Installation for the washing of vehicles

Dec. 6, 1938. e. piquerez 2,139,096

INSTALLATION FOR THE WASHING OF VEHICLES

Filed Oct. 23, 1935 ' 3 Sheets-Sheet 1

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Dec. 6, 1938. e. piquerez 2,139,096

INSTALLATION FOR THE WASHING OF VEHICLES '

Filed Oct. 23, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2

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Dec. 6, 1938. e. piquerez 2,139,096

INSTALLATION FOR THE WASHING OF VEHICLES

Filed Oct. 23, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3

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Patented Dec. 6, 1938

2,139,096

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,139,096 INSTALLATION FOR THE WASHING OF VEHICLES

Emile Piquerez, Saint-Cloud, France

Application October 23, 1935, Serial No. 40,437 In France October 29, 1934

Claims.

The present invention relates to an improved installation for washing vehicles, and particularly automobile vehicles, in which the vehicle to be washed is carried upon a conveyor which 5 moves it at a suitable speed in front of a gang of workmen each of whom has a well defined task to fulfill in the complete operation. One of the greatest difficulties encountered in known installations of this kind and intended to deal 10 with a large number of vehicles is the elimination of mud carried along by the washing water. The mud, which is a mixture of sand, clay, and organic refuse, is extremely sticky and constantly tends to obstruct the conduits for removing ₁₅ the used water.

The main object of the improved installation according to the present invention is to remedy this inconvenience and also to allow a rational and economical carrying out of the process.

The invention is characterized by the following features:

A mechanical conveyor mechanism moves the vehicle to be washed in front of a set of jets of water under pressure, said jets being operated ₂₅ either by workmen or automatically.

The water flows into a gully where a preliminary decantation takes place and which is situated immediately underneath the conveying mechanism.

₃₀ A basin or trough for a second decantation is disposed at the end of said gully to receive the water, which allows the mud in suspension to be deposited therein completely.

Mechanical means are provided for periodically 35 removing the mud from the pre-decantation gully and from the decantation basin without the necessity of emptying the gully and basin.

The said mechanical means for removing the mud are advantageously formed by baskets or 40 the like arranged on the bottoms of the gully and basin, all the decanted mud being collected in the baskets or the like.

Devices forming covering-joints cover up the spaces between the baskets or the like and the 45 spaces between the edges of the baskets and the walls of the gully or the basin, so that the mud cannot enter into the spaces.

The baskets or the like may be adapted to roll upon rails arranged in the decantation gully 50 above the zone in which the mud is deposited. Furthermore, means are provided for directing the dirty wash water over the rails to the basket and thus protecting the said rails from vertical drop of muddy water, thus avoiding the 55 accumulation of mud on the rails.

(CI. 210—44)

The pre-decantation gully is prolonged beyond the conveyor apparatus by a chamber allowing the baskets or the like to be removed, the rails being extended right into the chamber and means being provided In this neighbourhood to lift out and empty the baskets when filled with mud. ⁶

It is often advantageous to recover the decanted water and to purify it completely so as to be able to use it again in the washing operation. To this end, the installation may be provided with a filter which receives the water ^Jafter decantation and with a reserve trough intended to contain the filtered water and serving as the suction chamber for the pumps.

Other characteristics of the invention will be -,5 apparent from the following description of one * constructional form, which is illustrated, by way of example, on the accompanying drawings, whereon:—

Fig. 1 shows, in vertical section, an improved 20 washing installation according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding plan view, the floor being assumed to have been removed at certain Places; _2g

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line τττ—τπ in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a basket for removing the mud;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line V—V in Fig. 4; ₃₀and

Fig. 6 is a partial plan view corresponding to Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings:—

A mechanical conveyor f of any type is pro- ₃r vided, formed, for instance, by two rows of rollers 2 driven mechanically so as to rotate about their axes. The vehicle 3 to be washed travels on to the floor 4 and then on to the conveyor, where its brakes are put on and the movement of the rollers 2 carries it along the washing station.

This station is served with water supplied under pressure through piping 5 and the washing of the car can be effected by workmen in accordance with its forward movement, the work- 45 men standing on' platforms 6 and 7 arranged bn either side and in the middle of the conveyor. This manual work could, however, be replaced by any fixed or movable apparatus whether or not provided with brushes or similar devices 50 adapted to effect the external washing of the vehicle.

The washing water flows through the conveyor and the adjacent platforms, taking the mud with it, and it is collected by inclined planes 8 which 55

2,189,000 form part of the bottom of a water collecting gully, see Fig. 3, and flows into a longitudinal gully pit 9 where the initial decantation of the used water takes place.

In the gully pit 9 are arranged baskets 10 suspended by rollers ί I rolling upon rails 12, Fig. 3, built in to the vertical walls of the gully pit. Shoulders 13, which may be formed by stonework ledges or by fixed iron sheets, prolong the inclined planes 8 and overlap the edges of the baskets, thus compelling the mud to fall into the baskets and preventing the water and impurities from fallipg vertically onto the rails and avoiding deposit of impurities on the rails.

