JP2002205623A - Vehicle body washing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a rotating body 4 itself of a tip brush 3 of a vehicle washing device from pushing an upper surface of a vehicle body, improve safety for the upper surface of the vehicle body by reducing force pushing the upper surface of the vehicle body by the rotating body 4 and prevent deflection due to rotation by reducing the weight of the top brush 3. SOLUTION: A foamed body 5 made of styrene is provided between the rotated and driven rotating body 4 and a washing body 7 provided on the outside of the rotating body 4. Because the foamed body 5 made of styrene has a nature of a small apparent density for its hardness, the top brush 3 which is light and difficult to generate rotation deflection can be obtained and follow up ability for the upper surface of the vehicle body becomes excellent due to reduction of the weight. The rotating body 4 is prevented from pushing the upper surface of the vehicle body by elasticity of the styrene foamed body 5 and the rotating body 4 reduces force pushing the upper surface of the vehicle body to achieve safety for the upper surface of the vehicle body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a rotary brush provided with a foam between a rotary member driven to rotate and a cleaning member provided outside the rotary member. The present invention relates to a vehicle body cleaning device for cleaning a vehicle body surface by contacting the surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an upper body cleaning apparatus provided with a rotating brush provided with an elastic body between a rotating body driven to rotate and a cleaning body mounted outside the rotating body. (See, for example, JP-A-10-203322 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,359).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-203322 describes that a sponge body is used as the elastic body and a non-woven fabric is used as the cleaning body, and US Pat. No. 4,611,359. In the issue specification,
It is described that a bubble is used as the elastic body, and that close is used as the cleaning body.

In the above-described conventional apparatus, the length of the cleaning body in the radial direction is reduced, so that the cleaning body is less entangled with a projection such as a wiper, and the safety of the projection is improved. In addition, the provision of the elastic body prevents the direct contact between the upper surface of the vehicle body and the vinyl chloride pipe as the rotating body in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-203322, and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,359. In the specification, the shaft as a rotating body is prevented from directly pressing the upper surface of the vehicle body, and safety against the upper surface of the vehicle body is achieved by reducing the force of the shaft as the rotating body pressing against the upper surface of the vehicle body.

[0005]

By the way, the rotating brush of the vehicle body washing apparatus needs to be as light as possible in order to improve the followability to the vehicle body shape.

Therefore, in a conventional rotary brush having a sponge member provided between a rotary member and a cleaning member, it is conceivable to reduce the weight of the sponge member by using a sponge member having a large expansion ratio. A sponge having a large magnification has a low hardness and is easily deformed during rotation, and the center of gravity of the rotating brush is deviated from the center of rotation, so that there is a limit in reducing the weight of the sponge body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and prevents the rotating body itself from pressing against the vehicle body surface, reduces the force by which the rotating body presses the vehicle body surface, improves safety against the vehicle body surface, and reduces the weight. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body cleaning device provided with a rotating brush which is less likely to sway due to rotation.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a rotating body driven to rotate and a cleaning body provided outside the rotating body are provided. There is proposed a car body washing apparatus comprising a rotating brush provided with a foam made of styrene between the body and the body being brought into contact with the washing body to wash the body surface.

According to the above structure, since the foam made of styrene has a property that the apparent density is small in spite of the hardness, the use of the foam made of styrene reduces the weight and the rotational runout. A rotating brush that is difficult to wake up can be provided. In addition, by reducing the weight, followability to the vehicle body surface is improved. Further, it is possible to prevent the rotating body from pressing against the vehicle body surface due to the elasticity of the foam made of styrene, and to reduce the force by which the rotating body presses against the vehicle body surface, thereby achieving safety on the vehicle body surface.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
In addition to the configuration of the first aspect, there is proposed a vehicle body cleaning apparatus, wherein the foam is made of styrene and ethylene.

According to the above configuration, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, by using a foam made of styrene and ethylene, it is possible to impart more excellent properties to chemical resistance.

According to the invention described in claim 3,
In addition to the configuration of claim 1, a first foam made of styrene and a first foam made of styrene are provided between a rotating body driven to rotate and a cleaning body provided outside the rotating body. A vehicle body cleaning apparatus is proposed, comprising a rotating brush provided with a second foam disposed outside and cleaning the vehicle body surface by bringing the cleaning body into contact with the vehicle body surface.

