Car wash cloth roll assembly

• US 8,082,618 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2008
• Issued: 12/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motor City Wash Works Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Motor City Wash Works Incorporated
• Inventors: Wentworth, Robert J., Belanger, Lionel
• Primary Examiner(s): CHIN, RANDALL E
• Application Number:
  US12/033,080
• Publication Number:
  US 20090205150A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,407 Days
• Field of Search: 15/973, 152/30, 152/301.4
• US Class Current: 15/97.3
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 3/06 with rotary bodies contacting the vehicle hand-held B60S3/048

Abstract

A cloth-type vehicle laundering implement includes a support mechanism consisting of a rotatable drive shaft and a plurality of generally parallel, adjacently arranged spacers mounted on the support mechanism. Each of the plurality of spacers includes a first face and a second face. The implement includes a plurality of individual circular fabric disk elements disposed between the first face of one of the plurality of spacers and the second face of another of the plurality of spacers. Each of the plurality of individual circular fabric disk elements extends outwardly beyond the spacers. Each of the individual circular fabric disk elements consists of a single piece of non-woven material having an inner diameter and an outer diameter. The inner diameter is retained in a single plane by a securing mechanism such that more material is located adjacent the inner diameter than the outer diameter to provide a more rigid element. The outer diameter and the inner diameter consist of substantially the same linear length of material.

Claims

1. A car wash roll assembly for laundering a vehicle in a vehicle cleaning process as the vehicle proceeds along a predetermined direction of travel, comprising:

a drive shaft assembly having a pair of opposing ends and having a longitudinally extending axis of rotation, said drive shaft assembly having a plurality of protrusions uniformly spaced about a shaft periphery of said drive shaft assembly;

an actuator in communication with said drive shaft assembly to effectuate rotation about said axis of rotation as commanded;

a plurality of spacers having a spacer opening, said spacer opening having a plurality of mating notches for engagement with a respective one of said plurality of protrusions on said shaft periphery to effectuate rotation of said plurality of spacers as said drive shaft assembly rotates;

a plurality of cloth rolls consisting of a single sheet of non-woven material having an inner edge secured by a clinch ring to create a non-pleated finishing surface for engaging the vehicle as it proceeds along the horizontal path of travel, each of said plurality of cloth rolls being disposed between two of said plurality of spacers; and

a cap secured to said drive shaft at one of said ends for applying sufficient pressure to said spacers to create friction between each of said cloth rolls and said spacers to sandwich and secure each of said cloth rolls between a pair of adjacent spacers such that said plurality of spacers and said plurality of cloth rolls can be rotated as a unit without relative movement therebetween.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said axis of rotation is perpendicular to the path of travel of the automobile.

3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said clinch ring is eco treated for preventing corrosion of said clinch ring.

4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said non-woven material sheet is a spun bond material.

5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of spacers includes an upwardly extending shoulder for engagement with an inner periphery of said clinch ring of said cloth roll to secure said cloth roll to said spacer to be rotated therewith.