Patent ID: 7565753

Claim:
A car wash system comprising: a drive mechanism for moving vehicles through the system at spaced intervals; a dryer assembly comprising: a blower unit having an inlet, an outlet, a blower motor operable between an energized state and a de-energized state, and an impeller driven by the blower motor; a restriction mechanism having a plurality of louvers disposed at said inlet of said blower unit, said louvers moveable between an open position and a closed position; at least one sensor that detects a position of a vehicle relative to said dryer assembly; an actuation mechanism in communication with said restriction mechanism and operable to selectively restrict air to said blower unit by moving said louvers into said closed position; and a processing unit instructing said actuation mechanism to maintain said louvers in said closed position when said blower motor is moved from said de-energized state to said energized state and opening said louvers once said blower motor reaches substantially full speed in response to a first detected position by said at least one sensor of an approaching vehicle and moving said louvers into said closed position when said blower motor is moved from said energized state to said de-energized state in response to a second detected position by said at least one sensor of an exiting vehicle to allow said impeller to freely rotate.