According to the above construction, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the second foam, which is easy to recover from deformation due to external force, is provided outside the first foam made of styrene, so that the foaming of the rotary brush can be improved. Even if an unexpected external force is applied to the body, the deformation of the rotating brush can be prevented.

The foam made of styrene according to the first aspect of the present invention and the first foam made of styrene according to the third aspect of the present invention may be any foam containing styrene as a raw material. % Foam is not required. The foam comprising styrene and ethylene in the second aspect of the invention may be any foam containing styrene and ethylene as raw materials, and may contain other components.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of a vehicle body washing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a top brush of the vehicle body washing apparatus of the present invention. , FIG.
2 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a foam made of styrene, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the foam made of styrene, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of the cleaning body mounting sheet and the cleaning body without being mounted.

The first embodiment is directed to a case of a vehicle body washing apparatus provided with a top brush 3 for cleaning the upper surface of a vehicle body as a rotating brush according to the first aspect.

The frame 2 of the vehicle body cleaning apparatus 1 is provided in a gate shape so that the vehicle body V to be cleaned can pass therethrough, and is provided so as to be relatively movable in the front-rear direction with respect to the vehicle body V. A top brush 3 is provided on the frame 2 so as to be movable up and down and rotatable.

The top brush 3 includes a rotating body 4, a foam 5,
It comprises a cleaning body mounting sheet 6, a cleaning body 7, and a rotating brush support shaft 8. Then, the top brush 3 is driven to rotate, and the cleaning body 7 of the top brush 3 is brought into contact with the vehicle body surface, thereby cleaning the vehicle body surface.

The rotating brush support shaft 8 is suspended between lifting members 23 and 24 provided on the left and right sides of the frame 2 of the vehicle body washer 1 as a shaft of the top brush 3, and is provided so as to be movable up and down. .

The rotator 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The rotating body 4 is formed of a pipe member such as a hollow vinyl chloride pipe. The rotating body 4 is rotatably supported near the center of the rotating brush support shaft 8 through bearings 9 and 10 provided at both ends thereof.

A sprocket 11 is fixed to the outer periphery of a bearing portion 9 provided on one of the rotating bodies 4, and a chain 12 is wound around the sprocket 11, and a motor and sprocket (not shown), the chain 12, and the sprocket 11 are interposed therebetween. The rotating body 4 is driven to rotate.

On the outer peripheral surface 30 of the rotating body 4, a projection 13 is provided. The convex portion 13 is specifically formed of a U-shaped angle member, and four angle members are fixed to the outer peripheral surface 30 of the rotating body 4 at intervals of 90 degrees by screws 14 over the longitudinal direction. ing. This projection 13
Is a concave portion 1 provided on an inner peripheral surface 18 of the foam 5 described later.
5 is fitted.

Next, the foam 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The foam 5 is a cylindrical foam made of styrene, and is provided between the rotating body 4 of the top brush 3 and the cleaning body 7 provided outside the rotating body 4.

The foam 5 is formed into a cylindrical body having a predetermined length.
It has a cylindrical shape provided with a hole 16 passing through the shaft core portion, and the cylindrical portion 20 has a certain thickness.
An outer peripheral surface 17 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the foam 5, an inner peripheral surface 18 is formed on the hole 16 side, and side end surfaces 19 are formed on both end surfaces.

The hole 16 is for inserting the rotating body 4 and is provided in the same size as the outer circumference of the rotating body 4. The inner peripheral surface 18 of the hole 16 is provided with four spline groove-shaped concave portions 15 over the entire length of the foam 5, and the concave portions 1 are attached to the convex portions 13 attached to the rotating body 4 as described above.
When the fitting 5 is fitted, the foam 5 is locked to the rotating body 4, and the foam 5 and the rotating body 4 are provided so as to rotate integrally.

The outer peripheral surface 17 of the foam 5 has a cylindrical surface, and a cleaning body mounting sheet 6 described later is mounted thereon.

Four foam bodies 5 are attached to the top brush 3. The flanges 21 and 22 are provided on the outer side end faces 19 of the foams 5 and 5 located on both outer sides.
Are attached to the rotating body 4 by screws 41 so as to sandwich the foam 5 respectively, thereby preventing the foam 5 from being perturbed in the longitudinal direction. The outer diameter of the flanges 21 and 22 is formed slightly larger than the outer diameter D1 of the foam 5.
This is because the flanges 21 and 22 also have the purpose of protecting the foam 5 by surrounding the foam 5 together with the cleaning body attachment sheet 6.

