EP0576386A2

EP0576386A2 - Vehicle mat cleaner improvements

Info

Publication number: EP0576386A2
Application number: EP93500061A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pedro Frutos Melendez
Original assignee: Larranaga Zunzunegui Diego
Current assignee: Larranaga Zunzunegui Diego
Priority date: 1992-05-25
Filing date: 1993-05-07
Publication date: 1993-12-29
Also published as: EP0576386A3

Abstract

Vehicle mat cleaner improvements consisting in a machine having a wheeled and housed chassis in whose upper interior is mounted a tank with a center-sloping bottom and over that a cleaning roller train which pulls the mat to be cleaned through from one end of the machine to the other, and in which the bottom of the tank is fitted with means of applying water jets and means of extracting water, and underneath the output area there are means of scenting the mat, and the mat is dried by the pressure of the last rollers, which leave the mat the proper amount of dampness for the interior air of the vehicle in question. The housing is equipped with a folding, practicable cover and doors providing access to the rollers, the means of transmission from the motor to the rollers, and the pressure pump components and other accessories.

Description

SECTOR OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

The vehicle mat cleaner improvements herein invented are applicable in the industry that manufactures. special machinery for repair shops, carwashes and automobile accessories. The said improvements provide an auxiliary element for correctly cleaning vehicle mats at a minimum cost with maximum performance, obtaining perfectly clean mats with the proper amount of dampness and a constant scent level to benefit the vehicle's interior air, making airfresheners unnecessary.

STATE OF THE ART

At the current time there exist machines for this very purpose, made up of two horizontal, motorized brushes whose ends lie on bearings. The upper portion of the mat is grasped, the mat is introduced vertically in the machine, where it is raised and lowered between the brushes to clean it. The mat may be dry- brushed or wet-washed with a water jet.
These machines have the drawback that the mats must be moved up and down to be cleaned, requiring the resulting effort to counteract the pull of the motorized brushes. This is liable to cause an accident should the pull be great enough to draw the operator's hands into the cleaning slot.
This system does not render a complete cleaning service; the operator must wait for the mat to dry after it comes out.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The aforesaid vehicle mat cleaner improvements consist in the creation of a machine comprised of a rigid chassis with a markedly prismatic/rectangular outer casing provided with wheels for easy transportation. In the upper interior of this is a tank whose walls slope toward the center and also a set of rollers which lie transversally and are engaged with one another by means of chain transmissions and driven by a motor coupled in the interior of the said casing, such that all rollers turn in the same direction, acting to drive and guide the mat. The mat is inserted through a slot in the front of the casing and is then treated by a rotating precleaning brush and next by a series of brushes which receive while rotating plain water or water with suitable detergents. This water is pumped to the central area by a pressure pump located in the lower portion of the tank. The mat continues to travel toward the back, away from the feed end, and continues to be worked on by other rollers which scent it and pressure-dry it, leaving the mat slightly damp and scented. The mat comes out of the back of the machine, away from the feed end, where there will be a catch tray.
Inside the general casing are installed all the necessary means for the driving motor, the water pump, additional products such as the final scenting product, and a water catcher from which water may be extracted by the proper hoses running outside the machine.
Both the top and the sides are provided with practicable covers for reaching the interior and the gear area for maintenance and upkeep, with easy access to each of the main elements which together comprise the machine.
The following is a detailed description of the aforesaid vehicle mat cleaner improvements, with references to the attached diagrams depicting, as a mere non-limiting example, a preferred form of execution subject to all variations of detail that do not entail a fundamental alteration of the essential characteristics of the improvements.
The said diagrams illustrate the following:

In figure 1: Side view of the machine's cross section, exposing its internal elements.
In figure 2: Outside side view of the tank.
In figure 3: Cross section detail.
According to the example of execution herein depicted, the vehicle mat cleaner improvements herein proposed consist in assembling a machine with a markedly prismatic rectangular chassis or housing (1) equipped with wheels (2) for easy transportation from one place to another, so it may be placed in the best position for each use. The upper half of the housing interior is occupied by a tank (3) with a center-sloping bottom where there is an inlet and an outlet (4) for water alone or mixed with a suitable detergent. On top of this tank is a set of rollers, the first of which lie facing a feed slot (5) in the front, with a support tray (6) for easy insertion of the mat to be cleaned. The first rollers (7) are driving rollers to pull the mat inside the machine. These are followed by rollers (8) having very stiff, brush-like bristles for initial cleaning. After these is another set of center rollers (9) with bristles that receive the jet of water and detergent from the first collector (4) so that these rollers may perform the washing function. After these is another pair of driving rollers (10 and 11) which lie in front of a rinsing device (12). Last is a pairof driving and squeezing rollers (13) which push the mat out of the machine, whereupon it falls into a tray below. Upon leaving the squeezing rollers, the mat goes through a spraying system (14) where it is scented before falling, clean, into the tray.

The entire set of rollers is interconnected by means of chain transmissions and a motor reducer (15) equipped with a crown on its shaft, which carries all motion to the set of both top and bottom rollers, which drive the mat from the feed end to the output end.
The pressure exerted by the top rollers upon the bottom rollers not only procures greater cleaning when the mat passes between the rollers (8 and 9) but also pressure dries the mat, especially in the last rollers (10, 11 and 13) which push the mat out practically dry, scented, with the proper amount of dampness, perfect for the air of the vehicle interior in question.
The machine is simple to maintain. Its top face is equipped with a folding cover (16) and side covers (17), so the rollers may be reached through the top, and the gears and transmission means may be reached through the sides for servicing, interior cleaning and possible repair operations.
An outside side cover (18) gives access to the electrical and hydraulic control instruments, such as the pump and the general driving motor. One end is designed with a control panel for actuating the machine's various options of washing with water, with detergent, addition or omission of scent, and different possible combinations of actions.
The machine is simple, requiring just one operator in order continuously to clean a high number of mats per minute and to obtain clean mats, just barely damp, enough to give the interior air of the vehicle in question the proper relative humidity.
The form, materials, and proportions may vary as may generally anything that is accessory or secondary to the machine, provided that the essence of the improvements described herein is not altered, changed, or modified.

Claims

1. Vehicle mat cleaner improvements, wherein there is a chassis equipped with a markedly prismatic, rectangular housing in whose upper interior is a tank with a center-sloping bottom where there is a pressure water inlet and matching outlet, above which, in the upper area, is mounted a transversal roller train including front and back drive rollers for pulling in and pushing out the mat to be cleaned, while the central rollers include first a stiff brushing roller and next, in the center, another brush roller which receives the washing water, and then a number of double pressure rollers for drying and scenting the mat.

2. Vehicle mat cleaner improvements as set forth in claim one above, wherein inside the housing is a main motor which, by chain transmissions, allows all rollers to turn simultaneously, linked to one another by chain transmissions and pinions at the end of the shafts of the said rollers.

3. Vehicle mat cleaner improvements as set forth in claims one and two above, wherein the area immediately preceding the output opening houses a system for scenting the mat as it falls upon the rollers in this area.

4. Vehicle mat cleaner improvements as set forth in claims one to three above, wherein the housing has a top folding door and two top side doors for reaching the rollers and the transmission systems, respectively, and a side door for reaching the assembly's hydraulic and electrical system.