Roller assembly call up mechanism for a vehicle wash conveyor

A roller assembly call up mechanism for a vehicle wash conveyor having an endless chain with a plurality of spaced roller assemblies attached thereto for pushing a vehicle along a slotted track, is located below the track and includes a power cylinder, a crank arm connected to the power cylinder and an axle connected to the crank arm for rotation with the axle. A ramp in the form of a pair of spaced forks is connected to the axle for rotation therewith. A slotted link is pivotally connected at one end to the ramp and at an opposite end to the entrance trap door whereby when the power cylinder is actuated the ramp and the trap door are pivoted upwardly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an improved vehicle washing apparatus and, more particularly, to a vehicle washing apparatus having a conveyor with an improved roller assembly call up mechanism which includes an anti-jam feature.

2. Description of the Related Art

Various prior art vehicle washing installations and systems have heretofore been known and are in widespread use. The typical vehicle washing system includes a wash bay having a floor in which a conveyor is mounted for moving the vehicle through the installation and a series of power driven brushes and scrubber curtains are utilized to clean the vehicle under a drenching spray of water and cleaning agent. The washed vehicle is then given a drenching spray of clean rinse water and is dried.

A well known prior art conveyor is of the over and under type which utilizes an endless conveyor chain having a plurality of spaced roller assemblies attached along the length thereof. The endless chain typically extends around a three track structure comprised of a slotted upper track, an intermediate track and a lower track. The slotted upper track supports a vehicle such as a car. When the car advances on to the upper track, pusher rollers from a roller assembly are needed so a forked ramp is provided which is raised from the intermediate track to intercept and guide the pusher rollers through an opening roller assembly onto the slotted upper track along which the car tires roll. The pusher rollers then engage a tire of the vehicle to push the car through the washing installation. The slotted upper track accommodates the tire of a vehicle being washed and also provides a travel path for the pusher rollers which are selected at an appropriate time. The intermediate level track provides the forward track for the idle rollers of the roller assemblies as well as for unselected roller assemblies where the pusher rollers have not been ramped up to the slotted upper track and the lower track provides a return track for the roller assemblies.

A typical prior art over and under conveyor10is illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2. The conveyor10includes a slotted upper track12, an intermediate track14and a lower track16.

The conveyor includes an endless chain18having a plurality of spaced roller assemblies20connected thereto. Each of the roller assemblies20has a pair of idler rollers22at its forward end and two pairs of pusher or tire engaging rollers24at its back end. The pusher rollers24engage the back of a tire26of a vehicle to push the vehicle along the slotted upper track of the conveyor in the direction indicated by the arrow A.

The conveyor is provided with an entrance trap door28at an entrance end thereof and with an exit trap door30at an exit end thereof.

A roller call up mechanism, generally indicated by the numeral34, is provided at the front entrance end of the conveyor to move the pusher rollers24from a down position on the intermediate track to a raised tire engaging position on the slotted upper track to engage the tire of a vehicle after the vehicle has moved onto the conveyor.

The call up mechanism34is shown in greater detail inFIG. 2and includes a power cylinder36having a rod pivotally connected to the crank arm38which in turn in fixedly secured to an outer end of an axle40which extends parallel to the slotted track in a direction perpendicular to the length thereof. A pair of spaced forks42are fixedly secured to the axle40for rotation therewith and form a ramp for moving the pusher rollers24up to the slotted upper track.

In operation of the typical prior art conveyor, when a vehicle has moved onto the slotted upper track of the conveyor, a signal is sent either manually by a call up button or automatically by a pressure sensing switch to the roller call up mechanism. This in turn activates the power cylinder36forwardly whereby crank arm38is rotated to rotate the axle40. When the axle40is rotated, the forks42are raised upwardly. As a roller assembly is moved forwardly the pusher rollers engage the forks and are moved upwardly to push the trap door28open and to ride along the top of the slotted upper track to engage the back of a tire. The pusher rollers then move the vehicle down the track until reaching the end of the conveyor track whereupon the pusher rollers open the exit trap door30and drop back down to the lower track and loop back until a signal is again given causing the cycle of roller call up to start over again.

