GB2423239A

GB2423239A - A portable liquid collection tray

Info

Publication number: GB2423239A
Application number: GB0503374A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Seymour
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-02-17
Filing date: 2005-02-17
Publication date: 2006-08-23
Anticipated expiration: 2025-02-17
Also published as: GB0503374D0; GB2423239B

Abstract

A portable liquid collection tray for collecting liquid used in cleaning the exterior of a vehicle having at least two wheels 3, the tray including a plurality of interconnecting tray sections 5, 6, 9, 10 22, 23, 24 adapted to fit round the periphery of the vehicle and under the periphery so as to collect liquid running off the vehicle. The sections 5, 6, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24 are adjustable in dimension in at least one direction and/or the interconnection between adjacent sections 5, 6, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24 being such as to provide a variable degree of overlap between adjacent sections, 5, 6, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24, so as to accommodate a range of peripheral lengths. The tray sections are preferably adapted to engage one another in a slidable manner.

Description

A portable liquid collection tray The present invention relates to a

portable liquid collection tray for collecting liquid used in cleaning the exterior of a vehicle.

For many years it has been an accepted practice for vehicles to be cleaned in the street or out of doors, but increasingly, concerns are being felt about this practice on environmental grounds since dirt and contaminants from the water and liquids, such as detergent and waxes, used to clean the vehicle, are deposited in the street and washed into the normal drainage system by hose or subsequent rainfall.

One solution to this problem is to use commercial machine washing centres, usually known as automatic car washes, which have a concrete base containing a self- contained drainage system, which includes means to filter the liquid to remove contaminants and particles to enable the liquid to be reused in the next cleaning cycle.

Such washing centres do not provide a complete solution since they are not able to accommodate every type of vehicle and in particular cannot be utilised by three-wheelers, soft tops, pickup trucks and panel vans other than those of a relatively small size. They also do not clean vehicles thoroughly enough to satisfy many vehicle owners. Furthermore, many owners of expensive cars and classic cars do not like to use such machine washing since it can damage the paintwork and other external components on the vehicle.

Another solution provides a large waterproof groundsheet which is laid out on the ground and a vehicle is driven on to the ground sheet and, thereafter, walls are constructed at the edge of the ground sheet to contain the washing liquids. After washing the vehicle, the liquid is pumped out of the container constructed from the ground sheet, the walls are dismantled, the vehicle driven away and the groundsheet and wall elements can then be packed up for transport. This system is extremely cumbersome to set up, dismantle and transport and requires the use of at least two operators.

The present invention seeks to provide a solution to this problem by providing apparatus which is readily portable and which enables a vehicle to be washed, by hand, in the street while at the same time containing the run-off water and contaminants so that the majority of these can be collected and recycled.

According to the present invention there is provided a portable liquid collection tray for collecting liquid used in cleaning the exterior of a vehicle having at least two wheels, the tray including a plurality of interconnecting tray sections adapted to fit round the periphery of the vehicle and under the periphery so as to collect liquid running off the vehicle, the sections each being adjustable in dimension in at least one direction and/or the interconnection between adjacent to the sections being such as to provide a variable degree of overlap between adjacent sections, so as to accommodate a range of peripheral lengths.

Preferably, the sections include a front tray section and a rear tray section, said front and rear tray sections having a lateral part adapted to extend across the lateral width of the vehicle and at the ends of the said first part perpendicularly extending longitudinal parts, the lateral and longitudinal parts being adjustable both in the direction of the longitudinal part of the vehicle profile and in the lateral width of the vehicle profile. For use with a vehicle having at least one pair of spaced wheels disposed on a common axis, the longitudinal parts are preferably adapted to extend between the lateral part of the vehicle profile and said wheels.

When used with a conventional four wheeled vehicle, having two longitudinally spaced axles in spaced parallel relationship each carrying two spaced wheels, the tray preferably further includes side sections adapted to extend along the side periphery of the vehicle and extend under the periphery so as to extend between the front and rear wheels, the side sections and/or the longitudinal parts of the front and rear tray sections being adapted to abut the underside of the wheels and having a part abutting the lateral periphery of the wheel to form a continuous tray around the periphery of the vehicle.

