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(11) | EP 0 576 386 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Vehicle mat cleaner improvements |
| (57) 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. |
SECTOR OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 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
[0002] 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.
[0003] 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.
[0004] 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
[0005] 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.
[0006] 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.
[0007] 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.
[0008] 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.
[0009] 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.
[0010] 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.
[0011] 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.
[0012] 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.
[0013] 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.