A problem with this type of this prior art conveyor is that if a car wheel is on top of the entrance trap door at the time the pusher rollers are ramped up by the forks, the rollers start to come up but stop below the trap door and jams up before emerging onto the slotted upper track. This sudden stop and jam up can cause serious damage to the conveyor chain and other components of the conveyor system. Therefore there is a need for an anti-jam device for the roller call up mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a roller assembly call up mechanism for a vehicle wash conveyor which has an anti-jam feature which prevents the pusher rollers of the roller assembly from proceeding up a ramp and jamming against the entrance trap door if the trap door is blocked.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a roller assembly call up mechanism for a vehicle wash conveyor which utilizes a slotted link to directly connect the forks of a ramp to the entrance trap door to prevent the forks from being raised when the trap door is blocked.

The present invention achieves the above and other objects by providing a roller assembly call up mechanism for a vehicle wash conveyor having an endless chain with a plurality of spaced roller assemblies attached thereto for pushing a vehicle along a slotted track by engaging a tire wherein the conveyor has a trap door at an entrance end for tire engaging rollers of the roller assemblies to enter the slotted track. The roller assembly call up mechanism is located below the slotted track and includes a power cylinder, a crank arm connected to the power cylinder and an axle connected to the crank arm for rotation therewith with the axle extending parallel to the slotted track in a direction perpendicular to the length thereof. A ramp is connected to the axle for rotation therewith and normally extends generally parallel to the slotted track in a direction lengthwise thereof and a link is pivotally connected at one end to the ramp and at an opposite end to the entrance trap door whereby when the power cylinder is actuated, the ramp and the trap door are pivoted upwardly.

The link may be constructed of a bar having an elongated slot at the end connected to the ramp and the bar is connected to the ramp by a pin extending outwardly from one side thereof which is pivotally and slidably engaged in the slot. The ramp may be constructed of two spaced forks and a link may be connected to each of the forks.

These, together with other objects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully described in claims hereafter, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, when like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring the drawings, the roller assembly call up mechanism according the present invention is shown inFIGS. 3,4and5. Where applicable, the numerals used to identify the parts of the present invention are the same as the numerals used to identify similar parts in the prior art apparatus shown inFIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown inFIG. 3, the present invention includes a power cylinder36having its rod pivotally connected by a clevis to a crank arm38which in turn is fixedly secured to the end of an axle40which extends underneath the conveyor slotted upper track12and is parallel thereto in a horizontal plane in a direction perpendicular to the length of the slotted track.

A pair of spaced forks42are fixedly mounted to the axle40for rotation therewith and constitute a ramp for moving or ramping up the pusher rollers24of a roller assembly20so that the pusher rollers push open the trap door28and move up to engage the top of the slotted upper track12. As the pusher rollers move forwardly they engage a tire26of a vehicle positioned on the slotted upper track.

At least one of the forks42has a pin54extending outwardly therefrom for pivotal engagement with an elongated slot52formed in the lower end of a link50which, as shown, is in the shape of a bar. The upper or opposite end of the link50is pivotally attached to a pin55extending outwardly from a bracket56mounted on one side adjacent the front end of the entrance trap door28. A similar slotted link in the form of a bar50is mounted to the other fork and is also pivotally connected to a pin extending outwardly from the bracket56mounted to the top adjacent the front end of the other side of the entrance trap door28as shown inFIG. 5.

In operation of the roller assembly call up mechanism of the present invention, when the power cylinder36is activated to rotate the crank arm38and the axle40, the ramps42acting through the pins54push the links50upwardly which, in turn, causes the entrance trap door28to normally also be raised to permit the pusher rollers of a roller assembly to pass up through the slotted upper track12and proceed down the track to engage the tire of a vehicle.

If the entrance trap door28is blocked such as by having a tire of a vehicle parked directly thereon, the forks42will not rise up when pushed by the air cylinder due to the fact that the link connecting the door above and the fork below will maintain the fork locked in the down position no matter what force the air cylinder exerts on the forks. This prevents the rollers from jamming between the blocked door and the forks.

The elongated slot52at the lower end of the link50provides a safety feature in that if something is in the way or is blocking the trap door from returning to its normal closed position, as the forks are lowered, the pin54will simply slide in the slot52and not force the entrance trap door downwardly to a closed position. This is particularly helpful in preventing the fingers or toes of a person which may be in the way from injury when the door attempts to close.

Numerous other modifications and adaptations of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art and thus, it is intended by the following claims, to cover all such adaptations which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.