Preferably, the tray sections are formed of a substantially water impermeable flexible material, such as sail cloth or rip-stop nylon, and have extending around predetermined parts of the periphery upstanding liquid-retaining wall elements.

In a preferred embodiment, the wall elements of adjacent tray sections are adapted to adjustably engage one another in a slidable manner to vary the relative disposition of adjacent tray sections to adjust the peripheral length of the tray.

Preferably, overlapping portions of the tray sections incorporate sealing means to limit the egress of liquid out of the joint formed between the overlapping portions, which may magnetic tape means or hook and loop fastener extending laterally across the overlapping parts of the tray sections.

In a development of the invention, a tray member is adapted to be located under a vehicle within the periphery thereof, so as to catch liquid draining through the plenum chamber of the heating system, or draining from the engine bay when the engine is being cleaned.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:Figure 1 shows, schematically, a tray consisting of a plurality of tray sections adapted to be placed around on the periphery of a vehicle so as to catch liquid running of the vehicle, Figure 2 shows a plan view of a tray member adapted to fit under an engine bay, Figure 3 shows a crosssection along the line 111-111 shown in Figure 1, and Figure 4 shows a cross-section along the line IV-IV shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to Figure 1 there is shown a tray adapted to be positioned around the periphery of a vehicle so as to project under the vehicle and outwardly of the peripheral line of the vehicle, when viewed in plan, so as to catch liquid running of the vehicle. As shown, the tray consists of a large number of sections shown for the purposes of illustration spaced slightly apart. In practice, the sections overlap in an adjustable manner to provide a continuous tray extending around the vehicle, forming a rectangular trough which catches and contains run-off liquid.

Figure 1 shows in schematic form a pair of parallel spaced axles 1, 2, each carrying two laterally spaced wheels 3 to simulate a conventional four wheeled vehicle, around the periphery of which the tray is positioned. At each end of the vehicle there are respective front and rear tray sections 4,5 which, in plan, form a mirror image of each other. The front tray section 4 consists of two L-shaped tray elements 6 each having a lateral section 7, 8 adapted to extend across the front of a vehicle and being slidably engageable so as to overlap to adjust the width of the tray. Each L-shaped tray element has a longitudinal section 7a, 8a extending rearwardly which engages with a longitudinal tray element 9, 10 in a slidably adjustable way so as to overlap by an amount determined by the distance between the front of the vehicle and the front wheels. In this embodiment, the longitudinal tray element includes a cut out section 11, 12 at its inner rear end so that it fits closely to the outer face of a wheel 3 and the underside of the tyre tread.

Except for the overlapping edges, each section has peripheral wall elements 13, 14 a cross-section of which along Section Ill-Ill is shown in Figure 3. The wall elements consist of an L-shaped member formed of a rigid plastic material having a horizontal arm 15, 16 secured to the material of the tray and a vertical arm 13, 14 forming the wall. To enable the wall members to engage and slide relative to each other, certain of the wall elements have a profile adapted to locate over the other wall element. As shown in Figure 3, the wall element 14 has a U-shaped section at its upper edge within which the wall 13 is able to engage and slide. To prevent substantially the egress of liquid out of the joint between the overlapping parts of the tray sections, sealing means 21 extends laterally across the overlapping sections, preferably across the entire section. The sealing means 21 may consist of a flexible magnetic strip, hook and loop fastener or similar sealing. It has been found that the stiction between the overlapping material by itself can form a satisfactory seal when there is a significant amount of overlap.

To enable the tray sections to be folded to a small size for convenient carriage, the L-shaped members may have intermediate their lengths flexible wall sections 20, preferably made out of the same material as the tray itself, which enable the walls to be folded over onto itself about a transverse axis 19.

The rear tray section is constructed in an identical manner to the front tray section and like references are used for like parts.

The tray section for the periphery of the vehicle between the wheels 3 consists of three relatively slidable elements 22, 23, and 24. The tray element 23 includes a cutout section 25 at its leading inner corner which like the cutout section 11 is adapted to engage the underside of the tyre tread and also the outer face of the tyre and to slidingly engage and overlap with the corresponding tray section of the front tray section. A centre tray section 23 is adapted to slidingly engage with the section 22 and also with the third section 24.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a cross-section along the section line IV- IV to illustrate how the three sections can slide relative to each other. The rear section 24 has wall elements 13 which are slidable relative to a centre wall section 17 which contains a U-shaped upper part in which the wall 13 is slidable. On its outer face, the wall 17 has and upwardly open U-shaped profile 26 within which is slidably located a downwardly extending limb 27 of a U-shaped element on the upper edge of the outer wall element 14.