In the first embodiment, styrene foam is used as the "foam made of styrene".

Styrofoam has the property of a small apparent density for its hardness. Styrofoam also has favorable conditions as a material of the foam 5 in that it is composed of closed cells and has low water absorption, and has the advantage of being easily available at a low cost.

In the first embodiment, the expanded polystyrene having a foaming ratio of 50 times is used, but it is 15 to 90 times.
A foaming ratio of about twice is a preferable range.

Next, the relationship between the foam 5 and the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 and the cleaning body 7 and the structure thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 6, and 7. FIG.

The cleaning body 7 is provided outside the rotating body 4 of the top brush 3, and is for contacting the body surface to clean the body surface. To further describe this point, the foam 5 is provided outside the rotating body 4, and the elastic body-cleaning body attaching sheet 6 made of a rubber sheet is provided outside the foam 5.
The cleaning body 7 is provided via the.

The cleaning body 7 is made of a non-woven fabric, and a rectangular non-woven fabric folded in a book shape is attached to the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 so that the mounting portion stands upright. 25 is attached to the washing body attachment sheet 6 by rivets 27.

The cleaning bodies 7 are attached at six locations in the same width direction W (the same circumferential direction when attached to the foam) of the cleaning body mounting sheet 6, and the adjacent cleaning bodies 7, The upper part of the corner is adhered to each other by a detachable tape, and when the cleaning body attaching sheet 6 is attached to the foam 5, the outer peripheral part 26 of the cleaning body 7 radially extends from the axis of the top brush 3. They are provided so as to face outward almost equally.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, when the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 on which the cleaning body 7 is mounted is mounted on the foam 5,
The length S in the radial direction from the mounting portion 25 of the cleaning body 7 to the outer peripheral portion 26 is the length of the brush in general.

As shown in FIG. 7, the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 is provided with a slightly shorter dimension in the width direction W on the other side than on one side. That is, according to another expression, the cleaning body attachment sheet 6 is provided in a trapezoidal shape. Slide fasteners 42 and 43 are attached to both ends in the length direction L of the cleaning body attachment sheet 6, respectively.

Thus, the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 is
When the slide fastener 42 is closed from one side to the other side, the dimension in the width direction W is shorter on the other side than on one side of the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 and the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 is closed. Is made of an elastic body made of a rubber sheet, the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 can be securely attached to the foam body 5 while being tightened. The foam body 5, the cleaning body mounting sheet 6, and the cleaning body 7 It is provided so as to be integrally rotated.

At a plurality of locations on both sides of the slide fastener 42, the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 and the foam 5 penetrate from above the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 with screws 28.
By inserting the rotating body 4, the cleaning body mounting sheet 6, the foam 5, and the rotating body 4 are further securely mounted.

The dimensions of the top brush 3 of the first embodiment are as follows: the outer diameter D1 of the foam 5 is 300 mm;
The outer diameter D2 of the top brush 3 is set to about 700 mm, and the length S in the radial direction from the mounting portion 25 to the outer peripheral portion 26 of the cleaning body 7 is set to about 200 mm.

The number of rotations of the top brush 3 is 46 to
The speed is about 110 rpm (80 rpm on average) and provided at a variable speed.

According to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

The length S of the cleaning member 7 of the top brush 3 in the radial direction can be shortened. As a result, the cleaning member 7 is less likely to be entangled with a projection such as a wiper, and the safety against the projection is reduced. Can be improved.

The length S in the radial direction of the cleaning body 7 of the top brush 3 can be reduced, and as a result, the weight increase of the top brush 3 when the cleaning body 7 made of a nonwoven fabric contains water can be reduced. Can be.

The elasticity of the styrofoam used for the foam 5 of the top brush 3 prevents the rotating body 4 itself from pushing the upper surface of the vehicle body and reduces the force by which the rotating body 4 pushes the upper surface of the vehicle body, thereby ensuring safety on the upper surface of the vehicle body. Can be.

By using styrofoam having the property of having a small apparent density for its hardness for the foam 5,
The top brush 3 can be made lightweight and prevent rotational runout. In addition, the ability to follow the upper surface of the vehicle body is improved by reducing the weight.

