Wheel washer equipment

Abstract

Wheel washing equipment for motor vehicles, comprising fluid reservoir (3) formed in one or more fender units of the vehicle and having inlet and outlet ports (3a, 3d) for air and liquid; pressure booster (2, 5) whose outlet is connected to tire air inlet port (3a) of tire fluid reservoir (3) (variant A) or whose inlet is connected to the fluid outlet port (3d) of the fluid reservoir (3) (variant B); spray nozzle (9) connected either (in variant A) to the liquid outlet (3d) of the fluid reservoir (3) or (in variant B) to the outlet of the pressure booster (5); and shut-off valve (7) mounted upstream of the nozzle (9), which can be connected to and actuated by the control unit (8) of the vehicle.

Description

[0001] WHEEL WASHING EQUIPMENT

[0002] The subject-matter of the utility model is a wheel washing equipment for the on-the-go cleaning of the surfaces in contact with the ground of vehicles, especially agricultural tractors, forestry machines and trailers, goods carriers and public transport vehicles.

[0003] Agricultural and forestry machines often leave the dirt work area after completing field and forest work on hard-paved access roads, in many cases on main roads. During rainy periods - mainly in spring and autumn - the wheels of these vehicles contaminate the (asphalt) pavement of the roads with mud and small and large clods to an increased extent, which is a concern from a traffic safety point of view. After applying mud, especially in rainy, humid and frosty weather, the road conditions are extremely dangerous. In addition, the other vehicle going in front may spray mud that obstructs the view and is ready to deposit on the windshield of the vehicle, thereby increasing the deterioration of visibility. To legally avoid this, the (Hungarian regulation) KRESZ, i.e. 1 / 1975. (11.5.) the KPM-BM joint decree describes the rules regarding the use of roads as follows: „Anyone who has damaged or polluted the road or the road sign, or who has placed an object on the road that adversely affects the safety and smoothness of traffic, is obliged to ensure that the resulting danger is eliminated, or, as long as this is not possible, to inform other road users about the danger.” (§63., para. 1 ) Also: "Before driving from a dirt road onto a paved road, the mud stuck on the vehicle - which can contaminate the paved road - must be removed." (§ 63, para. 2) Act I of 1988 on road traffic (Hungarian regulation) similarly provides for the prohibition of polluting public roads. In addition to the fact that dangerous situations must be avoided, the law also prohibits the pollution of road surfaces.

[0004] Cleaning the wheels of vehicles after agricultural and forestry work, or when driving out of a construction site, is a lengthy and cumbersome task. The driver of the vehicle must get out of the vehicle and wash the wheel with water. This operation can be solved in construction areas by connecting a hose to the water supply system, but it is difficult in agricultural or forestry areas.

[0005] A relatively large volume of washing liquid is required to remove mud contamination. Another aspect of wheel washing is to clean the wheels with special chemicals. It mainly arises in the case of freight and public transport vehicles, the application of a special material to their driven wheels. Such material could be calcium chloride to be added to the wheel, which helps the vehicle climb up icy, slippery slopes. In the case of animal transport vehicles, it is often necessary to wash the wheels with a disinfectant liquid. In both of the latter cases, the amount of washing liquid is only a fraction of the amount needed to remove mud contamination, but the subject of this application provides a solution to both wheel cleaning needs, which differ in the volume of the washing liquid.

[0006] Patent document DEI 0254533A1 shows an integrated wheel washing device consisting of a water tank, a compressor and a high-pressure nozzle unit. The nozzles are arranged above the wheel of the vehicle on a bar adapted to the curvature of the tire. The number of nozzles depends on the width of the tire: 2-2 nozzles are recommended for every 10 cm. In the case of agricultural machinery, this often means 10 nozzles per wheel, i.e. 40 nozzles per vehicle, given that the width of the tires used on agricultural vehicles can exceed 50 cm. The disadvantage of this solution is that, in the case of wide tires, many nozzles must be used, and this greatly increases the installation costs. Another drawback is that the solution can be used as a mobile device in a very cumbersome manner: refitting from one vehicle to another may involve changing the number of spray nozzles due to the different width of the tires: nozzles must be removed or mounted onto / from a rod adapted to the curvature of the tire.

