Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60S—SERVICING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, SUPPORTING, LIFTING, OR MANOEUVRING OF VEHICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60S3/00—Vehicle cleaning apparatus not integral with vehicles
  • B60S3/04—Vehicle cleaning apparatus not integral with vehicles for exteriors of land vehicles
  • B60S3/06—Vehicle cleaning apparatus not integral with vehicles for exteriors of land vehicles with rotary bodies contacting the vehicle
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B13/00—Brushes with driven brush bodies or carriers
  • A46B13/001—Cylindrical or annular brush bodies
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B13/00—Brushes with driven brush bodies or carriers
  • A46B13/001—Cylindrical or annular brush bodies
  • A46B13/006—Cylindrical or annular brush bodies formed by winding a strip tuft in a helix about the body
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B3/00—Brushes characterised by the way in which the bristles are fixed or joined in or on the brush body or carrier
  • A46B3/16—Brushes characterised by the way in which the bristles are fixed or joined in or on the brush body or carrier by wires or other anchoring means, specially for U-shaped bristle tufts
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
  • A46D1/00—Bristles; Selection of materials for bristles
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B2200/00—Brushes characterized by their functions, uses or applications
  • A46B2200/30—Brushes for cleaning or polishing
  • A46B2200/3046—Brushes for cleaning cars or parts thereof

