BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved self-service motor vehicle washing plant.

Self-service motor vehicle washing plants are known per se and are becoming increasingly widespread, allowing the user of a motor vehicle to both wash his/her car and use other services, such as thorough cleaning of the interior of the car.

These washing plants will be referred to in the following as "Wash Parks". A Wash Park is a dedicated area where a user can obtain not only the desired self-service washing, but also, as mentioned, various other services, such as cleaning the interior of the vehicle, checking the pressure and inflation of the tyres, and so on, depending on the increasingly diversified equipment provided at the Wash Park.

Quite common forms of Wash Park allow the customer to remain inside his/her car, which is washed either directly by the customer or by rotating washing brushes movable along, for example, a respective washing lane, after having started the washing plant, for example, by using either cash or one or more tokens and/or similar means that the customer must obtain, obviously in exchange for money, from the Wash Park operator.

Each token thus constitutes an alternative physical currency that, as mentioned, the customer must necessarily obtain in order to use the desired services of the Wash Park.

When the washing operation is completed, the customer must also attend to the auxiliary finishing services, such as cleaning windows and vacuuming the interior, these auxiliary operations also requiring further "tokens" to be "spent".

In this regard, since all Wash Park services are generally time based, it may happen that some operations desired by the customer are interrupted without being completed, and so the user must insert new tokens again. Often, the annoyance of having to continually insert tokens that might not always be available, as well as the impossibility of easily finding them, for example in the evening hours, is so stressful that, in the end, the user renounces to the above-mentioned auxiliary services.

Thus, it can be said that the main drawback of known Wash Park self- service washing systems is precisely that of payment for services, either in cash or equivalent tokens, which, as already mentioned, provide the respective services only for a limited time.

In addition to the risks associated with handling cash, a further problem of known Wash Park plants is to simplify the function of the processes that are performed at the Wash Park, both in the optimization times of the control and management of the structure of the entire Wash Park, as well as the dedicated economic resources. SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The aim of the present invention is to satisfy at least the foregoing needs. Within the above-mentioned aim, a main object of the present invention is to provide an improved self-service vehicle washing plant, or new Wash Park system, which is actually an open system, interoperable with individual customers-users and allowing extension to any "open source" technology, as well as interoperability between the person in charge or operator of the entire Wash Park and the operational resources in the Wash Park, in particular of having access to all the necessary economic and statistical data in real time.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a self-service washing plant of the indicated type that is also capable of allowing the owner and/or operator of the washing plant to exploit, in addition to all the currently existing or legacy technologies, new future technologies so as to allow the introduction of new sales channels and methods of use, with electronic payment, mobile purchasing and usage, marketing campaigns, and so on.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a self-service washing plant of the indicated type that enables companies operating in the general field of self-service motor vehicle washing to exploit the new application methodology, susceptible of improving the single services provided to each individual customer, both in terms of performance and in terms of profit.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved washing plant of the indicated type capable of fostering customer loyalty for the entire Wash Park.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a washing plant of the indicated type capable of increasing revenue, as well as reducing general operating costs of the entire Wash Park system.

A further and important object of the present invention is to provide a self- service washing plant of the indicated type in which the payment system is fully automated, thanks to the use of current mobile technology and, in particular, thanks to a dedicated APPLICATION downloadable by the user, for example onto the user's smartphone, in real time, and via which the customer can pay with electronic money through his/her smartphone for one or more services received, even comfortably from inside his/her car, in self-service washing plants where the user remains in the car while the brushes in the external lane wash said vehicle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a self-service washing plant of the indicated type that makes a plurality of modules available to customer, for example, preferably associated with the aforementioned APPLICATION or in the frontend of the smartphone, to allow the customer to easily purchase, for example, via credit/debit card, cashpoint card, current account, or prepaid top-up deposit, all the services of the Wash Park via the APPLICATION and the frontend, even without getting out of the car.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a self-service washing plant of the indicated type that enables purchasing electronic money credit top-ups, for example from the washing plant operator, for using the services of the entire Wash Park, as well as displaying, at any time and in any place, a person's credit wallet and purchased Wash Park services.

