JP2003048520A - Car washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a car washing machine capable of reducing a weight of a brush while keeping a high water holding property and preventing cloths from sticking to each other by water and having excellent durability. SOLUTION: This car washing machine washes a vehicle 5 to be washed by groups of brushes 20, 30, 40 by moving a car washing machine main body 10 and the vehicle 5 to be washed relatively in the direction of vehicle length. At least partial brushes 20, 30, 40 are constituted using both of cloth-made brush single bodies 25, 35, 45 and sponge-made brush single bodies 27, 37, 47. The sponge-made brush single body can be formed so as to be strong with respect to its strength by increasing its thickness and does not contain water easily, and a weight of the whole brush can be reduced. The cloth-made brush single body can reduce scratching an outer face of the vehicle to be washed by its flexibility, contains water easily to improve the water holding property, and can perform satisfactory finish washing without leaving a part which is not washed yet.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a car washer installed in a gas station, for example, a movable car washer for reciprocating a car washer body with respect to a car to be washed, and a car washer to be washed. The present invention relates to a fixed car wash machine for moving a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a brush group of a car washing machine, as a brush made of cloth (cloth material), for example, a vehicle cleaning body unit disclosed in JP-A-6-107133 is provided. In this conventional structure, each brush unit is made of woven cloth or non-woven cloth. And
Since each brush is made of cloth, it has a high water retention property and can be washed properly and softly, and the resistance of the brush does not damage the protrusions of the vehicle to be cleaned. Can be reduced to maintain a soft feeling. As another conventional configuration, there is a brush in which all brush units are made of sponge.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, the woven or non-woven fabric brush has a high water retention property, which may cause the brush weight to be heavy and cause damage, and the fabrics may not be wet. There is a risk that they will stick to each other and form a disk shape, and in addition, freezing was likely to occur in winter. Moreover, since the non-woven fabric is simply crimped without breaking the fibers, the durability is not good.

Further, with the sponge brush, a large cleaning noise is generated when the brush itself comes into contact with the vehicle body, which may cause anxiety to the driver. Furthermore, even when the tip of the brush itself was processed into a strip shape, unwashed residue was generated at the place with small irregularities.

In view of this, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention makes it possible to reduce the weight of the brush while having a high water retention property, prevent the cloths from sticking to each other due to moisture, and have good durability. The purpose is to provide a car wash machine.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a car washing machine according to claim 1 of the present invention is configured such that a car washing machine body and a vehicle to be washed are relatively moved in a vehicle length direction, A car wash machine for cleaning a vehicle to be cleaned with a brush group, wherein at least some of the brushes are configured by using both a cloth brush and a sponge brush. .

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the sponge brush alone can be formed to have a large thickness and strong strength, and can be made to contain less water.
Can reduce the overall weight of the brush. In addition, the cloth brush alone can reduce damage to the outer surface of the vehicle to be cleaned due to its flexibility, and can easily contain water to improve water retention.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the car washing machine according to the first aspect, the cloth brushes and the sponge brushes are arranged alternately in the direction of the brush axis. It is characterized by.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the cloth brush itself can be regulated from both sides by the sponge brush single body so as to prevent the shape of the cloth brush single from being wavy, and the cloth brush single bodies may have a moisture content. It can prevent sticking.

The car wash according to claim 3 of the present invention is
In the above-mentioned configuration according to claim 1 or 2, one of a working radius of the cloth brush alone and a working radius of the sponge brush alone is set to be long. It is a feature.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention, when the operating radius of the cloth brush unit is set to be long, the flexible cloth brush unit group can be brought into contact with the vehicle to be cleaned in a wide range and densely. Further, when the action radius of the sponge brush single body is set to be long, it is possible to sufficiently regulate the cloth brush single body group from both sides.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 as a state adopted in a mobile car washer.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a main body 1 of a car wash machine having a gate shape
0 is mounted on the rail 1 via a plurality of wheels 11, and is reciprocated on a fixed route by the operation of a traveling drive device (not shown). A first washing water arch 12, a first wax arch 13, a second washing water arch 14, a second wax arch 15, and a detergent arch 16 are arranged in this order on the car wash main body 10, and A top nozzle 17 and a side nozzle 18 for drying are provided at the location of the first cleaning water arch 12. Furthermore, the car wash machine body 10
The side brush 20, the rocker brush 30, and the top brush 40 are arranged.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the side brush 20 is constructed by disposing a cloth brush 25 alone such as a woven cloth and a sponge brush 27 around a brush shaft 21. ing. That is, the brush shaft 21 has a pipe shape, and fitting portions 22 in the axial direction are formed at a plurality of circumferential positions on the outer circumference thereof. The cloth brush unit 25 and the sponge brush unit 27 are folded at their inner peripheral portions, and the folded portions are fixed by a plurality of mating bodies 26 and 28 in the circumferential direction. Here, the fitted bodies 26 and 28 are fitted into the fitting portion 22 slidably in the direction of the brush shaft center 21A.

