Patent ID: 8020239

Claim:
A wheel washing apparatus for cleaning exterior wheel surfaces of tire and wheel combinations of a vehicle as the vehicle is conveyed past the apparatus, wherein the wheel constitutes the rigid rim portion of the tire and wheel combination which is mounted to the vehicle axle, comprising: a single longitudinally-extending cleaning element rotation about a shaft having a longitudinal axis extending generally parallel to the conveyed direction of the vehicle, the cleaning element being comprised wholly of elements which are nonabrasive to the exterior wheel surfaces of the of the tire and wheel combinations of the vehicle, and being adapted to clean the exterior wheel surfaces of the tire and wheel combinations of the vehicle; the cleaning element having an undulating cleaning surface with a repeating pattern of a peak portion followed by a valley portion; and the cleaning element further comprising an intermediate portion located between the peak and valley portions, the intermediate portion having a substantially curvilinear edge surface, wherein the cleaning element presents a variable cleaning surface for cleaning the varying surfaces and shapes of the wheel surfaces of different vehicles as the vehicles are passed in a longitudinal direction which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cleaning element.