DE8708795U1 - Roller door for car washes, especially for car wash tunnels - Google Patents

Description

B e se h f e i b u_n._.g

The invention relates to a roller door for car washes, in particular for car wash tunnels for closing the entrance and exit openings of the car wash and/or for forming closed treatment stations within a car wash tunnel, with a tarpaulin that can be wound up and unwound on a horizontal winding shaft by means of a motor.

Basically, there are two types of automatic car wash systems. Firstly, there are so-called gantry wash systems, where the vehicle to be washed is stationary and the cleaning elements arranged on a gantry are guided along the vehicle. Secondly, there are so-called washing lanes, where the vehicle is pulled through the wash system using a conveyor system. The washing devices are arranged stationary along the rolling direction of the vehicle.

One problem with such car washing systems, particularly with car wash tunnels, is that the energy losses through the entrance and exit openings are very high. Another problem is that in car wash tunnels the vehicles to be cleaned ^pass through various treatment stations one after the other, each of which carries out a specific treatment process. There is a risk that chemicals that are sprayed onto the vehicle in one treatment station, for example, will reach the neighboring treatment stations, where they are unwanted and can seriously disrupt the cleaning process.

To address these problems, a roller door has already been proposed that would facilitate entry and exit of car washes.

can close openings or separate the various treatment stations within car washes from one another* so that they are more or less closed off. The well-known roller shutter consists of a tarpaulin that can be wound up or unwound on a horizontal winding shaft, whereby the winding shaft is driven by a motor. When the vehicle is to pass through the roller shutter, for example when the vehicle is transported into a car wash, the tarpaulin is wound up on the winding shaft and unwound again after the vehicle has passed. Accordingly, in car washes the tarpaulins are briefly wound up on the winding shaft when the vehicle is transported from one specific treatment station to the next.

With the well-known roller shutter, the winding and unwinding process of the tarpaulin causes problems, which in particular also lie in the fact that the tarpaulin can hang down limply.

Based on this, the invention is based on the object of improving the winding mechanism for the tarpaulin in the known roller shutter, whereby it should be ensured in particular that the tarpaulin is taut at all times.

As a technical solution, the invention proposes that a chain wheel or the like is fixedly arranged on the end of the winding shaft and that corresponding chain wheels are mounted in the floor area of the washing line so that they can rotate freely, whereby an endlessly rotating chain or the like* driven by the winding shaft is guided parallel to the plane of the tarpaulin via chain wheels that correspond to one another and lie one above the other, and that an auxiliary winding shaft parallel to the winding shaft is arranged freely rotatably between the two chains on these, onto which the lower end of the tarpaulin is

piece and which is provided with a pre-tension spring which tries to wind the lower end of the piano onto the auxiliary winding shaft and tensions the planes between the winding shaft and the auxiliary winding shaft.

The roller shutter designed in this way has the advantage that the tarpaulin can be wound up and unwound without any problems thanks to the rotating chains to which the lower end of the shutter is attached, whereby the pre-tensioned auxiliary winding shaft at the lower end of the shutter ensures that the shutter is always held taut between the upper winding shaft and the lower auxiliary winding shaft without there being any danger of the shutter hanging down slackly. The auxiliary winding shaft, on which the lower end of the shutter is partially wound, forms a type of spring roller shutter together with the pre-tension spring, which always tightens the shutter. The roller shutter is characterized overall by a simple design and is inexpensive to manufacture, so that it can be used anywhere where temperatures, moisture and noise can escape. The components are not very susceptible to failure, so that repairs are minimal.

According to a further feature of the invention, it is proposed that a horizontal crossbeam is fixedly arranged between the two chains and that the auxiliary winding shaft is mounted on this crossbeam, preferably below the crossbeam, parallel to it, so that it can rotate freely. The crossbeam is preferably guided at each end in vertical frame parts (frame legs). The additional horizontal crossbeam has the advantage that it gives the lower end of the tarpaulin great stability by forming a solid bridge or a solid connection between the two endless chains, so that the lower auxiliary winding shaft can be mounted so that it can rotate freely at the lower end of the tarpaulin in a very simple manner. In particular,

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In this context, the horizontal traverse has the advantage that the distance between the two chains is always constant, so that no problems can arise with the pivot bearing of the auxiliary winding shaft. The end-side guidance of the traverse improves the overall stability of the entire system.

