GB2382977A

GB2382977A - Vehicle tyre cleaner

Info

Publication number: GB2382977A
Application number: GB0129579A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas James Smith; Philip Grant Smith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-12-11
Filing date: 2001-12-11
Publication date: 2003-06-18
Anticipated expiration: 2021-12-11
Also published as: GB0129579D0; GB2382977B

Abstract

A vehicle tyre cleaner which comprises a pair of parallel tracks 10, 11, each with spaced apart transverse ribs 15, and means for discharging at least one jet of steam or gas towards the wheels of said vehicle. The track may be of an open structure, with the discharge means being located within or beneath and discharging upwardly to clean the tyres. The jets may be movable in use in order to sweep across the tyre surface, and oriented at different angles to one another. An additive such as disinfectant may be introduced to the gas or steam discharged from the jets. The tracks have an elevated section 12 in order to allow access underneath for cleaning, with a fence 17 disposed alongside, and have lead-in and lead-out ramps 13 and 14. The ribs 15 are of an inverted V-shape, with the apex angle of the V being acute, and the apex being slightly rounded, and are spaced at intervals of about 9 inches.

Description

VEHICLE WHEEL CLEANER This invention concerns equipment for cleaning the wheels of vehicles moving from such as a construction site to reduce the amount of mud deposited on public roads.

Various arrangements are known where the vehicles are driven through water baths to wash their wheels.

Through careful observation of such arrangements, I have noticed that the water in the baths quickly becomes contaminated with mud and other debris. As well as requiring the use of large volumes of water, there is also the problem of disposal of the contaminated water.

The present invention seeks to provide a means of removing mud and dirt from vehicle wheels without necessarily relying on the use of water baths thus allowing the equipment to be more compact, more readily transportable and less costly, and avoiding the problems of supplying large volumes of water and disposal of the same after use.

According to the present invention there is provided equipment for cleaning dirt, e. g. mud and other debris, from the tyres of a vehicle comprising a trackway having a plurality of longitudinally spaced transversely extending ribs which cause the treads of the tyres to be deformed as a vehicle is driven over the tracks to release dirt therefrom, and means for discharging at least one jet of steam or gas (usually air) at the vehicle wheels as it passes over at least one section of the trackway to enhance dirt removal.

Such means may be arranged to discharge the jet (s) at the vehicle wheels in an exit region of the trackway so that jet cleaning of the wheels takes place predominantly or exclusively in that region. We do not however exclude the possibility of jet cleaning of the wheels taking place additionally or predominantly or exclusively over other regions of the trackway, e. g. over an intermediate section of the trackway between entrance and exit regions thereof.

As the vehicle passes over the tracks, its tyres are subjected to vibration and also the tyres are caused to deform at the locations of contact with the ribs thereby opening up the treads to facilitate release of dirt therefrom.

The trackway may be of open structure so that the jet (s) may be discharged upwardly through an opening or openings in the trackway. The open nature of the trackway also permits dirt etc to fall away through the openings thus avoiding an accumulation of dirt on the trackway which could otherwise be picked up again by the vehicle tyres.

The jet (s) may be discharged at the vehicle wheels from beneath the wheels and/or at other locations around the circumference of the wheels. For instance, the jet nozzle (s) may be located within or beneath the trackway.

The jet or jets may be fixed but one or more of the jets may be arranged to move in use, e. g. so as to sweep across the surfaces of the treads.

The jets may be oriented at different angles if desired.

The jet cleaning may be effected using one or more strategically located jets of compressed air, the air pressure being sufficient to enhance the removal of dirt etc from the channels within the tyre treads.

An additive may be introduced into thejet (s) for discharge on to the vehicle wheels. The additive may for instance comprise a disenfectant or other agent for combatting bacteria or viruses, e. g. to prevent the spread of diseases such as foot and mouth disease.

The additive within the jet (s) may be a liquid in atomised form. Atomisation of the additive liquid may be effected by the jet (s). For instance, air under elevated pressure may be passed through a Venturi section or device to which the liquid also supplied, the arrangement being such that the air flow draws the liquid into the flow stream during passage through the Venturi section or device.

