DE29816520U1 - Car wash with HD cleaning station - Google Patents

Description

Applicant:

California Kleindienst Holding GmbH Argonstrasse 7 86153 Augsburg

Representative:

Patent Attorneys Dipl.-Ing. H.-D. Ernicke Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Ernicke Schwibbogenplatz 2b D-86153 Augsburg

Date:

File:

15.09.1998 117-915 he/ha

OJ DE-G-298 16 520.1

DESCRIPTION

Car wash with HD cleaning station

The invention relates to a car wash with the features in the preamble of the main claim.

Such car washes are known from practice and from DE-A-36 32 554. They consist of several treatment stations arranged one behind the other, e.g. a brush washing station, a rinsing station and a drying station. There is also a transport device, e.g. a drag chain, with which the vehicles are transported through the treatment stations. DE-A-36 32 554 shows a stationary spray arch for high-pressure washing of the vehicle at the entrance to the car wash. In a subsequent cloth washing station, there are also stationary side nozzles. The next station is formed by a so-called high-pressure robot, which has two stationary side nozzles and a horizontal roof nozzle that is guided along the contour of the vehicle by means of a swivel device. This is followed by another cloth washing station, again with stationary side nozzles.

Gantry washing systems in which one or two washing gantrys move relative to the stationary vehicle are also known from practice and from DE-A-195 27 828. Gantry washing systems of this type sometimes have high-pressure cleaning devices with roof nozzles and side nozzles that move with the gantry and are moved towards the vehicle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a car wash with extended treatment functions.

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

The car wash according to the invention has at least one high-pressure cleaning station, which can be present as an alternative or in addition to one or more brush washing stations. The high-pressure cleaning station, which is also abbreviated to HD cleaning station below, can use its side nozzles to

lö Wash the side surfaces and the front and rear sections of the vehicle with high pressure. In particular, it is also possible to cover the middle. A rotating device enables the side nozzles to be optimally aligned with the vehicle and to spray both the side surfaces and the front and rear sections.

The side nozzles can be guided along the sides of the vehicle with a fixed distance or with a corresponding contour control with a variable distance. In addition, the additional longitudinal mobility in the direction of transport of the vehicles makes it possible to move the side nozzles in the front area in front of the vehicle at towing speed and to follow them in the rear area, whereby tracking can preferably also be done with acceleration to achieve the optimal distance. The additional longitudinal mobility and the fact that the side nozzles are carried along with the towed vehicle make it possible to treat the front and rear areas with sufficient treatment time and also to move the side nozzles across the vehicle.

In addition to the side nozzles, the HD cleaning station can also have one or more roof nozzles. The different nozzles can be combined together in one station. However, there can also be separate stations for roof and side nozzles.

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Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

The invention is illustrated by way of example and schematically in the drawings. In detail:

5 Figure 1

in a schematic representation of a car wash with several treatment stations in side view,

10 Figure 2

a side view of a HD cleaning station and

15

Figure 3:

a top view of the HD cleaning station of Figure 2

The drawings show a car wash (1) which has several treatment stations (4, 5, 6, 7) arranged in a row one behind the other, through which the vehicles (2) are transported and in particular towed in the transport direction (21) using a suitable transport device (3), e.g. a drag chain. The treatment stations (4, 5, 6, 7) are arranged stationary, but can have movable units within them.

30

The car wash system (1) has, for example, a brush washing station (5) with roof and side brushes, a downstream rinsing station (6) for rinsing, preserving, waxing, etc. and an end-side drying station (7) with roof and side nozzles and, if necessary, a mitter or other drying device.

At the entrance area of the car wash (1) at least one

High pressure cleaning station (4). This HD cleaning station (4) has several essentially

vertical side nozzles (12,13). It can also have one or more essentially horizontal roof nozzles (18,19). The latter can also be housed in a separate station. In the embodiment shown, it is a combination station.

The high-pressure cleaning station (4) has a portal arrangement (8) with two longitudinal beams (9) attached to stands or at a suitable height to the system wall. One or more, preferably two, guides (10) for the side nozzles (12, 13) are arranged on these longitudinal beams (9). The guides (10) are designed, for example, as cross beams that extend transversely to the transport direction (21) through the high-pressure cleaning station (4) and are guided at the ends on the longitudinal beams.

