Reusable oil absorbent bilge and fuel tank opening pads
OwnerVito S. Pedoneinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
For removing oil from the bilge area and fuel tank filler area of a boat, an oil absorbent pad is constructed with an outer wide mesh structural envelope confining and reinforcing an inner containment envelope of woven synthetic crepe material that will absorb oil with a wicking action while repelling water and which will contain therein granular open pore synthetic foamed resin capable of absorbing and retaining the oil without leaking. Pads are provided in the bilge area of boats to act alone or in combination with bilge pump filters, and they are provided as a ring around the fuel tank filler opening to prevent spillage during the taking on of fuel by the boat.
Claims15
A method for removing hydrocarbon oil and its products from the bilge of a boat having an internal combustion engine contaminating the bilge area with the hydrocarbon oil and products to avoid contaminating the environment of the boat with such products, comprising the steps of:
- containing a particulate mass of expanded open pore oleophilic and hydrophobic synthetic resin within a generally flat envelope of woven oleophilic and hydrophobic synthetic resin fibers having interstices between the fibers substantially smaller than the particules;
- placing the envelope and contained particle mass within the bilge area of the boat in contact with the oil and bilge water;
- passing the oil through the envelope with a wicking action and absorbing the oil with the particulate mass within the envelope while generally preventing passage of water through the envelope to its interior;
- providing a generally centrally arranged passage through the envelope and particulate mass with the side walls of the passage sealed to prevent removal of the particulate mass;
- aligning the passage concentrically with the fuel tank filler opening of the boat, and thereafter placing a fuel filling nozzle through the passage and into the fuel tank filler opening and passing fuel through the nozzle into the fuel tank so that spilled fuel during filling and withdrawing of the nozzle will be directly engaged by the envelope and absorbed by the particulate mass.
A device for absorbing oil on board a boat where the oil has been spilled and would otherwise contaminate the environment, comprising:
- an outer structural envelope of synthetic resin cords interlocked in a mesh having interstices many times larger than the diameter of the cords;
- an inner envelope with said outer envelope and constructed of oleophilic and hydrophobic synthetic resin fibers closely woven with interstices between the fibers smaller than the diameter of the fibers;
- a mass of particulate expanded open pore oleophilic and hydrophobic synthetic resin particles contained within said inner envelope and being of a particle size substantially smaller than the interstices of said outer envelope and substantially larger than the interstices of said inner envelope;
- said inner envelope being means to repell water and prevent passage of water through the inner envelope to the interior of the inner envelope while freely passing oil to the interior of the envelope to be absorbed by the particulate mass through a wicking action of the inner envelope;
- said inner and outer envelopes being of substantially the same size and shape with said inner envelope being slightly smaller to nest within said outer envelope;
- each of said inner and outer envelopes being constructed of upper and lower sheets secured together around their entire common periphery to form a flat compound envelope of a size and weight with said mass saturated with absorbed oil, so that they may be easily handled by an average boat operator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.