US3688329A - Control mechanism for horizontal vehicle-scrubbing brush - Google Patents

Control mechanism for horizontal vehicle-scrubbing brush Download PDF

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Publication number
US3688329A
US3688329A US99408A US3688329DA US3688329A US 3688329 A US3688329 A US 3688329A US 99408 A US99408 A US 99408A US 3688329D A US3688329D A US 3688329DA US 3688329 A US3688329 A US 3688329A
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United States
Prior art keywords
brush
vehicle
hoist
drive means
normal position
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Expired - Lifetime
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US99408A
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English (en)
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Uberto Capra
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Individual
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Individual
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    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60SSERVICING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, SUPPORTING, LIFTING, OR MANOEUVRING OF VEHICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60S3/00Vehicle cleaning apparatus not integral with vehicles
    • B60S3/04Vehicle cleaning apparatus not integral with vehicles for exteriors of land vehicles
    • B60S3/06Vehicle cleaning apparatus not integral with vehicles for exteriors of land vehicles with rotary bodies contacting the vehicle
    • B60S3/066Vehicle cleaning apparatus not integral with vehicles for exteriors of land vehicles with rotary bodies contacting the vehicle the axis of rotation being approximately horizontal
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10STECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S15/00Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
    • Y10S15/02Car cleaning plants

