IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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출원번호 |
US-0384066
(2009-03-31)
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등록번호 |
US-8627834
(2014-01-14)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Belanger, Michael J.
- Turner, Barry S.
- Weyandt, Thomas E.
- Prater, Curtis S.
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출원인 / 주소 |
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대리인 / 주소 |
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
0 인용 특허 :
1 |
초록
▼
A vehicle washing system. The vehicle washing system includes a vehicle washing system component. Also, provided is an apparatus for moving the vehicle relative to vehicle washing system component. The speed of the relative motor of the vehicle is selected either by an operator automatically or may
A vehicle washing system. The vehicle washing system includes a vehicle washing system component. Also, provided is an apparatus for moving the vehicle relative to vehicle washing system component. The speed of the relative motor of the vehicle is selected either by an operator automatically or may be varied to vary the vehicle throughput through the vehicle wash. A control unit is provided. The control unit senses the speed of movement of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle washing system. The control unit adjusts the vehicle washing system component for coordinating the vehicle washing system component in accordance with the speed of the vehicle.
대표청구항
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1. A vehicle washing system comprising: one or more controlled components of said vehicle washing system;a variable speed conveyor configured to move a vehicle relative to said one or more controlled components to move at a rate of speed of movement during a wash cycle;a plurality of sensors configu
1. A vehicle washing system comprising: one or more controlled components of said vehicle washing system;a variable speed conveyor configured to move a vehicle relative to said one or more controlled components to move at a rate of speed of movement during a wash cycle;a plurality of sensors configured to sense a condition including at least one vehicle throughput and vehicles waiting in line and adjusting the rate of speed of said variable speed conveyor and a speed of said one or more controlled components; anda control unit configured to adjust and correlate the one or more controlled components and said rate of speed relative to a predetermined vehicle throughput of said vehicle washing system such that the at least one vehicle throughput of said vehicle washing system may be varied while maintaining the integrity of the vehicle washing system by slowing or speeding up the one or more controlled components to match a vehicle speed as necessary depending on the at least one vehicle throughput. 2. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said one or more controlled components include one or more of a group consisting of mitters, wheels, conveyor, blowers, tire sprayers, mixers, liquid delivery systems and top rollers. 3. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said predetermined vehicle throughput is based on a demand that affects the at least one vehicle throughput of the vehicle washing system. 4. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said one or more controlled components include a variable frequency drive motor connected to and powering said one or more controlled components, said control unit is operably connected to and adjusts a frequency of said variable frequency drive motor which adjusts the power translated to said one or more controlled components. 5. The vehicle washing system of claim 4, wherein said variable frequency drive motor powers a drying blower. 6. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said one or more controlled components is a plurality of drying blowers and said control unit adjusts the power of said plurality of drying blowers. 7. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said control unit determines said rate of speed by adjusting of said one or more controlled components using the following equation: C=Min+(Max-Min)(Variance)100wherein “C” is a set component rate of speed,“Min” is a set minimum speed that is set by an operator,“Max” is the set maximum speed that is set by the operator, and“Variance” is a percentage of a range between Min and Max. 8. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said one or more controlled components is a plurality of wheel members controlled by said control unit. 9. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, further comprising said one or more controlled components being one or more wheels, and a variable frequency drive motor operably connected to said one or more wheels for rotating said one or more wheels, wherein said control unit varies the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor for controlling the revolutions per minute of said one or more wheels. 10. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said one or more controlled components comprise a plurality of wheel members which include at least one variable frequency drive motor for varying the rotation speed of said plurality of wheel members, said control unit being operable for controlling the power to at least one of said plurality of wheel members for shutting off at least one of said plurality of wheel members, and said control unit being operable for controlling the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor for varying a speed of at least one of said plurality of wheel members, or a combination thereof, depending on the at least one vehicle throughput or the rate of speed of said variable speed conveyor. 11. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said one or more controlled components further comprise at least one liquid delivery system for operably contacting said vehicle with a liquid during movement of said vehicle. 12. The vehicle washing system of claim 11, further comprising a pneumatic valve that pivots said at least one liquid delivery system relative to said vehicle during movement, wherein said control unit controls the operation of said pneumatic valve. 