The last, but not least, object of the present invention is to provide a washing plant of the indicated type managed by a hardware and software based modular control unit, which is extremely simple and functional such that not only can it be used in newly built washing plants to allow electronic payment for the washing plant's various services, but can also be used in existing plants for the same purposes and which, in particular, with substantially the same hardware and software configuration or with minimal changes, can transform almost any apparatus currently functioning with cash or tokens, in particular vending machines for goods and services, into an apparatus functioning with electronic money, all without modifying the mechanical structure of the apparatus.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the previously mentioned aim and objects, as well as further objects, which shall become clearer hereinafter, are achieved by a Wash Park plant for washing motor vehicles, said plant preferably being of the self-service type, characterized in that it includes payment automation means based on mobile technology, enabling a user of the Wash Park plant to pay for the services of said Wash Park with electronic payment means, even from inside the motor vehicle to be washed in said Wash Park plant, via his/her smartphone, on which the user will have preliminarily downloaded a dedicated APPLICATION allowing said user to interface in real time with all the services that can be supplied by said Wash Park plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the self-service Wash Park plant, according to the present invention, shall become clearer through the following detailed description of a currently preferred embodiment, shown by way of an indicative but non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a possible embodiment of an improved self-service washing plant, according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a possible configuration of frontend and application modules associated with the self-service washing plant, according to the present invention; FIG. 3 shows a possible registration and login flowchart useful for understanding the operation of the self-service washing plant, according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a further possible flowchart for topping up an electronic money wallet or credit limit of a user of the self-service washing plant, according to the present invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a further possible flowchart for purchasing services of the Wash Park on the basis of which, according to the present invention, the self- service washing plant of the invention operates.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With specific reference to the aforesaid figures, in particular to FIG. 1 , a possible configuration of a self-service washing plant of the present invention is shown in which each individual customer of the self-service washing plant can, according to the main aspect of the invention, not only wash his/her own vehicle by hin herself or have it washed automatically in the conventional lanes with rotating washing brushes, but also make payments for one or more desired services of the washing plant by using electronic money instead of conventional tokens or cash, with all the consequent advantages that have already been mentioned and shall become clearer hereinafter.

If desired, and preferably, the self-service washing plant, generally indicated by reference numeral 1 , may include a vehicle counting system, not shown, as a basic service by means of a so-called "people counter" platform integrated near to each entry point to the lanes.

This would, for example, enable monitoring the number of passages and the standing time of each vehicle V to be washed.

Furthermore, the system of counting vehicles V will give the plant operator access to tangible statistical data that will enable optimizing advertising or marketing campaigns.

According to a main aspect of the present invention, the self-service washing plant in question allows all customers to interface with the services provided by the plant in real time, thanks to a simple and intuitive APPLICATION, which constitutes the core of the invention and which the user must preliminarily download to his/her smartphone SM.

Referring to FIG. 2, this shows a plurality of APPLICATION and frontend modules, from M1 to M7, on the basis of which the self-service washing plant of the invention operates.

According to the main aspect of the invention, these modules, from M1 to M7, will be present on the APPLICATION and on the frontend managed by the smartphone SM.

In this way, the customer can purchase, for example, via credit/debit card, cashpoint card, current account, or prepaid top-up deposit, the service via the APPLICATION and the frontend without even getting out of the car, in the case where the washing plant is configured in lanes including a plurality of rotating cylindrical washing brushes.

Credit limit top-ups, i.e. the electronic money of each individual customer, can be purchased by using the APPLICATION, by means of dedicated points, via online systems, or by means of unique codes through the APPLICATION.

In particular, each customer can display, at any time and in any place, his/her credit wallet and purchased services through the dedicated APPLICATION.

