Patent Publication Number: US-2011048473-A1

Title: Holder for a cleaning lance and vehicle washing system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to German Patent Application No. 20 2009 011 706.5 filed Aug. 28, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a holder for cleaning lance as well as to a vehicle washing system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A holder for a cleaning lance and a vehicle washing system are known from DE 4226712 A1. In the system for manual cleaning of motor vehicles shown there, a holder for accommodating washing lances is provided on a pillar. The holder is provided either as a cylindrical sleeve or a cuboid-shaped hollow body and is mounted slanting downwards on the support pillar. Cleaning fluid dripping out of the holder can be diverted by a short pipe section to a drain in the interior of the support pillar. Wash water still flowing out of the washing lance can easily be drained in this manner. 
     Such holders for washing lances, especially the sleeves or hollow bodies, are misused by many users as waste baskets. Thereby the liquid outlet at the lower end of the sleeve becomes clogged, so that the fluid running out of the cleaning lance accumulates until it overflows out of the top of the sleeve. Moreover, the washing lance nozzle becomes clogged or the brushes on the washing lance become contaminated by the waste, especially cigarette butts, accumulated in the sleeve. In addition, icing up of the washing lance or brush in vehicle washing facilities in colder areas with frost and ice is prevented by having a small amount of fluid continuously flowing through the washing lance. This continuously flowing fluid must be able to run out of the end of the sleeve. If that is not possible, the sleeve rapidly fills up with fluid, so that in case of temperatures below the freezing point, the fluid gradually freezes and a solid block of ice forms in the sleeve. The washing lance can then no longer be used. 
     To avoid clogging by refuse, the sleeve for known holders is formed without a bottom at its lower end, so that discarded refuse falls back out at the lower end. But even in this case, larger objects, such as cigarette packs can be put in the sleeve and become caught there, so that objects thrown in later continue to clog up the sleeve. 
     If fluid is drained, as described in DE 4226712 A1, via a pipe section into the interior of the support pillar, the above solution is not possible. Such a fluid drain exists in vehicle washing facilities for which a small amount of fluid runs through the washing lance to protect against freezing, and also in those for which a closed fluid circuit for recovery of the fluid is required for environmental protection reasons. Clogging of the fluid drain or of a fluid reprocessing system connected to it would likewise lead to a shutdown of the facility and considerable expense for cleaning or repairing the fluid reprocessing system and its supply lines. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,153 discloses another holder for a cleaning brush for vehicles. The insertion compartment there is closed at the bottom; a fluid contained in it can therefore not drain downwards. Instead, the insertion compartment is filled with water sufficiently that the inserted brush part of the cleaning lance is always covered by water. Thereby the bristles of the brush are supposed to be kept soft and clean, and freezing in the winter is to be prevented. A screen insert in which the water would always drain off out of the insertion compartment would be virtually nonsensical here. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore the problem of the invention to create a holder for a cleaning lance and a vehicle washing facility as mentioned above that can overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages and securely prevent clogging of the holder&#39;s fluid drain and any downstream fluid reprocessing system, are easy to clean and operate reliably. 
     This problem is solved by a holder for a cleaning lance with the characteristics of Claim  1  and a vehicle washing facility with the characteristics of Claim  13 . Advantageous configurations and expedient refinements of the invention are specified in the subordinate claims. 
     The holder according to the invention is characterized in that it has a screen insert that can be pushed into the insertion compartment. The screen insert can be easily removed manually from the insertion compartment, the refuse situated therein can be removed and the screen insert can then be pushed back into the insertion compartment. 
     In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a fluid-permeable filter material can be arranged in the screen insert, and can be configured to be removable in a preferred refinement. For this purpose, retaining means for holding the filter material in the screen insert can advantageously be provided in the screen insert. In this way, the screen insert can be adapted to different conditions of the vehicle washing facility. For example, a filter material with larger pores can be used in the winter to securely prevent the filter material from being frozen shut. In this manner a filter material that has become contaminated and clogged due to long use can be easily replaced. 
