TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates in general to the field of petrol station and more particularly to a pre-assembled petrol station that may be easily transported and mounted/dismounted at a desired place and a related mounting method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Petrol stations are typically composed of fuel dispensers connected throughout suitable conduits below ground to buried fuel reservoirs placed at a distance.

Petrol stations are considered as a set of elements that, grouped in a single system, constitute the plant for dispensing fuel. Typically, the elements that compose a petrol station are the following ones:

1. one or more fuel reservoirs. They are made of iron (Fe) with a double wall as prescribed by the rules UNI EN 12285-1 with a hollow space continuously monitored by suitable static or dynamic devices (according to the rules EN 13160),

2. a plant for dispensing fuel, commonly realized in PE (according to the rules EN 14125) with a double wall (according to the rules UL 971) with a hollow space continuously monitored by suitable dynamic devices (according to the rules EN 13160). It connects the reservoirs to the dispensers and to the displaced charging place.

3. Fuel dispensers for single or multiple product.

4. A charging place. It is an unessential element, because tanker trucks may load fuel directly by staying over fuel reservoirs. Often it is installed when reservoirs are numerous or cannot be easily accessed.

5. Interface containers between a reservoir and tubing. They are manholes "PDU" or walkable manhole installed over the reservoir and the manholes below the dispenser, that allow connections in a watertight environment among the various elements.

6. Canopy.

7. Oil separator for water treatment of drainage. Built according to the rules UNI EN 858-1 as per regional regulations for transposition of the Italian Legislative Decree 152/06.

The construction of a new petrol station or its modification or expansion is a complex and expensive business.

Firstly, it is necessary to identify a sufficiently large space where to install storage tanks, to place any decentralized load, to install a canopy and dispensers.

Installing a new mechanical plant requires a one-month-long business activity on site, plus time to acquisition and management of materials. This is also the case, especially as the companies that interfere with the construction site are very numerous and often cannot work jointly: designer and job manager, construction company for excavation, mechanical engineering company for the realization of the fluidic plant, company that supplies and installs the canopy, company that installs and heads dispensers and acceptors. Additionally, delays should be added because of companies that do not work at the construction site but provide equipment such as: tanks, pipework and mechanical components, water treatments.

Another critical aspect is due to the fact that a petrol station must be equipped to treat waters that drain the area of the commercial activity of supplying fuel. The oil separator must be placed on the square, and it must be suitably partitioned for water collection.

Investment in a petrol station is not very flexible because the built-in components are practically unmovable. As a consequence, the choice of the site on which to build a petrol station is of paramount importance: if such a choice is found to be wrong, the installed equipment and the initial investment are lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To address at least some of the abovementioned problems, the applicant has designed a prefabricated petrol station with a modular structure, which can be easily transported and assembled/disassembled at the construction place without deterioration of the used materials, which can be fully recovered and installed elsewhere. The structure is organized in such a way as to comply with safety constraints imposed by the laws both with regard to fuel tank safety, as well as solidity of fixing of pillars supporting a suspended canopy over the fuel dispensing pump.

This objective has been attained with a modular prefabricated petrol station as defined in the appended claims.

According to one embodiment, the prefabricated basin for containing the fuel tank is made of reinforced concrete and the tank contained therein is buried in a filling of inert material, such as sand.

According to another embodiment, the modular prefabricated petrol station includes a removable canopy mounted on pillars that are raised from the first support frame passing through interstices of the second support frame.

Moreover, it is disclosed a method of mounting a prefabricated modular petrol station. The claims as filed are integral part of this specification and are herein incorporated by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figures 1 to 4 are different views in section of a modular prefabricated petrol station according to an embodiment of this disclosure.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the prefabricated petrol station of figures from 1 to 4. Figure 6 shows the prefabricated petrol station of figure 5 installed at a refueling area. Figure 7 shows in transparence the bottom portion of the prefabricated petrol station of figure 5.

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the bottom part of the prefabricated station of figure 5. Figures 9 and 10 are front and side sectional views of a modular prefabricated petrol station according to another embodiment of this disclosure.

Figures 11 and 12 are front and side views, respectively, showing the grid of traverses of the first supporting frame laying on the bottom of the hole.

Figure 13 is top view partially in section of the station of figures 9 and 10 showing the first frame 3 with buried pillars 14 laying on the bottom and the walls of the basin 1. Figure 14 is a top view partially in section of the station of figures 9 and 10 showing a third frame 16, that joins the buried pillars 14 and that is laying on the upper edge walls of the basin 1.

Figure 15 is a top view partially in section of figures 9 and 10 that shows yoke traverses 15, that join the buried pillars 14, and on which the supporting pillars 11 of a canopy are fixed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figures 1 to 4 show several sections of a form of an embodiment of a modular prefabricated petrol station according to this disclosure. If mounted on the ground, the prefabricated station modulation would appear as shown in Figure 5, with a containment basin 1 and an annular structure 5 superposed thereon. Once it has been installed below ground at the site where a petrol station service area has to be built, the modular prefabricated petrol station will appear as shown in Figure 6 and will be externally indistinguishable from any other fixed petrol station.

