DE29508604U1 - Car wash - Google Patents

Description

AAl DE-G 295 08 604.1

Note: Wilhelm Seibusch File: 927-5 er/ze 29.08.1996

NEW DESCRIPTION

&iacgr;&ogr;' Car wash

The invention relates to a washing system for vehicles with the features in the preamble of the main claim.

Such a washing system is known from DE 43 15 408 A1. It shows a wastewater treatment plant in which the wastewater collected in a drain is reprocessed and returned to the washing process. The wastewater removed from the drain and containing sludge is treated in a sludge separation device with a mechanical filter and several subsequent additional cleaning stages. The mechanical filter has a sludge collection container designed as a filter bag, which can be removed for emptying. The known wastewater treatment plant is designed as a large stationary unit and is designed for high collection capacities. This is necessary solely because of the sedimentation stage and the required settling time.

Similar washing plants or waste water treatment plants are also shown in DE 43 07 046 Al and DE 26 26 697 B2. Some of these large-volume and stationary plants are also arranged underground. All of these waste water treatment plants have the disadvantage that they require a considerable amount of construction and space and, due to their stationary and partially underground arrangement,

raise approval problems.

Another washing system is known from DE 40 40 007 Al. It has a similar

Wastewater treatment plant like the aforementioned state of the art. The washing plant known from DE 40 40 007 Al is designed as a removable car wash, but the wastewater treatment plant is installed in a fixed location and partly underground, i.e. below the

&iacgr;&ogr; washing floor. This results in the same disadvantages as with conventional stationary car washes.

For conventional washing systems, it is also known to pump the sludge that accumulates out of large-volume sludge traps and to further compact and dewater it in separate systems in order to obtain the smallest possible volume of sludge to be disposed of. Separate devices for dewatering sludge in the form of sludge dewatering containers are known from DE 32 31 186 Al and DE 38 18 997 Al.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a washing system that is simpler and more cost-effective to operate.

The invention solves this problem with the features in the main claim.

It is advantageous if the sludge separation device is equipped with at least one mechanical filter, so that a smaller sludge trap or no sludge trap working with sedimentation is required. Part or all of the sludge is then separated from the wastewater by the mechanical filter(s). The mechanical filter itself can be designed as a sludge collection container or as part of it.

be.

The filtering device is designed as a portable unit. This means that it can be used at different locations and is easier to replace. The filtering device is located above ground, i.e. above the vehicle's standing level. This makes it easier to install the filtering device as well as to transport or replace it.

The filtering device, in particular the sludge separation device, is designed in terms of its water collection capacity only for one to five washing processes and can therefore be designed to be significantly more space-saving.

The sludge separation device can be emptied simply by removing the full sludge collection container. Depending on whether the sludge collection container is designed as a disposable or reusable container, it can be removed and disposed of or removed, emptied and reinserted into the sludge device. Depending on the size of the sludge collection container, it can be removed using a simple device or by hand from the sludge separation device, i.e. without the need for special equipment such as pumping devices. The sludge that has accumulated in the sludge separation device can be emptied just as easily if the sludge separation device can be tilted around a fixed axis and thus emptied.

As the sludge separation device becomes increasingly full, the sludge becomes increasingly compacted due to its own weight, so that less and less wastewater can flow through the mechanical filter. It is preferable to provide a device for loosening the sludge. The loosening takes place

for example, by means of a vibration device and/or by means of a device for blowing gas into the sludge. This loosens the sludge and creates new flow paths for wastewater to flow through.

Advantageously, the filtering device also includes one or more cleaning stages, e.g. a flocculation filtration stage, through which the substances made separable by a precipitation or flocculation system are removed from the wastewater. In addition, one or more biological cleaning stages can also be provided.

In order to increase the degree of purification of the wastewater, means may be available for returning partially filtered wastewater to purification stages that have already been completed, so that multiple passes through individual or multiple purification stages are possible.

In addition, a controllable dosing device for the treatment substance(s) to be added to the washing water can also be integrated into the filtering device, which can be operated depending on the concentration of the treatment substance(s) in the purified wastewater. This means that in a washing system with a water circuit, only a minimal supply of treatment substance(s), in particular washing substance(s), is necessary to the treatment or washing substance(s) still in the purified wastewater that have not been filtered out.

By providing one or more waste water ventilation systems, the odor problems that often occur in car washes can be avoided.

It is advantageous if the device for filtering waste water is designed with transparent parts, preferably completely transparent, so that the user of the washing system can follow the entire filtration, treatment and circulation of the waste water from the outside during or after the washing process. This not only increases the user's confidence in environmentally friendly and complete filtration and treatment of the waste water they produce, but it also makes it easier for the operator of the washing system to check the filtering device, for example to check when the sludge collection container is full of sludge. Defects in the filtering device can also be located and repaired more quickly.