13. The vehicle washing system of claim 12, wherein said at least one liquid delivery system includes at least one nozzle, wherein the flow through said at least one nozzle is controlled based on said predetermined vehicle throughput. 14. The vehicle washing system of claim 13, wherein said at least one liquid delivery system includes at least one pump having a variable frequency drive motor, and said control unit varies an output of said variable frequency drive motor and an output of said at least one pump based on said predetermined vehicle throughput. 15. The vehicle washing system of claim 14, wherein said vehicle washing system comprises a plurality of said at least one pumps wherein said control unit controls power to at least one of said plurality of pumps for shutting said power down based on a pre-selected condition correlated to said predetermined vehicle throughput. 16. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said control unit is a computer coupled to said plurality of sensors which senses vehicle movement along said one or more controlled components of said vehicle washing system, and controls said one or more controlled components of said vehicle washing system based on the at least one vehicle throughput or a sensed speed of said variable speed conveyor relative to said vehicle. 17. The vehicle washing system of claim 16, wherein said computer automatically controls and adjusts said speed of said one or more controlled components based on said sensed speed of said variable speed onveyor. 18. A vehicle washing system comprising: a vehicle washing system component;a variable speed conveyor configured to move a vehicle relative to said vehicle washing system component to move at a selectable and variable speed of movement during a wash cycle;a plurality of sensors configured to sense a condition including at least one vehicle throughput and vehicles waiting in line, and said sensors operable for adjusting the speed of said variable speed conveyor and said vehicle washing system component; anda control unit, said control unit configured for processing a relative speed of movement of said vehicle with respect to said vehicle washing system component and configured to adjust and correlate the vehicle washing system component for coordinating the vehicle washing system component in accordance with a speed of said vehicle such that the speed of the at least one vehicle throughput in the vehicle washing system may be varied while maintaining the integrity of the vehicle washing system by slowing or speeding up the vehicle washing system component to match the speed of the vehicle as necessary depending on the at least one vehicle throughput. 19. The system of claim 18, wherein said vehicle washing system component includes a variable frequency drive motor, and said control unit is operable for varying the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor for adjusting the operation of said vehicle washing system component. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein said variable frequency drive motor powers a drying blower, and said control unit controls the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor. 21. The system of claim 18, wherein said vehicle washing system component is a blower, and said control unit controls an output of said blower. 22. The system of claim 21, wherein said control unit powers, or lowers or raises the power, supplied to said blower based on said speed of movement of said vehicle. 23. The system of claim 18, wherein said vehicle washing system component is a wheel member configured to rotate, and said control unit controls the rate at which said wheel member rotates based on said speed of movement of said vehicle. 24. The system of claim 19, wherein said vehicle washing system component comprises a wheel member, and said variable frequency drive motor rotates said wheel member. 25. The system of claim 24, wherein said control unit varies the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor for controlling the revolutions per minute of said wheel member in response to said speed of said vehicle. 26. The system of claim 18, wherein said vehicle washing system component further comprises a plurality of wheel members which include at least one variable frequency drive motor for varying the rotational speed of said plurality of wheel members, said control unit being operable for controlling the power to at least one of said plurality of wheel members for shutting off at least one of said plurality of wheel members, controlling the frequency of said at least one variable frequency drive motor for varying the speed of at least one of said plurality of wheel members, or a combination of both, depending on the speed of said vehicle. 27. The system of claim 18, wherein said control unit adjusts said vehicle washing system component using the equation: C=Min+(Max-Min)(Variance)100wherein “C” is a set component rate of speed,“Min” is a set minimum speed that is set by an operator,“Max” is the set maximum speed that is set by the operator, and“Variance” is a percentage of a range between Min and Max. 28. The system of claim 18, wherein said vehicle washing system component further comprises at least one liquid delivery system for contacting said vehicle with a liquid during movement of said vehicle. 29. The system of claim 28, wherein said at least one liquid delivery system includes at least one nozzle, wherein the flow through said at least one nozzle is controlled by said control unit based on said speed of said vehicle. 30. The system of claim 29, wherein said at least one liquid delivery system includes at least one pump having a variable frequency drive motor, and said control unit varies an output of said motor and an output of said at least one pump based on the speed of said vehicle. 31. The system of claim 30, wherein said vehicle washing system comprises a plurality of said pumps, wherein said control unit controls the power to at least one of said plurality of pumps for shutting the power down based on pre-selected conditions correlated to the speed of said vehicle. 