The present invention relates to the classification for Servicing, Cleaning, Repairing, Supporting, Lifting, or Maneuvering of Vehicles Not Otherwise Provided for; and to one or more sub-classifications for Vehicle cleaning apparatus not integral with vehicles, for exteriors of land vehicles, with rotary bodies contacting the vehicles. Specifically, the present invention is quick-change surface panel that allows for rapid maintenance of the surface panel rotary brush that form a core part of a carwash.
Modern carwashes deploy a plurality of rotary brushes to remove dirt and debris from the exterior of motor vehicles. Rotary brushes can be constructed in a couple of different manners. One type rotary brush is constructed from a plurality of surface panels, or surface panels, which are comprised of a single annular piece of flexible hygroscopic material that is attached to a core at its center. The single annular piece is a surface, hence the nickname surf panel. The surface panel can be partially, radially partitioned or cut from the outer perimeter of the annulus. This creates a plurality of free ends all attached at a common center.
The repetitive contact of the free ends of the surface panels degrades the integrity of the material from which they are fabricated. The panels often tear. When a rotary brush loses part of one or more surface panels, it rotates out of balance. Although a rotary brush assembly is designed to handle out-of-balance rotary brushes, the long-term effect is negative. Proper maintenance requires the replacement of the surface panels at pre-defined intervals. Damage, such as tears, to the surface panels also requires maintenance.
The maintenance of rotary brush assemblies can be time-consuming and costly. If maintenance is required during operational hours for the car wash, it results in down-time during which employees are being paid, but no vehicles are being washed. If maintenance is performed during non-operational hours, staff must either be present before or after operational hours to perform the maintenance.
Most rotary brush assemblies are cumbersome with respect to replacing or re-positioning the surface panels. What the market needs is a rotary brush assembly that allows for the quick replacement or re-positioning of the surface panels.
This summary is intended to disclose the present invention, a quick-change surface panel used on a rotary brush typically found in carwashes. The embodiment and description are used to illustrate the invention and its utility and are not intended to limit the invention or its use. The following presents a simplified summary of the primary embodiment of the invention to provide a basic understanding of the invention. Additional concepts that can be added or varied with the primary embodiment are also disclosed. The present invention is novel with respect to the prior art, and can be distinguished from the prior art.
In general, the present invention, a quick-change surface panel used allows for rapid maintenance of the surface panels on rotary brushes typically found in car washes. The quick-change surface panel is comprised of a surface panel and a two-piece collar that interfaces with a rotational hub. The quick-change surface panel which is the subject of this patent is used in conjunction with a surface panel assembly. The surface panel assembly is comprised of a plurality of surface panels, a two-piece collar for each surface panel, a spacer between each pair of surface panels, and a rotational hub.
The surface panel is annular and planar. The surface panel has an outer diameter; an inner diameter; a plurality of cuts or partitions extending from the outer diameter inward, making a plurality of radially arranged wash elements; and a common center.
The two-piece collar has an upper piece and a lower piece. The upper piece and lower piece are identical. Each piece of the two-piece collar has a flat surface and a mating surface. Both the flat surface and the mating surface are generally planar and annular. The mating surface has a plurality of mating holes and tangs. The mating holes extend through each piece of the two-piece collar, from the mating surface to the flat surface. The mating surface of an upper piece is aligned oppositionally with the mating surface of a lower piece so that the tangs in the upper piece align with the mating holes in the lower piece; and so the tangs in the lower piece align with the mating holes in the upper piece.
The two-piece collar is positioned over the inner diameter of the surface panel. The surface panel has cut-outs distributed evenly about its inner diameter, which allow the tangs to pass through the surface panel. The two-piece collar is snapped together, with the tangs extending through the surface panel. The inner diameter of two-piece collar has a plurality of protrusions about its inner diameter.
As shown in
As shown in
The spacer 40 slips on and off the rotational hub 2. The surface panel 50 with the two-piece collar 60 affixed also slips on and off the rotational hub 2. The rotational hub 2 is connected to a rotary brush assembly with the through-holes 20.
During maintenance of a rotary brush employing surface panels the rotational hub 2 is removed from the rotary brush assembly. Then the old surface panels 50 are removed by removing the spacer and the surface panel 50. A new surface panel 50 is put into place by placing the two-piece collar 60 over the rotational hub 2. A spacer 40 is placed between every pair of surface panels 50.
The surface panel is fabricated from a flexible and durable hygroscopic material, such as felt, foamed polymers, polyethylene, foamed EVA, or fabric.
The rotational hub is fabricated from a durable metal suitable to the application, such as steel, aluminum, an alloy of steel, or an alloy of aluminum. The rotational hub is most easily fabricated using a computer, numerically controlled machine (“CNC”).
The two-piece collar is fabricated from a polymer such as polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”), polypropylene (“PP”), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (“ABS”), nylon, high-density polyethylene (“HDPE”), low-density polyethylene (“LDPE”), and polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”).
The spacer is fabricated from a polymer such as PVC, PP, ABS, nylon, HDPE, LDPE, or PET. The spacer can also be fabricated from steel, aluminum, magnesium, or zinc, or an alloy of one or more of the foregoing metals.
The present invention is illustrated with 6 drawings on 7 sheets.
The following descriptions are not meant to limit the invention, but rather to add to the summary of invention, and illustrate the present invention, quick-change surface panel. The present invention is illustrated with a variety of drawings showing the primary embodiment of the present invention, with examples presented of the various form-factors that the present invention can take.
Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The article “a” is intended to include one or more items, and where only one item is intended the term “one” or similar language is used. Additionally, to assist in the description of the present invention, words such as top, bottom, side, upper, lower, front, rear, inner, outer, right and left are used to describe the accompanying figures. The terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.
As shown in
As shown in
The spacer 40 slips on and off the rotational hub 2. The surface panel 50 with the two-piece collar 60 affixed also slips on and off the rotational hub 2. The rotational hub 2 is connected to a rotary brush assembly with the through-holes 20.
A system can be constructed using a plurality of identical surface panels 50, each with a two-piece collar 60 affixed about the inner diameter as described herein. The plurality of surface panels 50 are separated from one another by a spacer 40. The plurality of surface panels 50 with affixed two-piece collars 60, and the plurality of spacers 40, mate with the rotational hub 2. The rotational hub 2 has a plurality of indentations 21 about its outer diameter 22. Each two-piece collar 60 has an equal plurality of protrusions 68 about its inner diameter 66. Each spacer 40 has a plurality of protrusions 44 equal in number to the plurality of indentation 21 on the rotational hub 2.
During maintenance of a rotary brush employing surface panels the rotational hub 2 is removed from the rotary brush assembly. Then the old surface panels 50 are removed by removing the spacer and the surface panel 50. A new surface panel 50 is put into place by placing the two-piece collar 60 over the rotational hub 2. A spacer 40 is placed between every pair of surface panels 50.