In a preferred embodiment of the roller door, a U-shaped frame that is open at the bottom is proposed, which is suspended parallel to the horizontal frame base of the frame and can pivot freely, with the winding shaft and the auxiliary winding shaft being mounted on both sides between the side frame legs of the frame and the lower chain wheels being mounted freely rotatably at the lower end of the side frame legs. This freely pivoting frame creates a pendulum suspension in which the frame can swing away together with the tarpaulin if the motor for winding up the tarpaulin fails and the vehicle drives into it. If the pendulum swings a certain distance, a switch can be activated that stops the conveyor belt in the car wash. Overall, this ensures that the vehicle will not be significantly damaged in the event of such a defect.

_r In an advantageous development of the auxiliary winding shaft, it is proposed that it is mounted so as to be freely rotatable on bearing pins which are fixed relative to the chains, and that a spiral spring is arranged as a pre-tensioning spring between at least one of the bearing pins and the auxiliary winding shaft, with one end of the spiral spring being fixed to the auxiliary winding shaft and the other end to the bearing pin. Such a spiral spring, which is arranged between a fixed bearing pin and the freely rotatable auxiliary winding shaft, is used to pre-tension the auxiliary winding shaft in a technically simple manner, with

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In this arrangement the spiral spring always ensures that the preload is permanently maintained.

In a further preferred embodiment of the roller door, it is proposed that at least one light barrier (photocell) is arranged parallel to the auxiliary winding shaft to control the motor for the winding shaft. The light barriers enable the lower end of the tarpaulin to follow the contour of the vehicle exactly by actuating the winding shaft accordingly through the light barrier. The winding and unwinding of the tarpaulin is thus controlled by the vehicle driving through at any given time, with the passage opening always only being as high as the contour of the vehicle determines. In this way, an optimal closure with the smallest possible openings is possible.

Finally, the invention proposes that an additional light barrier (photocells) be arranged in front of the roller door in the direction of transport of the vehicles through the car wash. Such an additional light barrier can be installed, for example, 1 m in front of the entrance to the roller door, so that in car washes there is enough time to raise the lower end by the height of the bonnet.

Further details and advantages emerge from the following description of the accompanying drawings, in which a roller door according to the invention for a car wash is shown schematically. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 a view of an old roller door in conveying direction

of the vehicles through the car wash;

Fig. 2 a section along the line II-II in

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Fig. 3 a schematic representation in five stages

pen when a vehicle passes through the roller shutter.

In Fig. 1 and 2, a roller door 1 is shown in its basic structure, while in Fig. 3 the operation of the roller door shown in Fig. 1 and 2 in a car wash is shown in successive stages A to E.

The roller door 1 has a U-shaped frame 2, whereby the "U" is open towards the outside. The frame 2 thus has a horizontally running frame base 3, from which frame legs 4 extend downwards at each end. At each end, the frame base 3 of the frame 2 is provided with bearing pins 5, which are in bearings

6 , whereby these bearings 6 are anchored in the masonry 7 of the car wash, as can be seen in Fig. 2. This masonry

7 forms an opening 8, which can be, for example, an entrance or exit opening of the car wash.

At the upper end of the frame 2 in the area of the frame base 3 and parallel to this, a horizontal winding shaft 9 is freely rotatably mounted between the side frame legs 4 of the frame 2. The winding shaft 9 can be driven, ie set in rotation, by means of an (electric) motor 10. A tarpaulin 11 is wound onto this winding shaft 9, which can be either wound up or unwound by actuating the winding shaft 9 accordingly. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the tarpaulin 11 is unwound 3/4 of the way.

At the end, the winding shaft 9 is provided with chain wheels 12 fixed to it. Instead of these chain wheels 12, toothed disks or the like can also be used. Corresponding chain wheels 13 are arranged freely rotatably at the lower end of the frame legs 4 of the frame 2. In order to

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superimposed and corresponding chain wheels

\ An endlessly rotating chain 14 is guided between 12 and 13.

These chains 14 are then driven in rotation when the engine

) gate 10 sets the winding shaft 9 in a rotary motion. The

; Motor 10 is thus both the drive for the winding shaft 9 and

also the drive for the chains 14, indirectly via the

upper sprockets 12.

