GB2412569A

GB2412569A - Apparatus for cleaning the under chassis of vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2412569A
Application number: GB0407277A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Geoffrey Kenneth Elbrow
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-03-31
Filing date: 2004-03-31
Publication date: 2005-10-05
Anticipated expiration: 2024-03-31
Also published as: GB2412569B; GB0407277D0

Abstract

An apparatus (1) for washing the under chassis of a vehicle comprises a movable trolley (3) carrying at least one water jet; supply means (17, 21) for supplying water under pressure to the water jet; driving means (7) for driving the trolley; guidance means (5) for guiding the trolley, and control means (87) for controlling the operation of the apparatus.

Description

24 1 2569 - 1 APPARATUS FOR CLEANING THE UNDER CHASSIS OF VEHICLES.

This invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning the under chassis of vehicles.

It is well known that it is desirable in some instances mandatory in others to clean the under chassis of a range of vehicles, from private cars to commercial vehicles such as buses, coaches and trucks.

This need also extends to rail vehicles such as trains and even to aircraft.

According to the invention, there is provided an apparatus for washing the under chassis of a vehicle comprising a movable trolley carrying at least one water jet; supply means for supplying water under pressure to the water jet; driving means for driving the trolley; guidance means for guiding the trolley, and control means for controlling the operation of the apparatus.

Preferably the apparatus may comprises a rotating head carrying at least two the water jets.

Each rotating head may carry three jets equally spaced circumferentially about the head.

Three rotating heads may be provided arranged on an upper surface of the trolley, each head being located at one apex of an equilateral triangle.

The rotary head(s) may be hydraulically driven.

The trolley may be provided with rollers running on a pair of parallel rails acting to guide the trolley and the rollers may be driven hydraulically.

The hydraulic fluid, high pressure water may be fed and electrical connections may be made to the trolley by means of a flexible hose system which folds on itself and folds or unfolds as the trolley moves. The hose system may be fixed at one end to the trolley and at the other end to a fixed location located in a position between the limits of motion of the trolley. - 2

The control means may comprise a programmable logic controller The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of one form of apparatus in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus of Figure 1 cut away to show the drainage system for the water; Figure 3 is an underneath plan view of the trolley shown in Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a top plan view of the trolley shown in Figure 2 showing the arrangement of the water jets.

Referring firstly to figures 1 and 2, there is shown a general view of the apparatus 1 of one embodiment of the invention.

To this end, the apparatus comprises a trolley 3 running on rails 5 by means of four hydraulically driven rollers 7. The rails 5 are mounted below ground level in a pit 9 which is provided both to receive the trolley 3 and its rails 5 but also to receive used washing water falling off the under chassis of a vehicle being cleaned. The location of the rails 5 is such that the upper surface 11 of the trolley 3 is substantially level with the ground. The only part of the trolley 3 which protrudes above ground are three rotary heads 13 carrying nozzles, not shown here but to be described later. This allows the apparatus to be used even with vehicles having a minimum ground clearance.

The rails 5 are suitable formed from two C section members 15 having a rectangular construction so that, in use, the back parts of the C are vertical while the upper and lower arms of the C extend horizontally. The two C-section members 15 face each other inwardly so that the open sides are opposed. The two C-section members 15 define the upper longitudinal edge of the pit 9 with the upper arms of the C substantially at ground level and the lower arms forming - 3 the trolley running rails 5. The body of the trolley 3 iles between the arms of the C so that the rollers 7 engage the rails 5 while the upper arms overlie the longitudinal edges of the trolley 3.

Supply of hydraulic fluid for driving the trolley rollers 7 and supply of high pressure water for the jets of the rotary heads 13 is achieved through a flexible hose system 17 which is attached at one end to the trolley 3 and at its other end to a fixed location 19 in the middle region of the movement of the trolley 3 along the track provided by the rails 5, In operation, the flexible hose system 17 rolls on itself in the same manner as the control wires used to control the print head of an ink jet printer. At this fixed location 19 the flexible hose system 17 is connected to a conduit 21 which carries water and hydraulic fluid pipes from a remote control location 23.

At this control location 23 are provided a high pressure water pump unit 25, an hydraulic drive power pack 27 and a water tank 29. Also provided (not shown) are the control arrangements which control the movement of the trolley 3 and the trolley water jets.

Returning for a moment to the pit 9, as will be seen from figure 2, the pit 9 extends below the position of the C-section members 15 and slopes downwardly from one end 31 of the pit 9 to the other end 33 of the pit 9 at which there is provided a s ump 3 5 i n which used water i s c ollected. From t he s ump 35, t he water is either removed to the main drainage system or to filtering apparatus(not shown) by way of a pipe 37 and from there back to the water tank 29 for reuse.

The trolley 3 itself will now be described in greater detail with reference to figures 3 and 4.

The trolley 3, as shown, is made from stainless steel sheeting suitably shaped. At the front end 41 of the trolley, to the left in figures 1 and 2, are connections 43 and 45 to which the water and hydraulic hoses respectively from the flexible hose system 17. - 4

Hydraulic hoses 47 and 49 carry hydraulic fluid under pressure to a manifold 51 mounted on the trolley 3. From this manifold 51, various hoses carry the hydraulic fluid to the various hydraulically driven components.

