US3546731A - Rotary brush assemblies - Google Patents

Description

E. J. AHERN ROTARY BRUSH ASSEMBLIES Dec. 15, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 29; 1968 In 119 n for Edward J flherru 59 [us flfiornqy Dec. 15, I E AHERN ROTARY BRUSH ASSEMBLIES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29, 1968 United States Patent Office 3,546,731 Patented Dec. 15, 1970 3,546,731 ROTARY BRUSH ASSEMBLIES Edward J. Ahern, Manchester, N.H., assignor to S. A. Felton & Son Company, Incorporated, Manchester, N.H., a corporation of Maine Filed May 29, 1968, Ser. No. 733,062 Int. Cl. A46b 7/04 US. Cl. 15-183 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rotary brush assembly comprising a plurality of brush portions, each portion mounting a plurality of brush segments having elongated plastic backing members, and means for interconnecting said brush portions and for anchoring said plastic backing members to inhibit bowing out of the brush segments during periods of brush usage at high rotational speeds.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to rotary brushes and is directed more particularly to rotary brushes of the type suitable for use in automatic car washing facilities.

Description of the prior art It has become commonplace in automatic car Washing facilities to utilize relatively large rotary brushes mounted in such a way as to engage the sides and top of an automobile passing through the facility. Brushes of this type generally comprise a number of brush elements having wooden back members bolted at either end to circular end members which support the brush elements and which are caused to rotate about a common axis by power means.

It hasbeen deemed desirable to utilize plastic brush backing members in car washing installations, but such members generally suffer from a tendency to bow radially outwardly when the brush is rotating at high speeds, applying uneven pressure to automobile sides and tops.

Generally, brushes of this sort, because of their size, are shipped in halves and assembled at the car wash facility. Normally, bolts at either end of the brush backing members secure the members to circular end members which may be halved for shipment and later bolted together to complete the rotary brush.

Where plastic backing members are used, it is necessary that structural support portions other than the circular end members secure the backing members against the bowing out tendency. However, the use of bolts on the exterior of the brush backing members is not desirable in view of the possibility of the bolt engaging a car surface, and the use of bolts reaching into the interior of the brush assembly is not practicable in view of the fact that once the halves are together the brush assembly interior is closed so that nuts cannot be applied to such bolts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary brush assembly having plastic brush backing members.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rotary brush assembly comprising portions which may be shipped separately, and conveniently interconnected to form a complete brush assembly.

A still further object of the invention is to provide such assembly in which the brush backing support means is separable and readily interconnected by bolt means without the necessity of access to the interior of the assembly and without disposing the bolt means on the exterior of the brush.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, a feature of the present invention is the provision of a rotary brush assembly comprising first and second end members which are separable and interconnectable, elongated brush segments connected at either end to said end members, said brush segments having plastic brush backing members, support means disposed between said end members, said brush backing members being attached to said support means, said support means being separable into a plurality of support portions, and bolt receiving means integral with said support means for facilitating interconnecting of said support portions.

The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular device embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in various and numerous embodiments Without departing from the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which there is shown an illustrative embodiments of the invention from which its novel features and advantages will be apparent.

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of one form of brush assembly illustrative of an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, taken along line II-II of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the illustrative assembly includes a pair of end members 2, 4 fixed proximate to opposite ends of a common axle 6. Secured to the end members are brush segments 8 having elongated plastic backing members 10 to which are fixed tufts 12 of brush bristles. The brush segments 8 are locked to the end members by way of bolts 14 received in bores 16 in the backing members 10 and slots 18 in the end members. Nuts 20 retain the bolts in place.

The backing members 10 are further fixed to a Sup port structure 22 which prevents excessive bowing out of the plastic brush backing members 10 during high speed revolutions of the brush assembly. The support structure 22 comprises a first support member 24 and a second support member 26, generally radially divided from each other.