A horizontal crossbeam 15 is fixedly arranged between the two chains 14, with the ends of this crossbeam 15 on both sides being attached to the corresponding chain 14, and a fixed arm 16 points downwards at each end of the crossbeam 15. Between these arms 16, an auxiliary winding shaft 18 is freely rotatably mounted on bearing pins 17. The lower end of the tarpaulin 11 is partially wound up on this auxiliary winding shaft 18.

As can be seen in Fig. 2, a pre-tensioning spring 19 in the form of a spiral spring is arranged between the bearing pin 17 and the auxiliary winding shaft 18, with one end of this pre-tensioning spring 19 being fixed to the auxiliary winding shaft 18 and the other end of this pre-tensioning spring 19 being fixed to the bearing pin 17 in such a way that it attempts to wind up the lower end of the tarpaulin 11 and thus tensions and holds it taut between the upper winding shaft 9 and the lower auxiliary winding shaft 18.

The cross member 15 is provided on each side with pins 20 which are guided in corresponding guide slots 21 in the frame legs 4 of the frame 2.

Furthermore, the traverse 15 has photocells 23 for a first light barrier on each of the vertically downward-pointing arms 22 and photocells 25 for a second light barrier on the horizontal arms 24.

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As can be seen in Fig. ₄ 3 iu , additional photocells 26 for a third light barrier are finally arranged in front of the roller shutter 1.

The function of the roller shutter 1 is as follows and is explained in Fig. 3 using various stages A to E:

In the initial state (stage A), the tarpaulin 11 of the roller door 1 is in the lowest position and rests on the floor 27 of the car wash. In this state, the tarpaulin completely closes the opening 8.

As soon as a vehicle 28, which is being transported through the car wash in the transport direction T, interrupts the light barrier formed by the photocells 26 approximately 1 m in front of the roller door 1 (stage B), the motor 10 actuates the winding shaft 9 and rolls up the tarpaulin 11 so that the lower edge of the tarpaulin 11 is at the height of the bonnet of the vehicle 28. By actuating the winding shaft 9, the chains 14 are simultaneously caused to rotate so that the lower end of the tarpaulin 11 is raised accordingly together with the cross member 15 and the winding shaft 18. By winding the tarpaulin 11 on the winding shaft 9, more and more layers are gradually formed which cover the outer diameter of the winding shaft 9 including the wound-up layers. of the tarpaulin 11, so that the tarpaulin 11 is gradually pulled up at an ever greater speed than the cross member 15 at the lower end of the tarpaulin 11. However, since the auxiliary winding shaft 18, on which the lower end of the tarpaulin 11 is wound up, is under the action of the pre-tensioning spring 19, this difference is compensated for by the lower end of the tarpaulin 11 being partially unwound from the auxiliary winding shaft 18, so that the tarpaulin 11 is always held taut between the upper winding shaft 9 and the lower auxiliary winding shaft 18.

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As soon as the vehicle 28 enters the effective range of the photocells 25 (stage C), the tarpaulin U is rolled up further up onto the winding shaft 9 in the prescribed manner. If the photocells 25 are released again, the direction of rotation of the winding shaft 9 is reversed - so that the tarpaulin 11 unwinds again and the cross member 15 lowers. If the light barrier formed by the photocells 23 is interrupted during this downward movement, the motor 10 stops until the downward movement is released again by the photocells 23 or until the light barrier 25 is switched on again. This interaction between the light barriers and the motor 10 enables the lower end of the tarpaulin 11 in the area of the cross member 15 to follow the contour of the vehicle 28 (stages C and D).

At the very end, when the vehicle 28 has passed the roller gate 1, the plan 11 moves back down to the starting position (stage E).

Due to the pendulum bearing of the frame 2 (bearing pin 5, bearing 6), if the roller door drive fails, the roller door 1 is pivoted in the transport direction T of the vehicle 28, which is indicated in Fig. 2 by the pivot angle V. The pivoting movement of the frame 2 can actuate a switch (not shown) which stops the conveyor device in the car wash*. Damage to the vehicle 28 is thus virtually impossible.