Especially if the filtering device is provided with transparent parts, an arrangement of the filtering device at or above the level in which the item to be washed, such as a vehicle, is located is particularly advantageous. The user of the washing system can observe the filtration and treatment of the waste water in parallel to the washing process.

Further details and advantages of the invention emerge from the drawing, in which the invention is shown schematically and, for example, using a vehicle washing system.

The washing system is preferably designed as a mechanical car washing system in the form of a portal washing system, cycle system, car wash or similar. Alternatively, a self-service washing system is also possible. The washing system can be designed as desired in terms of the washing device and the other treatment units. In the drawing, the washing system is only symbolized by a washing brush (21) for the sake of simplicity.

The washing system includes a device for filtering waste water (1) which is designed as a transportable unit. The entire unit is mounted on rollers (11) and can therefore be moved. All of the outer walls (24) of the filtering device (1) are transparent to allow a view into the interior of the filtering device (1). The filtering device (1) is above ground and is arranged at approximately the height of the standing level of a vehicle (12) to be washed. The standing level is provided with a gradient towards a drain (13) so that it can itself serve as a collecting tray for waste water. In addition, it is also possible to provide a separate collecting tray for the waste water.

A line (14) leads from the outlet (13) to the filtering device (1), with the line (14) being assigned a pump device (15) for the waste water. The pump device (15) can, however, be omitted if the filtering device (1) is arranged below the standing level of the vehicle (12). At the downstream end (16) of the line (14), it opens into a cavity separated within the transportable unit, which forms a sludge separation device (2). The

The sludge separator (2) has a basket-like sludge collection container (3) that can be removed upwards, e.g. made of perforated sheet metal, into which a mechanical filter (4) made of fabric material is inserted. The sludge separator (2) or the sludge collection container (3) can also be connected to the filtering device (1) via a fixed axis (25) and emptied by simply tilting it around the axis (25).

A first device for loosening sludge in the form of a vibration device (5) is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the sludge collection container (3). A second device for loosening sludge in the form of a device for blowing in gas (6) is arranged below the sludge collection container (3), from which gas lines (7) lead to the underside of the sludge collection container (3), which can be sealed in a suitable manner at the sides. Further gas lines (8) and (9) lead from the device for blowing in gas (6), which is designed as a gas pump, to the line (14) or to a waste water line (10).

The waste water line (10) connects an outlet opening provided at the bottom end of the sludge separation device (2) with an inlet opening of a flocculation filtration stage (17) downstream of the sludge separation device (2) in the flow direction. Depending on the position of the flocculation filtration stage (17) relative to the sludge separation device (2), a pump not shown in the drawing can also be interposed.

Downstream of the flocculation filtration stage (17) there is a biological purification stage (18) which is in flow connection with the latter, the outlet of which also forms the inlet for a container (19) for purified waste water. The container (19) has a

At the end of a side wall there is an outlet opening to which a line (20) leading to the washing device or cleaning brush (21) can be connected.

Between the line (20) and the outlet of the container (19) there is a metering device (22) for treatment substance(s), in particular detergents, e.g. biodegradable surfactants or the like, from which a measuring device (26) protrudes into the container (19) in order to measure the concentration of treatment substance(s) in the purified waste water in the container (19). A pump (not shown) provided between the metering device (22) and the outlet of the container (19) provides the water pressure required for the washing process.

Means for returning partially filtered wastewater in the form of return lines connect the outlets of cleaning stages with inlets of cleaning stages that have already been completed. The drawing shows the return line (23) as an example.

The entire wastewater filtering device (1) is designed as a very compact unit, which has an approximate length of 2 m, a width of approx. 1 m and a height of approx. 1.5 m or less and whose water collection capacity is preferably designed for a maximum of five washing processes. The sludge separation device (2) can collect approx. 200 l of immediately accumulating wastewater. In addition, depending on requirements, filtering devices (1) with a smaller water collection capacity are also conceivable. Additional cleaning stages, such as additional filters, sedimentation tanks, flocculation systems and other devices for cleaning and processing the wastewater, can also be used.

The way the washing system works is now briefly explained using a washing process. The arrows in the drawing indicate the direction of flow of the waste water. The water flowing out of the cleaning brush (21) is largely collected in the drain (13) and pumped into the sludge separator (2), through which the waste water flows from top to bottom. Sand and sludge are retained by the mechanical filter (4). As the number of washing processes increases, the sludge collection container (3) fills up with sludge. However, the vibration device (5) and the device for blowing in gas (6) create additional flow paths for the newly added waste water, so that the sludge collection container (3) cannot become blocked as the amount of sludge increases.