Definitions

  • a horizontal scrubbing brush for a vehicle-washing apparatus is vertically guided on a support which is pivotally mounted on a portal frame for swinging about a horizontal axis, on either side of a normal vertical position, whenever the brush is deflected by contact with a transverse vehicular surface. If the swing exceeds a predetermined angle of inclination, a hoist motor is operated by an inclination-sensing switch to raise the rotating brush until the latter has returned to substantially its normal position, the weight of the brush being partly counterbalanced so that the brush bears under light pressure upon an adjoining generally horizontal vehicle surface after the hoist motor has been stopped. Another motor, controlled by the same switch, operated during standstill of the hoist motor to advance the portal frame with reference to the vehicle (or vice versa) to let the brush sweep the last-mentioned surface.
  • My present invention relates to a plant for cleaning, i.e., washing and/or drying, automotive vehicles and the like with the aid of rotating scrubbing brushes, e.g., as generally described in my prior US. Pat. No. 3,500,487.
  • Such systems normally include a so-called portal frame which straddles the path of the vehicle to be cleaned and which carries one or more scrubbing brushes, including at least one brush rotatable about a horizontal axis for cleaning the front, top and rear surfaces of the vehicle. Motion is imparted to the frame and/or to the vehicle for relatively displacing same during the scrubbing operation, the drive means used for this purpose being advantageously reversible to permit a more intensive sweep of both end surfaces.
  • front and rear surfaces of any automotive vehicles may be regarded generally as vertical, they do vary in shape and orientation from one vehicle to another, being usually somewhat inclined and gently curved in passenger cars but relatively steep and sharpedged in trucks or the like.
  • rate of ascent of the brush along these transverse surfaces depends on the frictional resistance encountered and is therefore a function of the angle of inclination as well as of other structural aspects of such surfaces.
  • the application of a given lifting force to the brush may therefore result in a faster or slower upward movement, at a rate which in some cases may unduly retard the completion of the scrubbing cycle and in other cases may excessively accelerate it at the expense of reduced efficacy.
  • the general object of my present invention is to provide an improved control mechanism for the relative movement of a vehicle and a scrubbing brush to afford an adequate treatment time for the end and top surfaces of a vehicle to be washed or dried, regardless of the shape and angle of inclination of the surfaces, with proper correlation between the vertical and horizontal motions.
  • a more specific object is to provide a system enabling the realization of the aforestated advantage with a counterrotating brush.
  • I provide a mounting for a horizontal scrubbing brush which biases the same downwardly onto an underlying vehicle surface in the unoperated condition of an associated hoist motor, this motor being turned on or off by a position sensor responsive to a deflection of a swingable brush support on the portal frame from a general vertical normal position. In that normal position, the sensor actuates the main drive motor to displace the vehicle with reference to the frame, or vice versa, along the track; under these circumstances the brush is suspended in its bottom position or bears under light pressure upon an underlying vehicle surface.
  • the previously deactivated hoist motor is operated to elevate the brush until it clears the vehicular end surface by which it had been deflected. Thereafter, as the support returns to normal, the hoist motor stops and the brush rides preferably under its own, partly counterbalanced weight on an adjoining, generally horizontal surface such as the hood or the roof of the vehicle. On reaching the opposite end surface, the brush drops down to its bottom level while the main drive is arrested and preferably reversed, manually or automatically, to repeat the process in the other direction.
  • the main drive is arrested whenever the hoist motor is energized so that no relative horizontal movements between the portal frame and the vehicle occurs while the brush is being elevated. If, during the sweep of a rising surface, the brush support is restored to its normal position because of a substantial inclination of that surface toward the vertical, the main drive is restarted and the hoist motor is arrested to hold the brush level constant while the portal frame advances to take up the slack.
  • the swingable brush support may be provided with centering springs or the like tending to maintain it in its normal vertical position.
  • FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic cross-sectional view of a portal frame provided with a swingable brush support according to the present invention
  • FIG. is a diagram of the control circuit for the several motors of the assembly of FIG. I.
  • FIGS. 3A-3L are a set of diagrammatic view illustrating the mode of operation of the system.
  • FIG. 1 I have shown a horizontal scrubbing brush 1 for washing the front, top and rear surfaces of an automotive vehicle V passing through a portal frame 4.
  • This frame is horizontally displaceable on a pair of rails 5 (only one shown) on which it rides by means of wheels 6 driven, in either of two directions, by a reversible electric motor 12.
  • Another electric motor 11 drives a capstan 11' around which a cable 3 is wound a few times, this cable passing about a pair of deflecting rollers 3, 3" and engaging one end of the shaft 1 of brush 1 whose other end is similarly suspended from a second cable not shown.
  • the two shaft ends are guided in slots 8 of a pair of uprights 8 (only one shown) which are swingable about the axis of roller 3' at opposite sides of frame 4.
  • motor 11 When operated, motor 11 rotates in a direction tending to raise the brush 1 toward the top of frames 4.
  • a limit switch may stop the motor 11 at that point.
  • brush support 8 carries a sensing device 10 which has been shown as a mercury switch but which could also be in the form of a photocell, a set of mechanical contacts or the like.
  • Sensor 10 detects any major deviation of brush support 8 from its illustrated normal position, i.e., a swing thereof to either side by a predetermined angle +0: or a.
