Abstract:
Apparatus for cleaning and servicing vehicle brakes includes a caster mounted cabinet adapted to hold a small drum of cleaning solvent, the drum having an open top. A telescopic post or conduit extends upwardly from the cabinet to a hollow, hinged swing arm. A sink tray is mounted on the end of the swing arm and has a bottom drain opening that communicates with the hollow swing arm, which in turn communicates with the upright conduit to form drain piping for the sink tray. The outlet of the upright conduit empties into the solvent container in the cabinet. A pump mounted in the cabinet takes cleaning solvent from the drum and delivers it through a hose to a spray gun to be applied to the brakes to be cleaned. The telescoping post and adjustable swing arm allow the sink tray to be located directly under the brakes being cleaned to catch and return the used solvent. The cabinet also has a second basin or sink that drains into the container but can be used for cleaning parts.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to parts washers, and in particular, to machines for cleaning vehicle brakes, usually with the brakes still mounted on the vehicle. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE ART 
     In the course of servicing the brakes on a vehicle, such as an automobile, it is often desirable to clean the brake components, such as the drums, shoes or calipers and pads, cylinders, etc. Further, it is desirable to be able to do this without disassembling or removing the brakes from the vehicle. In order to do this, machines have been developed that have wheels or casters so that they can be rolled into position. These machines have a reservoir for containing solvent or water-based cleaners. A pump is included to pump the solvent from the reservoir through an extendable hose to a spray gun or flow-through brush for applying the cleaning fluid to the brake components. The used cleaning fluid then drips or falls downwardly to be caught by a large sink or basin located under the brake assembly and mounted on the machine. The sink then drains back to the reservoir. 
     A difficulty with the prior art brake washer machines stems from the fact that the vehicles are usually hoisted into the air to service the brakes. If the hoisting apparatus does not get in the way to prevent the parts washing machine from being positioned under the brakes to catch the cleaning fluid, then at least part of the hoisting apparatus blocks or diverts the flow of cleaning fluid coming from the brakes to the parts washer sink or basin. The result is that solvent is spilled and wasted. This also is an environmental hazard. 
     The present invention provides a brake washer with a sink tray that is mounted on a telescoping swing arm, so that the tray can be positioned right directly underneath the brake assembly being cleaned, thus avoiding spillage. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention, there is provided a brake cleaning apparatus comprising a base adapted to hold a container of cleaning fluid, the container having a top opening. An upright conduit is telescopically mounted in the base. The conduit has a lower outlet end portion adapted to communicate with the container opening, and a top inlet end portion. A hollow swing arm is attached to the conduit top inlet end portion to communicate therewith. The swing arm has a distal end portion defining an inlet opening. A tray is provided having a sump portion defining an outlet opening. The tray is mounted on the swing arm distal inlet end portion with the tray outlet opening in communication with the swing arm inlet opening. A pump is mounted on the base and has an inlet adapted to communicate with cleaning fluid in the container. The pump also has an outlet. A cleaning fluid hose is coupled to the pump outlet and has an outlet end adapted to extend above the tray. Also, means are provided for activating the pump to supply cleaning fluid to the hose. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is front perspective view, partly broken away, taken from above showing a preferred embodiment of a brake cleaning apparatus according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view taken from the front and the right side showing the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the cleaning fluid and air hoses removed; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the upright conduit, swing arm and tray assembly of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view from below of the assembled apparatus shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the fluid-tight coupling forming the hinged joint of the swing arm shown in FIGS. 1 to  4 ; 
     FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along lines  6 — 6  of FIG. 5, but showing the assembled coupling; 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged, exploded, perspective view showing the rotatable coupling joining the tray to the swing arm; 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along lines  8 — 8  of FIG. 7 showing the assembled rotatable coupling; 
     FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view, partly broken away, of the friction clutch used to lock the telescoping upright conduit into position; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a portion of the cabinet showing the stabilizers extended to prevent tipping; 
     FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view showing a pump and valve apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another preferred embodiment of an upright conduit, swing arm and tray assembly of the present invention; 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view of yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention showing a pneumatic cylinder to assist in lifting the tray; and 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the trigger spray guns used in the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring firstly to FIGS. 1 and 2, a preferred embodiment of a brake washer apparatus according to the present invention is generally indicated by reference numeral  10 . Washer apparatus  10  includes a base or cabinet  12 . Base cabinet  12  includes a lower dolly  14  having locking casters  16  mounted at the comers thereof to make washer apparatus  10  portable, or at least movable. A handle  17  is provided to facilitate the movement of washer  10 . It will be noted that dolly  14  has a lowered center portion  18  on which is mounted a cabinet portion  20 . This lowers the center of gravity of the base or cabinet assembly  12 . Cabinet portion  20  has a front access door  22 , so that cabinet portion  20  can house a removable container or drum  24 . Container  24  typically holds 50 to 60 liters of cleaning fluid and has an open top, or at least a top opening  26  for removing and returning cleaning fluid to container  24 . Alternatively, container  26  could have a closed top with access openings for the supply and return of cleaning fluid from and to the container. FIG. 1 shows a pump inlet tube  28  extending into container or tank  24  to withdraw cleaning fluid therefrom, as will be described further below. 