The first embodiment can be configured as follows. 1. As a material of the rotating body 4, a reinforced plastic pipe or an aluminum pipe may be used. 2. Regarding the attachment of the rotating body 4 and the foam 5, when fitting is performed using the convex portion 13 of the rotating body 4 and the concave portion 15 of the foam 5, at least one or more of them may be provided. However, they may have different shapes as long as they can be fitted to each other. Further, instead of providing the convex portion 13 and the concave portion 15, they may be fixed by a bolt or an adhesive, or a combination of these methods may be used. 3. Another member such as a sheet or cloth may be interposed between the rotating body 4 and the foam 5 and between the foam 5 and the cleaning body 7. For example, a vinyl sheet is wrapped around the outside of the foam 5 to protect the foam 5, and the cleaning body 7 is wrapped around the vinyl sheet.
May be provided. 4. The shape of the foam 5 is not limited to the cylindrical shape, and may be a combination of those having a semicircular cross section divided in the vertical direction. If the foam 5 is provided around the rotating body 4 at the time of attachment, Good. In addition, the outer peripheral surface 17 of the foam 5 may be provided with irregularities for the purpose of improving the attachment of the cleaning body attachment sheet 6, and the outer diameter D1 of the foam 5 is not necessarily constant. Good. For example, the outer diameter D1 of the foam 5 attached to the rotating body 4 according to the shape of the upper surface of the vehicle body V
May be provided larger than the central portion toward both ends of the top brush 3. 5. In the present invention, "a foam made of styrene"
It is used to mean a foam containing styrene as a raw material. 6. In order to further enhance the durability and chemical resistance, a material having another excellent durability and chemical resistance such as urethane or an aluminum film may be coated or attached to the surface of the polystyrene foam.

Further, a wire or pipe such as resin or aluminum may be inserted through the styrofoam to reinforce it, or the styrofoam may be molded such that a wire mesh or the like is present therein. 7. The number of the foams 5 provided on the top brush 3 may be one or another. The reason why the foam body 5 is divided into a plurality of parts is mainly due to a problem in manufacturing the foam body 5, and the foam body 5 having a certain length or less can be manufactured more easily. 8. The cleaning body attachment sheet 6 is made of cloth, mesh,
It may be a resin or the like. In addition to the slide fastener, the mounting method of the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 can be affixed using a detachable tape, a method of tightening the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 from above the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 with a belt, a string, or the like.
For example, a method of fixing to the substrate 22 may be used, or the above-described method may be used in combination. Further, the number of the cleaning body attachment sheets 6 attached to the top brush 3 may be one or another. This is because providing the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 in a plurality of parts facilitates the mounting of the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 and is convenient for maintenance of the cleaning body 7. 9. The cleaning body 7 may be attached to the cleaning body mounting sheet 6 by a method such as sewing without using rivets. Further, the cleaning body 7 can be provided on the outer peripheral surface of a ring made of an elastic body without using the cleaning body mounting sheet 6, and the cleaning body 7 can be attached to the foam body 5 through the foam body 5 by the elasticity of the ring. It is. 10. The cleaning body 7 may be made of a woven fabric other than the nonwoven fabric, or may be made of brush hair made of a soft resin such as polyethylene. 11. Regarding each dimension of the top brush 3, the outer diameter D1 of the foam 5 is set in the range of 200 mm to 400 mm, and the length S in the radial direction from the mounting portion 25 to the outer peripheral portion 26 of the cleaning body 7 is set to about 200 mm. A range of about to 300 mm is a preferable range for performing good cleaning while reducing the weight of the top brush 3.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The second embodiment is the case of the vehicle body cleaning apparatus according to the first and second aspects.

In the second embodiment, in the vehicle body cleaning device 1,
As an example of the foam 5 made of styrene for the rotating brush, a foam made of styrene and ethylene is used, and is otherwise the same as that of the first embodiment.

A foam made of styrene and ethylene has excellent chemical resistance, and one example is "Piocelan" (registered trademark of Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.).

When a foam made of styrene and ethylene is used for the rotary brush of the present invention, a foam having a foaming ratio of about 15 times or more falls within a more preferable range in which the rotation is less likely to occur and the weight is lighter. Further, those having a foaming ratio of about 30 to 80 times are more preferable.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The third embodiment is the case of the vehicle body cleaning apparatus according to the first and third aspects.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the third embodiment, the rotating body 32 is provided with a rotating body 33 which is driven to rotate, and the washing body provided outside the rotating body 33 in the vehicle body washing apparatus 1. 38, the first foamed body 34 made of styrene is provided in common with that of the first embodiment, and a second foamed body made of styrene is provided outside the first foamed body 34 made of styrene. The difference is that a body 35 is provided.

