Vehicle wheel washer

A spray-type washer for a conveyor-type car wash comprises a support stand with a power cylinder that drives a piston. Pins on the piston ride in slots formed in a rotatable cam that is connected to a spray unit such that piston travel produces a swivel motion of a spray unit mounted on the support stand. The spray units use multiple impeller-type sprayers. The washers are used in pairs, one washer on each side of a conveyor lane.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to vehicle washers capable of following a moving vehicle and more particularly to a washer having one or more spray nozzle spinners to direct streams of fluids under pressure at the wheels of a vehicle moving along a car wash conveyor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Effective wheel washing is often an important part of a commercial car wash operation, particularly as many automobiles are now purchased with premium wheels that add significantly to vehicle aesthetics.

Wheel washing was, at one time, performed manually, using brushes and soapy water. More recently, wheel washing is performed by spraying cleaning and rinsing fluids onto the wheels under pressure. An example of a spray-type wheel washer is found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,971,594 issued Jul. 5, 2011 and assigned to Belanger, Inc. of Northville, Mich. The washer described in this patent places spray heads in structures located in the lower ends of long pendulum arms that swing the spray heads along an arc as a vehicle wheel moves through a wheel rinsing location.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The wheel washer disclosed herein is similar in some respects to the washer of U.S. Pat. No. 7,971,594; i.e., it also uses fluid sprays and can follow a moving wheel on a conveyor-driven vehicle. However, it does not require pendulum arms nor does it cause spray heads to move along an arc having different levels relative to the path of wheel movement. Rather, the washer of the present invention comprises a fixed support, easily mounted on the floor of a car wash beside a conveyor track, designed to carry a spray unit that can swivel about a substantially vertical axis at a constant level and at a controlled rate to direct fluid under pressure toward and onto a wheel on a passing vehicle.

According to the present disclosure, a novel vertical cam arrangement is used in combination with a power cylinder to swivel the spray unit in such a way as to keep pace with a moving wheel of a vehicle on a car wash conveyor track as it passes the spray unit.

As hereinafter described in detail, the illustrative embodiment comprises a cylindrical support body which can be mounted on the floor of a car wash installation on either side of a conveyor track. The body carries a vertically-oriented air cylinder that drives a plurality of radially extending cam pins in a reciprocal fashion; motion in the upward power stroke being effective to swivel the washer in the direction of travel of a passing wheel while the downward return stroke rapidly resets the washer to a start position for the next approaching wheel. The cam pins extend through spiral slots in a cylindrical cam body with one or more bearings that allow it to be rotated about the vertical axis of the support and the power cylinder. The body in turn is connected to a spray unit support arm connected by brackets to spinners with nozzles, (also called “impellers” herein). Fluid is supplied to the impellers by means of a conduit which extends upwardly through the support arm and enters the impeller hubs through the back of a shroud. Both forward and return speeds are adjustable by means of variable air flow valves in the supply lines to the air cylinder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT

Referring toFIGS. 1 through 4, there is shown a wheel washer10comprising a cylindrical support body12in the form of a vertical stand with a bottom plate adapted to be bolted to the floor of a car wash structure adjacent a vehicle conveyor along which vehicles travel as they pass through the several stations of a conventional car wash. Such an arrangement is shown inFIG. 5. This washer10is intended to be used here as a rinsing device with the assumption that a wheel cleaner chemical has been applied to the wheels of a vehicle placed in or on a tunnel wash conveyor and allowed to soak. However, washer10may also be used to apply the washing fluids where some other mechanism is used for rinsing. Mounted on the support12of wheel washer10is a spray unit14which includes a Figure-eight shaped plastic shroud16encircling two sets of impellers having rotary arms18equipped with high pressure nozzles20on the outturned ends thereof to direct high pressure sprays of wheel washing fluids toward the wheels of a vehicle (FIG. 5) passing along a car wash conveyor. The term “high pressure” is used here to mean that the fluid emitted from nozzles20has sufficient energy to (a) rotate the impeller arms which carry the nozzles, and (b) impact the wheels of the vehicle with sufficient force and fluid volume to remove dirt and soap or other cleaning materials. It will be immediately understood by those familiar with car wash equipment that the overall height of the wheel washer10is such as to direct the sprays from the spinning nozzles toward the wheels of whatever type of vehicle is being washed; e.g., trucks and busses generally have bigger wheels than passenger cars, requiring taller washer structures. The height may be selected so as to place the top of the spray pattern at or near the top of most wheels. The bottom of the spray pattern is high enough to clear any conveyor rails or other obstacles that may exist. The nozzles20are angled all in the same direction so as to create a reaction force tending to spin the nozzle arms in the same direction, thus creating a spinning pattern of rinsing fluid.

Fluid is supplied to the impeller nozzles20by way of a flexible conduit22which is shown in the figures attached to the cylindrical support body12by means of a bracket23having a threaded fitting25. Conduit22is connected by an elbow27to a vertical pipe52which is capped at53, but has two vertically spaced side outlets50that communicate with the rotary hubs54of the impellers18and nozzles20to supply them with fluid. Brackets46secure the shroud16to the pipe52. Fluid can be supplied at various pressures from 60 to 1,000 psi and at rates of about 5-20 gallons per minute.