32. The system of claim 18, wherein said control unit is a computer coupled to said plurality of sensors which senses vehicle movement along said vehicle washing system component and controls said vehicle washing system component based on a sensed speed of said vehicle. 33. The system of claim 32, wherein said computer automatically controls said vehicle washing component. 34. The system of claim 28, wherein said vehicle washing system component comprises at least one of the following: wheels, blowers, mitters, sprayers or mixers; andan encoder operably connected to said vehicle washing system component, wherein said encoder determines when said vehicle enters and exits said vehicle washing system component and functions to send a signal to said control unit which in turn controls the operation of said vehicle washing system component in response to the signal from said encoder. 35. A vehicle washing system comprising: a vehicle washing system component;a variable speed conveyor configured to move a vehicle relative to said vehicle washing system component to move at a selectable and variable speed of movement during a wash cycle;a plurality of sensors configured to sense a condition including at least one vehicle throughput and vehicles waiting in line for adjustment of the speed of said variable speed conveyor and a speed of said vehicle washing system component; anda computerized control unit, said computerized control unit configured for processing a relative speed of movement of said vehicle with respect to said vehicle washing system component and configured to adjust and correlate said vehicle washing system component for coordinating the vehicle washing system component in accordance with the speed of said vehicle such that a speed of the at least one vehicle throughput in the vehicle washing system may be varied while maintaining the integrity of the vehicle washing system by slowing or speeding up the vehicle washing system component to match the speed of the vehicle as necessary depending on the at least one vehicle throughput. 36. The system of claim 35, wherein said vehicle washing system component includes a variable frequency drive motor and said computerized control unit is operable for varying the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor for adjusting said vehicle washing system component 37. The system of claim 36, wherein said computerized control unit varies the frequency of said frequency drive motor using the following equation: C=Min+(Max-Min)(Variance)100wherein “C” is a set component rate of speed,“Min” is a set minimum speed that is set by an operator,“Max” is the set maximum speed that is set by the operator, and“Variance” is a percentage of a range between Min and Max. 38. The system of claim 36, wherein said variable frequency drive motor powers a drying blower. 39. The system of claim 38, wherein said computerized control unit controls the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor for varying an output of said drying blower 40. The system of claim 39, wherein said computerized control unit controls the power to said drying blower for turning off said variable frequency drive motor. 41. The system of claim 39, wherein a plurality of said drying blowers are provided, and said computerized control unit selectively: powers down said variable frequency drive motor, controls the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor, or combinations of both, depending on the speed of said vehicle 42. The system of claim 36, wherein said vehicle washing system component comprises a wheel member, and said variable frequency drive motor rotates said wheel member. 43. The system of claim 42, wherein the computerized control unit varies the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor for controlling the revolutions per minute of said wheel member in response to the speed of said vehicle. 44. The system of claim 36, wherein said vehicle washing system component further comprises a plurality of wheel members which include at least one variable frequency drive motor for varying the rotation speed of said plurality of wheel members, said computerized control unit being operable for controlling the power to at least one of said plurality of wheel members for shutting off at least one of said plurality of wheel members, controlling the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor for varying the speed of at least one of said plurality of wheel members, or a combination of both, depending on the speed of said vehicle. 45. The system of claim 35, wherein said vehicle washing system component further comprises at least one liquid delivery system for contacting the vehicle with a liquid during movement of said vehicle. 46. The system of claim 45, wherein said at least one liquid delivery system includes at least one nozzle, wherein the flow through said at least one nozzle is controlled based on the speed of said vehicle by said computerized control unit. 47. The system of claim 46, wherein said at least one liquid delivery system includes at least one pump having a variable frequency drive motor and said computerized control unit varies an output of said variable frequency drive motor and an output of said at least one pump based on the speed of said vehicle. 48. The system of claim 47, wherein said vehicle washing system comprises a plurality of said pumps, wherein said computerized control unit controls the power to at least one of said plurality of pumps for shutting the power down based on pre-selected conditions correlated to the speed of said vehicle. 49. The system of claim 35, wherein said computerized control unit senses vehicle movement along said vehicle washing system component and controls said vehicle washing system component based on a sensed speed of said vehicle. 50. The system of claim 49, wherein a speed of said variable speed conveyor is set by input to said computerized control unit by an operator, and said computerized control unit automatically controls said vehicle washing system component. 51. The system of claim 35, wherein said vehicle washing system component comprises at least one of the following: wheels, blowers, mitters, spoilers or mixers; andan encoder operably connected to said vehicle washing system component, wherein said encoder determines when said vehicle enters and exits said vehicle washing system component and functions to send a signal to said computerized control unit, which in turn controls the operation of said vehicle washing system component in response to said signal from said encoder. 