[0007] Document EP3300972A1 describes an agricultural machine with built-in nozzles for cleaning various parts of the vehicle. The vehicle's tires are cleaned by fixed-position nozzles mounted on the vehicle's mudguards. According to the description, the nozzles can be designed to be rotatable in such a way that during operation they turn around their rod due to the liquid pressure, thereby increasing the cleaning area of each nozzle. In our opinion, this solution does not work properly, since although the initial high pressure turns the nozzle and performs adequate cleaning on a given surface, but as the pressure decreases, it causes the nozzle to return to its original position, but this low liquid pressure no longer provides the same cleaning effect. In other words, the surface to be cleaned sprayed with liquid is indeed somewhat larger, but the cleaning effect on this increased surface is of a different degree, and is insufficient in some parts of the surface.

[0008] Our goal, therefore, by developing the utility model, is to create a mobile wheel washing equipment that requires the smallest possible amount of material and can also be easily adjusted to the size of the tire and tread (wheel surface) to be cleaned.

[0009] Our goal has been achieved by providing a wheel washing equipment for cleaning the tread of motor vehicles, especially an agricultural tractors or trailers, in contact with the ground while driving, which equipment is mounted on the motor vehicle and contains at least one liquid container with inlet openings and outlet openings for air and liquid, as well as at least one nozzle in fluid communication with the liquid container, the equipment is further connected to at least one pressure boosting unit; the at least one pressure boosting unit is arranged before the air inlet opening and / or after the liquid outlet opening of the at least one liquid container ; one or more mudguard units of the motor vehicle contain liquid containers; the equipment is also equipped with a shut-off valve associated with the at least one nozzle, the operation of the shut-off valve is controlled by a control unit that can be connected to the vehicle's electronics. Preferably, one or more mudguard units of the motor vehicle contain a mudguard formed as a liquid container; wherein optionally a piston is arranged in the mudguard. as appropriate

[0010] Preferably, one or more mudguard units of the motor vehicle include a mudguard and a rubber pad attached thereto, designed as a liquid container.

[0011] The liquid container is optionally a hydrophore-designed liquid container, and the pressure boosting unit is the vehicle's own air compressor, which is connected to the air inlet opening of the liquid container.

[0012] The pressure boosting unit is ideally a pump which is arranged after the liquid outlet opening of the liquid container. The pump is preferably a diaphragm pump. The pump preferably raises the pressure of the liquid to be discharged to more than 6 bars.

[0013] The fluid communication is preferably ensured by at least one pipeline. Preferably, the at least one pipeline comprises flexible plastic pipes and quick connectors.

[0014] The wheel washing equipment ideally includes a nozzle holder that can be mounted on the mudguard unit above the tread to be cleaned and / or in front of it according to the direction of travel, which can be rotated around a rod, and the nozzle holder is slidably fixed on a track, where at both ends of the track a stop is provided to rotate the nozzle holder about its rod. The track distance between the stops can preferably be adjusted by fixing it with a screw installed on one and / or the other stop.

[0015] The wheel washing equipment is preferably removably mounted on the vehicle by a detachable connection.

[0016] Preferably, the shut-off valves are solenoid valves. Ideally, the control unit is connected using the vehicle's direction indicator.

[0017] In the following, the utility model is described in detail with reference to the attached drawing. In the drawing

[0018] Figure 1 is the general arrangementof the wheel washing equipment according to the present utility model, Figure 2.a is an embodiment of the wheel washing equipmentaccording to the present utility model with a liquid container designed as a mudguard, the

[0019] Figure 2.b is another embodiment of the utility model wheel washing equipmentwith a liquid container that can be mounted on the mudguard, the

[0020] Fig. 3 is a third embodiment of the wheel washing equipmentaccording to the present utility model with a moving nozzle.

[0021] The surface (tread) of a vehicle's chassis that is in contact with the ground is usually a tire, rubber belt or track; in this application, for the sake of simplicity, we will hereinafter refer to wheels 10 as the tread to be cleaned and washed. Figure 1 shows a schematic scheme of the general arrangement of the wheel washing equipment 1 according to the present utility model. The equipment 1 contains at least one liquid container 3 for storing the wheel washing liquid, at least one nozzle 9 for discharging the washing liquid to the tread surface of the wheel 10 in contact with the ground, and ideally a pipeline 4 connecting them. The liquid container 3 (just like the liquid containers 3e, 3g shown in Figures 2a and 2b) has a liquid inlet opening 3b and a liquid outlet opening 3d.