The first support member 24 includes a hub portion 28 shaped to receive the axle 6 and a flange portion 30 having slots 32 therein for receiving bolts 34 (FIG. 2) disposed in bores 36 in the brush backing members 10. Nuts 38 retain the bolts 34 in place whereby to lock the brush backing members 10 to the first support member 24. The first support member also has a pair of recessed lugs 40 which threadedly receive connecting bolts 42.

The second support member 26 includes a hub portion 44 shaped to receive the axle 6 and a flange portion 46 having slots 48 therein for receiving the bolts 34 disposed in the bores 36 in the brush backing members 10. The nuts 38 retain the bolts 34 in place whereby to lock brush backing members to the second support member 26. The brush backing members on either end of the second support member receive the connecting bolts 42 which are also received by the slots 48 in the flange portion 46 of the second support member and by the lugs 40 of the first support member. The flange portion 46 of the second support member is received in recesses defined by the recessed lugs 40 of the first support member. Thus, after setting of the connecting bolts 42, the first and second support members form the complete support structure 22 for the brush, the two halves of the brush being locked together, having internal facility to inhibit outward bowing, without the necessity of breaking the integrity of the brush either for the purpose of locking the two halves together or for the purpose of locking a support structure in place.

In operation, the brush assembly is shipped in two portions, or radially divided longitudinal halves, the end members being separable into two sections each. A pair of half end members with the brush segments bolted thereto constitute a first portion of the assembly. The fist portion also includes the first support member described above. Another pair of half end members with brush segments bolted thereto and including the second support member constitute the second portion of the assembly. The connecting bolts 42 may be provided with nuts (not shown) during shipment.

Upon arrival at the users facility, the nuts are removed from the connecting bolts 42 and the two portions of the assembly are bolted together by bolts 50 (FIG. 1) which operate to connect the end member halves. Bolting the two brush assembly portions together places the second support member flange portion 46 in the recesses defined by the recessed lugs 40 of the first support member 24, with the slots 48 in alignment with the threaded bores in the lugs 40. The connecting bolts 42 are threaded into the lugs 40 to connect the first and second support members 24, 26 together.

Although for illustrative purposes one support structure 22 has been shown, it will be appreciated that if deemed desirable a plurality of such support structures may be included in the brush assembly.

It is to be understood that the present invention is by no means limited to the particular construction herein disclosed and/or shown in the drawings, but also comprises any modifications or equivalents within the scope of the disclosure.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

I claim:

1. A rotary brush assembly comprising a plurality of brush portions radially separable along the longitudinal 4 axis and including a plurality of brush segments, said brush segments having elongated plastic backing members, means for interconnecting said brush portions to form a unitary rotary brush, and means for anchoring said plastic backing members to inhibit bowing out of the brush segments during periods of brush usage at high rotational speeds.

2. A rotary brush assembly comprising first and second end members, each end member being separable into a plurality of portions, means for interconnecting the end member portions, brush segments connected to said end member portions, said brush segments having elongated plastic backing members, and generally radially separable means connected to said backing members for anchoring said backing members to inhibit bowing out of the brush segments during periods of brush usage at high rotational speeds.

3. The invention according to claim 2 in which said anchoring means comprises a support structure separable into a plurality of support members, each support member being attached to brush segments, said support members being shaped complementarily to one another so that when said end member portions are connected together said support members fittingly engage one another, and means for interconnecting said support members by operations wholly on the exterior of the brush backing members, said support member interconnecting means including locking means in the interior of the brush assembly.

4. The invention according to claim 3 in which said support structure comprises first and second support members, recessed lugs disposed on said first support member, said second support member being receivable by recesses in said first support member defined by said lugs, and means associated with said lugs for lockingly receiving a fastener connected to a brush backing element and received by said second support member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,200,430 8/1965 Haracz 15l83 3,393,418 7/1968 Mundo 15183 FOREIGN PATENTS 109,394 9/1917 Great Britain 15-183 EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner

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