     Base  12  also has a sink or basin  30  mounted in the top of cabinet portion  20 . Basin  30  has a lower sump portion  32  with openings  34  formed therein to provide an outlet for fluid in basin  30  to pass downwardly back into container  24 . Sink or basin  30  can be used for washing loose parts in washer apparatus  10 . 
     Base cabinet  12  also includes a side housing  36  which contains the plumbing apparatus, valves, gauges and pump for operating washer apparatus  10 , as will be described further below in connection with FIG.  11 . It will note from FIG. 1, however, that two solvent hoses  38  and  40  and one compressed air hose  42  extend from side housing  36  to respective spray guns  44 ,  46  and air gun  48 . Spray guns  44 ,  46  are described further below in connection with FIG. 14, and air gun  48  can be a conventional, trigger-operated air blow gun. 
     Washer apparatus  10  also has an upright conduit  50  telescopically mounted in cabinet base  12 . A hinged or pivoting swing arm  52  is mounted on top of upright conduit  50 , and a swivelling or rotatable tray  54  is mounted on the end of swing arm  52 . Tray  54  has handles  55  to facilitate the gripping and rotation of the tray as well as the swing arm assembly  52 . The assembly formed of upright conduit  50 , swing arm  52  and tray  54  is described further below in connection with FIGS. 3 to  9 . 
     Referring next to FIGS. 3 to  6 , upright conduit  50  has a lower outlet end portion  56  and a top inlet end portion  58 . Swing arm  52  is formed of at least two hollow conduits  60 ,  62  located end-to-end with adjacent intermediate end portions  64 ,  66 . As seen best in FIGS. 5 and 6, a fluid-tight coupling or hinge joint  68  hingeably connects together the respective adjacent conduit intermediate end portions  64 ,  66 . Coupling  68  includes an upper bushing  70  fastened to the underside of conduit end portion  66 . Intermediate end portion  66  is formed with an opening  72  formed therein for the flow of cleaning fluid from hollow conduit  62  down through bushing  70 . A lower bushing  74  is mounted in an opening  76  formed in the top surface of intermediate end portion  64 . A washer  78  formed of nylon or some other suitable plastic or other sealing material is located between bushings  70 ,  74  to make coupling  68  fluid tight. Coupling  68  is held together by bolt  80 , lock nut  82  and washer  84 . Bolt and nut  80 ,  82  are tightened just sufficiently to provide a good seal between bushings  70 ,  74  and so that coupling  68  can hold the swing arm conduits  60 ,  62  in position, yet allow the swing arm conduits  60 ,  62  to be pivoted about the axis of bolt  80 . 
     Swing arm hollow conduit  60  is normally rigidly attached to upright conduit top inlet end portion  58 , yet swing arm  52  rotates or pivots about the axis of upright conduit  50  because conduit  50  is rotatably and slidably mounted in base cabinet  12 , as will be described further below. However, swing arm conduit  60  could be pivotally or rotatably attached to upright conduit  50 , if desired. 
