AU702963B2 - An oil absorbing floor pad - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to an oil absorbing floor pad and is particularly directed to a disposable oil absorbent drip pad which can be positioned on a floor and underneath vehicles.

Vehicles such as cars, motorbikes, trucks and the like, but also stationary machinery used in factories, use oil for lubrication of the moving parts. Occasionally, oil drips from the vehicle engine, machine etc., onto the floor. The oil is unsightly, stains the floor, and is dangerous as it provides a slippery surface.

In garages and carports, drip trays and the like have been used to catch any oil. These drip trays are metal rectangular pans in which is placed sand, wood shavings, newspapers and the like to absorb the oil. The pans are themselves unsightly, the contents of the pan can easily be inadvertently spilled (for instance should a vehicle drive over the pan), animals such as cats use the absorbent as toilets, small children tend to play with the absorbent, and the drip tray is usually messy and difficult 20 to clean.

Because of the above disadvantages, drip trays are also known which are made of metal and have a series of dimples in which the oil can collect. Although an absorbent is not used, the dimples fill with oil, collect dust, are difficult to clean (usually requiring high ."pressure hosing or degreasing) and can be played with by small children and the like.

To overcome the abovementioned disadvantages, attempts have been made to use absorbent pads as opposed to metal drip trays. For instance, it is known to use an absorbent pad which is formed from polypropylene which absorbs oil. The pad can be rolled up for storage when not in use. However, the pad still presents an upper surface which, if trodden on, touched, or driven over, causes staining.

Other attempts include using carpet pieces (also messy, and leaves stains if touched), and cellulose wadding which also presents an exposed surface.

A disadvantage with current oil absorbing pads is that when they are picked up, oil tends to pool at the bottom of the pad and leak from the pad or drip onto the floor. This is undesirable as it requires a person to pick up the pad and dispose of it as quickly as possible.

We have now developed and oil absorbing floor pad which can be used under vehicles and which can overcome the abovementioned disadvantages or provide the public with a useful or commercial choice.

In one form, the invention resides in an oil absorbing floor pad for use under vehicles, the pad comprising an oil impervious bottom sheet, an oil permeable top sheet, the top and bottom sheets being attached together adjacent their edges to define an enclosed pad, and further being attached intermediate the edges to define a plurality of separate pouches, and oil absorbing material located within at least some of the pouches.

By having the above type of pad, oil can be absorbed into one or more separate zones or pouches which 20 improves the efficiency of the pad, facilitates disposal of it and is generally less messy.

It should be appreciated that the pad need not be limited to use in garages or carports and under vehicles, S. and can also be used under other types of machines or under equipment which may occasionally leak oil.

The pad may be shaped and sized to fit under a S. vehicle. Suitably, the pad has a width which is narrower than the wheel base of a vehicle such that the pad can fit between the wheels. Of course, this need not be a 30 consideration for use with motorbikes and the like. The length of the pad may vary depending on the type of vehicle. Typically, the pad is of a length sufficient to catch oil which may drip from the vehicle sump, transmission and the like.

The oil impervious bottom sheet may be formed from flexible plastics material. Suitable plastics material can be readily ascertained by a person skilled in the art.

The top sheet may comprise a non-woven fabric.

The non-woven fabric may be formed from known sheet.

The top sheet and the bottom sheet can be attached together adjacent their edges by any suitable method, but a preferred method is to thermally bond the two sheets together by methods which are known in the art.

It is also preferred that the top sheet and the bottom sheet are thermally bonded together in between their edges to define the plurality of separate pouches or zones.

The number of pouches, the configuration of each pouch, and the size of each pouch may vary to suit. One preferred arrangement is to have pouches of equal size being approximately rectangular when viewed in plan.

Each pouch may contain an oil absorbing material, and a preferred oil absorbing material is an oil absorbing polymer. The polymer may be a synthetic binder classified as a co-polymer of aromatic alkenes and dialkenes. The polymer may be in powder or granular form.