[0022] The equipment 1 for discharging the washing liquid from the liquid container 3 is equipped with at least one pressure boosting unit 2, 5 or it is connected to at least one pressure boosting unit 2, 5. In the case of agricultural tractors (tractors), such pressure boosting units 2, 5 can be the tractor's own air compressors 2. A pump 5 arranged after the liquid outlet opening 3d of the liquid container 3, which can be operated with the help of a compressor (in the case of a diaphragm pump), or from a battery, or from the drive shaft of the tractor, can optionally be used as a pressure boosting unit 2, 5.

[0023] According to a preferred embodiment, there is a common liquid container 3, from the liquid outlet opening 3d - preferably through a distribution unit 6 - a number n of pipes branch off to each wheel 10 of the vehicle (the value of n is usually four; in Figure 1 , only one of the pipes 10 wheels to be cleaned were associated with a pipe-branch). On the pipelines 4 leading to the wheels 10, shut-off valves 7 are typically inserted in front of the nozzles 9 to prevent the flow of liquid on certain pipe branches as needed, thus the washing of the individual wheels 10 can be separated from the other wheels 10. This independent wheel flushing option is also important in order to avoid the rapid drop in liquid pressure resulting from washing the wheels 10 at the same time, which would result in a less effective cleaning of the muddier wheels 10. The shut-off valves 7 are preferably solenoid valves, the common control of which can be realized by remote control through a panel arranged in the driver's cab of the vehicle associated with a control unit 8. Typically, the control unit 8 of the wheel washing equipment 1 according to the present utility model is connected by using the vehicle's direction indicator system, which simply enables the remotely controlled use of the wheel washer equipment 1 while driving on the road.

[0024] The placement of at least one 3 liquid container on a motor vehicle can be achieved by mounting it on the chassis, in the case of tractors instead of the additional weight (usually: nose weight) or mounted on it as an additional weight, on its upper surface, or on the mudguards or on their sides. According to an advantageous embodiment of the wheel washing equipment 1 (detailed later), the mudguard 3e itself is designed as a liquid container 3 (Figure 2a). The number of liquid containers 3 varies, it can be arranged with a separate peripheral liquid container 3 associated with each wheel 10 (in this case, the pipelines 4 - distribution units 6 are not required), or grouped, for example one peripheral liquid container 3, 3e, 3g can be assigned to two wheels 10 each (individually with two pipelines 4 and distribution units 6), or there can be only one central liquid container 3, in addition, the central-peripheral liquid container 3, 3e, 3g arrangements can be combined so that only the central liquid container 3 needs to be refilled with washing liquid when it is empty. Fixing of at least one liquid container 3, 3e, 3g on the vehicle can be done in a releasable way, such as with screws, or with a tension strap or spanner, which is facilitated by fixing elements 3c arranged on the side of the liquid containers, 3e, 3g.

[0025] The liquid container 3, 3e is optionally a hydrophore- designed liquid container, whose air inlet opening 3a is connected to an air compressor (as a pressure boosting unit), optionally to the vehicle's own air compressor 2. There is a two- way shut-off valve at the air inlet opening 3a, which allows the air to return (i.e. out of the liquid container 3, 3e) only when liquid is filled through the liquid inlet opening 3b. In the present application, a hydrophore-designed liquid container is understood to mean any liquid container in which the liquid space arranged in the liquid container 3, 3e is separated from the air space inside the liquid container 3, 3e by a solid partition wall (this is in most cases a membrane, which is not shown). As an example, the size of the liquid container s, 3e is 100-150 liters (the useful liquid volume of which is approximately 50-55% of this in the case of a hydrophore-designed container.) According to another aspect of wheel washing taught in this application, namely in the case of cleaning with a disinfectant or antifreeze chemical that requires less washing liquid, the volume of the at least one liquid container s can be smaller than this, even ten liters per wheels 10.

[0026] One of the most important aspects of the present utility model lies in the fact that one or more mudguard units 14 of the motor vehicle contain liquid containers 3, 3e, 3g. Thus, by placing the liquid container 3, 3e, 3g in the immediate vicinity of the running surface to be cleaned, the used pipeline 4 length can be significantly reduced (especially in case of peripheral liquid container 3, 3e, 3g arrangement), thus the pipe loss is also minimal, which ensures the most efficient cleaning and washing process possible as well.

[0027] According to one version of this - which is illustrated in Figure 2a - one or more mudguard units 14 of the motor vehicle contain a mudguard 3e designed as a liquid container. Here, the liquid container is the mudguard 3e of the vehicle itself. With this dual function and arrangement, the space utilization of the liquid container 3, 3e is optimized.