     In a user-friendly embodiment, the screen insert can have a handle that can be grasped from the insertion opening and preferably extends nearly up to the insertion opening. Thereby the operating personnel need not reach far into the insertion opening and the insertion compartment, which is particularly unpleasant in case of large-sized refuse. 
     In a configuration advantageous for fast exchange of the screen insert, an outer contour of the screen insert perpendicular to the insertion direction and an inner contour of the insertion compartment perpendicular to the insertion direction are matched to one another in such a manner that the screen insert can easily be pushed into or pulled out of the insertion compartment in the insertion direction. Guidance means running in the insertion direction, such as guide rails on the insertion compartment and corresponding guide grooves on the screen insert, or conversely, can advantageously be provided in the insertion compartment and on the screen insert. 
     In order to keep the screen insert in a prescribed position in the insertion compartment, and prevent slippage of the screen insert, a retaining means is provided in one advantageous configuration that prevents slippage of the screen insert through the insertion compartment. In an advantageous construction, the retaining means can be a grid closing off the drain end of the insertion compartment. Alternatively or additionally, the retaining means can be one or more stops protruding into the interior of the insertion compartment, against which the corresponding counter-stops of the screen insert strike. 
     A vehicle washing facility according to the invention has a holder according to the invention. In an advantageous configuration, the vehicle washing facility can be constructed in such a manner that the fluid drain of the holder is connected to a fluid reprocessing system of the vehicle washing facility. In this manner, fluid exiting the holder can be directly supplied to the fluid reprocessing system without the fluid reprocessing system becoming clogged or contaminated by refuse or small particles. The holder can advantageously be part of a closed fluid circuit of the vehicle washing facility, so that a secure and reliable and simultaneously environmentally friendly operation of the vehicle washing facility can be assured, despite the refuse often thrown into the holder. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Additional special aspects and advantages of the invention follow from the description below of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a schematic three-dimensional view of a part of a vehicle washing facility according to the invention with a holder according to the invention for a cleaning lance  19 ; 
         FIG. 2  shows a section through the vehicle washing facility shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  shows a schematic three-dimensional view of a screen insert according to the invention; 
         FIG. 4  shows a cross section through the screen insert from  FIG. 3  in a cross-section plane Q; 
         FIG. 5  shows a schematic representation of the vehicle washing facility according to the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A holder  1  according to the invention as shown in  FIG. 1  for a cleaning lance  19  of a vehicle washing facility  18  according to the invention as shown in  FIG. 5 , has an insertion compartment  3  furnished with an insertion opening  2 . The insertion compartment  3  serves to accommodate at least the front end of the cleaning lance  19  with the cleaning nozzle from which cleaning fluid or water can be applied to a vehicle to be cleaned. 
     The insertion compartment  3  runs from the insertion opening  2  at an angle downwards to a drain end  4 , at which a fluid drain  5  indicated in  FIGS. 2 and 5  is provided. The fluid drain  5  directs fluid flowing from the cleaning lance  19  to a fluid reprocessing system  22  shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     A screen insert  6  that is shown in detail in  FIG. 3  can be pushed into the insertion compartment  3  from the insertion opening  2 . The screen insert  6  comprises a hollow body  7 , substantially rectangular in cross section, as shown in the cross section in  FIG. 4  through a cross-section plane Q in  FIG. 3 . 
     An insertion end  8  of the screen insert  6 , the upper end in  FIG. 2 , is open to the top, so that the cleaning lance  19  can be pushed up to a lower filter end  9  of the screen insert  6  with the screen insert  6  pushed into the insertion compartment  3 . The hollow body  7  is slanted at the filter end  9 , with the opening there being closed off by a filter material  10  produced from a wire fabric. In this way, fluid can pass from the cleaning lance  19  through the filter material  10 , while solid bodies thrown into the insertion compartment  3  are held back. The filter material  10  is fixedly arranged on the hollow body  7 . 