     Referring next to FIGS. 7 and 8, tray  54  has a sump portion  86  defining an outlet opening  88 . Swing arm conduit  62  has a distal end portion  90  defining an inlet opening  92  therein. Tray  54  is rotatably coupled to swing arm conduit  62  by another rotatable, fluid-tight coupling  94  connecting tray sump portion  86  to swing arm distal end portion  90 . Fluid-tight coupling  94  includes an upper bushing  96  rigidly mounted in opening  88  of sump portion  86 . A lower collar  98  is rigidly attached to distal end portion  90 . Collar  98  has a central opening  100  therethrough to accommodate rotatably bushing  96  therein. A nylon washer  102  is located between the underside of sump portion  86  and collar  98 . Bushing  96  has an annular groove  104  formed therein, and set screws  106  extend into annular groove  104  to prevent bushing  96  from coming out of collar  98 . It will be appreciated that set screws  106  are left loose to allow tray  54  to rotate or pivot. However, set screws  106  could be tightened up to hold tray  54  in a specific position. If desired, set screws  106  could be replaced with thumb screws. With tray  54  mounted on swing arm  52  in this way, the tray outlet opening  88  is in communication with the swing arm inlet opening  92 . Cleaning fluid thus falling into tray  54  passes into swing arm  52  through fluid coupling  94 . The fluid then flows down through upright conduit  50  to exit through lower outlet end portion  56  and go into container  24 . Swing arm  52  has a slight downward slope from tray  54  toward upright conduit  50  to facilitate the flow of cleaning fluid through swing arm  52 . Also, bushings  70 ,  74  and collar  98  can be welded in place at a slight angle, so that their axes remain vertical to keep tray  54  level and swing arm hollow conduit  62  slightly angled downwardly even where conduit  62  is swung rearwardly or back toward hollow conduit  60 . 
     Referring next to FIGS. 1,  2  and  9 , base cabinet  12  has a collar  108  rigidly mounted therein to slidably and rotatably accommodate upright conduit  50 . As seen best in FIG. 9, collar  108  has a tapered upper inner wall portion  110 . A split friction sleeve  112  having a tapered outer wall  114  engages tapered inner wall portion  110 . A compression nut  116  is threaded onto threads  118  of collar  108 , so that tightening of compression nut  116  causes friction sleeve  112  to be squeezed inwardly to grip upright conduit  50  to prevent it from rotating or sliding axially in collar  108 . Collar  108 , friction sleeve  112  and compression nut  116  form a friction clutch  120  for releasably locking upright conduit  50  in position. Collar  108  and conduit lower outlet end portion can  56  be considered to be telescopic portions of conduit  50  for the purposes of the present specification. 
     A seen best in FIG. 10, dolly  14  has a pair of stabilizer bars  121  slidably mounted in tubes  122 . Stabilizer bars  120  have transverse end portions  124  which engage the ground to help prevent the washing apparatus from tipping. Transverse handles  126  are also provided to extend and retract stabilizer bars  120  and also to retain the bars in the extended position. It will be appreciated that by rotating handles  126  into a vertical position as seen best in FIG. 2, the stabilizer bars can be retracted into tubes  122 . It will also be noted in FIG. 10 that dolly  14  has an extended rear portion  127 , again to augment the stability of parts washer  10  by moving the rear casters further outwardly from the center of gravity of parts washer  10 . 
     Referring next to FIGS. 1,  2  and  11 , side housing  36  contains a cleaning fluid pump  128  and a pressure damper  130 . A quick-connect compressed air inlet fitting or coupling  132  is connected to an inlet ball valve  134  to supply compressed air to pump  128 . Air lines  136  also supply compressed air through a regulator  138  and pressure gauge  140  to a quick connect outlet coupler or coupling  142 , which can be used for accessory air tools. Compressed air is also supplied through another regulator  144  and pressure gauge  146  to quick-connect outlet coupler  148 , which in turn is connected or coupled to compressed air hose  42  (see FIG.  1 ). It will be appreciated that couplings  132 ,  142  and  148  are in fluid communication with each other. 
