GB2344277A - Wheel-cleaning apparatus for trucks - Google Patents

Abstract

A wheel-cleaning apparatus 1 comprises a bath 3 through which a vehicle, or part of a vehicle, can be driven, and a track 11,13 made of transverse bars, passing through the bath. The bath has an end chamber 24 defined by a transverse partition and extending across the width of the bath, and a top-up tank (20, Fig 2) located outside this end chamber. Having the top-up tank external means that it can be made as small as is required, and if a ball valve is used the ballcock can be mounted, preferably on an arm transverse to the direction of travel, in a tank outside the end chamber and hardly larger than the valve construction itself. The part of the track protruding beyond one or other end of the bath 11,13 is designed to be level with the ground and its bars are continuous across the width of the track. A supplementary or catcher tank 19 is placed under the tracks leading off the main bath in order to prevent any water that does escape from the bath from contaminating the site. In a preferable embodiment the bars 14 are made generally round in section, with protrusions 14a at least in their upwardly-facing regions, so that there is no surface on which mud can easily accumulate.

Description

WHEEL CLEANING The present invention relates to apparatus for removing the mud from the wheels of trucks and other vehicles such as are used in muddy locations, for instance on building sites.

It is desirable to ensure that vehicles leaving a site do not track mud all over the public road.

Moreover regulations governing the amount of mud that can be deposited on the road are continually becoming stricter. In theory one could hose down the wheels after every visit with a high-pressure hose, but this is extremely time-consuming to the point of impracticability. Moreover such a method is wasteful of water, and there are also regulations governing runoff from sites, particularly contaminated sites such as landfill.

An apparatus has therefore been devised to enable mud to be removed from lorry wheels simply as the lorry is driven through it. Such an apparatus is shown in GB patent no. 2239848 in the names of Smith and Stubbs.

The apparatus consists of a large rectangular tank which can be filled with water to a depth of about 0.5m, and tracks running up a ramp, over the end wall and into the tank, down into it, lengthways through it and over and down again out of the tank. In fact there are two separate tanks, one for each track. The tracks run under the water level for most of the length of the tank and are constructed of transverse bars, such as angle irons, welded to a suitable frame with the vertex upwards. As the truck travels over the tracks the tyres are"massaged"by the relatively sharp vertices of the bars to release caked mud, and the loosened mud is washed off as the vehicle travels through the tank.

Most of the muddy water then drips off the vehicle as it travels down the exit ramp.

The wheel-cleaner described above has been very successful, particularly in a version with a single tank or bath for the entire truck. However, some problems remain. One is that there is still some runoff of water as the truck leaves the cleaning apparatus, and as water laps over the end of the tank.

Another is that the tracks and the tank do tend to become clogged with mud, reducing the effectiveness of the cleaning. This problem will now be explained.

In the first place, while most of the length of the bars making up the tracks is suspended over the bath, clearly the bars must be supported by a suitably robust member such as an I-beam in order to support the weight of a truck, which might be perhaps 40 t. At the point where the bar rests on the I-beam or beams the mud cannot drip off so easily but tends to collect. If the mud remained liquid it would drain away eventually; however, overnight it tends to dry out and become solid, after which time it no longer drains, and in this way a solid accumulation is formed which eventually nullifies the mud-removing function.

In the second place there tends to be an accumulation of clay in the bath itself. For the main body of the bath this is not a large problem and is cured by removing the tracks once in while, say every few weeks, and dredging out the tank (in which many tons of surprisingly solid clay has formed) using a digger with a 2 m bucket. However, there is in practice a partition in the tank forming a chamber occupying the last 1.5 m or so of the exit end of the bath. The purpose of this partition is to create a relatively still area where a ballcock can be placed; the mains water can then be introduced via this valve in order to keep the level constant in the tank. Also the partition, and the bars just above the surface of the water, quell the wave urged forward by the wheels of the truck, reducing the amount of water lost over the end of the bath. The chamber is in communication with the main body of the tank via holes which are large enough to allow a gradual flow through to (or from) the main tank while preventing waves from seriously disturbing the level of the filling chamber.

The filling chamber extends over the entire width of the main tank and is about 150 cm in extent in the longitudinal direction. It is moreover further subdivided by two longitudinal walls into a central chamber and two side chambers, the ballcock resting in the central chamber. Both this central chamber and the two side chambers are in communication with the main tank via holes in the main partition wall. The central chamber is still further protected from turbulence by the subdividing walls, and they have the additional effect of stiffening the partition.