In the third embodiment, styrene foam is used as the first foam body 34 made of styrene provided outside the rotating body 33. A sponge body is used as the second foam 35 provided outside the first foam 34 using styrene foam, and the two form a cylindrical body 36 having a double structure.

The second foam 35 using the sponge body has a property of easily recovering from the deformation caused by a large external force, as compared with the first foam body 34 using the inner polystyrene foam. It is desirable that the second foam 35 using a sponge body is made of closed cells, has low water absorption, is lightweight, and has excellent chemical resistance. For example, a foam made of ethylene or the like is used. Can be.

A cleaning body 38 is mounted outside the cylindrical body 36 via a cleaning body mounting sheet 37.

In the rotating brush 32 of the third embodiment,
The outer diameter of the first foam body 34 using styrofoam is 2
The thickness of the second foam 35 using a sponge body of 10 mm is 40 mm, and the cleaning body attachment sheet 37 is attached to the outer periphery of the cylindrical body 36 having an outer diameter of 290 mm in total.

Thus, according to the third embodiment, even if the first foam 34 is not easily recovered from deformation due to external force, such as styrene foam, the foams 34 and 35 of the rotating brush 32 can be used. When a large external force is applied, the deformation can be prevented.

The third embodiment can be configured as follows. 1. The foam of the cylindrical body 36 may be provided in three or more layers, and a foam which easily recovers from deformation occurring when a large external force is applied to the outer layer may be provided. 2. A member such as a vinyl sheet or cloth may be inserted between each of the rotating body 33, the first foamed body 34 using the styrene foam, the second foamed body 35, and the cleaning body mounting sheet 37. 3. The thickness of the second foam 35 to be attached is more preferably in the range of about 20 mm to 50 mm.

In each embodiment, the case where the rotating brush is applied to the top brush 3 for cleaning the upper surface of the vehicle body has been described. However, the rotating brush may be applied to the side brush 29 for cleaning the side surface of the vehicle body.

[0066]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the foam made of styrene has such a property that its apparent density is small in spite of its hardness, the foam made of styrene is used. In addition, it is possible to provide a rotating brush that is lightweight and hardly causes rotational vibration. In addition, by reducing the weight, followability to the vehicle body surface is improved.
Further, it is possible to prevent the rotating body from pressing against the vehicle body surface due to the elasticity of the foam made of styrene, and to reduce the force by which the rotating body presses against the vehicle body surface, thereby achieving safety on the vehicle body surface.

In the vehicle body washing apparatus according to the second aspect,
In addition to the effects of the first aspect, by using a foam made of styrene and ethylene, it is possible to provide a property having more excellent chemical resistance.

[0068] In the vehicle body washing apparatus according to the third aspect,
In addition to the effect of claim 1, by providing a second foam which is easily recovered from deformation due to external force outside the first foam made of styrene, unexpected external force is applied to the foam of the rotating brush. Even if added, the deformation of the rotating brush can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a vehicle body cleaning device.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a top brush of the vehicle body cleaning device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a foam made of styrene.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a foam made of styrene.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view in which a cleaning body of a top brush is partially omitted.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the cleaning body mounting sheet and the cleaning body in a state where they are not mounted.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a rotating brush according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Top Brush (Rotating Brush) 4 Rotating Body 5 Foam 7 Cleaning Body 32 Rotating Brush 33 Rotating Body 34 First Foam (Foam) 35 Second Foam 38 Cleaning Body

Claims (3)

[Claims] A rotating brush provided with a foam made of styrene is provided between a rotating body driven to rotate and a cleaning body provided outside the rotating body, and the cleaning body is provided on a vehicle body surface. A vehicle body cleaning device, wherein the vehicle body surface is washed by contacting the vehicle body. 2. The body washing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the foam comprises styrene and ethylene. 3. A first foam made of styrene and disposed outside the first foam between a rotary body driven to rotate and a cleaning body provided outside the rotary body. A rotating brush provided with a second foam body, wherein the cleaning body is brought into contact with the surface of the vehicle body to clean the surface of the vehicle body.