According to one aspect of the invention, the available modules can include: a module M1 for setting the customer's personal information; a module M2 related to the customer's purchases; a module M3 related to the customer's credit or wallet, that can be continuously updated as and when desired by the customer; a further credit top-up module M4; a further product purchase module M5; a module M6 for registration of new customers; and, finally, a login module M7.

Referring to FIG. 3, this shows a possible registration and login flowchart regulating operation of the self-service washing plant, according to the present invention.

In greater detail, this registration and login flowchart envisages a plurality of operating steps for registration: a first step S1 of accessing application memory means; a further step S2 of downloading the APPLICATION; a further step S3 of registration querying; a further step S4 of registering customers for the desired service via frontend web APPLICATION; a further step S5 of the customer receiving an e-mail for data verification and confirmation of registration; and a further step S6 of the customer actually performing the login.

Referring to FIG. 4, this shows a flowchart for credit limit top-up or electronic money crediting by the customer; this top-up, as mentioned, can preferably, but not exclusively, be implemented by the operator of the washing plant.

In practice, to top up his/her electronic money limit for services of the self- service washing plant, the customer will perform at least the following further operating steps: a step S7 of choosing the top-up amount from those available on the APPLICATION and on the site of the plant; a step S8 of selecting the top- up amount from step S7 and putting it in virtual basket means; a further step S9 of selecting the payment method; a step S10 of defining and searching for billing data; a step S11 of entering the billing data determined in step S10; and, finally, a step S12 of executing the transaction and customer credit limit top-up.

Finally, referring to FIG. 5, this shows a flowchart for purchasing services for a plurality of services provided by the self-service washing plant according to the present invention.

This service purchase flowchart envisages the following further operating steps:

- a step S13 in which the customer, at the washing plant, chooses the product to purchase from those available at the plant;

- a successive step S14 of opening the APPLICATION and selecting the chosen service;

- a successive step S15 in which the system shows the customer the available payment methods;

- a further successive step S16 in which the customer pays for the chosen service;

- a further successive step S17 in which the APPLICATION queries the server and sends the purchase data; - a further successive step S18 of data verification by the server; and

- a further successive step S19 in which the server returns a KO (failure) and, if available, the reason for the KO.

As shown, from step S18 it is also possible to access a further step S20 in which the server acquires the data and records it in a database, as well as a further step S21 in which the server returns information to a central unit, for example, advantageously of the Raspberry Pi type, and, finally, a step S22 in which the Raspberry Pi of the service chosen by the customer queries the server and executes the commands.

In this regard, the Applicant underlines the fact that it is precisely the inventive use of "Raspberry Pi" technology, or any other equivalent or future technology, that enables creating a multifunction management control unit having a basic function of transforming, with extremely simple and inexpensive modifications, in combination with the APPLICATION of the invention on a smartphone, current cash or token payment devices, for example conventional vending machines of articles of any kind, into an extremely advantageous, secure and inexpensive means of real-time payment with electronic money.

It shall be noted from the foregoing that the invention provides a new and improved self-service washing plant, based on data communication technologies and hardware currently available, such as, for example, the aforementioned Raspberry Pi hardware and software technologies, and, in addition, also based on a dedicated application installable on the customer's smartphone SM.

Thus, the present invention fully achieves the proposed aim and objects. Although the invention has been described with reference to a possible embodiment of a self-service washing plant, this self-service washing plant could assume any configuration that is commercially available or still to be designed in the future.

Furthermore, the electronic payment means of the invention can be conceived with a universal module having suitable hardware means controlled by dedicated software, which module, preferably configured with Raspberry Pi technology, as described, could constitute the main management unit of a plurality of devices in general, such as the aforementioned vending machines currently functioning with cash or tokens.

Thus, the scope of the invention should be considered as defined by the the claims appended hereinafter, rather than by the preceding description.