  • Another switch 13 on support 8 is tripped by a dog 14, adjustably carried on cable 3, whenever the brush passes a predetermined level well above the top of the tallest vehicle to be scrubbed.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates, in addition, a manual master switch 15 in series with a source of operating current, a reversing switch 16 in the operating circuit of motor 12, a similar switch 16' (ganged with switch 16) in the operating circuit of a further motor 17 reversibly driving the shaft 1' of brush 1, a relay l8 operated in the closed state of switches 13 and 15, and a pair of alternately opened and closed switches 2, 2' in series with two off-normal bank contacts of position sensor 10.
  • Switch 13 is closed whenever brush 1 is elevated above the aforedescribed level from which, in the unoperated state of hoist motor 11, it can descend under its own weigh to the bottom of frame 4 (FIG. 1).
  • switch 13 Upon such descent, switch 13 is opened so that relay 18 cannot be energized, even if switch 15 is closed, as long as sensor 10 is in its normal position engaging its center contact. In that position, however, the main drive motor 12 is operated, in a direction determined by the position of reversing switch 16, in parallel with brush motor 17 whose sense of rotation is determined by the position of reserving switch 16 positively coupled with switch 16.
  • switch 2 In the illustrated position of switches 16 and 16', switch 2 is open while switch 2 is closed so that relay 18 can be energized only if the armature of sensor 10 engages its right-hand bank contact in series with that switch, i.e., if the brush support 8 is deflected by the angle +01 (FIG. 1) into one of its two off-normal positions.
  • relay 18 re-energizes the hoist motor 11 while the circuit of main drive motor 12 is interrupted at circuit breaker 10. If the switches 16 and 16' had been in their alternate position, motor 11 would have been energized only upon a deflection of the brush by an angle a in the opposite direction, with the armature of sensor 10 engaging its left-hand bank contact.
  • FIGS. 3A-3L successive stages in the scrubbing of a vehicle V by the system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
  • an arrow W indicates one direction of displacement of portal frame 4 (FIG. 1) relative to vehicle V, the opposite sense of displacement being denoted by an arrow W.
  • Arrows X and X show the two senses of rotation of brush 1 corresponding to the directions of movement W and W, respectively.
  • An arrow Y indicates the descent of brush 1 under its own weight, whereas an arrow Z shows its elevation by means of the hoist motor 11 (FIGS. 1 and 2).
  • Switches 2 and 2 have been indicated diagrammatically in FIGS. 3A-3L by a pair of circles.
  • An empty circle represents the inactive state of the switch (as shown for switch 2 in FIG. 2); a cross in the circle signifies a switch that is active but open-circuited (switch 2' in FIG. 2) whereas a dot in the circle denotes a switch that is both active and in circuit (engagement of the corresponding bank contact of sensor 10).
  • FIG. 3A shows the condition of brush 1 rotating counterclockwise (arrow X) and moving horizontally toward the front of the vehicle (arrow W).
  • Switch 2 is enabled but, at this instant, open-circuited so that the hoist motor is not operated, brush 1 therefore remaining at its illustrated bottom level.
  • This condition is not changed as the brush contacts the front of the vehicle, FIG. 3B, until the continuing advance of the portal frame deflects the brush and its support by the requisite angle a (FIG. 1) as shown in FIG. 3C.
  • the switch 2 completes the circuit for the hoist motor whose operation is symbolized by the arrow Z.
  • the brush With continuing counterclockwise rotation, the brush now scrubs the radiator grill of the vehicle (FIG.
  • the brush is again deflected by its engagement with the windshield so that hoist motor 1 l and drive motor 12 are altemately energized whereby the brush rides up that sloping surface in a stepped motion which, however, results in a continuous sweep owing to the resiliency of its bristles.
  • the brush resumes its steady rearward movement (arrow W) without any further energization of the hoist motor, descending under its own weight along the rear surface of the vehicle as indicated by arrow Y in FIG. 3H.
  • FIG. 3 shows the reverse swing of the brush, by an angle a (FIG. 1), as the brush re-engages the transverse rear surface of the vehicle at the beginning of its forward stroke. This deflection stops the forward drive and reoperates the hoist motor (arrow Z) whereupon the trunk and the rear window of the car are scrubbed essentially in the manner described with reference to the hood and the windshield. The roof of the car is swept once more (FIG. 3K), with the brush moving in the forward direction W, followed by a descent of the brush along the windshield and the hood to its starting level as shown in FIG. 3L.
  • a vehicle-cleaning plant comprising a portal frame straddling the path of a vehicle to be treated, first drive means for relatively displacing said frame and said vehicle, a scrubbing brush on said frame rotatable about a horizontal axis, second drive means for rotating said brush, and hoist means for raising said brush with reference to said path, the combination therewith of a support for said brush pivotally mounted on said frame for swinging about a horizontal axis, sensing means responsive to a swinging of said support by a predetermined angle into an off-normal position from a substantially vertical normal position, and circuit means controlled by said sensing means for operating said first drive means to the exclusion of said hoist means in said substantially vertical normal position and for operating said hoist means in said off-normal position with continuous operation of said second drive means, said brush being downwardly biased for descending onto an underlying vehicle surface in the unoperated state of said hoist means.
  • circuit means comprises a pair of switches coupled to said control means for completing an operating circuit for said hoist means in either of said alternate off-normal positions upon rotation of said first and second drive means in a first and a second direction, respectively.
  • circuit means is effective to arrest said first drive means in said off-normal positionv 6.
  • switch means controlled by said hoist means for making said circuit means ineffectual to arrest said first drive means upon a raising of said brush above a predetermined level.
  • biasing means comprises a counterweight partly balancing the weight of said brush.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Cleaning In General (AREA)
  • Vehicle Cleaning, Maintenance, Repair, Refitting, And Outriggers (AREA)
US99408A 1969-12-20 1970-12-18 Control mechanism for horizontal vehicle-scrubbing brush Expired - Lifetime US3688329A (en)