Hoses 53 and 55 supply hydraulic fluid to an hydraulic motor 57 which drives the three rotating heads 13, only the undersides of which can be seen in figure 3, by means of a belt 57 which is generally constructed like a timing belt for a motor car, i.e. has a non slip facility. The speed of rotation of the rotating heads 13 can be adjusted by adjusting the flow of hydraulic fluid through that part of the manifold 51 using an adjusting screw 59.

Hoses 61 and 63, also connected to the manifold 51, provide hydraulic fluid to an hydraulic motor 65 which drives a shaft 67 through a gear box 69, this shaft driving one of the pairs of rollers 7. The second pair of rollers 7 are driven in turn by a shaft 71 which is driven from the shaft 67 by means of a chain drive 73. The speed of movement of the trolley 3 can be adjusted at the manifold 51 by means of an adjusting screw 75.

Water pipes 77 carry water under pressure to each of the three rotating heads 13.

Each of the spray h eads h as three n oodles 81, see figure 4, e ach of which is adjustable as to its direction so that a full coverage of the vehicle whose under chassis is being cleaned. Ten grease nipples 83 are mounted on the front 41 of the trolley 3 and are connected by copper tubes 85 to enable various components to be greased from a single access. Proximity switches 87 and 89 are mounted at the front and rear of the trolley 3 to provide electrical signals to enable the control system (not shown) at the remote control location 23 to enable correct positioning of the trolley 3. These signals are carried by electrical cables (not shown) associated with the hose arrangements 17 and 21.

The remote location 23 has a control panel 87 which contains all necessary control and protection devices and a programmable logic controller. Indicator lamps on the exterior of the control panel provide indications as to whether the power is on and if an overload protective device has been tripped.

The programmable logic controller has a series of wash cycle programs dedicated to the range of vehicles to be washed. In this, various elements of the wash cycle can be controlled such as the length of the wash cycle, areas of the vehicle to receive intensive was activity and the amount of cleaning agent to be supplied in the high pressure water. Thus, the controller controls the water supply from the high pressure water pump unit 23, this unit suitably comprising a vertical multistage or similar centrifugal pump driven by an electric motor under the direct control of the controller. A cleaning agent is added to the wash water by an electrically driven diaphragm pump also directly controlled by the controller.

The operation of the machine is controlled by a remote control board located near the area of operation of the trolley 3. It has rotary selector switch, suitably with four positions, for selecting the appropriate wash cycle to be used, a green button to start a wash cycle, a red emergency stop button to stop the operation of the machine in emergency and a white button to reset the machine and return the trolley 3 to its start position after the machine has stopped, either in response to the r ed emergency b utton o r t o t he overload t rip, once t his latter has b een reset.

The operation of the apparatus will now be described: Firstly the vehicle to be washed is located in a predetermined position and orientation with respect to the start position of the trolley 3 and its direction of movement. The wash cycle to be used is then set using the selector switch and the green start button is pressed.

The trolley 3 then moves forward to a predetermined position and the selected wash cycle is carried out. Once this has been carried out, the trolley 3 returns to its start position. The vehicle can then be removed.

If an emergency occurs the red stop button is depressed, stopping the whole - 6 operation. The wash cycle, once interrupted, cannot be resumed and further use ofthe machine cannot be carried out untilthe trolley 3 isreturnedto its start position. This return is achieved by pressing the white return button. Location of the trolley 3 at its start position is determined by the proximity switch 89.

If a programme malfunction occurs, the trolley 3 continues to move to the end of its operating run, at the opposite end to its start position whereat the proximity switch 87 halts the trolley 3 and stops the cycle. To return the trolley to its start position, the white button must be pressed.

It will be appreciated that various modifications of or additions to the above described embodiment may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, while it is believed that four different wash cycles will be sufficient to cover the normal range of vehicles to be washed, any desirable number of different cycles may be used. A fully automated arrangement could be provided so that the apparatus could be operated by the vehicle driver in the same way as a standard car wash. - 7

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. An apparatus for washing the under chassis of a vehicle

comprising: a movable trolley carrying at least one water jet; supply means for supplying water under pressure to the water jet; driving means for driving the trolley; guidance means for guiding the trolley, and control means for controlling the operation of the apparatus.
2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and comprising a rotating head carrying at least two the water jets.
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein each rotating head carries three jets equally spaced circumferentially about the head.
4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein three rotating heads are provided arranged on an upper surface of the trolley each head being located at one apex of an equilateral triangle.
5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4 wherein the rotary head(s) is/are hydraulically driven.
6. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the trolley is provided with rollers running on a pair of parallel rails acting to guide the trolley.
An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the rollers are driven hydraulically.
8. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the hydraulic fluid, high pressure water are fed and electrical connections are made to the trolley by means of a flexible hose system which folds on itself and folds or unfolds as the trolley moves. - 8
9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the hose system is fixed at one end to the trolley and at the other end to a fixed location located in a position between the limits of motion of the trolley.
10. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control means comprises a programmable logic controller
11. An apparatus for washing the under chassis of a vehicle substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.