[0028] In the case of pneumatic operation, a solid separating element, typically a piston 3f, separates the air space from the liquid space in the essentially curved mudguard 3e, which is designed as a liquid container. The compressed air entering the air space of the liquid container 3e through the air inlet opening 3a moves the piston 3f in the direction of the nozzle 9, thereby causing the washing liquid to reach the wheel 10. There is a two- way shut-off valve at the air inlet opening 3a, which allows the air to return (out of the liquid container 3, 3e) only when liquid is filled through the liquid inlet opening 3b. Optionally, the air inlet opening 3a is fed by the air compressors 2 of the motor vehicle (e.g. tractor) functioning as its own pressure boosting unit, or by an air compressor arranged separately for this purpose.

[0029] In the case of hydraulic operation (which is not shown), there is no need for a piston in the mudguard 3e, which also functions as a liquid container, here the washing liquid is discharged from the liquid container by a separate pump 5, preferably a diaphragm pump.

[0030] In case of liquid container 3e, which functions both as a pneumatically and hydraulically operated mudguard, the liquid inlet opening 3b is used for refilling the washing liquid, which opening 3b can be connected to a central (common) liquid container 3 with pipelines 4. A one-way valve can be placed at the liquid inlet opening 3b, which lets the cleaning liquid into the liquid container 3, 3e when it is filled, which can leave only through the liquid outlet opening 3d associated with the shut-off valve 7 (not shown in figure 2a).

[0031] According to the other version shown in Figure 2b, one or more mudguard units 14 of the motor vehicle contain a traditional, already existing mudguard 14a, as well as a rubber pad 3g attached to it, designed as a liquid container. The rubber pad 3g can be placed on the mudguard 14a (as illustrated in Figure 2b) or, if appropriate, fixed under it. Fasteners 14d such as straps can be used for this. The advantage of this version is that it can be produced in any size, relatively easily and cheaply, and can be customized to fit the size of the given mudguard 14a.

[0032] The wheel washing equipment 1 according to the model can preferably be installed and removed in a mobile manner. For this purpose, it is advantageous if at least one pipeline 4 forming part of the equipment 1 contains flexible and / or pliable, light plastic pipes, which are preferably commercially available KPE pipes. An additional advantage of such plastic pipes is that their connection to certain elements of the equipment (for example, to at least one liquid container 3, 3e, 3g, to the distribution unit(s) 6, to the shut-off valves 7) can also be realized with commercially available standard quick connectors. In addition, the pipeline 4 can be made of metal, for example steel, aluminum or copper, but in this case it is necessary to create pre-bent pipeline versions adapted to each type of vehicle. The connection of the individual pipeline 4 sections to the vehicle can be secured by detachable connections, such as screws, or easily removable, disposable plastic fasteners.

[0033] The nozzles 9 can be understood as nozzles that can be attached to pipes or quick connectors, such as industrial spray nozzles or other high-pressure nozzles. The nozzle 9 can also be a simple hole, which is formed at the end of the pipeline 4 facing the wheel 10. As an example, in the case of a functioning device with liquid containers 3 of 100 liters, washing liquid coming out of liquid containers 3 at a pressure of 6 bar, and an average length of pipelines 4 (sufficient for a tractor), the diameter of the hole is approximately between 0.5-3 mm. Several holes can be formed next to each other, the distance between adjacent holes is 1-6 cm.

[0034] In the event that the liquid container 3 is the mudguard 3e itself and is pneumatically operated (Figure 2a), the nozzles can also be holes formed at the bottom of the liquid container - the totality of which is therefore the same as the liquid outlet opening 3d. The holes then have a diameter of approximately 1 mm and are spaced approximately 3 cm apart. The version shown in Figure 2. a can also be combined with „sprayer type” nozzles 9. When the liquid container is designed as a mudguard and operated hydraulically, a separate sprayer-type nozzle 9 must be used. The 3e mudguard, which functions as both a pneumatic and a hydraulic liquid container, can be combined with a nozzle holder 12 solution detailed below.