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Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IT2609169 1969-12-20

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US (1) US3688329A (zh)
ES (1) ES194746Y (zh)
FR (1) FR2073737A5 (zh)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4196486A (en) * 1978-03-03 1980-04-08 Ceccato & C. S.P.A. Control system for horizontal vehicle-scrubbing brush
US4495667A (en) * 1983-01-14 1985-01-29 Caravelle Industries, Inc. Vehicle washing apparatus
US5613260A (en) * 1995-07-28 1997-03-25 Belanger, Inc. Suspension and control system for a vehicle surface treating implement
US5755043A (en) * 1994-10-31 1998-05-26 Belanger, Inc. Contour dryer
US6510585B2 (en) * 2000-01-14 2003-01-28 Royal Appliance Mfg. Co. Turbo tool
US20090205148A1 (en) * 2008-02-19 2009-08-20 Wentworth Robert J Counter-balanced top wheel for a vehicle wash system

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3425080A (en) * 1964-05-15 1969-02-04 Heinz Dolitzsch Washing apparatus for vehicles,more particularly for motor vehicles
GB1141947A (en) * 1967-01-20 1969-02-05 Avw Equip Ltd Improvements in vehicle cleaning appliances
US3510899A (en) * 1966-10-06 1970-05-12 Vollenweider Ag Vehicle washing installation
US3593358A (en) * 1968-02-29 1971-07-20 Josef Hofmann Switch control mechanism for a carwash installation

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3425080A (en) * 1964-05-15 1969-02-04 Heinz Dolitzsch Washing apparatus for vehicles,more particularly for motor vehicles
US3510899A (en) * 1966-10-06 1970-05-12 Vollenweider Ag Vehicle washing installation
GB1141947A (en) * 1967-01-20 1969-02-05 Avw Equip Ltd Improvements in vehicle cleaning appliances
US3593358A (en) * 1968-02-29 1971-07-20 Josef Hofmann Switch control mechanism for a carwash installation

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4196486A (en) * 1978-03-03 1980-04-08 Ceccato & C. S.P.A. Control system for horizontal vehicle-scrubbing brush
US4495667A (en) * 1983-01-14 1985-01-29 Caravelle Industries, Inc. Vehicle washing apparatus
US5755043A (en) * 1994-10-31 1998-05-26 Belanger, Inc. Contour dryer
US5613260A (en) * 1995-07-28 1997-03-25 Belanger, Inc. Suspension and control system for a vehicle surface treating implement
US6510585B2 (en) * 2000-01-14 2003-01-28 Royal Appliance Mfg. Co. Turbo tool
US20090205148A1 (en) * 2008-02-19 2009-08-20 Wentworth Robert J Counter-balanced top wheel for a vehicle wash system
US8505144B2 (en) 2008-02-19 2013-08-13 Motor City Wash Works, Inc. Counter-balanced top wheel for a vehicle wash system

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR2073737A5 (zh) 1971-10-01
ES194746Y (es) 1975-06-01
ES194746U (es) 1975-01-01

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