Drips and spills can originate from many industrial and domestic sources. The need to prevent or control these spills is dependent upon the type of fluid or material being lost, and the location where this loss occurs.
For example, environmentally hazardous materials such as fuels, lubricants, process chemicals or paint must be collected regardless of location. Less hazardous materials such as road salt, or mud and grime may only need to be collected if they are damaging to the floors or structure of a building.
In each particular case, the type of material may be the greatest factor, or the location may be the greatest factor in determining the best method of containment and disposal. The relative seriousness of each would also dictate whether immediate preventive actions are necessary or possible.
In many domestic or light industrial applications there are situations where a specifically conFig.d containment and handling system is needed. The ability to assemble a system from a selection of basic modules of various shapes and sizes will address this need.
The nature of the drip source or the common spill pattern will dictate what the arrangement of the drip trays should be. This may require that the trays be in a rectangular arrangement to protect a large area. This may also dictate an arrangement in end-to-end relation to allow containment of drips from a travelling source. Some situations require that the containment take place in several specific areas by individual containment structures.
These modular systems must possess the structural integrity necessary to withstand loads when in high traffic areas where constant foot traffic or wheeled traffic such as carts or vehicles will be encountered.
These modular shapes must also be easily removable for disposal purposes, or for temporary storage. The ability of the structure to conform to uneven surfaces would be of further benefit as many floor surfaces are not flat.
Drip trays of the prior art are arranged in rectangular grids and are secured together in this grid-like pattern by jaw-like members. These drip trays also have overlapping flanges, which provide the ability to capture all of the material that may fall within the affected areas.
This system would be effective, but appears to have some drawbacks. The structure of the grid pattern does not appear to allow continuous end-to-end arrangement, and the method of securing the trays together requires removal of the jaw-like member to accomplish removal. The edge structure also prevents the traverse of wheeled traffic in any direction.
A drip tray with a different structure would be more effective when used as an individual item, would allow for many more arrangement options that could fit in more varied applications. The ability to remove and store these trays could be facilitated as well.
The commercial features of the tray must also be considered in some detail. The ability to compactly arrange individual trays when in transit for retail purpose and for storage must be considered.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds