Wash up, pay up.(Banner Engineering Corp. offers magnetic sensors for electronic car wash applications)(Brief article)

Sensors Magazine, December, 2005 by vL Henkel, Stephanie

On most days, the timer at a self-serve car wash shuts down the session after a set period. But during slow times, some car washes offer each driver an open-ended sudsing experience. The problem then becomes one of telling the timer that the customer has finished and left the bay, and that it should reset itself to keep the next patron from spiffing up free of charge.

Three technologies in common use don't solve the problem. Photoelectric sensors are easy to defeat. In-ground inductive loops can't be installed around the metal drain grate, and a loop at the exit would allow a new customer to slip in before the previous one has left. And observing the bay on camera costs too much.

Banner Engineering's M-GAGE magnetic sensor is a better way to go. It's...

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