As Figures 2 and 3 show, the guides or cross beams (10) can be arranged on the longitudinal beams (9) so that they can move longitudinally. For this purpose, the cross beams (10) have a conveyor (11) at each end, which is designed in a suitable manner. In the embodiment shown, this is a rotating chain or belt drive with which the cross beams (10) can be moved forwards and backwards over a limited distance in the transport direction (21). The travel length can be, for example, 1 to 1.5 m.

In the HD cleaning station shown, two cross beams (10) are arranged one behind the other at a distance in the transport direction (21). Two side nozzles (12, 13) are arranged suspended from each cross beam (10). The side nozzles (12, 13) preferably each have their own running gear (14) and a travel drive (15) with which they can be moved on the cross beams (10) transversely to the transport direction (21) and thus transversely to the vehicle (2).

The side nozzles (12, 13) can all or in individual cases have a rotating device (16) for rotation about the vertical axis. The rotating device (16) has a suitable bearing for the drive (14) and a suitable drive for the rotary movement.

The side nozzles (12,13) are designed as tubes which have one or more rows of outlet openings or outlet nozzles on the casing through which the

1.0 Cleaning fluid, e.g. pure water, can be discharged at high pressure and sprayed onto the vehicle (2). The fluid is supplied in a suitable manner from outside via lines with pumps. If necessary, a cleaning agent can also be added to the cleaning water in a suitable manner. Dosing devices can be provided for this purpose. The horizontal roof nozzles (18, 19) are designed in a similar way.

In the embodiment shown, the roof nozzles (18, 19) are arranged at the front and rear ends of the high-pressure cleaning station (4). They are equipped with a suitable lifting drive (20) for lowering and raising. The high-pressure cleaning station (4) can also have one or more sensors (17) at suitable locations. These sensors can be arranged stationary or movable. In particular, these sensors can be connected directly or indirectly to the roof and/or side nozzles (12, 13, 18, 19). The sensors (17) can function as a collision protection device. In conjunction with a suitable control system, the sensors (17) also allow contour control of the roof and side nozzles (18, 19, 12, 13) and optimal contour-dependent delivery of the nozzles to the vehicle (2). The roof and side nozzles (18,19,12,13) are not only kept at the optimum distance, but also with the optimum rotational alignment to the vehicle surface being sprayed. This allows the

HD spray jets hit the vehicle (2) with optimal effect and direction. In particular, if they hit at an angle, they can wash away dirt with a peeling effect.

The side nozzles (12,13) can be moved around the vehicle (2) by the guides or cross members (10) and their conveyors (11). As soon as a vehicle (2) enters the high-pressure cleaning station (4), the side nozzles (12,13) positioned at the entrance start to spray the front of the vehicle. They can move back and forth along the guide (10) and across the vehicle (2), whereby a movement with center overlap is also possible. When spraying the front sections, the side nozzles (12,13) are moved in front of the vehicle (2) by the conveyors (11) at the towing speed of the transport device (3). This extends the exposure time and enables an optimal distance to be maintained from the front of the vehicle. The side nozzles (12,13) can initially move back and forth several times together on the guide (10) to clean the mostly more heavily soiled central parts of the vehicle and then move apart towards the ends of the guide.

After the front wash, the side nozzles (12,13) are positioned at the end areas of the guide (10). During the front wash, their outlet or nozzle openings are directed against the transport direction (21) towards the vehicle (2). After the front wash has been completed, the side wash of the vehicle begins. The side nozzles (12,13) rotate by approx. 90° and spray the sides of the vehicle, moving along the guides (10) to an optimal lateral distance from the vehicle (2). This lateral distance can be determined in a suitable manner by the aforementioned sensors. Alternatively, the side nozzles (12,13) can also be set at the beginning of the

Car wash (1) the vehicle dimensions including length, width, roof contour and side surface contour are recorded centrally and sent to the individual treatment stations (4,5,6,7).

When washing the sides, the conveyor (11) moves back against the direction of travel (21) to its starting position. As soon as the rear of the vehicle is reached, the side nozzles (12, 13) move inwards again on the guide (10), turn again by approx. 90° and spray the rear of the vehicle. In doing so, they are again guided by the conveyors. The tracking can be done with acceleration in order to compensate for undesirable increases in distance due to inertia or switching times. When washing the rear, the front washing process can take place in the reverse order. In this case, the side nozzles (12, 13) again preferably move over the rear of the vehicle with central overlap.

