Automatic vehicle washing system

Claim 1

An apparatus for applying fluids on a vehicle comprising: (a) a support column; (b) a carriage slidably mounted on said support column; (c) drive means attached to said carriage to provide a driving force to move said carriage up and down on said support column; (d) a boom assembly cantileverly supported on said carriage by a hinge connection allowing the boom to pivot about the support column in a substantially horizontal plane; (e) a magnet assembly interconnected between said boom and said support column which prevents the boom from pivoting about said support column under normal operating conditions unless the boom is struck by a vehicle; (f) a plurality of fluid dispensing nozzles mounted on said boom assembly; (g) a plurality of pairs of photoelectric units, each pair comprising an emitter element and a detector element, mounted on said boom assembly such that (i) one element of each pair is mounted at opposite ends of the boom asembly and (ii) a straight line between the elements of each pair forms an angle with the generally horizontal plane containing the direction of relative movement between the vehicle and the apparatus; and (h) control means for activating said drive means incluiding: (i) means for raising said boom assembly when the path between a first one of said pairs of photoelectric units is obscured, (ii) means for lowering said boom assembly when none of the paths between said pairs of photoelectric units are obscured and (iii) means for holding said boom in its existing position when the path between said first pair of photoelectric units is not obscured but the path between one or more of the other of said pairs of photoelectric units is obscured.

Claim 2

An apparatus for applying fluids on a vehicle comprising: (a) a support column; (b) a carriage slidably mounted on said support column; (c) drive means attached to said carriage to provide a driving force to move said carriage up and down on said support column; (d) a boom assembly cantileverly supported on said carriage by a hinge connection allowing the boom to pivot about the support column in a substantially horizontal plane; (e) a magnet assembly interconnected between said boom and said support column which prevents the boom from pivoting about said support column under normal operating conditions unless the boom is struck by a vehicle; (f) a plurality of fluid dispensing nozzles mounted on said boom assembly; (g) a plurality of pairs of photoelectric units, each pair comprising an emitter element and a detector element, mounted on said boom assembly such that (i) one element of each pair is mounted at opposite ends of the boom asembly and (ii) a straight line between the elements of each pair forms an angle with the generally horizontal plane containing the direction of relative movement between the vehicle and the apparatus; and (h) control means for activating said drive means incluiding: (i) means for raising said boom assembly when the path between a first one of said pairs of photoelectric units is obscured, (ii) means for lowering said boom assembly when none of the paths between said pairs of photoelectric units are obscured and (iii) means for holding said boom in its existing position when the path between said first pair of photoelectric units is not obscured but the path between one or more of the other of said pairs of photoelectric units is obscured.

Claim 11

An apparatus for applying fluids on a vehicle comprising: (a) a boom assembly cantileverly supported on a support column, hinged to pivot about said support column in a substantially horizontal plane and mounted to move up and down on said support column, said boom assembly comprising: (i) means for dispensing fluid on said vehicle and (ii) means for detecting the relative position between the boom assembly and the contour of the vehicle; (b) a magnet assembly interconnecting said boom assembly and said support column having sufficient magnetic force to prevent said boom from pivoting relative to said support column during normal operation of the apparatus, said magnetic force being weak enough to also allow said boom to pivot in response to contact between said boom and the vehicle; (c) drive means attached to said boom for raising and lowering said boom, said drive means comprising a rodless pneumatic cylinder; and (d) control means connected to said drive means and said detecting means to cause said boom to remain slightly above and follow the contour of said vehicle during relative horizontal movement between said vehicle and the appartus.

Claim 12

An apparatus for applying fluids on a vehicle comprising: (a) a boom assembly cantileverly supported on a support column, hinged to pivot about said support column in a substantially horizontal plane and mounted to move up and down on said support column, said boom assembly comprising: (i) means for dispensing fluid on said vehicle and (ii) means for detecting the relative position between the boom assembly and the contour of the vehicle; (b) a magnet assembly interconnecting said boom assembly and said support column having sufficient magnetic force to prevent said boom from pivoting relative to said support column during normal operation of the apparatus, said magnetic force being weak enough to also allow said boom to pivot in response to contact between said boom and the vehicle; (c) drive means attached to said boom for raising and lowering said boom, said drive means comprising a rodless pneumatic cylinder; and (d) control means connected to said drive means and said detecting means to cause said boom to remain slightly above and follow the contour of said vehicle during relative horizontal movement between said vehicle and the appartus.