[0035] In the case of a further preferred embodiment (Figure 3), the device 1 includes a nozzle holder 12 that can be mounted on the mudguard unit 14 above the wheel surface to be cleaned and / or in front of it in the direction of travel, which can be rotated around a rod 12a, and the nozzle holder 12 is slidably fixed on a track 1 1 , where a stop 13 is mounted at each end of the track 1 1 to turn the nozzle holder 12 around the rod. The track 11 can follow the contour of the wheel's surface, so it may have a curved design. Ideally, the distance along the track between the stops 13 can be fixed by means of an adjustment element installed on one and / or the other stops 13 - preferably with a screw. Such a solution is most suitable for the application of cleaning liquid to be discharged in small quantities - for example disinfectant, or a substance recommended for ice, for example calcium chloride - where the pressure of the liquid coming out of the liquid containers 3 is usually increased with a separate pump 5. The pressure of the washing liquid reaching the wheels 10 is thus approximately more than 6 bar, typically more than 8 bar. This relatively high pressure, atomizing the spray that reaches the wheels 10, however, with a suitable design of the nozzle 9, can also be provided without pumps 5; for example by choosing the diameter of certain pipeline sections and the diameter of the nozzle 9 itself - among other things, in relation to the amount of liquid container 3 and the amount of washing liquid in it. Fig. 3 illustrates the alternating movement of the nozzle 9 rotating around the rod 12a between the stops 13 and on the track 1 1 due to relatively high pressure.

[0036] The advantage of the wheel washing equipment according to the present application is that it can be easily moved, easily relocated from one vehicle to another, and has a mobile design. Another advantage is the simple controllability that can be controlled during the movement of the vehicle, which is mainly achieved by connecting the control unit coordinating the shutoff valves to the vehicle's control system and, where appropriate, to the operation of the direction indicators. The mudguard, which functions as a liquid container, is a solution that increases and optimizes the use of space in the liquid container(s). In addition, the version that ensures the alternating movement of the nozzle provides a particularly effective high-pressure, parts-sparing solution.

Claims

Claims1 . Wheel washing equipment for cleaning the tread of a motor vehicle, especially an agricultural tractor or trailer, in contact with the ground while driving, which equipment is mounted on the motor vehicle and contains at least one liquid container with inlet openings and outlet openings for air and liquid, as well as at least one nozzle in fluid communication with the liquid container, characterized in that the equipment is further connected to at least one pressure boosting unit (2, 5); the at least one pressure boosting unit (2, 5) is arranged before the air inlet opening (3a) and / or after the liquid outlet opening (3d) of the at least one liquid container (3, 3e, 3g); one or more mudguard units (14) of the motor vehicle contain liquid containers (3, 3e, 3g); the equipment is also equipped with a shut-off valve (7) associated with the at least one nozzle (9), the operation of the shut-off valve (7) is controlled by a control unit (8) that can be connected to the vehicle's electronics.

2. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to claim 1 , characterized in that one or more mudguard units (14) of the motor vehicle contain a mudguard (14a) and a rubber pad (3g)attached thereto, the rubber pad (3g) being formed as a liquid container.

3. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to claim 1 , characterized in that one or more mudguard units (14) of the motor vehicle contain a mudguard (3e) formed as a liquid container.

4. Wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to claim 3, characterized in that a piston (3f) is arranged in the mudguard (3e).

5. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to claim 1 or 3 or 4, characterized in that the liquid container (3, 3e) is a hydrophore-designed liquid container, and the pressure boosting unit (2, 5) is the vehicle's own air compressor (2), which is connected to the air inlet opening (3a) of the liquid container (3) .

6. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure boosting unit (2, 5) is a pump (5), arranged after the liquid outlet opening (3d) of the liquid container (3, 3e, 3g).

7. Wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to claim 6, characterized in that the pump (5) is a diaphragm pump.

8. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the pump (5) raises the pressure of the liquid to be discharged to more than 6 bars.

9. Wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fluid communication is provided by at least one pipeline (4).

10. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to claim 9, characterized in that the at least one pipeline (4) contains flexible plastic pipes and quick connectors.1 1. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it contains a nozzle holder (12) that can be mounted on the mudguard unit (14) above the tread to be cleaned and / or in front of it according to the direction of travel, the nozzle holder can be rotated around a shaft (12a), and the nozzle holder (12) is slidably fixed on a track (1 1 ), wherein a stop (13) is installed at each end of the track (1 1 ) for rotating the nozzle holder ( 12) around the shaft ( 12a) .

12. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to claim 1 1 , characterized in that the distance along the track between the stops (13) can be adjusted by screws mounted on one and / or the other stop (13).

13. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is mounted on the vehicle in a removable way with a detachable connection.

14. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shut-off valves (7) are solenoid valves.

15. The wheel washing equipment (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that its control unit (8) is connected by using the vehicle's direction indicator.

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