absorb oil or transmission fluid that leaks from the gasket seals of these component parts.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Virtually all fossil-fuel-powered land vehicles, such as automobiles, trucks, buses, trains, tractors, and motorcycles, have engines that are internally lubricated with oil. Typically, an oil pan is mounted to the bottom of the engine, and an oil pump is disposed within or near the oil pan. While the engine is not running, the pan acts as a reservoir for the oil. While the engine is running, the oil pump circulates the oil from the pan up into the cylinders and other internal regions of the engine in need of lubrication, and then the oil flows back into the pan and is again circulated by the pump.  
           [0004]    Unfortunately, the oil often leaks from various regions of the engine and drips onto the ground. For example, common regions from which oil may leak are the gasket seal between the rocker-arm covers and the engine, the main-bearing seals, and the gasket seal between the oil pan and the engine. Although these gaskets and seals are intended to provide a leak-proof seal, they often break down over time and allow oil to leak. Typically, this leaking oil flows down the sides of the engine, onto and down the sides of the oil pan, and then drips from the oil pan onto the ground. While the vehicle is moving, the air flow beneath the vehicle may blow the dripping oil onto other portions of the vehicle, such as a rear wheel differential. The blown oil may then drip to the ground from that portion of the vehicle.  
           [0005]    One problem with the dripping engine oil is that it often creates a dirty, greasy, or slick area on the surface over which the car is parked. For example, such areas are clearly visible in most public parking spaces and private garages.  
           [0006]    Another problem is that the dripping oil, whether it drips onto a parking surface or a roadway, often pollutes the environment as rain washes it into the soil or water ways. In fact, many consider dripping engine oil a serious environmental hazard.  
           [0007]    In addition, types of oil other than engine oil may drip from a vehicle and cause problems similar to those discussed above. For example, transmission oil may leak from regions of the transmission including the gasket seal between the transmission oil pan and the transmission housing. The leaking transmission oil flows onto the transmission oil pan, and then drips or is blown from the transmission oil pan onto the ground. Likewise, differential oil may leak from regions of the rear-wheel differential including the gasket seal between the front and rear portions of the differential housing. The leaking differential oil drips or is blown from the differential housing onto the ground.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    In one aspect of the invention, an oil-drip catcher includes an oil-absorbent material that is removably attachable to a region near an oil-pan or other type of machined assembly having a fluid retaining joint, such as a seal or gasket. The material absorbs the oil that leaks from the joint gasket or from other places above the gasket before the leaking oil can drip to the ground. One can replace the material when it becomes saturated with oil.  
           [0009]    One advantage of such an oil-drip catcher is that because it can be positioned near and beneath an oil-pan gasket, the catcher can absorb leaking oil before it can drip or be blown onto the ground. Furthermore, such an oil-drip catcher is relatively inexpensive, easy to install, easy to replace, and can remain on the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    FIGS.  1 - 4  are views of an oil-drip catcher attached to an engine oil pan according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the oil-drip catcher of FIGS.  1 - 4  according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIGS. 6 and 7 are views of an oil-drip catcher attached to a transmission oil pan according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 8 is a side view of an oil-drip catcher that can be used for the oil-drip catcher of FIGS.  1 - 7  according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional end view of the oil-drip catcher of FIG. 8.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 10 is a side view of an oil-drip catcher that can be used for the oil-drip catcher of FIGS.  1 - 7  according to another embodiment of the invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional end view of the oil-drip catcher of FIG. 10. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 4 , FIG. 1 is a side view, FIG. 2 is an end view, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of an oil-drip catcher  10  attached to an engine oil pan  12  according to an embodiment of the invention. The catcher  10  is mounted beneath a flange  14  of the pan  12 , and typically is wrapped all the way around the pan  12 . The flange  14  is typically where the pan  12  is mounted to the bottom of an engine (not shown) with bolts (not shown). An oil-pan gasket (not shown) forms a seal between the flange  14  and the engine. Unfortunately, as discussed above, sometimes the gasket wears out and allows oil to leak from the inside of the engine onto the pan  12 . In addition, oil may leak from other regions of the engine and drip down the sides of the engine toward the oil pan. But because the pan  12  is typically the lowest point of the engine, leaking oil drips down the sides of and onto the pan  12  before it drips to the ground. Therefore, by mounting the catcher  10  beneath and around the flange  14 , the catcher  10  absorbs the leaking oil before it can drip down the sides of the pan  12  and onto the ground. Furthermore, by mounting the catcher  10  close to the flange  14 , the catcher  10  absorbs the leaking oil before it can be blow from the sides of the pan  12  onto the ground.  