     In an alternative embodiment, not shown, the filter material can advantageously be removable from the screen insert  6 . In another embodiment, not shown, a relatively coarse-mesh filter material can advantageously be fixedly arranged at the filter and  9 . An additional filter material such as a fine-mesh filter fabric or a nonwoven fiber filter can be inserted from the insertion opening  8  into the screen insert  6  and held in the screen insert  6  by the coarse-mesh filter material serving as a retaining means. 
     In order to facilitate removal of refuse collected in the screen insert  6  for the personnel, a handle  11  that consists of a robust round wire bent in the shape of an open, U-shaped loop is provided at the insertion end  8 . The handle  11  reaches from the insertion end  8  in the direction of the insertion opening  2  nearly up to the insertion opening  2 , and can thus be easily gripped from the insertion opening  2  even if the screen insert  6  is positioned at the very bottom in the insertion compartment  3 . 
     In order to simplify the insertion and removal of the screen insert  6 , two guide rails  13   a  and  13   b  projecting into an interior  12  of the insertion compartment  3  are provided on the insertion compartment  3 . The screen insert  6  has corresponding guide grooves  14   a  and  14   b  running in the insertion direction E. The guide rails  13   a,    13   b,  together with the guide grooves  14   a,    14   b,  form a guidance means for the screen insert  6 , i.e., assure the secure guidance of the screen insert  6  in the insertion compartment  3 . In place of the embodiment shown, guide rails can be arranged on the screen insert  6  and corresponding guide grooves can be arranged on the insertion compartment  3 . 
     As is seen from the cross section through insertion compartment  3  and screen insert  6  in  FIG. 4 , an inside contour  15  of the insertion compartment  3 , as well as an outside contour  16  of the screen insert  6 , are matched to one another in such a manner that the screen insert  6  is easily and well guided in the insertion compartment  3 . In principle, this matching is sufficient for the guidance of the screen insert  6  in the insertion compartment  3 , but the guide rails  13   a,    13   b  and the guide grooves  14   a,    14   b  can be provided as additional guidance assistance, as in the present case. 
     In the embodiment shown, slippage of the screen insert  6  through the insertion compartment  3  is prevented by the fact that two identically constructed insertion compartments  3 ,  3 ′ are arranged axially symmetrically relative to one another. The drain ends  4 ,  4 ′ of the insertion compartments  3 ,  3 ′ adjoin one another, so that two inserted screen inserts  6 ,  6 ′ contact one another at the abutment site of the insertion compartments  3 ,  3 ′. In order to prevent the screen inserts  6 ,  6 ′ inserted into the holders  1 ,  1 ′ from catching on one another, a grid  17  is arranged at the drain end  4  of the insertion compartment  3 . The screen inserts  6 ,  6 ′ are securely held at the drain ends  4 ,  4 ′ of the insertion compartments  3 ,  3 ′ by the grid  17 , although fluid can still run out through the grid  17  to the fluid drain  5 . The grid  17  can advantageously be used even with only one insertion compartment  3  in order to prevent slippage of the screen insert  6 . 
     In the vehicle washing facility  18  shown in  FIG. 5 , the cleaning lance  19  is inserted into the insertion compartment  3  of the holder  1 . The cleaning lance  19  is supplied with water or cleaning fluid from a fluid supply system  21  via a fluid supply line  20 . The vehicle washing facility  18  is set up such that there is always a certain amount of fluid flowing through the cleaning nozzle of the cleaning lance  19 , in order to prevent the cleaning nozzle from icing up. The liquid supply system  21  has a liquid reprocessing system  22  which reprocesses fluid flowing back via a return line  23  from the fluid drain  5  of the holder  1 , as well as fluid draining from a washing area  24  of the vehicle washing facility  18 , for reuse by the fluid supply system  21 . By using the holder  1  of the invention with the screen insert  6 , it is assured that the vehicle washing facility  18  can be operated reliably and safely even in case of considerable contamination of the insertion compartment  6 .