ROTARY BRUSH MAIN PART AND ROTARY BRUSH

Abstract

A rotary brush for processing the surface of a vehicle includes a rotary brush main part and a plurality of fill material holders that are arranged on an outer lateral surface of the rotary brush main part spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction thereof. Each fill material holder can be secured to the rotary brush main part in a plurality of stop positions spaced apart in the radial direction of the rotary brush main part.

Claims

1. A rotary brush for processing the surface of a vehicle, comprising a rotary brush base body and a plurality of fill material holders disposed on an outer lateral surface of the rotary brush base body and spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction thereof, in which the rotary brush base body and each fill material holder comprise interacting locking means, wherein each fill material holder can be secured to the rotary brush base body in a plurality of stop positions spaced apart from each other in the radial direction of the rotary brush base body, the stop positions are locking positions of the locking means and one of the locking means comprises a plurality of locking notches spaced apart from each other in the radial direction of the rotary brush base body and a locking lug of the other locking means in each locking position engages in one of the locking notches of the one locking means.

2. The rotary brush in of claim 1, wherein a brush fill material is clamped between the rotary brush base body and each fill material holder.

3. The rotary brush of claim 1, wherein the fill material holders have each a rib-like member extending along the axial direction of the rotary brush base body and at least one arm projecting from the rib-like member in the radial direction of the rotary brush base body and carrying the locking means on the filler material holder side.

4. The rotary brush of claim 3, wherein disposed on each end of the rib-like members is an arm comprising locking means on the filler material holder side.

5. The rotary brush of claim 3, wherein locking means on the base body side are disposed on at least one end face of the rotary brush base body.

6. The rotary brush of claim 3, wherein between two locking positions, the arm assumes an elastically deflected position.

7. The rotary brush of claim 6, wherein in the elastically deflected position, the arm is outwardly deflected in the axial direction of the rotary brush base body.

8. The rotary brush of claim 3, wherein the arm extends over an end face of the rotary brush base body.

9. The rotary brush of claim 8, wherein the arm is axially secured between the first and a second rotary brush base body.

10. The rotary brush of claim 8, wherein the arm in the locking position is recessed in a groove on an end face of the first rotary brush base body.

11. The rotary brush of claim 10, wherein an axial deflection of the arm, which is necessary for the arm to move from one locking position to the next, is greater than the deflection between the locking position and a position that is flush with the end face and preferably no greater than twice the deflection between the locking position and the position that is flush with the end face.

12. The rotary brush of claim 3, wherein the arms comprise a through-passage, into which a bolt can be inserted in the axial direction.

13. The rotary brush of claim 3, wherein the arm in one of the locking positions is secured by a bolt, a base of which is anchored in the rotary brush base body and a head of which abuts a surface of the arm facing away from the rotary brush base body.

14. The rotary brush of claim 12, wherein the through-passage is an oblong hole or a slot which extends along the radial direction.

15. The rotary brush of claim 3, wherein the arm is welded to the rotary brush base body.

16. The rotary brush of claim 1, wherein the fill material holders engage in longitudinal grooves on the outer lateral surface of the rotary brush base body.

Description

[0024] Additional characteristic features and advantages of the invention follow from the description of preferred embodiment examples below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings:

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a rotary brush base body and the associated fill material holders according to a first embodiment example;

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a radial section through an arm of a fill material holder in a first locking position on the rotary brush base body;

[0027] FIG. 3 shows the arm in a second locking position;

[0028] FIG. 4 shows the arm in a fourth [sic] locking position;

[0029] FIG. 5 shows a section similar to that in FIG. 2 according to a second configuration;

[0030] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a rotary brush according to the present invention without fill material;

[0031] FIG. 7 shows a radial section through the arms of two adjacent fill material holders on two rotary brush main bodies abutting one another according to a third configuration;

[0032] FIG. 8 shows a second section through the arms seen in FIG. 7, wherein one of the arms is in an elastically deflected position between locking positions;

[0033] FIG. 9 shows a section similar to that in FIG. 7 according to the fourth configuration;

[0034] FIG. 10 shows a top view in the axial direction of a rotary brush according to a fifth configuration of the invention;

[0035] FIG. 11 shows a section similar to that in FIG. 2 according to a modification of the fifth configuration.

[0036] FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a rotary brush base body 1 and a fill material holder 3 for a rotary brush for use in a conveyor tunnel car wash for passenger vehicles. The rotary brush base body 1 has the form of a cylindrical ring. Longitudinal ribs 13 on an inner lateral surface of the ring ensure a positive connection to a shaft (not shown in the figure). Axial grooves 4 extending in the direction of the cylinder axis are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction along the outer lateral surface 2 of the rotary brush base body 1. On the end faces 8 of the rotary brush base body 1, the axial grooves 4 merge into radial grooves 11 which extend toward the cylinder axis. The bottom of each radial groove 11 has a saw-toothed profile with a plurality of locking notches 17 sequentially following each other in the radial direction.

[0037] The fill material holders 3 comprise each a rib-like member 5, where the length of the rib-like member is consistent with the length of the axial grooves 4 and where the cross section of the rib-like member is dimensioned such that, when a fill material holder 3 is mounted on the rotary brush base body 1, the rib-like member engages in the axial groove 4 maintaining its all-around clearance, so that all around the rib-like member 5, there is a free through-passage in which a brush fill material can be secured by clamping it between the rib-like member 5 and the inner surface of the axial groove 4. Projecting at right angles from the ends of the rib-like member 5 are two arms 6, the inner surfaces of which face one another, each having at least one locking lug 16.

[0038] The fill material elements (not shown in the figure) can be bristles, tufts or cloth strips. During the assembly of the rotary brush, these elements can initially be laid over the horizontally held rib-like member, so that they hang down on both sides. When the fill material holder 3 is subsequently moved toward an axial groove 4 of the rotary brush base body 1, the cylinder axis of which is also horizontally oriented, the arms 6 engage in the radial grooves 11 and are elastically spread apart when their locking lugs 16 slide over a ramp of the saw-tooth profile of the axial grooves 11. A first locking position is reached as soon as the first ramp has been past and the locking lugs 16 engage in the radially outermost lying locking notch 17 of the axial grooves 4. Additional locking positions are defined by the engagement of the locking lugs 16 in radially more inwardly stepped locking notches 17. The locking position, up to which the arms 6 can advance into the radial grooves 11, depends on the material thickness of the fill material elements.

[0039] FIG. 2 shows a radial section through an arm 6 of one of the fill material holders 3 and the radial groove 11 in which the arm engages. The fill material holder 3 is positioned in the outermost of a total of three possible locking positions; the other two positions are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The number of the locking positions can be varied; the less elastically compressible the fill material, the more closely spaced should be the locking positions in order to ensure secure clamping of the fill material elements.

[0040] In the configuration of FIG. 5, the more deeply the arms 6 advance into the radial grooves 11, the more widely spread apart must be the arms 6, so that the inwardly lying locking positions can be reached only with the exertion of considerable force. In the variant shown in FIG. 3, a single locking lug 16 of the arm 6 is positioned opposite to a plurality of locking notches 17 in the radial groove 11 such that the deflection required for moving from one locking position to the next is always the same.

[0041] As FIGS. 2 to 5 indicate, in the locking positions, the outer surfaces of the arms 6 lying opposite to the locking lugs 16 are flush with an end face 8 of the rotary brush base body 1. As a result, if a plurality of rotary brush main bodies 1, fitted with fill material holders 3, are, as illustrated in FIG. 6, stacked one on top of another in order to form a complete rotary brush, the arms 6, at least on the abutting end faces 8, are undetachably arrested in the radial grooves 11. On the exposed end faces 8 on the upper and the lower end of the rotary brush, the arms, if necessary, can be secured by mounting a cover ring.

[0042] FIG. 7 shows a section through a rotary brush according to another variant of the invention. The end faces 8 of two rotary brush main bodies 1 are positioned one on top of another. However, in this variant, the outer surfaces of the arms 6 are not flush with the end faces 8, but are set back behind said end faces, thereby leaving an open gap between the oppositely lying outer surfaces, the axial dimension b of which gap is greater than the maximum deflection that an arm 6 undergoes as it moves into the next adjacent locking position. As a result, it is possible, as shown in FIG. 8, to move the fill material holders 3, as needed, into a radially more inwardly lying position and to clamp the fill material subsequently more securely between the rotary brush base body 1 and the fill material holder 3, without having to disassemble the rotary brush or dismantle it from a car wash facility in which it is used.

[0043] To rule out the possibility of the arms 6 escaping from the locking positions during the washing operation, a locking wedge can be driven into the gap as shown in FIG. 9.

[0044] Furthermore, in the transition region between the arms 6 and the rib-like member 5, the fill material holders 3 can have a radial bore, through which a tool, such as a screwdriver, can be inserted between the arm 6 and the bottom of the radial groove 11 so as to lift the arm 6 off the bottom and to disengage the locking lug 16 from the locking notch 17. In this manner, the fill material holder 3 can be detached from the rotary brush base body 1, again without having to dismantle the rotary brush, and a worn-out fill material can be replaced.

[0045] FIG. 10 shows a top view in the axial direction of a rotary brush according to a fifth configuration of the invention. The fill material holders 3 differ from the configurations presented above in that the arms 6 each have a radially extending slot 10. When looking through the slot 10, a hole can be seen on the bottom of the radial groove 11. A bolt can be threaded into this hole, the head of which keeps the arm 6 pressed against the bottom of the groove, thereby securing the arm 6 in its locked position.

[0046] According to a variant of the configuration shown in FIG. 11, the bottom of the radial groove 11 and the inner surface of the arm 6, which is pressed by the bolt against the bottom of the radial groove, are flat. This allows the arm 6 to be locked not only in discrete locking positions, but in any position in which the brush fill material is sufficiently securely clamped between the rotary brush base body 1 and the fill material holder 3.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0047] 1 Rotary brush base body

[0048] 2 Outer lateral surface

[0049] 3 Fill material holder

[0050] 4 Axial groove

[0051] 5 Rib-like member

[0052] 6 Arm

[0053] 8 End face

[0054] 9 Hole

[0055] 10 Slot

[0056] 11 Radial groove

[0057] 13 Longitudinal rib

[0058] 16 Locking lug

[0059] 17 Locking notch

[0060] 18 Cover ring

[0061] 19 Gap

[0062] 20 Locking wedge

[0063] 21 Bore

[0064] 22 Screw