A feature of the invention is that the use of water in the liquid state is avoided with the advantage that the brakes of the vehicle are not unduly wetted (where steam is used) or not all, thereby reducing or eliminating the reduced braking efficiency that is often encountered after a vehicle has passed through a water-cleaning bath.

The trackway may include an elevated section so that dirt removed from the tyre treads falls through the trackway into the space beneath from where it may be removed by raking.

The trackway may comprise two tracks arranged in spaced generally parallel relation to each other, i. e. consistent with the spacing between the wheels at one side of the vehicle and those at the other side.

The ribs may make substantially line contact with the tyres.

The ribs may each be of inverted V-shape with the apex thereof presented uppermost for contact with the vehicle wheels. The included angle at the apex of the V

may be acute to reduce the tendency for the released dirt to adhere to the ribs. The apex of the V may be slightly rounded.

Typically, for tyres with a circumferential extent of about 4 feet, the ribs are spaced with a centre to centre pitch of 7 to 10.25 inches, preferably 7.5 to 9.75 inches and more preferably 8.5 to 9.5 inches. For example, the pitch may be about 9 to 9.25 inches.

The tracks may be elevated in at least in part and lead-in and lead-out ramps may be associated with or form part of each track. The ramps may be provided with ribs as defined above if desired.

The invention will be further apparent from the following description with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawing, which show, by way of example only, one form of equipment embodying same. In the drawings :- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the equipment; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic fragmentary cross-section of the equipment on the line II-II of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a diagrammatic transverse sectional view showing a presently preferred rib configuration.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be seen that the equipment comprises a trackway formed by a pair of spaced apart generally parallel tracks 10 and 11 which are positioned on the ground to enable a vehicle to be driven thereover. Each of the tracks 10 and 11 comprises an elevated central section 12 typically having a length of about 14 metres with lead-in and lead-out ramps 13 and 14 at either end.

The tracks are of openwork structure formed by a plurality of longitudinally spaced transversely extending ribs 15 formed by inverted lengths of angle iron supported at either end by beams 16. Barrier fences 17 may be provided along the outer edges of the two tracks to aid positioning of a vehicle as it is driven over the tracks. Although the ramps 13 and 14 as illustrated are provided with ribs 15, this need not necessarily be the case or they may be provided with ribs only over part of their lengths, e. g. in the regions adjacent the central elevated section of the tracks. Thus, for example, at least the initial and final sections respectively of the lead-in ramps and lead-out ramps may include plates over which the tyres run before, and after, encountering the ribs 15.

Although it is preferred that the tracks have an elevated section as illustrated, the possibility of locating the ribbed sections of each track over a pit is not excluded in which case the elevated section may not be required.

As a vehicle is driven over the ribbed tracks its wheels are repeatedly jolted by passage over the ribs 15. Also the tyres are repeatedly deformed with consquent opening up of the treads thereof. In this way mud and other debris can be displaced from the wheels to fall into the space beneath the sections 12 for subsequent removal as by raking.

In accordance with a feature of the present invention, the installation is provided with a number of strategically located nozzles (not shown) arranged to discharge jets of steam or compressed air at the vehicle wheels as the vehicle is driven over the trackway. Where the nozzles are for producing high pressure air jets, they may be connected by pipework to a suitable air compressor producing sufficient pressure to ensure that the jets are effective in enhancing removal of dirt etc, i. e. more effective dirt removal than if such jets are not present. In the case of steam jets, the nozzles are connected by suitable pipework to a water boiler system. In both instances, an additive such as a

disinfectant may be introduced in such a way that the disinfectant is present, e. g. in atomised form, in the resulting air or steam jets.

The nozzles may be located beneath the level of the upper surface of the trackway so as to produce upwardly directed jets which impinge on the tyre treads. For instance, the nozzles may be arranged to discharge through the openings between adjacent ribs 15. Additionally or alternatively, nozzles may be provided for directing compressed air or steam jets at any convenient location on the tyres. For example, nozzles may be located at strategic points at the sides of the trackway to discharge jets generally horizontally or downwardly from the sides of the trackway onto the vehicle tyres.