The partially cleaned waste water then flows into the flocculation filtration stage (17) and from there to the biological treatment stage (18). The device for blowing in gas (6) not only pumps air into the sludge separation device (2), but also acts as a device for aerating the waste water by pumping air into the pipe (14) and the waste water pipe (10), thus preventing the unpleasant smells that often occur in washing systems. The cleaned waste water flowing out of the biological treatment stage (18) reaches the tank (19), where fresh water can also be added to compensate for the amount of water lost during each washing process. The water in the tank (19) is measured by the measuring device (2 6) for the concentration of the treatment substance(s) still contained, since not all treatment substances can always be filtered out.

The amount of treatment or washing substance(s) still required for a required washing activity is added by the dosing device (22) to the next washing process.

added to the water flowing to the cleaning brush (21).

During the washing process, the user of the washing system can observe the flow, filtering and treatment of the waste water through the transparent outer walls (24) and the predominantly transparent pipes and inner walls in the filtering device (1) and thus convince himself of the environmentally friendly treatment of the waste water he generates on site.

The operator of the washing system can, in turn, easily check the functionality of the system and determine when the sludge collection container (3) is full. If this is the case, the sludge collection container (3) is manually removed from the filtering device (1) together with the mechanical filter (4) and the sludge is emptied into a separate disposal container or a sludge dewatering container. When disposing of the sludge, suitable microorganisms, particularly bacteria, can be added to eat up the pollutants in the sludge. The filling capacity of the sludge collection container (3) is designed so that it can be emptied once or twice a week, depending on the number of washing processes carried out and the degree of contamination of the water.

It is also possible to use a sludge dewatering container directly instead of the sludge collection container (3) and the mechanical filter.

The device for filtering waste water (1) can also be integrated into existing car washes. If an above-ground device for filtering (1) is to be retrofitted, only the pipe (14) would have to be connected to the existing drain (13). Existing car washes can also be converted by simply replacing the existing sludge trap with a

The sludge separation device (2) is replaced with a sludge collection container (3) or is additionally equipped with one. This avoids the expensive pumping out of the sludge.

Modifications to the described embodiment are possible in various ways. For example, the water flow and the filtration and cleaning stages can be changed, which can be done by omitting, rearranging, adding

&iacgr;&ogr; etc. Furthermore, the sludge treatment facilities can be structurally modified.

- 13 LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

I Device for filtering waste water 2 Sludge separation device

3 sludge collection containers

4 mechanical filters

5 Vibration device

&bgr; Device for blowing gas

7 Gas line

8 Gas line

- 9 Gas pipe

10 Sewer pipe

II Rolls 12 Vehicle

13 Procedure

14 Management

15 Pumping device

16 downstream end of the line 17 flocculation filtration stage

18 biological purification stage

19 tanks for treated wastewater

20 Line

21 Cleaning brush 22 Dosing device

23 Return line

24 exterior walls

25 Axis

2 6 Measuring device

Claims (11)

Annex DE-G 295 08 604.1 Note: Wilhelm Seibusch File: 927-5 er/ze 29.08.1996 NEW PROTECTION CLAIMS l.) Washing system for vehicles with a device for filtering and returning waste water, which comprises one or more cleaning stages and at least one sludge separation device designed as a mechanical filter with at least one removable and emptyable sludge collection container, characterized in that the device for filtering (1) is arranged above ground and is designed as a transportable unit which is designed in its water collection capacity for one to five washing processes. 2.) Washing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the sludge separating device (2) can be tilted about a fixed axis (25) and thus emptied. 3.) Washing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sludge separating device (2) is associated with a device for loosening the sludge. 4.) Washing system according to claim 3, characterized in that the device for loosening the sludge comprises a vibration device (5) and/or a device for blowing gas (6) into the sludge. 5.) Washing system according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the filtering device (1) has one or more flocculation filtration stages (17). 6.) Washing system according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the filtering device (1) has one or more biological cleaning stages (18). 7.) Washing system according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the device for filtering (1) has means (23) for returning partially filtered waste water to cleaning stages already passed through. 8.) Washing system according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the device for filtering (1) has a container (19) for purified waste water and the container (19) is provided with a line (20) via which the purified waste water can be fed back into the washing process. 9.) Washing system according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that at least one controllable metering device (22) for treatment substance(s) to be supplied to washing water is provided, which can be actuated depending on the concentration of the treatment substance(s) in the purified waste water. 10.) Washing system according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the filtering device (1) comprises at least one device for waste water aeration. 11.) Washing system according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the device for filtering (1) waste water is equipped with transparent parts so that at least part of the flow of the waste water is visible from the outside.