Definitions

• the invention relates to improvements in the equipment of automatic washing installations for vehicles with rotary brushes for vehicles such as cars, trucks, coaches, trains, etc.
• the rotary brushes are in fact constituted by drums, driven in rotation, on which is fixed a removable lining provided with relatively long monofilaments.
• the linings consist of a substrate, that is to say a sheet the height of the drum and a width corresponding to the circumference of the drum on which monofilaments are fixed by introducing them into perforations provided in the substrate. These operations are generally carried out by hand.
• this general shape in section of a rhombus with concave sides has the advantage of better retaining the water which is injected or projected simultaneously with the rotation of the brushes. Indeed, on the four sides of the monofilament, it has four longitudinal grooves allowing the circulation of water, possibly water mixed with a surfactant.
• Other forms may however exist. They are arranged or implanted in variable geometric patterns on a suitable support by suitable means.
• the present invention essentially aims at improving the linings of rotary drums intended for washing installations.
• it is sought to obtain a lining which can be laid easily whatever the dimensions of the drum used.
• the aim is also to use a type of lining which allows mechanical implantation of the monofilaments in the substrate to be achieved mechanically.
• the aims of the invention could be achieved by making the lining of the drums in the form of a relatively narrow strip wound helically on the drum.
• the fixing of the lining on the drum can be carried out by any suitable means and preferably is carried out in the form of a helical winding from the bottom up, having first fixed a lower end of the strip before proceeding to its helical winding.
• the fixing points can be reduced, which is already a first advantage compared to conventional fittings.
• Any suitable means can be used for this fixing. It can be done by riveting, stapling, etc.
• a helical winding of a narrow strip makes it easy to adapt to drums of different height and perimeter provided that there is a large length of strip suitable for the intended function. Ultimately, even if the drum is not cylindrical, no mounting difficulty arises in the case of the use of a band.
• An additional advantage of using a narrow band results in the fact that it becomes easy, without being inconvenienced by the already implanted monofilaments, to mechanically implant the filaments since, in principle, only a few successive rows of monofilaments are implanted on the substrate.
• the implantation of monofilaments on the substrate can be carried out in any suitable conventional manner, preferably by stitching, by welding, by interlocking, etc.
• a strip width is used such that it allows the implantation of at least one row of monofilaments and preferably one to three rows. Above three rows, it can be inconvenient to carry out
• the invention also relates to improvements made to the monofilaments used.
• monofilaments of rotary brushes in twisted form while maintaining a cross section of general shape of a polygon, preferably a polygon with concave sides, according to the state of the art.
• the present invention also relates to arrangements or combinations involving several parallel monofilaments which have been twisted together and simultaneously, the monofilaments having a cross section of generally polygonal shape, in accordance with the state of the art.
• the general shape of the polygon is that of a rhombus and more particularly of a square, but other polygonal shapes are possible, whether they are with concave sides or not.
• the term twisted must be understood to mean that, unlike the embodiments of the state of the art where the edges of the monofilament are parallel to the longitudinal axis, they affect, in the case of the invention, a shape helical with respect to the longitudinal axis of the monofilament or of the set of several monofilaments. It is however advisable to maintain the longitudinal grooves on the faces of the monofilament.
• the degree of twist (or the pitch), that is to say the number of twists per unit of length of the filament alone or arranged in a combination of several filaments is chosen according to the desired effect.
• a very low degree of twist is generally chosen.
• the direction of twist is generally any (left or right). The same applies to the diameter and the type of material, provided that they are suitable for the purposes sought.
• the monofilament can be implanted on the substrate to form a brush in the conventional manner for this type of product. All the usual implantation and fixing techniques (in particular by sewing the monofilaments) can be used.
• the embodiment described provides good washing efficiency while reducing the risk of vehicle marking.
• the monofilament or the combination of several parallel monofilaments are preferably twisted during their manufacture by freezing by cooling at ordinary temperature, this twisted shape on the filament which is still hot. It is for example possible to twist the monofilament (s) simultaneously with its passage to the semi-pasty state in a die, either by imparting a rotational movement to the die head, or by causing a rotational movement of the reel for receiving the monofilament.
• the monofilament or the combination of several parallel monofilaments should be twisted only relatively slightly to already obtain the desired effect (for example a few turns per running meter). Significantly higher values are to be avoided because they do not increase efficiency but on the other hand induce unnecessary tensions in the material.
• the determination of the particular value desired as a function of the particular type of filament can be determined by prior tests.
• the facilities of the type Wesumat ® use substrates of 32 x 38 cm in which approximately 524 are provided perforations into which are implanted monofilaments.
• a strip of the order of 1 to 2 cm in which a monofilament is implanted at each centimeter can be wound in a spiral on a drum and fulfill the same function as the aforementioned substrates.
• the implantation of monofilaments can be carried out according to various techniques.
• Figure 1 shows the helical winding of a strip of substrate on a drum. In this view, only the substrate is shown and the monofilaments are not.
• FIG. 2 represents the implantation of the monofilaments by clipping onto the substrate using an attached fixing element (section view).
• FIG. 3 represents a fixation of monofilaments by stitching (perspective view during execution).
• the drum 1 is shown during the helical winding of the substrate strip 2.
• the monofilaments which appear in Figures 2 and 3 and which are not shown are of course implanted before the helical winding.
• the substrate shown in the form of a strip bearing the general reference 2 is provided with monofilaments bearing the general reference 3.
• the strip 1 has a projection formed in one piece 5 with the substrate or a part fixed thereon which has at its upper part a recess 7 in the form of a clamp.
• the filament is introduced manually or using a machine for example every centimeter and an insert 9, preferably of round shape, is pressed into 1 "recess to hold the monofilaments 3.
• the substrate 2 has a longitudinal groove 11 in which the monofilaments are preferably arranged using a machine which regularly spaces the monofilaments 3, for example every centimeter.
• a thread (not shown) can then be stitched (sewn) into the groove to hold the monofilaments 3 which then tend to straighten out as shown on the right side of the drawing.
• the conventional materials used both for the substrate and for the monofilament can be used.
• Polyolefins and polyamides are the most common.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Brushes (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=3885588

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (7)

Family Cites Families (1)

• 1991
  • 1991-06-27 BE BE9100618A patent/BE1005035A6/fr not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1992
  • 1992-06-26 EP EP92912120A patent/EP0591271A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1992-06-26 WO PCT/BE1992/000027 patent/WO1993000235A2/fr not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (7)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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