Each of the baskets 10 carries at one of its extremities a joint-cover 14 formed by a sheet iron plate hinged to the end wall of the basket and which, in the turned down position, covers the space between two consecutive baskets in order to prevent the mud from entering into the said space. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a sjiaft 15, parallel to the longitudinal axis, passes through each basket and extends beyond the two ends of the latter forming hooking trunnions for a movable yoke i 6. A slot 17 formed in the joint-covering sheet 14 serves for the passage of said yoke and resists the rocking of the basket when the latter is lifted up by the aid of the yoke.

The pre-decantation gully pit 9 is extended beyond the end of the conveyor by a chamber 18, Fig. 1, the general section of which is the same as that of the gully, but in which the two shoulders 13 are interrupted for a length a little greater than that of one basket. Consequently, a basket which is in the enlarged part between the shoulders 19 can be lifted vertically and the empty baskets can also be reinserted at this point. To do this a lifting apparatus 20, of any kind is disposed above said chamber and may, for instance, consist of a travelling hoist movable along a horizontal girder 21 fixed to the ceiling.

The chamber 18 is normally covered by a latticed floor 22 upon which the vehicles can travel before arriving on the conveyor.

A decantation basin 23, which is disposed behind the chamber 18 and separated from the latter by a partition, communicates with the chamber through an aperture 24 arranged at the normal level of the water.

The bottom of the basin is in the form of a funnel having sloping walls 26 ending in a central sump 27. The sloping walls of the bottom include hinged sheet iron edge covers which prolong the sloping portion of the bottom inwardly over the side edges of the basin sump. Baskets 28, similar to the baskets 10, are arranged in the sump 27 and can be hooked on to by means of the same lifting yokes 16. The inwardly extending declined edge covers overlie the edges of the baskets and the rails, disposed at the sides of the basin sump, so as to direct the dirty water into the baskets and prevent vertical drop of solids onto the rails. The sheet iron edge covers are hinged to the walls 26 and are operable by means of chains 30 to raise said covers about their hinges. An inspection plate 31, provided in the floor 4 covering the basin, renders access to the interior of the latter possible and, after the edge covers 29 have been lifted, permits the baskets 28 to be hooked to the yoke i 6 in order to remove the baskets by means of the tackle 20. The empty baskets can likewise be reinserted in the sump at this point.

The decanted water in the basin 23 flows out through an orifice 32 positioned at the normal water level and controlled by a sluice gate, whilst a cock 33 at the bottom of the basin allows the latter to be completely emptied. The bottom of the basin 23 is arranged at a lower level than 5 that of the gully 9 and its bed is inclined towards the orifices of the bottom sluice gates to facilitate the flow and the washing out of the residual mud, some of which, whatever precautions are taken, remains suspended in the water and even- io tually settles underneath the baskets.

The greater part of the mud is collected in the baskets 10 and can easily be removed by successively passing the said baskets into the chamber 18, after having removed the covering grid 15 22. The baskets are then lifted by the aid of the hoist 20 and of the yoke 16 and conveyed to and emptied into a lorry brought beneath the hoist, at 34 for instance.

The water which flows through the orifice 32 is 20 freed of heavy suspended materials and can be directly removed to the waste pipe. In many cases it is preferable to re-use this water which must therefore be subjected to a more complete purification. ₂g

A filter 35 is arranged at the end of the decantation chamber 23 and is preferably of the type having a filtering bed 36 of gravel. The water enters directly into the filter through an orifice 32 arranged at the level of the water and 30 passes from top to bottom through the filtering layer 36. The water is collected again in the lower part of the filter whence a tube 37 conducts it into the reserve container 38 from which it is pumped by a pump 39 that forces it to the 35 washing station through the piping 5. Well known devices, not illustrated in the drawings, provide for the washing and the levelling of the filtering bed 36, and sluice gates 25, 33, 40 and 41, arranged at the bottom of the gully 9 and of 40 the chambers 23, 35 and 38, allow them to be emptied completely through a collecting discharge pipe 42 for the waste water. Finally a fresh water supply pipe 43 permits water to ’be added to any one of the chambers 23, 35 or 38 45 according to the working requirements.

In the event of the recovered water being used, it may be advantageous to add to the water^ where it enters the decantation chamber, a clarifying product to cause the precipitation of the m light materials in suspension. The addition of the said product can be carried out by the aid of any suitable known device not illustrated in the drawings.

The above description has been given only by 55 way of example and with the object of making the principle of the invention better understood. It is evident that, without departing from the invention, the baskets serving for the removal of mud could be replaced by any other suitable go means, such as a bucket conveyor, a dredger operating continuously or intermittently at the bottom of the pre-decantation gully. In cases where the installation is accessible from below, mechanical devices may even be dispensed with G5 and the mud may be removed by suitable sluice gates arranged at the bottom.

It will also be understood that the relative position of the various containers for decantation, filtration and for the filtered reserve water 70 may be varied indefinitely according to the requirements of the installation. In partinnlar in a case in which it would be impossible to install these containers below the level of the ground they could be arranged at a higher level, the 75

2,139,096 water being simply collected at the outlet of the pre-decantation gully by means of a pump which would force the water into the decantation container.