The nozzles may be located at suitable points along the trackway, e. g. over the region of the lead-in ramps and/or the central sections and/or the lead-out ramp.

In one embodiment of the invention, the ribs 15 are of the form shown in Figure 3, comprising a box-section 20 surmounted by an angle iron section 22 which is welded to the section 20. These ribs are supported at each end by spaced longitudinally extending rails and may, for a typical tyre circumference of about 4 feet, be arranged with a centre to centre pitch of the order of 9 inches. Typically, the box-section is about 30 mm wide and 60 mm deep and the sides of the angle section are about 25 mm wide resulting in an acute included angle at the apex. On its exterior, the apex may be slightly rounded.

It will be appreciated that it is not intended to limit the invention to the above example only, many variations, such as might readily occur to one skilled in the art being possible without departing from the scope thereof. For instance, in the foregoing, reference is made to cleaning of the vehicle wheels but it will be understood that the jets of steam or gas may also be utilised for cleaning other parts of the vehicle, e. g. the vehicle chassis

and the vehicle body, including the application of disinfectant or other additives to such other parts of the vehicle.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Equipment for cleaning dirt, e. g. mud and other debris, from the tyres of a vehicle comprising a trackway having a plurality of longitudinally spaced transversely extending ribs which cause the treads of the tyres to be deformed as a vehicle is driven over the tracks to release dirt therefrom, and means for discharging at least one jet of steam or gas (usually air) at the vehicle wheels as it passes over at least one section of the trackway to enhance dirt removal.
2. Equipment as claimed in Claim 1, said means being arranged to discharge the jet (s) at the vehicle wheels in an exit region of the trackway so that jet cleaning of the wheels takes place predominantly or exclusively in that region.
3. Equipment as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, thetrackway being of open structure so that the jet (s) may be discharged upwardly through an opening or openings in the trackway.
4. Equipment as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, the jet (s) beingdischarged at the vehicle wheels from beneath the wheels and/or at other locations around the circumference of the wheels.
5. Equipment as claimed in Claim 4, the jet nozzle (s) being located within or beneath the trackway.
6. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which one or more of the jets is arranged to move in use, e. g. so as to sweep across the surfaces of the treads.

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7. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the jets are oriented at different angles relative to one another.
8. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which jet cleaning is effected using one or more jets of compressed air, the air pressure being sufficient to enhance the removal of dirt etc from the channels within the tyre treads.
9. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which an additive is introduced into the jet (s) for discharge on to the vehicle wheels.
10. Equipment as claimed in Claim 9 in which the additive comprises a disenfectant or other agent for combatting bacteria or viruses.
11. Equipment as claimed in Claim 9 or 10 in which the additive within the jet (s) is a liquid in atomised form.
12. Equipment as claimed in Claim 11 in which atomisation of the additive liquid is effected by the jet (s).
13. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the trackway includes an elevated section so that dirt removed from the tyre treads falls through the trackway into the space beneath from where it may be removed by raking.
14. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the trackway comprises two tracks arranged in spaced generally parallel relation to each other., i. e. consistent with the spacing between the wheels at one side of the vehicle and those at the other side.

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15. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the ribs are designed to make substantially line contact with the tyres.
16. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the ribs are each of inverted V-shape with the apex thereof presented uppermost for contact with the vehicle wheels.
17. Equipment as claimed in Claim 16 in which the included angle at the apex of the V is acute to reduce the tendency for the released dirt to adhere to the ribs.
18. Equipment as claimed in Claim 17 in which the apex of the V is slightly rounded.
19. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the ribs are spaced with a centre to centre pitch of 7 to 10.25 inches, preferably 7.5 to 9.75 inches and more preferably 8.5 to 9.5 inches.
20. Equipment as claimed in Claim 19 in which the pitch is about 9 to 9.25 inches.
21. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the tracks are elevated in at least in part and lead-in and lead-out ramps are be associated with or form part of each track.
22. Equipment as claimed in Claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.