A cloth brush unit 25 having such a structure
When assembling the sponge brush unit 27 and the brush shaft 21, the fixing devices 23 are first fixed to the lower end of the brush shaft 21 at a plurality of circumferential positions. Next, cloth brush unit 2
5, a plurality of fitted bodies 26 fixed in the circumferential direction are fitted into the fitting portion 22 of the brush shaft 21 from the upper end, and are slid toward the brush shaft center 21A by the guide of the fitting portion 22. Then, the cloth brush 25 is fitted onto the brush shaft 21. Then, the cloth brush unit 25 side is slid to the lower end, and the fitted body 26 is brought into contact with the fixing device 23 from above.

Then, the sponge brush unit 27 is similarly laminated. That is, sponge brush unit 2
A plurality of fitted bodies 28 fixed in the circumferential direction 7 are fitted into the fitting portion 22 of the brush shaft 21 from the upper end, and are slid in the direction of the brush shaft center 21A by the guide of the fitting portion 22. Therefore, the sponge brush unit 2 is attached to the brush shaft 21.
7 is fitted. Then, the sponge brush single body 27 side is slid to the lower end, and the fitted body 28 is brought into contact with the fitted body 26 of the cloth brush single body 25 described above from above.

By repeating the external fitting and sliding of the cloth brush single body 25 and the sponge brush single body 27, the lower mating body 26 (28) and the upper mating body 28 (2).
While contacting 6) from above, the cloth brush 25 and the sponge brush 27 are alternately laminated one by one in the direction of the brush axis 21A. Then, after such lamination, the fixing device 23 is fixed to the upper end of the brush shaft 21.

At this time, the working radius 25a from the brush shaft center 21A of the cloth brush unit 25 group is set longer than the working radius 27a from the brush shaft center 21A of the sponge brush unit 27 group. With the above, side brush 2
An example of 0 can be configured.

The same applies to the rocker brush 30,
As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, both the cloth brush unit 35 and the sponge brush unit 37 are arranged on the brush shaft 31. That is, 31A
Is a brush shaft center, 32 is a fitting portion, 33 is a fixing device, 36 is a fitted body, and 38 is a fitted body.

Then, by repeating external fitting and sliding of the cloth brush unit 35 and the sponge brush unit 37, the upper mating member 38 (36) is replaced with the lower mating member 36 (38).
While abutting from above, the cloth brush unit 35 and the sponge brush unit 37 are alternately laminated one by one in the direction of the brush axis 31A. At that time, the working radius 35 from the brush shaft center 31A of the cloth brush unit 35 group
a is the brush shaft center 31A of the sponge brush unit 37 group
Is set longer than the action radius 37a. An example of the rocker brush 30 can be configured as described above.

The same applies to the top brush 40, and as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, with respect to the brush shaft 41,
It is configured by disposing both the cloth brush unit 45 and the sponge brush unit 47. That is, 41A is a brush shaft center, 42 is a fitting portion, 43 is a fixing device, 46 is a fitted body, and 48 is a fitted body.