         [0018]    Still referring to FIGS.  1 - 4 , the oil-drip catcher  10  may be attached to the oil pan  12  in a number of ways. For example, referring to FIG. 3, a first mounting strip  18  having interlocking fabric hooks and loops (i.e., Velcro®) is attached to the catcher  10  and a second mounting strip  16  also having interlocking fabric hook and loops is attached to the oil pan. Therefore, one attaches the strip  18  to the strip  16  to secure the catcher  10  to the oil pan  12 . In a preferred embodiment, the interlocking fabric hooks and loops include Velcro® H88 products in ½ inch, ⅝ inch or ¾ inch widths, available as product numbers 0174 (hook) and 0199 (loops). In a preferred practice, the hook product is attached to the machined assembly and the loop product is attached to the absorbent material, however, the reverse is also suitable. Alternatively, one may use other techniques for attaching the catcher  10  to the pan  12 . For example, the second mounting strip  16  may be attached securely to the pan using the screws or bolts used to attach the pan  12  to the engine. Alternatively, the second mounting strip  16  may be attached to the pan  12  using a magnetic material or strong adhesive. The first mounting strip  18  can likewise be removably attached to the second mounting strip  16  using a variety of techniques. For example, using a detachable adhesive or a magnetic material attracted to the second mounting strip  16 . In general, the first mounting strip  18  has a first surface removably attachable to a second surface located on the second mounting strip  16 . The second mounting strip  16  in turn has a third surface that is attached to the oil pan  12 . The catcher  10  may be attached to the oil-pan gasket (not shown) such that after the gasket is installed, the catcher  10  is positioned around the pan  12  beneath the flange  14 , or, the catcher  10  may be cemented or otherwise attached to the pan  12 .  
         [0019]    Although discussed as being attached to the oil pan  12  beneath the flange  14 , the oil-drip catcher  10  may be attached to the engine above the flange  14 . In this position, the catcher  10  can absorb the oil leaking from the engine, but may not be able to absorb oil leaking from the oil-pan gasket (not shown).  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the oil-drip catcher  10  and the oil pan  12  of FIGS.  1 - 4  in a region where the pan  12  is near an engine-exhaust pipe  20  according to an embodiment of the invention. While the engine (not shown) is running, the pipe  20  can get quite hot. Therefore, a flame-resistant spacer  22  is placed between the catcher  10  and the pipe  20  to prevent the heat from the pipe  20  from burning or otherwise damaging the catcher  10 . The spacer  22  may be attached to the catcher  10 , to the pipe  20 , or to both the catcher  10  and pipe  20 . Alternatively, the spacer  22  may be wedged between the catcher  10  and the pipe  20  but attached to neither. The catcher may also have an inner  17  and outer  19  surface, with the inner surface being contoured to accommodate the shape of the pan in the region where the catcher  10  is mounted.  
         [0021]    Still referring to FIG. 5, one can omit the spacer  22  in other embodiments. For example, the oil-drip catcher  10  may be formed from a flame-retardant material that can be near or actually touch the exhaust pipe  20  without burning. Alternatively, in a region where the pipe  20  is close enough to the oil pan  12  such that it is difficult or impossible to fit the catcher  10  between the pipe  20  and the pan  12  without the catcher  10  burning, one may omit a corresponding portion of the catcher  10 . That is, one may dimension the absorbent material on the catcher with a recess, such as, for example, a notch in the region where the pipe  20  is close to the pan  12 . In most such cases, because the pipe  20  is so close to the pan  12 , the heat from the pipe  20  burns away most of the oil that leaks into or from this region before the oil can flow onto the sides of the pan  12  and drip onto the ground. Therefore, such notching often causes little or no reduction in the effectiveness of the catcher  10 .  
         [0022]    Although discussed with respect to the exhaust pipe  20 , the spacer  22  or notching technique may be used to accommodate another item that may interfere with the placement or installation of the catcher  10 . More generally, the catcher may be dimensional with a recess that forms a space so that the catcher can be fit on the oil pan without contacting an actual part of the vehicle.  
