Patent Abstract:
An effluent container may include: a first sheet of material; a second sheet of material being attached to the first sheet of material so as to form a container, first and second liners are secured to the respective first and second sheets with securing sheets; at least one of either attaching structure located on the container configured to allow the container to be attached to a structure and closure structure located on the both the first and second sheets of material at the open end, the closure structure configured to allow the container to be closed onto a structure; and a drain located on one of the sheets at an end opposite the open end, the drain configured to provide selective fluid communication between the interior of the container and an outside of the container.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to an effluent container. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disposable bag configured to contain effluent generated during the cleaning of a fin fan cooler. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    From time to time coolers, such as fin fan coolers, are in need of cleaning. One way of cleaning a fin fan cooler is to flow cleaning fluid (which is often water) through the fin fan cooler. As the cleaning fluid moves through the fin fan cooler, the cleaning fluid may pick up contaminates from the cooler. The contaminates may have leaked from the cooler or may be present due to other sources. One tool that may be used in the cleaning process is a hydroblaster. The hydroblaster may discharge cleaning fluid through a fin fan cooler causing the cleaning fluid to flow through the fin fan cooler and out the other side of the cooler. 
         [0003]    In view of current environmental concerns, it may be desirable to recapture the cleaning fluid once it has flowed through the fin fan cooler. Recapture of the cleaning fluid may be desirable because the cleaning fluid itself may need proper disposal or that the cleaning fluid, once it has been contaminated by being flushed through the cooler becomes an effluent that now contains contaminates that need to be properly disposed of. 
         [0004]    Further, it is possible that a fin fan cooler may leak causing an effluent to flow out of the cooler. 
         [0005]    Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an apparatus that allows an effluent flowing out of a structure such as a fin fan cooler to captured for proper disposal. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The foregoing needs are met, to a great extent, by the present invention, wherein in one aspect an apparatus is provided that in some embodiments provide an apparatus that allows an effluent flowing out of a structure such as a fin fan cooler to captured for proper disposal. 
         [0007]    In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an effluent container is provided. The container may include: a first sheet of material having at least four sides; a second sheet of material also having at least four sides attached to the first sheet of material on at least three sides such that a fourth side of both the first and second sheets are not attached and form an open end to the container, the container having an interior; a first liner attached to the first sheet of material; a second liner attached to the second sheet of material; closure structure located on the fourth side of both the first and second sheets and configured to allow the container to be closed onto a structure; attaching structure attached to the fourth side of both the first and second sheets and configured to provide attaching points for attaching the container to a structure; and a drain located on one of the sheets at an end opposite the open end, the drain configured to provide selective fluid communication between the interior of the container and an outside of the container. 
         [0008]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, an effluent container may be provided. The container may include: a first sheet of material having at least four sides; a second sheet of material also having at least four sides attached to the first sheet of material on at least three sides such that a fourth side of both the first and second sheets are not attached and form an open end to the container the container having an interior; a first liner attached to the first sheet of material; a second liner attached to the second sheet of material; a closure structure located on the fourth side of both the first and second sheets and configured to allow the container to be closed onto a structure, wherein the closure structure is a strap that can be shortened to attach the container to a structure; and a drain located on one of the sheets at an end opposite the open end, the drain configured to provide selective fluid communication between the interior of the container and an outside of the container. 
         [0009]    In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, an effluent container is provided. The container may include: a first sheet of material; a second sheet of material having a corresponding shape to the first sheet of material, the first sheet and second sheet of material being attached to each other around the perimeter of the first and second sheets so as to form a container having an open end, such that the container has an interior; a first liner attached to the first sheet of material; a second liner attached to the second sheet of material, wherein the first and second liners are secured to the respective first and second sheets with securing sheets trapping the first and second liners between the securing sheet and the respective first and second sheets; at least one of either: attaching structure located on the container configured to allow the container to be attached to a structure and closure structure located on the both the first and second sheets of material at the open end, the closure structure configured to allow the container to be closed onto a structure; and a drain located on one of the sheets at an end opposite the open end, the drain configured to provide selective fluid communication between the interior of the container and an outside of the container. 
         [0010]    There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
         [0011]    In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
         [0012]    As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a containment bag attached to a structure according to this disclosure. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a front, perspective view of a containment bag in accordance with this disclosure. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a bottom view of a containment bag in accordance with this disclosure. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a top view of one example of a latched buckle that may be used in accordance with this disclosure. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a top view of a non-latched buckle that may be used in accordance with this disclosure. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a top view of a sample of the fabric that may be used in the containment bag in accordance with this disclosure. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 8-8 in  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. An embodiment in accordance with the present invention provides a container that may be easily attached to a structure that may be a source of an effluent. The container will allow the effluent to be recaptured for proper recycling, reclamation, or disposal. In some embodiments, the container will be inexpensive and easy to dispose of so that the container itself does not require cleaning or create a problem for disposal. 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a container  10  in accordance with the present disclosure. The container  10  is attached to a source  12 . The source  12  is a structure upon which the container  10  is attached. The source  12  may contain or be a fin fan cooler. At side opposite of the source  12 , (not shown) a hydroblaster may be cleaning the fin fan cooler causing a cleaning fluid to flow through the fin fan cooler. The cleaning fluid may pick up contaminants in the fin fan cooler creating an effluent. The effluent is captured by the container  10  when the effluent flows out of the fin fan cooler. 