52. A vehicle washing system comprising: at least one controlled component of said vehicle washing system;a variable speed conveyor configured to move a vehicle or moving the at least one controlled component to move at a rate of speed of movement relative to said vehicle during a wash cycle;a plurality of sensors configured to sense a condition including at least one vehicle throughput and vehicles waiting in line and adjusting the variable speed conveyor rate of speed and said at least one controlled component of said vehicle washing system; anda control unit operable for correlating with said plurality of sensors and adjusting at least one operating variable of said at least one controlled component based on said speed of said apparatus, said control unit configured to adjust and correlate the at least one controlled component and said rate of speed relative to a predetermined vehicle throughput of said vehicle washing system such that the at least one vehicle throughput of said vehicle washing system may be varied while maintaining the integrity of the vehicle washing system by slowing or speeding up the at least one controlled component to match a vehicle speed as necessary depending on the at least one vehicle throughput. 53. The system of claim 52, wherein said control unit adjusts the at least one operating variable based on the following equation: C=Min+(Max-Min)(Variance)100wherein “C” is a set component rate of speed,“Min” is a set minimum speed that is set by an operator,“Max” is the set maximum speed that is set by the operator, and“Variance” is a percentage of a range between Min and Max. 54. The vehicle washing system of claim 52, wherein the at least one controlled component includes a variable frequency drive motor connected to and powering said at least one controlled component, said control unit is operably connected to and adjusts the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor which adjusts the power translated to said at least one controlled component. 55. The vehicle washing system of claim 54, wherein said variable frequency drive motor powers a drying blower. 56. The vehicle washing system of claim 55, wherein a plurality of said drying blowers are provided and said control unit powers down or controls the frequency of one or more of said plurality of drying blowers, depending on said rate of speed. 57. The vehicle washing system of claim 54, wherein said at least one controlled component of said vehicle washing system comprises a wheel member, and said variable frequency drive motor rotates said wheel member. 58. The vehicle washing system of claim 57, wherein said control unit varies the frequency of the variable frequency drive motor for controlling the revolutions per minute of said wheel member in response to said rate of speed of said vehicle or said variable speed conveyor. 59. The vehicle washing system of claim 54, wherein said at least one controlled component of said vehicle washing system further comprises a plurality of wheel members which include at least one variable frequency drive motor for varying the rotation speed of said plurality of wheel members, said control unit being operable for controlling the power to at least one of said plurality of wheel members and for shutting off at least one of said plurality of wheel members, controlling the frequency of said variable frequency drive motor for varying the speed of at least one of said plurality of wheel members, or a combination of both, depending on the speed of said vehicle or speed of said variable speed conveyor. 60. The vehicle washing system of claim 52, wherein the at least one controlled component of said vehicle washing system further comprises at least one liquid delivery system for contacting said vehicle with a liquid during movement of said vehicle or said movement of said variable speed conveyor relative to said vehicle. 61. The vehicle washing system of claims 60, further comprising a pneumatic valve that pivots said at least one liquid delivery system relative to said vehicle during movement, wherein said control unit controls the operation of said pneumatic value. 62. The vehicle washing system of claim 60, wherein said at least one liquid delivery system includes at least one nozzle, wherein the flow through said at least one nozzle is controlled based on the speed of said vehicle or the speed of said variable speed conveyor relative to said vehicle, both the speed of said vehicle and the speed of said variable speed conveyor controlled by said control unit. 63. The vehicle washing system of claim 62, wherein said at least one liquid delivery system includes at least one pump having a variable frequency drive motor, and said control unit varies an output of said variable frequency drive motor and an output of said at least one pump based on the speed of said vehicle or the speed of said variable speed conveyor relative to said vehicle. 64. The vehicle washing system of claim 63, wherein said vehicle washing system comprises a plurality of said pumps, wherein said control unit controls the power to at least one of said plurality of pumps for shutting said power down based on a pre-selected condition correlated to the speed of said vehicle or the speed of said variable speed conveyor relative to said vehicle. 65. The vehicle washing system of claim 62, wherein said control unit is a computer connected to said plurality of sensors which senses vehicle movement along at least one controlled component of said vehicle washing system and controls said at least one controlled component of said vehicle washing system based on the sensed speed of said vehicle or the sensed speed of said variable speed conveyor relative to said vehicle. 66. The vehicle washing system of claim 65, wherein the speed of said variable speed conveyor is set by input to said computer by an operator, and said computer automatically controls said at least one controlled component.
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