Clearly the chamber, or chambers, cannot be emptied using the large bucket: it is intended that a smaller bucket be used, but this involves changing the bucket, and needless to say this operation is often neglected, with the result that the chamber becomes filled with mud. This means that the water pushed forward by the wheels, instead. of. being stopped by the bars of the tracks above the end chamber, escapes over the end wall of the tank.

It is an object of the invention to solve these problems, in particular to reduce accumulation of mud around the tracks during use of the apparatus and to make it easier to remove accumulation of mud in the tank.

The invention concerns a wheel-cleaning apparatus comprising a bath through which a vehicle, or part of a vehicle, can be driven, and a track made of transverse bars, passing through the bath.

In a first aspect of the invention the bath has an end chamber defined by a transverse partition and extending across the width of the bath, and a top-up tank located outside this end chamber. Having the topup tank external means that it can be made as small as is required, and if a ball valve is used the ballcock can be mounted, preferably on an arm transverse to the direction of travel, in a tank outside the end chamber and hardly larger than the valve construction itself.

Meanwhile the end chamber is free of obstruction so that it can be emptied by the large bucket. The external or top-up tank is perhaps 15-25 cm in extent in the direction of travel and is covered to avoid contamination. The track section passing over the end section can incorporate bars likewise extending over the full width of the bath.

In a second aspect of the invention the bars are made generally round in section, with protrusions at least in their upwardly-facing regions, so that there is no surface on which mud can easily accumulate. This surprisingly reduces clogging significantly.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment the bars making up the tracks can be cut from the reinforcing bars used for pre-stressed concrete, since these are readily available and also are ribbed; this ribbing is intended for better adhesion in the concrete but in the invention is used for increasing the deformation of the tyres to loosen the mud.

In a third aspect of the invention, in the part of the track protruding beyond one or other end of the bath the track is designed to be level with the ground and its bars are continuous across the width of the track. Such a construction is particularly advantageous for the entry end of the bath because it allows the apparatus to be approached from a wide range of angles, since the entry track part of grid in effect an extension of the undisturbed ground level. This is in contrast to the entry and exit arrangements in GB 2239848 which clearly, even if the twin ramps were formed into one ramp, cannot be approached from the side at all.

In a fourth aspect of the invention a supplementary or catcher tank is placed under the tracks leading off the main bath in order to prevent any water that does escape from the bath from contaminating the site. This clearly cannot be done with the ramps of GB 2239848.

For a better understanding of the invention embodiments of it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wheel-cleaning apparatus in situ, in which the features of the invention can be used; Fig. 2 is a section of the exit end of the apparatus, showing a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 3A is a plan view of the exit end of the bath with the tracks removed; Fig. 3B is a similar view of the prior art bath; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the exit grid and the exit end of the bath.

In Fig. 1 the cleaning apparatus 1 is shown in situ in the ground. It consists of a main tank or bath 3 inset into the ground, with side walls 5 projecting above the ground level in order to reduce splashing The bath is in the form of a rectangle about 10-20 m, usually about 13 m long, 3.4 m wide and 1.5 m deep (including the side walls), and is inset into the ground to a depth of about 0.53 m. At each end of the bath is a pair of tracks, one (11) on the entry end and one (13) at the exit. In fact the track is continuous, extending through the bath, but most of the track is submerged (and not shown in Fig. 1) because after entry into the bath there is a ramp down, the track emerging near the exit end. Furthermore, for reasons to be explained, it surfaces somewhat before the end, giving rise to a level portion 15 inside the bath. A path is built leading to the respective tracks, formed out of hardcore 31,33. The approach and exit tracks 11,13 are approximately level with the ground.

As Fig. 1 shows, the tracks outside the bath are in pairs, corresponding to a typical wheel spacing, with a gap 17 between the individual tracks. However the level portion 15 within the bath is continuous across the width. This will be further discussed in connection with Fig. 3B. The track is made of transverse bars resting on support frames such as Ibeams, box sections or inverted T-beams with a spacing of 20 cm or so. Though this is not visible in Fig. 1, the track comes in separate sections which can more easily be removed for maintenance purposes.