         [0023]    The container  10  has an open end  14 . The open end  14  exposes the interior  15  of the container  10 . The container  10  is secured to the source  12  by closing structure  16  such as straps  16 . Although straps  16  are illustrated in the accompanying figures, other closing structure  16  may be used in accordance of the present disclosure. Closing structure  16  that may be used in accordance with the present disclosure may gather the open end  14  around the source  12  so as to close gaps between the container  10 , and the source  12  and secure the container  10  to the structure defining the source  12 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a perspective top and front end view of the container  10 . The container  10  is made primarily of material  18 . The material  18  may be polyethylene in a sheet form. In some embodiments, the polyethylene is low density polyethylene (LDPE) and may be reinforced with fibers such as, for example, but not limited to, nylon. Several layers of material  18  are used in the construction of the container  10 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a top sheet of material  20  is located above the bottom sheet of material  22 . The top material  20  and the bottom material  22  are connected at seams  24 . In some embodiments, the seams  24  are located around the outer edges of the top material  20  and the bottom material  22  with the exception of one edge. This one edge where the top material  20  is not connected to the bottom material  22  defines the open end  14 . 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the top material  20  and the bottom material  22  may be constructed in a multiple plies. In other words, the top material  20  may be actually two or more sheets. In some embodiments, the top material  20  and the bottom material  22  are two ply sheets. The top material  20  and the bottom material  22  may be attached in a variety of ways to form the seams  24 . For example, the seams  24  may be formed by sewing, heat welding, sonic welding, impulse welding, epoxies, adhesives, or any other suitable way of attaching sheets together. 
         [0026]    The straps  16  may be equipped with multiple buckles  26  as shown. The buckles  26  may assist a user in tightening the open end  14  around a source or other structure  12  to which it is desired to attach the container  10 . 
         [0027]    In some embodiments, the open end  14  of the container  10  may be equipped with attaching structure  28 . In the embodiment shown in the figures, the attaching structure  28  may be in the form of loops  28 . The loops  28  may be made of the material folded back over itself and attached to the container  10  at various seams  24 . The attaching structure  28  may provide another way for the container  10  to be attached to a structure  12  or otherwise provide a structure to move or secure the container  10 . 
         [0028]    In addition to having an open end  14 , the container  10  has a closed end  30 . The closed end  30  is surrounded by the seams  24 . In some embodiments, the container  10  may have a generally rectangular shape, however, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the closed end  30  may be formed of two seams  24  that are at an obtuse angle to each other. In instances where the container  10  is rectangular in shape, the container  10  may have three long seams  24  which attach the top material  20  to the bottom material  22 . In embodiments having more than four sides, as shown in  FIG. 2 , there will generally be more than three seams  24  attach the top material  22  the bottom material  22 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  is a bottom view of the container  10  in accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure. The bottom material  22  or sheet  22  is seen attached by various seams  24  to the top material  20  or sheet  20  (not shown in  FIG. 3  but is a readily seen in  FIG. 2 ). The straps  16  along with the buckles  26  are readily visible. The straps  16  may be attached to each other serially to form a single long strap or belt. The strap  16  may reside in a strap loop  32 . The strap loop  32  may be comprised of the material  18  folded back on itself to form a loop and is attached to the container  10  by a seam  24 . The strap loop  32  may have various breaks or openings  31  or windows  31  in order to allow a user access to the strap  16  and, in some embodiments, the buckles  26 . 
         [0030]    Portions of the strap  16  and the buckles  26  are illustrated in  FIG. 3  to reside in the strap loop windows  31 . The portions of the strap  16  that are located in the strap loop  32  are shown in broken lines  FIG. 3 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  illustrates a liner  34  in broken lines. In some embodiments, the liner  34  is made of high density polyethylene (HDPE). The liner  34  helps to reinforce the container  10 . In some embodiments, the liner  34  is located in the interior  15  of the container  10 . The liner  34  may be attached to top material  20  and the bottom material  22  shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0032]    In some embodiments, the liner  34  is attached to top material  24  the bottom material  22  by a retaining flap  36 . The retaining flap  36  may be made of the same material  18  as the top material  20  or sheet  20  and the bottom material  22  or sheet  22 . The retaining material or flap  36  may extend beyond the liner  34  toward the closed end  30  to form a loose end  38  as shown. The retaining flap  36  may be attached to the top material  24  the bottom material  22  by retaining seams  40 . 