The modular prefabricated station of this disclosure can be installed in a short time and may be dismantled quickly, recovering practically all the parts of which it is composed, if its function is to temporarily overcome the momentary unavailability of fixed plants to be restructured, or when entrepreneurs realize that the location at which the petrol service is not profitable. It may be interred, it is prefabricated and easily removable. The only element not enclosed in the modular prefabricated petrol station of this disclosure is the so-called "decentralized load", as it is not possible to fill the fuel tanks directly under the canopy.

The modular prefabricated petrol station of this disclosure comprises substantially a prefabricated basin 1 of structurally stable material (e.g. concrete, reinforced concrete, etc.), resistant to external and internal stresses. The basin is hydrocarbon-resistant and is watertight, so any spills will be segregated inside it and highlighted by an oil detection alarm system. Inside the prefabricated basin, a fuel tank 2 is installed, preferably buried inside a layer 10 of inert material, for example a sand layer. The tank 2 can be either with a single wall or with a double wall, with a single containment chamber or subdivided into 2 containment chambers to contain different types of fuel. Conveniently, the station will be equipped with any electronic device for controlling levels and interspaces.

A peculiar aspect of the prefabricated station according to an embodiment of this disclosure, illustrated in figures 1 to 8, is the fact that above the basin 1 there is a first support frame 3 adapted to support a suspended canopy to shield the dispensing pump from the rain. The first frame 3 has a grid of traverses, clearly visible in figure 3 and in the transparence view of figure 7 and in the view of figure 8, which is mounted suspended on the upper edges of the side walls of the prefabricated basin 1. To the grid of traverses of the first frame 3 are secured pillars 11 for supporting a canopy 9. Above the upper edges of the prefabricated basin 1 there is an annular structure 5 separated from the prefabricated basin 1, that has side walls which define a lower perimeter that matches with the upper edges of the prefabricated basin 1, as clearly shown in figure 5. The tank 2 has to be buried deep and it is difficult to realize and manage a single piece basin 1 that contains the tank in depth and has a height so as to arrive practically at the floor level of the road. For this reason, it is simpler to construct a relatively small, relatively low basin 1, that is designed to be deeply interred, and to superpose the annular structure 5 to extend the height of the basin 1 until it reaches the level of the ground.

In the embodiment shown in figures 1 to 8, the annular structure 5 extends the height of the basin 1 so as to be over the grid of traverses of the first support frame 3 and to hold it firmly in the mounted position suspended above the prefabricated basin 1. Such a configuration provides stability to the frame 3, without directly fixing it to the fuel tank 2.

Typically, the annular structure 5 is made of the same material as the prefabricated basin 1 and is laid over the prefabricated basin 1 during assembly.

In order to support all other components required in a petrol station, a second frame 4 distinct from the first support frame 3 has a respective grid of traverses suspended on the upper edges of the annular structure 5. This second frame 4 is configured to support at least one supply manhole 6, at least one inspection manhole 7, both in fluid communication with the fuel tank 2, and to support at least one fuel dispensing pump 8 connected to the respective supply manhole 6.

As usual in all service areas, each petrol station has at least two different types of fuel and as many dispensing pumps 8. The tank 2 may then be compartmented into 2 containment chambers, one by type of fuel, so there will be 2 walkable inspection manholes 7, as shown in the figures.

As apparent from the figures, the first frame 3 intended to support a canopy 9 is below the second frame 4 for the installation of the dispensing pumps, of the walkable inspection manholes and of the supply manholes, as well as intended to the installation of payment terminals.

Typically, the basin 1 with the tank 2 will be interred, so as the tank 2 is below the road surface. The annular structure 5 may also be interred so as the second frame 4 is at the level of the road surface, or it may be partially off-ground. At least two supporting pillars 11 are secured to the first support frame 3 for a suspended canopy 9. These pillars 11 are then fixed below the road surface and in the embodiment of figures 1 to 8 they pass throughout interstices of the second frame 4, to rise above the road surface and support the canopy 9. With this configuration, the weight of the suspended canopy 9 is withstood by the first supporting frame 3, which is buried, and not by the second frame 4, typically at the road level, on which the inspection manholes 7 and the dispensing pumps 8 are installed.

The applicant has found that it is possible to securely hold a canopy even in another way, always without fixing it directly to tank 2, that should be avoided at all costs for safety reasons. An alternative embodiment is illustrated in figures from 9 to 15, using the same numeral references as in figures 1 to 8 to designate corresponding features. This other embodiment differs from the one just illustrated by the fact that the grid of traverses of the first support frame 3 is laid at the bottom of the hole and is overlaid by the basin 1 laying thereon. As shown in the partially sectional view of figure 13, the support frame 3 has two rectangular traverses 3a, 3b, preferably made of concrete, joined by a beam 3c, which may for example be of the HEA300 type. To the traverses 3a and 3b, the support pillars 11 of the canopy 9 will be fixed.