In the tandem arrangement of the guides (10) and side nozzles (12,13) shown, both arrangements carry out the same washing processes at different times. Alternatively, it is also possible to assign different tasks and different washing areas to the front and rear side nozzles (12,13).

The guides or cross beams (10) are designed in a suitable manner. They are preferably square tubes that are turned and placed on their edge. With their sloping side walls, they offer suitable running surfaces for the chassis (14). The chassis (14) can also be designed in any suitable manner, e.g. as roller or sliding chassis. The travel drives (15) preferably consist of electric motors. Alternatively, other drives and in particular coupled drives for a joint movement of several side nozzles (12, 13) are also possible. In

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Similarly, the lifting drives (20) and the guides for the roof nozzles (18, 19) can also be designed in a suitable manner. The sensors (17) can also be designed in any suitable manner, e.g. as light barriers, reflected light sensors, distance sensors with ultrasonic or light reflection measurement. They can also be capacitive or inductive proximity sensors.

Any modifications to the embodiment shown are possible. The high-pressure cleaning station (4) can be arranged at a different location on the car wash line (1). It can have just one or more than two guides (10). Instead of being cross-beams, the guides (10) can also be designed in any other suitable way, e.g. as swivel arms or the like. They also do not have to be aligned strictly transversely to the direction of travel (21). An oblique alignment is also possible. In addition, the individual guide (10) can also carry just one or more than two side nozzles (12, 13).

- 9 LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

1 car wash, car wash

2 Vehicle

3 Transport device

4 treatment station, HD cleaning station

5 Treatment station, brush washing station

6 Treatment station, rinsing station

7 Treatment station, drying station &iacgr;&ogr; 8 Portal arrangement

9 Longitudinal beams

10 Guide, cross member

11 Sponsors

12 Side nozzle 13 Side nozzle

14 Drive

15 Drive

16 Rotating device

17 Sensor

0 18 Roof nozzle

19 Roof nozzle

2 0 Lifting drive

21 Transport direction

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Claims (10)

1. Car wash with several treatment stations arranged one behind the other and a transport device for the vehicles, characterized in that the car wash ( 1 ) has at least one high-pressure cleaning station ( 4 ) with one or more essentially vertical side nozzles ( 12 , 13 ) which can be moved on at least one guide ( 10 ) which extends transversely or obliquely to the transport direction ( 21 ) of the vehicles ( 2 ) through the station ( 4 ). 2. Car wash line according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide ( 10 ) has a conveyor ( 11 ) for forward and backward transport along the transport direction ( 21 ). 3. Car wash according to claim 1, characterized in that the side nozzles ( 12 , 13 ) are guided on the side surfaces of the vehicle ( 2 ) with a fixed or variable distance and can be moved transversely or diagonally to the vehicle ( 2 ) with central overlap at the front and rear. 4. Car wash according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the side nozzles ( 12 , 13 ) are moved at a distance in the front area in front of the vehicle ( 2 ) and are preferably guided with acceleration in the rear area. 5. Car wash according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the side nozzles ( 12 , 13 ) have a rotating device ( 16 ). 6. Car wash according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the high-pressure cleaning station ( 4 ) has one or more sensors ( 17 ). 7. Car wash according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the high-pressure cleaning station ( 4 ) has one or more substantially horizontal, raisable and lowerable roof nozzles ( 18 , 19 ). 8. Car wash according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the high-pressure cleaning station ( 4 ) has a contour control for the side nozzles ( 12 , 13 ) and/or the roof nozzles ( 18 , 19 ). 9. Car wash according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the high-pressure cleaning station ( 4 ) has a portal arrangement ( 8 ) with longitudinal supports ( 9 ) on which the guides ( 10 ) designed as cross supports are mounted so as to be longitudinally movable with the conveyor ( 11 ). 10. Car wash according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the side nozzles ( 12 , 13 ) are arranged suspended from the guide ( 10 ) and each have a running gear ( 14 ) with a travel drive ( 15 ).