Fig. 1 also shows that a tank 19 is placed around the exit track 13. In practice this tank would hardly be visible since it would be underground, but it is shown cut away for clarity. It is placed immediately after the end of the main bath so as to catch any water escaping from the latter, and it also catches water dripping from the wheels of a truck as it passes along the exit tracks.

Fig. 2 shows a section of the exit part of the main bath 3, and the adjacent part of the supplementary tank 19. The bath contains, in a conventional manner, a rising ramp section 7 of horizontal length about 1.9 m, two preceding lengths at the bottom of the bath each about 3.4 m long, and a descending ramp section, all resting on an angle iron 8 welded to the bottom longitudinal edges of the bath. The support frames for the track are made of welded box section.

It can be seen how the submerged part 16 of the track emerges from the water about 1.5 m from the end of the bath, becomes level as the part 15 and then passes over the end wall 6 to pass over the supplementary tank 19. The level section 15 is just above the surface 30 of the water and functions as a wave stop, suppressing waves generated by a travelling lorry and thus largely stopping water lapping over the end of the bath. The supplementary tank 19 only has to be emptied from time to time.

It can also be seen that just as the level track section 15 starts there is a transverse partition 23 enclosing the end of the bath 3 and having the same height as the end wall 6. The partitioned-off volume is in communication with the main body of water via one or more small holes or slots 27 in the partition. The partitioning creates an end section 24 containing an area of water undisturbed directly by the wheels of the passing truck, though it is disturbed by the waves passing over the partition 23, and to a smaller extent by water dripping from the truck. Any large wave on the surface 31 strikes the bars of the track 15 and dissipates its energy in a metre or so, so that very little water escapes over the far end of the bath.

Nevertheless there is a small loss from the bath and it therefore has to be kept topped up. This is done via a small top-up tank 20 which preferably, as shown, is located outside the main bath beyond its end wall, on the base plate 3, the end wall 6 of the bath being somewhat more inset than hitherto. The top-up tank is likewise in communication with the bath, though via a relatively small passage to keep turbulence low.

The tank 20 is thus full to the same height as the bath with water, on which the ball of a ball valve 21 floats. Water from a header tank (not shown) is introduced to the top-up tank via this valve as required.

In the past the end section of the bath, with the partitioning, has been constructed as shown in Fig. 3B, with two additional longitudinal partition plates 25 defining side chambers 26 and a central chamber 28.

The main reason for the additional plates 25 was to ensure that the central chamber 28 is sufficiently still to install a ballcock 21, though the side plates 25 also fulfil a useful function as stiffeners for the partition 23 and as supports of the level track parts 15A, here divided. The central chamber can be covered with a lid.

However, the longitudinal plates 25 obstruct access to the end section 24, as discussed above, so that it can only be cleaned out in a separate operation, which tends to be neglected. The section 24 then becomes full of mud and no longer damps the energy of incoming waves, with the result that water escapes over the end and causes contamination of the site.

In embodiments of the invention therefore the end section 24 is left unobstructed and a separate top-up tank 20 is located outside the main bath, in communication with it on the middle of the end wall 6, as shown in Fig. 3A. This top-up tank can be as small as desired, and to save space further the ballcock arm is sideways on. This means that the length of the topup tank (in the direction of travel) need be only of the order of 150-250 mm; it can likewise have a lid to keep out dirt. Meanwhile substantially all the remainder of the bath is accessible to a large bucket and can be cleaned out in a single operation. As is also evident from Fig. 3A in comparison to Fig. 3B, even though the track is not shown in Fig. 3A, in this embodiment of the invention the level track portion 15 can be a single piece rather than two pieces, simplifying the cleaning procedure. (In fact the bars do not need to extend across the width, but their support frame does). To compensate for the absence of the stiffening pieces 25 of the prior art a reinforcement bar can be welded to the partition plate 23.

Fig. 4 shows a second embodiment of the invention, illustrating the exit grid 13 following on from the end section 24 of the bath. In this embodiment the grid is (like the level section 15) a single piece, and the bars of the grid are continuous across it, rather than being split into two tracks. This uses more material and is slightly more difficult to level, but it saves processing steps in manufacture. However, the real advantage is that, when the grid is used in a cleaning apparatus of the ground-level type, exit from the apparatus can be along a curved path because the truck does not have to follow the grid right to the end.

This is useful when space is limited. The approach and exit grid arrangements are usually identical and interchangeable, apart from the fact that the tank 19 is present on the exit side only, and in fact it is still more useful to have the continuous-bar arrangement on the entry side because the exit side usually leads straight off the site, while approach is more likely to be restricted in terms of space. In many circumstances the exit grid can be omitted altogether to save space.