An embodiment of the invention will be 20 illustrated with reference to the accompanying figures in which Figure 1 is a plan view of an oil absorbing floor pad according to an embodiment of the invention.

&ee* Figure 2 is a side view of the pad of Figure 1.

Referring to the figures, there is shown an oil absorbing floor pad. The pad is formed from two layers being a plastic co-extruded bottom layer which is oil impermeable and a non-woven fabric top layer which is oil permeable. In the embodiment, the pad is 955 mm long and 30 457 mm wide, but it should be appreciated that this is only a preferred size. The two sheets are thermally heat sealed together by known means adjacent their edges, and are also S.i heat sealed in between the edges into a regular grid-like arrangement as illustrated in Figure 1 to define a number of separate sealed zones or pouches. In each pouch, or at least in a majority of pouches is a granulated oil absorbing polymer.

The pad is manufactured by initially providing the base or bottom sheet, adding granulated polymer in discrete areas onto the sheet, adding the top sheet to the bottom sheet and heat sealing the sheets together to form individual pouches, the polymer being located within the pouches.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the oil absorbing has pouches of 46.5 mm by 48 mm and this corresponds to a pad being made of 136 pouches, 17 pouches down and 8 across.

Each pouch contains 0.16 grams of polymer which may be

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Again it should be appreciated that this arrangement is preferred only.

The pad can protect garage floors from staining produced from oil dripping onto the floors from leaking engines. The pad is placed on the garage floor with the oil impermeable side down on the garage floor under the engine or the source of the dripping oil. Engine oil drips onto the permeable non-woven fabric top sheet which transports the oil both vertically and laterally to the oil absorbing polymer which in turn chemically absorbs the oil.

20 The plastic co-extrusion bottom sheet acts as a barrier to any oil coming into contact with the garage floor through the pad.

The pad and the polymer in the pad has good retention under pressure of any oil that had been absorbed.

This means that the pad can be walked on or even driven over and the majority of the oil that has been absorbed will remain inside the polymer. This is not the case with many known types of pads or mats which will extrude oil when pressure is applied to the mat.

S. 30 The pad localises and absorbs the oil and when it comes to disposal of the pad, the pad can simply be picked up and thrown away without oil escaping from the pad. With :other known types of pads, lifting the pad will cause oil to flow under gravity to the bottom of the pad and then drip therefrom.

Also by having the oil impermeable bottom sheet, oil does not pass through the pad and onto the garage floor, even when driven over or walked on.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For instance, the pad may be releasably secured to the floor to prevent inadvertent movement. This can be achieved by press-stick adhesives, which can still be lifted away from the floor/or pad to dispose of the pad.

*e e• *o* THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. An oil absorbing floor pad comprising an oil impervious bottom sheet, an oil permeable top sheet, the top sheet and bottom sheet being attached together adjacent their edges to define an enclosed pad, and being further attached intermediate the edges to define a plurality of separate pouches, and oil absorbing material located within at least some of the pouches.

2. The floor pad of claim i, wherein oil absorbing material is located within all the pouches.

3. The floor pad of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the oil absorbing material is in granular or powder form.

4. The floor pad of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the oil absorbing material is an oil absorbing polymer.

The floor pad of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bottom sheet is a plastic sheet.

6. The floor pad of claim 5, wherein the plastic sheet is formed from co-extruded layers.

7. The floor pad of any one of the preceding claims, i wherein the top sheet is formed from a non-woven fabric.

The floor pad of claim 7, wherein the non-woven fabric allows oil to pass into the pouches but prevents the oil absorbing material from passing through the non-woven fabric.

9. The floor pad of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the oil absorbing material is a co-polymer of aromatic alkenes and dialkenes.

10. The floor pad of any one of the preceding claims, 30 wherein the top sheet and the bottom sheet are thermally bonded together.

i' 11. The floor pad of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pouches are about 46mm by 48mm, each pouch having about 0.16g of an oil absorbing polymer.

12. A non-leak oil absorbing floor pad substantially as herein before described with reference to the