Fluid emitting nozzles for use with vehicle wash apparatus

Abstract

Rotating turbo nozzles for use in car wash systems have a nozzle body with a hollow interior in which a nozzle member is rotated in unison with a fluid vortex created by pressurized fluid introduced into the interior of the nozzle body through passageways forming an acute angle with the hollow interior. Systems are employed for reducing the speed of rotation of the nozzle member relative to the nozzle body so as to improve the effective range in which the nozzle body can emit cleaning fluids with an acceptable impact force.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 849,763 filed May 4, 2004.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to automatic vehicle washing systems and, more particularly, to an overhead cleaning platform capable of independent vertical and pivotal positioning of a plurality of nozzles attached thereto. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003]“Brushless” automated vehicle washing systems are commonly utilized to quickly and efficiently clean vehicles without requiring any hand scrubbing or contact between cleaning members and the exterior of a vehicle. Brushless vehicle washing systems utilize jets of pressurized cleaning fluid sprayed from a plurality of nozzles to wash away dirt and grime from the exterior surfaces of a vehicle. In one common type of washing system, the nozzles are commonly arranged in a gantry. The gantry either 1) passes over and around the vehicle or 2) is stationary and the vehicl...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent describes an automatic vehicle washing system that uses a platform with nozzles to spray cleaning fluid onto the surface of a vehicle. The platform is suspended from a left end and supported from below at the right end. The system has a pneumatic lift actuator that can be used to move the platform vertically. The nozzles are attached to a pivoting boom that can change the angle of the fluid jets emanating from the nozzles. The system also has low-pressure conduits with specialty nozzles for spraying specialty fluids, such as clear coat and spot-free rinses, onto the vehicle. The system also includes a series of turbo nozzles located on the inside surfaces of the gantry legs for precise application of fluid to all surfaces of the vehicle. The nozzles can be turned on or off independently, and the integration of the rocker panel nozzles and side nozzles to the same fluid source allows for both a side rinse and rocker panel blast in the same pass. The technical effects of the system include improved efficiency, accuracy, and flexibility in applying fluids to vehicles."

Problems solved by technology

As the distance between the nozzle and the adjacent surface increases, the speed of the cleaning fluid decreases; also the jet begins to fan increasing the impact area on the adjacent surface, thereby spreading the impact force over a greater area, and reducing cleaning effectiveness.

Accordingly, those parts of a vehicle that are furthest from the nozzles may not be adequately cleaned.

Typically, gantry-type cleaning systems have the most difficulty cleaning the front and rear of a vehicle, since the nozzles located at the sides and top of the gantry normally direct jets of cleaning fluid parallel or at a very shallow angle to the vehicle's front and rear surfaces.

Both of these solutions are relatively expensive when compared to the other liquids used during the wash cycle such as water.

This is undesirable for at least two reasons: one, the specialty solution left in the supply lines must be purged prior to the beginning of the next vehicle wash; and two, the use of a high pressure delivery device might deliver a greater than necessary volume of specialty solution to the vehicle as the gantry traverses the vehicle's length.

The result is an inefficient use of the expensive specialty solutions.

Unfortunately, these vertically mounted delivery systems have difficulty in delivering solution in a manner that completely covers the top surfaces of a vehicle as there is often little impetus for the applied specialty solution to flow along the horizontal top surfaces of the vehicle, especially when the solution is in the form of a foam.

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