A vehicle washing system includes a frame disposed above a vehicle treatment area, and a reciprocal guide system coupled to the frame. The guide system is configured to move vertically relative to the frame, and supports a vehicle treatment component such as a rotatable brush. The brush may be lowered and raised relative to the vehicle treatment area by extending or retracting the guide track. When the guide system is retracted upward, there are no downwardly extending guides or rails that extend downward from the bottom of the guide system. The guide system is collapsible in a vertical direction, and may be a scissors mechanism or a telescoping mechanism or other collapsible mechanism. The guide system may be actuated directly or may be actuated dependent on a separate vertical drive mechanism, such as a windable belt.

A vehicle wash system includes a frame suspended above a vehicle treatment area. A pivotable frame is pivotally coupled to the frame, and an extendable and retractable linear frame is coupled to the pivotable frame and configured to extend downward from the pivotable frame and retract upward toward the pivotable frame. A top brush is coupled to a lower end of the linearly frame, and is extendable toward engagement with a vehicle. The top brush is also pivotable relative to a vertical position via pivoting of the pivotable frame, and the top brush is pivotable at different degrees of extension of the linear frame. The linear frame and the top brush may pivot in response to contact from the vehicle.

A vehicle washing system includes a frame disposed above a vehicle treatment area, and an extendable and retractable scissor mechanism coupled to the frame. A rotatable top brush is coupled to a bottom end of the scissor mechanism, and the scissor mechanism is extendable downward to lower the top brush into engagement with a vehicle body and retractable upward to remove the brush from engagement with the vehicle body. The scissor mechanism may include a brush support flange coupled to a bottom end of the scissor mechanism. An anti-spin member may extend from the support member to the scissor mechanism to prevent bending of the scissor mechanism in response to rotating to the top brush. The anti-spin member may be in the form of a fork that slidably engages a protrusion of the scissor mechanism.

A wash apparatus for a vehicle wash installation is provided, which includes a shaft drivable in rotation about a rotation axis and wash elements operatively connected thereto. In order to be able to adapt to the contour of a vehicle, the wash apparatus can be divided axially in two or more wash apparatus segments and that the at least one wash apparatus segment includes a wash element holding body having wash elements held thereto, said wash element holding body defining a wash apparatus segment axis which is different from the rotation axis, and a gear device which couples the shaft to the wash element holding body in order to rotate same about the wash apparatus segment axis, wherein the wash element holding body is configured for pivotal movement relative to the shaft via the gear device. Furthermore, a vehicle wash installation including a wash apparatus is provided.

An assembly including an arm having a rotatable brush for cleaning a vehicle, the arm being rotatable about a generally vertical axis to move the brush between a parked position and a deployed position, the arm being supported by a mechanism such that the arm is in a raised position when the brush is in the parked position and the arm is in a lowered position when the brush is in the deployed position and the arm is biased to move the brush towards the deployed position by the mechanism.

A device for cleaning or precision machining of workpieces comprises a housing; a central roller having two ends supported by means of rotary bearings on carriers fixed on the housing; a first roller having a first end connected to one of the carriers by a joint and having a second end supported by means of a rotary bearing; a second roller having a first end connected to another one of the carriers by a joint and having a second end supported by means of a rotary bearing; a drive motor for rotatingly driving the first and second rollers and the central roller for treating a workpiece; a suction device for removing particles from the rollers; and at least a first and a second pinion gear coupled to the first and second rollers for angularly adjusting the first and second rollers with respect to said central roller.

An apparatus and method for cleaning a large object such as a tractor-trailer. The apparatus is a cleaning vehicle including a frame with a plurality of wheels mounted thereon that allow the frame to move from one location to another across the ground. An arm mounted on the frame includes arm portions that may be telescoped to longitudinally, transversely, or vertically adjust the length of the arm portions. At least one rotatable brush is operatively engaged with the arm. The vehicle is positioned adjacent the large object and the arm is adjusted to position the at least one brush adjacent a surface to be cleaned. The arm portions are actuated to change length and thereby move the brush across the object's surface to clean the same. If two brushes are provided on the arm they may be moved toward or away from each other to clean two surfaces simultaneously.

A mobile trailer-cleaning system is a system that facilitates the cleaning of the exterior surfaces of a trailer. The system may include at least one brush assembly, a roof carriage, an agitation mechanism, and a steering assembly. The at least one brush assembly enables the cleaning of all the trailer's exterior surfaces including the rear of the trailer and any non-flat surfaces. The roof carriage serves as a guide to maintain the at least one brush assembly adjacent to the trailer's walls as the at least one brush assembly moves along the trailer. The roof carriage also prevents the at least one brush assembly from tipping over. The agitation mechanism eases the cleaning of the trailer's exterior surfaces by agitating the at least one brush assembly in predetermined modes of operation. The steering assembly enables the user to manually operate the at least one brush assembly during the cleaning process.

A train wash (1) for washing a train is described. The train wash comprises a water supply tank, for holding water for washing the train, a heater, for heating the water in the water supply tank, one or more water jets (14), for directing water from the water supply tank onto a side of the train, one or more rotatable brushes (4), for brushing against a region of the train onto which water is being or has been directed by the water jets, a water recovery tray, for location beneath the sides of the train, for collecting water running down the side of the train, a recirculation system, for recirculating water in the water recovery tray back to the water supply tank for reuse, and a filtration system, for filtering the water being recirculated from the water recovery tray to the water supply tank.

A wrap around station of a car wash including a cross piece comprising one or more cross beams and a pair of roller assemblies disposed on the cross piece. Each roller assembly includes one or more first rollers with a substantially vertical axis of rotation, and one or more second rollers with a substantially horizontal axis of rotation. Each of the one or more first and second rollers are arranged to rotate in contact with at least one of the one or more cross beams. A pair of linear actuators are configured to move the roller assemblies along the cross piece. A first side brush and a second side brush are each pivotally and rotatably attached to a corresponding one of the roller assemblies so that the first and second side brushes are moveable along the cross piece and pivotable relative to the cross piece and relative to one another.