It will be clear that the end tank 19 can also only be used with the ground-level-type, as opposed to the ramp-type, wheel cleaning baths because one could not form an exit tank around a descending ramp.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4 the exit grid 13 rests at the bath end on a shelf 35 welded to the bath and the base plate 3 on either side of the top-up tank 20, which extends the full height of the bath. The frame of the exit grid is afforded by I-beams in order to give the required strength to cover its 6-metre length.

The height of the shelf is about 16 cm so as to bring the upper surface of the I-beams to the same height as the level track 15.

Fig. 1 also shows a further feature of the inventive system. In the past the transverse bars making up the tracks 11,13 were angle irons welded without their open face shown, i. e. their vertex pointing upwards, to the supports. Here however the bars 14 are of round section and have ribs 14a along their length. These ribs can be straight (axial) or helical, or even intermittent. The ribs are useful because the round bar on its own, having a diameter of perhaps 4-6 cm, would not have a sufficiently small curvature to deform the tyres and thus to loosen caked mud effectively. Having thinner bars would of course not be adequate to support the weight of a truck.

The round section is advantageous because the prior art bars, with their flat sloping sides, tended to accumulate mud, which could dry hard overnight.

Over time the sharp vertex would become surrounded by clay, reducing its effectiveness. With the round bars the mud follows the curve round and drops off, or if it does not drop off at least it cannot accumulate up to the level of the top of the bar. Hence the cleaning required is much less than before.

In use the bath is filled with water until the main length of the tracks is submerged in it. Trucks are then driven at about 5 mus-'long the access path 31, over the entry track 11 which loosens mud from the wheels, and down into the bath 3 so that the wheels are at least half-immersed and are thus washed as they travel through the bath. The truck then rides up the exit ramp, along the level part 15 of the track, still over the main bath, and passes out over the exit track 13, water dripping from the wheels being caught in the exit tank 19; thereafter the truck leaves along the exit path 33.

In order to clean the apparatus of accumulated mud the track sections 16 are all lifted out from the bath, and the bath is dredged; if the end section 24 is being cleaned its track section 15 is also removed, and both parts can be cleaned out with a single bucket. The end section 24 does not need to be cleaned as often as the main part-typical times would be every three weeks for the main bath, every fifth of which would involve also cleaning the end section.

Any or all of the features described can be combined in the cleaning system of the invention.

Systems have been described exhibiting a surface level with the ground, though in principle raised systems are possible.

Claims (8)

1. A wheel-cleaning apparatus comprising a bath through which a vehicle, or part of a vehicle, can be driven, and a track made of transverse bars, passing through the bath, wherein the bath has an end chamber defined by a transverse partition and extending across the width of the bath, and a top-up tank located outside this end chamber.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, and including a ball valve in the top-up tank to allow water in from a reservoir, wherein the ballcock is mounted, preferably on an arm transverse to the direction of travel, in a tank outside the end chamber and hardly larger than the valve construction itself.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, external or top-up tank is perhaps 15-25 cm in extent in the direction of travel and is covered to avoid contamination.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1,2 or 3, wherein the track section passing over the end section incorporates bars extending over the full width of the bath.

5. A wheel-cleaning apparatus, in particular according to any preceding claim, comprising a bath through which a vehicle, or part of a vehicle, can be driven, and a track made of transverse bars, passing through the bath, wherein in the part of the track protruding beyond one or other end of the bath the track is designed to be level with the ground and its bars are continuous across the width of the track.

6. A wheel-cleaning apparatus, in particular according to any preceding claim, comprising a bath through which a vehicle, or part of a vehicle, can be driven, and a track made of transverse bars, passing through the bath, wherein a supplementary or catcher tank is placed under the tracks leading off the main bath in order to prevent any water that does escape from the bath from contaminating the site.

7. A wheel-cleaning apparatus, in particular according to any preceding claim, comprising a bath through which a vehicle, or part of a vehicle, can be driven, and a track made of transverse bars, passing through the bath, wherein the bars are made generally round in section, with protrusions at least in their upwardly-facing regions, so that there is no surface on which mud can easily accumulate.

8. A wheel-cleaning apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the bars making up the track are cut from the reinforcing bars used for pre-stressed concrete.