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B e &zgr; ü g s 2 eic h e &eegr; 1 is t e. i rolling gate 2 Frame 3 Frame base 4 Frame legs 5 Bearing journal 6 camp 7 Masonry OBi opening 9 Winding shaft Io engine II Plans 12 Sprocket 13 Sprocket 14 Chain 15 traverse 16 poor 17 Bearing journal 18 Auxiliary winding shaft 19 Preload spring SO cone 41 Guide slot 42 poor 43 Photocells 44 poor 45 Photocells 26 Photocells 147 Floor 28 vehicle A to E Stages T -Transport direction V Swivel angle

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Claims (1)

_w ^ PATENT ATTORNEYS *.· ^:: *'·.: &ugr;". .'.'·'. .·' DIPL.-ING. ALEX STENGER Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring 70 '"·»■'' *..**..' *,. ^: · DIPL.-ING. WOLFRAM WATZKE D-4000 DÜSSELDORF II DIPL.-ING. HEINZ J. RING EUROPEAN PATENT ATTORNEYS Our reference: 28 244 Date: June 24, 1987 ""Mr. Wash" Auto-Service Aktiengesellschaft
Cecilienallee 82, 4000 Düsseldorf 30 Roller shutter for car washes, especially
for car washes Expectations 1. Roller door (1) for car washing installations, in particular for car washing tunnels for closing the entrance and exit openings (8) of the car washing installation and/or for forming closed treatment stations within a car washing tunnel,
with a tarpaulin (11) which can be wound up and unwound on a horizontal winding shaft (9) by means of a motor (10), characterized, \ that on the winding shaft (9) at each end there is a chain wheel ' * (12) or similar is fixed and that in the floor area j of the washing line corresponding chain wheels (13) can rotate freely j are stored, whereby via corresponding and chain wheels (12, 13) lying one above the other, each with an endlessly rotating chain (14) or the like driven by the winding shaft (9) is guided parallel to the plane of the tarpaulin (11) and &iacgr; that an auxiliary winding shaft ' (18) parallel to the winding shaft (9) is freely rotatable between the two chains (14) on these , is arranged, onto which the lower end of the tarpaulin (11) is wound a little and which is secured by a pre-tensioning spring '(19) ., 2 - Telephone (Olli) J721J1 · TtIfS'<JS8«'<P pie djTtle/« (OJlV 5&bgr;&iacgr;!&Idigr;5 'A^lrokonlo KoIn (BLZ J7O10O50) 227610-503 &bull; 41 « * _&Lgr; which attempts to wind the lower end of the tarpaulin (11) onto the auxiliary winding shaft (18) and stretches the tarpaulin (11) between the winding shaft (9) and the auxiliary winding shaft (J8). 2. Roller door according to claim 1, characterized in that a horizontal cross member (15) is fixedly arranged between the two chains (14) and that the auxiliary winding shaft (18) is mounted freely rotatably on this cross member (15), preferably below the cross member (15) parallel thereto. 3. Roller door according to claim 2, characterized in that the cross member (15) is guided at each end in vertical frame parts (frame legs 4). 4. Roller door according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by a U-shaped frame (2) which is open at the bottom and which is suspended parallel to the horizontal frame base (3) of the frame (2) on the latter so as to be freely pivotable, and the winding shaft (9) and the auxiliary winding shaft (18) are mounted on both sides between the lateral frame legs (4) of the frame (2), and the lower chain wheels (13) are mounted so as to be freely rotatable at the lower end of the lateral frame legs (4). 5. Roller door according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the auxiliary winding shaft (18) is freely rotatably mounted on bearing pins (17) fixed relative to the chains (14) and that a spiral spring is arranged as a pre-tensioning spring (19) between at least one of the bearing pins (17) and the auxiliary winding shaft (18), one end of the spiral spring being fixed to the auxiliary winding shaft (18) and the other end to the bearing pin (17). 3 - Ii ·· 4 # M · · 4 i &iacgr; j M Mi· 4 · * . 4 ii * « · Wi * * · 4 « ft ■ 1* t till ..4 ti -&tgr;* ''' 6« Roiitor Make one» of claims 1 to 5* thereby characterized in that at least one light barrier (photocells 23* 25) for controlling the motor (iO) for the winding shaft (9) is arranged parallel to the auxiliary winding shaft (18). 7. Roller door according to claim 6, characterized in that an additional light barrier (photocells 26) is arranged in the transport direction (T) of the vehicles (28) through the car wash in front of the roller door (l).