In this way, the three tray elements 22, 23, and 24 are all relatively slidable to enable the length of the tray side section to be adjusted in length to accommodate the distance between the wheels of the vehicle.

As shown in Figure 2, a further tray member 27, which is essentially rectangular, is provided which is positioned under the vehicle so as to catch liquid draining from the engine bay when the engine is being cleaned or from the plenum chamber of the heating system. The tray member 27 consists of two rectangular sections slidably engageable together so as to be adjustable to suit the size of the vehicle being cleaned. A first section 28 has around three sides wall elements reference 13, its overlapping edge 29 having no wall, and the other section 30 has one wall opposite its overlapping edge 31 having a wall section 13 whilst its other two sides have the wall section, reference 14, to enable the wall elements 14 to slide relative to the wall elements 13 of the section 28 to vary the degree of overlap.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention it has been established that the tray has a capacity of 300 litres but, in use, it has been found that a typical amount of water used to clean a vehicle lies in the range 30-60 litres.

The present invention is particularly useful for mobile vehicle cleaning operators operator with a van containing a water supply and a vacuum cleaner for cleaning the interior of the vehicle. The operator can quickly assemble the tray around the vehicle and after cleaning the vehicle the liquid in the tray can be rapidly collected using a pump or a wet/dry vacuum cleaner into a catch tank in the operator's van from where it can be filtered for reuse. The tray is then easily taken apart to be folded up and put in the van, leaving virtually no waste water in the road.

Claims

1. A portable liquid collection tray for collecting liquid used in cleaning the exterior of a vehicle having at least two wheels, the tray including a plurality of interconnecting tray sections adapted to fit round the periphery of the vehicle and under the periphery so as to collect liquid running off the vehicle, the sections each being adjustable in dimension in at least one direction and/or the interconnection between adjacent to the sections being such as to provide a variable degree of overlap between adjacent sections, so as to accommodate a range of peripheral lengths.

2. A tray according to claim I wherein the sections include a front tray section and a rear tray section, said front and rear tray sections having a lateral part adapted to extend across the lateral width of the vehicle and at the ends of the said first part perpendicularly extending longitudinal parts, the lateral and longitudinal parts being adjustable both in the direction of the longitudinal part of the vehicle profile and in the lateral width of the vehicle profile.

3. A tray according to claim 2, for use with a vehicle having at least one pair of spaced wheels disposed on a common axis, wherein the longitudinal parts are adapted to extend between the lateral part of the vehicle profile and said wheels.

4. A tray according to any one of the preceding claims, for use with a vehicle having two longitudinally spaced axles in spaced parallel relationship each carrying two spaced wheels, the tray further including side sections adapted to extend along the side periphery of the vehicle and extend under the periphery so as to extend between the front and rear wheels, the side sections and/or the longitudinal parts of the front and rear tray sections being adapted to abut the underside of the wheels and having a part abutting the lateral periphery of the wheel to form a continuous tray around the periphery of the vehicle.

5. A tray according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tray sections are formed of a substantially water impermeable flexible material and have extending around predetermined parts of the periphery upstanding liquid-retaining wall elements.

6. A tray according to claim 5, wherein wall elements of adjacent tray sections are adapted to adjustably engage one another in a slidable manner to vary the relative disposition of adjacent tray sections to adjust the peripheral length of the tray.

7. A tray according to any one of the preceding claims wherein overlapping portions of the tray sections incorporate sealing means to limit the egress of liquid out of the joint formed between the overlapping portions.

8. A tray according to claim 7, wherein the sealing means comprises a magnetic tape means or hook and loop fastener extending laterally across the overlapping parts of the tray sections.

9. A tray according to any one of the preceding claims further including a tray member adapted to be located under a vehicle within the periphery.

10. A tray according to claim 9, wherein the tray member is adapted to be detachable fastened to one of said tray sections.

11. A portable liquid collection tray for collecting liquid used in cleaning the exterior of a vehicle, substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.