         [0033]    The container  10  is equipped with a drain  42 . The drain  42  is useful in allowing effluent accumulating in the container  10  be drained into an appropriate container or disposal system. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the drain  42  is located in the bottom sheet  22  at the closed end  30  near a junction between two seams  24  that form an obtuse angle. 
         [0034]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the container  10  shown in  FIG. 3 . Starting toward the top of  FIG. 4 , the seam  24  at the closed end  30  connecting the top material  20  and the bottom material  22  is shown. The drain  42  located in the bottom sheet  22  is illustrated. Both the cap  46  and the spigot  48  are shown. In some embodiments, the cap  46  attaches to the spigot  48  by threads. If needed, a gasket may be used to help seal the cap  46  to the spigot  48 . When the container  10  is in use, the cap  46  may be removed and replaced by a hose or other conduit. 
         [0035]    The loose ends  38  for each of the retained flaps  36  can be seen. The loose ends  38  may provide reinforcement to the container  10 . The retaining flaps  36  are attached by retaining seams  40  located both before and after the liner  34  thereby trapping the liner  34  between the retaining seams  40 , the retaining flaps  36  and the top  20  and bottom  22  sheets. 
         [0036]    The strap loop retaining seams  44  are shown attaching strap loop  32  to the container  10 . The strap  16  residing in the strap loop  32  is also shown. The strap loop retaining seams  44  are formed of material  18  folded back on itself. The loops  28  are also shown. The loops  28  are formed of material  18  looped back on itself, and attached to the container  10  by retaining seam  50 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  is a top view of a buckle  26  in a closed position in accordance with an embodiment.  FIG. 6  is a top view of the buckle  26  in an open position. With reference to both  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the straps  16  are shown attached to the buckle  26  and the strap ends  54  are shown. In some embodiments, the strap  16  may be tightened by pulling on the strap ends  54 . The buckle  26  may be of a common snapping type buckle  26 . The buckle  26  may include an interior buckle  56  that fits with an exterior buckle  58  to snap in place. The interior buckle  56  may include flexing fingers  60  that are compressed together when entering the compression end of the exterior buckle  58 . 
         [0038]    Once the flex fingers  60  have moved beyond the compressing end  62  to the locking cutouts  64 , the flex fingers  60  may move outwardly thereby locking the interior buckle  56  to the exterior buckle  58 . To unlock and remove the interior buckle  56  from the exterior buckle  58 , a user may compress the flex fingers  60  towards each other, and then simply slide the interior buckle  56  out of the exterior buckle  58  as shown in  FIG. 6 . The particular buckles  26  shown are meant to be examples only. Other types of buckles or fasteners may be used in accordance with this disclosure. 
         [0039]      FIG. 7  is a close-up view of the material  18  out of which various portions of the container  10  may be made. In some embodiments, the material  18  is used to form the top sheet  20  the bottom sheet  22 , strap loop  52 , the retaining lap  36 , and the strap loop  32 . Other features may also be formed of the material  18 . In the embodiment shown in the figures, the material  18  is formed of low density polyethylene (LDPE) reinforced by nylon fibers  66  and  68 . Fibers  66  run in a longitudinal direction and fibers  68  run in a latitudinal direction thereby forming a grid-like structure. In some embodiments, the longitudinal fibers  66  may be interwoven with the latitudinal fibers  68 . 
         [0040]    In some embodiments, the fabric  18  may be translucent or even transparent. These features will allow a user to monitor the amount of effluent contained within the container  10 . In some embodiments, symbols, logos, trademarks or other writing such as instructions or other useful information may be printed on the material  18 . As mentioned above, some embodiments the material  18  made of multiple plies. In some embodiments the material  18  may withstand temperatures up to 172° F. 
         [0041]    The container  10  may be constructed of material  18  configured to withstand fluid pressured to 40,000 PSI. Fluids at such pressure may originate from a hydroblaster. The container  10  may come in a variety of sizes such as 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 foot lengths and 12, 18 and 30 inch widths. Other sizes larger, smaller and in between those mentioned may also be used. 
         [0042]      FIG. 8  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the loops  28 . The loops  28  may be useful in securing or moving the container  10  with respect to the structure  12  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ). The loops  28  may be made of the material  18  folded back on itself trapping an interior portion  70 . The loops  28  may be attached to the container  10  by the loop retaining seam  50 . 
         [0043]    Although an example of the container  10  is shown being used with a fin fan cooler, it will be appreciated that container  10  may be used with other structures that may have effluent flowing out. The fin fan cooler is merely a non-limiting example of a structure for which the container  10  of this disclosure may be useful. 
         [0044]    The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8