Looking now toFIGS. 3 and 4, more details of the device will be described. The cylindrical support body12may be made in two or more coaxial and mechanically connected pieces, the lower piece having a plate29at the bottom which can be fastened to a concrete floor or other structure. An air cylinder28is mounted within the upper body12and encloses a power piston30which travels vertically along the center line of the cylindrical support body12. At the upper end of the piston30, there is a fitting with three equally angularly spaced and radially outwardly extending pins32which extend through the spiral slots34in a cam body36which is coaxial with the body12and which rotates within the support body12as the cam pins32are driven vertically by the piston30. The slots34are spiral shaped and the shape causes a programmed relationship between the vertical rate of displacement of the piston30and the angular rotation of the cam36. The cam36is supported within the upper piece of the support housing12by way of ball bearings38shown best inFIG. 4. The top of the cam36is connected by an elbow structure42to the vertical support pipe52. This is a purely mechanical connection as no fluid flows through elbow42. The shape of slots determines the ratio between vertical travel of the pins32and angular travel of cam36. Since cam36is directly connected to the spray unit14, vertical travel of piston30causes swivel rotation of the spray unit14. The slots may be shaped to provide either a fixed ratio or a variable ratio. For example, if the slots have a varying pitch, and the piston30moves at a constant rate, the spray unit14may swivel at a variable rate so as to track with the passing wheel more accurately. In any event, the cylinder28is preferably supplied with lower pressure air during the up stroke and higher pressure air during the down stroke so that the return movement of the spray unit14to the start position is faster.

To summarize, the end result is that vertical displacement of the power cylinder piston30causes rotation of the cam36by reason of the movement of the pins32in the programming slots34. The rotation of the cam36swivels the spray unit14about a vertical axis so as to maintain an accurate targeting of the water streams toward the vehicle wheels during movement past the wheel washers as the vehicle progresses along the conveyor. Total swivel is about 60°; i.e., 30° away from dead center on both directions.

As shown inFIG. 4, bushings56on the pins32such that the inner bushing56rides in the cam slot34while the outer bushing56rides in a vertical slot33in the fixed upper housing26which is part of the overall support structure. Slots33prevent the pins32from rotating as they travel upwardly. Slot58accommodates the fitting on air cylinder28.

As indicated above, the air pressure to the cylinder28is selected to provide the necessary power. Air flow rates in both forward and return directions are regulated so that the motion of the swivel with the wheel is relatively slow while the return speed is relatively fast. Speeds are controlled by valves24which are shown on the back side of the cover14inFIG. 5, it being understood that the valve24is connected to a set of air supply lines which are, in turn, connected to opposite sides of the power cylinder28as shown inFIG. 4. In actual practice, there are two flow rate control valves, one to set forward speed and the other to set return speed. The return or downward stroke of the piston30is relatively more rapid in order to reset the wheel washer to the initial angular position for the approach for the next wheel to be washed. As will be apparent to the person skilled in the art, suitable sensors (not shown) are used to detect the approach of vehicle wheels to the wheel washers10such that the sprayed fluids may be turned on only when necessary to wash a wheel and turned off between wheels of the same vehicle as well as between vehicles on the conveyor. Thus, chemicals and rinse water are conserved. Suitable sensors are optical beams, sonic sensors, floor strips and wands operating switches.

As shown inFIG. 5, the wheel washers are generally installed in pairs, one on each side of a wash lane defined by guide rails60. As a result, the swivel and return directions are mirror images of one another. To eliminate the need to construct different cams36, the valves that are used to control forward and return speeds are reversed as between the two washers in a given pair; i.e., the direction and speed of forward motion of one washer is the direction and speed of return motion of the other washer.

It will be appreciated by those reading the above disclosure that the inventive device has been described with reference to an illustrative embodiment having a particular structure and that various changes to this structure can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventive activities represented here. By way of example, more or fewer impeller arms as well as fixed nozzles can be arranged on or within a wheel washer. Similarly, the size of the washer may be varied according to whether conventional automobiles or larger vehicles such as trucks are being treated. Additionally, the vertical axis may be rotated to horizontal to provide additional oscillation effects.

As stated above, the shape, length and angular scope of the cam slots34determine the relationship between the vertical travel of the piston30and the angular movement of the cam36and the spray unit connected to it. First, the vertical length of the slots generally corresponds to the available extension of the piston30. Second, the extent to which the slots34wrap around the cam36, here 60°, determines the total angular swivel of the spray unit. Finally, the slope of the slots34determines the ratio of linear piston travel to angular cam travel for any given position of the piston. If a constant rate of angular swivel is desired, the slope of the slots34; i.e., the angle of the slot edges relative to vertical, will be constant. However, a variable ratio can easily be achieved where it is desired to have the spray unit point directly at a wheel during the entire time a wheel is being sprayed. To accomplish this, it is necessary to vary the ratio so the angular rate of change is slower at the opposite ends of the slots34and fastest at a midpoint; i.e., when the wheel is directly in front of the sprayer. To achieve this feature, the slope of the slots34varies so that it is greatest at the piston travel midpoint, and gradually becomes less toward the top and bottom ends of the slots. Thus, the shape of the slots34“program” the rotation or swivel rate of the spray unit to keep pace with a wheel moving at a fixed rate along the conveyor path.