     Cleaning fluid coming from pump  128  is supplied through fluid lines  149  to flow-control ball valves  150 ,  152 , and from the ball valves to hose barbs  154 ,  156 . Solvent hoses  38 ,  40  (see FIG. 1) are connected to hose barbs  154 ,  156 , but quick-connect couplers could be used for this purpose as well, if desired. It will be appreciated that valves  150 ,  152  allow the flow to be adjusted individually for spray guns  44 ,  46 . 
     Pump  128  could be any type of pump and it could be an electric pump instead of an air pump, if desired. 
     Referring next to FIG. 12, another preferred embodiment of the invention is shown where upright conduit  158  is formed of a plurality of telescopic portions  160 ,  162  and  164 . Actually, telescopic portion  164  could be the collar  108  as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. If desired, friction clutches such as are shown in FIG. 9 could be used with telescopic portions  160 ,  162  and  164 . FIG. 12 also shows another embodiment for a swing arm  166  that is formed of a plurality of telescopic portions  168 ,  170 . Swing arm  166  could also be used in place of swing arm  52  on the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     FIG. 13 shows another preferred embodiment of the invention wherein a pneumatic cylinder  168  is used to assist in the raising and lowering of tray  52 . Cylinder  168  has a piston  170  with an offset bracket  172  slidably mounted on the top inlet end portion  58  of upright conduit  50 , so that conduit  50  can still rotate. Cylinder  168  is connected to the pneumatic air lines  136  and is operated through a pneumatic valve  174  mounted on side housing  36 . If desired, cylinder  168  could be made to raise and lower automatically upon the respective opening and closing of cabinet access door  22 . 
     A coil spring (not shown) mounted concentrically over upright conduit  50  could also be used in place of cylinder  168  to assist in the raising of tray  54 . In this case, the tray would be pushed downwardly to any desired level, and friction clutch  120  would be used to hold tray  54  at the desired level. A mechanical latch (not shown) could be provided in place of friction clutch  120 , and this latch could be connected so that it is released upon the opening of cabinet access door  22 , to automatically raises tray  54  when access door  22  is opened. 
     FIG. 14 shows air blow gun  48  and spray guns  44 ,  46 . Spray gun  44  is a scraper gun and it has a scraper blade  176  mounted on a nozzle  178 . Spray gun  46  has a flow-through brush  180  in place of a nozzle. Spray guns  44 ,  46  are made with special O-rings made from a material sold under the trade-mark VITON, but any suitable O-ring material could be used that would stand up to the solvents used in brake washer  10 . 
     In operation, a drum or container  24  of cleaning fluid is placed inside cabinet  20  and pump inlet  28  is put into the cleaning fluid. A source of compressed air is connected to inlet fitting or coupling  132  and valve  134  is opened. This activates pump  128  to supply pressurized cleaning fluid through outlet line  149 . One or both of the valves  150 ,  152  are opened to supply pressurized cleaning fluid to hoses  38 ,  40 . It will be appreciated that the outlet ends of hoses  38  and  40  to which spray guns  44 ,  46  are attached extend above tray  54  to be able to spray fluid onto brake assemblies that are located above tray  54 . Spray guns  44 ,  46  have triggers which activate pump  128  when pressed, pump  128  being pressure activated, or at least activated when the output pressure is reduced, such as when the spray gun triggers are pulled. 
     Cleaning fluid sprayed onto the brake parts being cleaned falls downwardly into tray  54  and then passes through hollow swing arm  52  or  166 . This fluid then passes through upright conduit  50  or  158  to be returned to container  24 . 
     Having described preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the structures described above. For example, only one cleaning fluid hose  38 ,  40  is required and compressed air hose  32  can be eliminated, if desired. The plumbing arrangement inside side housing  36  can be changed as desired. Instead of a replaceable cleaning fluid container  24 , a fixed or permanent cleaning fluid tank or container could be used. Cabinet basin  30  could be eliminated. Tray  54  could be round or circular or some other shape or size. Other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. The foregoing description is of the preferred embodiments and is by way of example only, and is not to limit the scope of the invention.