This embodiment is preferred because, while in the embodiment of figures 1 to 8 only the weight of the annular structure 5 prevents the first supporting frame 3 from moving, in the embodiment of figures 10 to 15 it is instead the overall weight of the annular structure 5, of the basin 1, of the sand 10, and of the tank 2 with all its content to hold the first supporting frame 3. The first supporting frame 3 is therefore more firmly anchored, but always without being fixed directly to tank 2.

In order to provide additional stability to the structure and to support an oil separator, a third supporting frame 16 (figure 14) is inserted with a third grid of traverses joining the interred pillars 14, the third grid of traverses 16 being mounted over the upper edge of the basin 1 and below the bottom edge of the annular structure 5.

The uprights 11 of the canopy 9 may be fastened to the first supporting frame 3 in several ways. For example, as shown in figures 9 to 15, from the grid of traverses 3, resting on the bottom of the hole and underneath the basin 1, there are two pairs of underground pillars 14 running along the outer walls of the basin 1 and of the annular structure 5. On each pair of buried pillars is mounted a respective yoke traverse 15, better visible in figure 15, each of which is secured at least to a respective supporting pillar 11 of the canopy 9. Conveniently, yoke traverses 15 pass throughout respective grooves of the upper edge of the annular structure 5, so that they can be easily mounted after positioning the annular structure 5.

As in the embodiment of figures 1 to 8, the supporting pillars 11 of the canopy may pass through interstices of the grid of traverses of the second supporting frame 4.

According to a variant not shown in the figures, there may be supporting pillars 11 of the canopy joined directly to the underground pillars 14.

The prefabricated station of this disclosure will conveniently be provided with an inspectionable oil separation basin 12, supported by the first frame 3, in the embodiment of figures 1 to 8, or supported by the third frame 16 in the embodiment of figures 9 to 15. The basin 12, for collecting rainwater and drainage from the surface destined to fuel dispensing, may contain a filter 13 for separating water from mineral oils and hydrocarbons, for example a coalescence filter 13, so that pollutants are filtered before draining into the sewer. Typically, the basin 12 will be made of steel or fiberglass or any other material suitable for collecting waters, polluted by mineral oils and hydrocarbons, compatible with current regulations.

Conveniently, the modular prefabricated station according to this disclosure will be equipped with double wall pipes prefabricated in factory, that have only be connected to the terminals on the tank 2 and to the dispensing pumps 8. In order to complete the prefabricated petrol station, it will have a decentralized load with multiple inlets to feed several tanks possibly placed in parallel, and there will also be a connection system among the compartments of the tank and the decentralized load. It is the sole part of the plant, along with the decentralized load, that does not weigh on the basin. For this reason, the pipes will pass throughout a conduit made of concrete or similar material, that can be inspected and that is sealed to prevent any risk of contamination with the outside.

Conveniently, there will also be a control panel for controlling interstices because the double walls have to be monitored continuously. The control unit will be mounted on a plate secured to the second frame 4 and it may be connected to a remote alarm management server.

To comply with legal requirements, the modular prefabricated petrol station of this disclosure, once assembled, will be delimited by water collection channels that will surround the so-called "hot areas" (below the canopy, the decentralized load).

A continuous operating oil separator will be conveniently integrated into the basin 1. A collecting pipe will convey drawing water to the oil separator built in accordance with UNI EN 858-1. At the outlet, the drawing water will be sent to the receptor authorized from time to time.

The prefabricated petrol station of this disclosure may be used in all cases in which an entrepreneur intends to invest in a gas station but wants to be able to venture out quickly if the site is unprofitable due to poor passage of users. The station is removable and allows for fast disassembly for the subsequent reuse of all installed components. At present, the possibility of dismantling traditional service areas is still present, but in these dismantling nothing is recovered but the fuel dispensers and some electromechanical components off-ground. In addition, dismantling always poses environmental problems, while in case of the petrol station of this disclosure every possible spillage is delimited and collected by the basin and by the containment channels.

It also allows an entrepreneur to make an investment on a low-impact equipment that can be paid with a monthly fee, without having to face large investments required by traditional service areas. In addition, it can be used as a removable temporary station. In conclusion, the advantages of the modular prefabricated petrol station of this disclosure can be summarized as follows:

1. It can be installed fast, not longer than 7-10 days are required, because it is fully integrated and largely pre-assembled;

2. Easy installation;

3. Accumulation capacity in line with current market requirements (approximately a volume of 24m ³ of single product, the volume being split on request using a bicameral tank);

4. Modularity of the station by creating more interconnected islands, in case more quantities of product or different product types were needed; 5. Reduction of the risk of environmental pollution. All risky components are monitored continuously and segregated into appropriate collection containers (basin and channels);

6. Reduced cost, that is also diluted through monthly fees;

7. Possibility of removing and repositioning elsewhere the station, so the investment does not remain locally blocked if it is not profitable.