         [0023]    Referring to FIGS.  6 - 7 , FIG. 6 is a side view and FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of an oil-drip catcher  10  attached to a transmission oil pan  24  according to an embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment, the catcher  10  is similar to the catcher  10  of FIGS.  1 - 5 . Like the engine oil pan  12  of FIGS.  1 - 5 , the pan  24  has a flange  26  having holes that bolts (not shown) extend through to mount the pan  24  to the transmission housing (not shown). A transmission-oil-pan gasket (not shown) is disposed between the flange  26  and the transmission housing to form a leak proof seal there between. Unfortunately, as discussed above, sometimes the gasket wears out and allows oil to leak from the inside of the transmission onto the pan  24 . In addition, oil may leak from other regions of the transmission, or engine oil may leak from the engine, and drip down the sides of the transmission toward the pan  24 . But because the pan  24  is typically the lowest point of the transmission, leaking oil drips down the sides of and onto the pan  24  before it drips to the ground. Therefore, by mounting the catcher  10  beneath and around the flange  26 , the catcher  10  absorbs the leaking oil before it can drip down the sides of the pan  24  and onto the ground, Furthermore, by mounting the catcher  10  close to the flange  26 , the catcher  10  absorbs the leaking oil before it can be blown from the sides of the pan  24  onto the ground.  
         [0024]    Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, modifications similar to those discussed with respect to the oil-drip catcher  10  of FIG. 5 can be made to the catcher  10  of FIG. 6 to accommodate an exhaust pipe  20  or another item that may interfere with the placement or installation of the catcher  10 .  
         [0025]    Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, FIG. 8 is a side view and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional end view of the oil-drip catcher  10  of FIGS.  1 - 7  according to an embodiment of the invention. The catcher  10  includes at least one strip of oil-absorbent material  28  and the Velcro® strip  18 . In one embodiment, the material  28  is Petroleum Sorbent folded (P-F1 550DD) material manufactured and sold by 3M Corporation. The strip  18  is attached to the material  28  using any compatible technique such as by adhesive or stitching.  
         [0026]    Referring to FIG. 9, in one embodiment the oil-absorbent material  28  is rolled or folded and the ends are stitched together and to the strip  1 . 8 . In other embodiments, however, a single unfolded sheet of the material  28  may be used or multiple folds or rolls of the material  28  may be used. In one embodiment, the oil-drip catcher  10  is formed from sections of 5-inch-by-50-foot rolls of the P-F1 550DD material. Furthermore, any compatible material may be disposed within the interior  30  formed by rolling or folding the material  28 .  
         [0027]    Still referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, although the oil-drip catcher  10  can have many dimensions, in one embodiment it has a width W of approximately three inches and a thickness T of approximately two inches. The catcher  10  also has a length L, which can be selected to accommodate the dimensions of a wide variety of selected vehicles. Alternatively, the length L may be long enough so the catcher can be cut to custom-size the catcher to fit any selected vehicle. Preferably, the catcher is part of a kit that includes instructions on how to mount the catcher or to customize it to fit a variety of vehicles.  
         [0028]    Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, FIG. 10 is a side view and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional end view of the oil-drip catcher  10  of FIGS.  1 - 7  according to another embodiment of the invention. The catcher  10  of FIGS. 10 and 11 is similar to the catcher  10  of FIGS. 8 and 9 except that the second mounting strip  18  of FIGS. 8 and 9 is replaced by a mounting strip  32 , which has openings  34  for receiving the pan mounting bolts (not shown) that mount the oil pan  12  of FIGS.  1 - 5  to the engine (not shown). In one embodiment, the strip  32  is positioned such that it lies either beneath or on top of the oil-pan gasket (not shown). Next, the gasket and attached catcher  10  are installed such that the bolts that mount the pan to the engine extend through the flange  14 , through the openings  34 , and into the engine. When the bolts are tightened, the flange  14  compresses the gasket and the strip  32  against the engine housing to form an oil proof seal. This secures the catcher  10  around the pan  12  and beneath the flange  14 . In these embodiments, only a single mounting strip need be used to removably attach the absorbent material to the oil pan. In addition, referring to FIG. 11, in the illustrated embodiment, the region  30  is filled with a material  36 . Any suitable material may be used for the material  36 , such as more of the material  28  or another material.  
         [0029]    Although described as being used with the engine oil pan  12 , the oil-drip catcher  10  of FIGS. 10 and 11 may be modified for use with the transmission oil pan  24  (FIGS. 6 and 7), with a differential housing (not shown), or with other types of oil pans or oil seals, including, but not limited to, valve gasket covers, rocker-arm covers, a differential housing, an oil filter, and a bearing seal. Moreover, the invention is generally applicable to any machined assembly having component parts for storing or permitting a flow or fluid within the machined assembly. For example, the invention is readily adaptable to the cooling system of an engine such as a radiator or water pump where the catcher absorbs a coolant that leaks from these components. Again, the catcher would be attached to the lower portion of the radiator or the engine to capture the fluid leaked therefrom.  
         [0030]    From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5