Then, the cloth-made brush unit 45 and the sponge-made brush unit 47 are repeatedly fitted and slid on the brush shaft 41 which is arranged with the brush shaft center 41A in the lateral direction. (48) to the mating body 48 (4
6) While abutting 6) from the lateral direction, the cloth brush unit 45
And the sponge brush unit 47 are alternately arranged one by one in the direction of the brush shaft center 41A. At that time, the working radius 45a from the brush shaft center 41A of the cloth brush unit 45 group
However, the action radius 47a from the brush shaft center 41A of the group of sponge brushes 47 is set to be long. An example of the top brush 40 can be configured as described above.

The sponge brush units 27, 3 described above
7 and 47 are made of, for example, a synthetic resin foamed body obtained by foaming urethane, EVA, polyethylene or the like. According to this, the thickness can be increased and the strength can be increased. Moreover, because it is made of bubbles, that is, it is made of short foaming material, it is difficult to cut due to expansion and contraction elasticity of the bubbles, and because it is made of closed bubbles, it is difficult to contain water. You can

Also, the above-mentioned cloth brush units 25, 3
5, 45 is made of, for example, a non-water-repellent ultrafine fiber cloth, which can reduce the damage to the outer surface of the vehicle body due to the softness of the material itself.
Since it easily contains water, the water retention can be further improved, and the washing can be performed well.

The cleaning action in the above-described first embodiment will be described below. When performing the cleaning, first, the driver or the operator operates the operation panel while the vehicle 5 to be cleaned is stopped, so that one car washing course (washing condition) is set. In this state, by turning on the car wash start switch, the car wash machine body 10 is moved back and forth,
Through the rotation, the brushes 20, 30, 40 are moved toward and away from each other, the cleaning water is supplied through the cleaning water arches 12, 14, the wax liquid is supplied through the wax arches 13, 15, and the cleaning agent arch 16 is used. The cleaning process for the vehicle body 6 and the tire 7 of the vehicle 5 to be cleaned is performed by appropriately combining the supply of the detergent and the blowing of the air from the nozzles 17 and 18, and the like. Can be done.

During the cleaning process, each brush 2
Brush parts of 0, 30, 40 are cloth brushes 25, 3
5, 45 and the sponge brush units 27, 37, 47, the cleaning is performed in a state of compensating for each other's drawbacks, that is, in a state of combining the advantages of both.
It is always suitable.

That is, the cloth brush unit 25, 35, 4
No. 5 can reduce the damage to the outer surface of the vehicle body 6 due to the softness of the material itself, can easily contain water and can improve the water retention property, and can be washed well without washing left. On the other hand, cloth brush 25, 35, 4
Since No. 5 contained water, the weight of the brush became heavy, and the cloths might stick to each other due to water to form a disk shape, and further, freezing was likely to occur in the winter.

Also, sponge brush units 27, 37, 4
No. 7 can be formed with a large thickness and strong strength (in a stiff state), and can be manufactured with a short foaming property to make it difficult to contain water, so that the weight of the brush as a whole can be reduced. By interposing between the woven cloth brush units 25, 35, 45, the woven cloth brush units 25, 35, 4
5 It can prevent water from sticking together. On the other hand, the sponge brush units 27, 37 and 47 are not
A large cleaning noise is generated when the contact surface comes into contact with, and the thickness of the cleaning noise makes it hard to hit the outer surface of the vehicle body 6 evenly, and there is a risk of unwashed residue.

Therefore, such brushes 20, 3
0,40, sponge brush unit 27,37,
By 47, the thickness can be increased and the strength can be made strong, and since it is possible to make it hard to contain water, the total weight of the brushes 20, 30, 40 can be reduced, and a drive device (motor, etc.) for rotating the brushes. It is possible to prevent a load from being applied to the brushes, to prevent freezing from occurring in the winter, and to prevent the cloth brushes 25, 35 and 45 from sticking to each other due to water. In addition, the cloth brushes 25, 35, and 45 can reduce damage to the outer surface of the vehicle body 6 due to its flexibility, and can easily contain water to improve water retention, so that washing can be performed with good cleaning after leaving no residue. It can be carried out.

Further, in the brushes 20, 30, and 40, the brush shaft centers 21A and 3 of the cloth brush units 25, 35, and 45 groups are used.
Working radii 25a, 35a, 45a from 1A, 41A
Is the radius of action 27a, 3 from the brush axis 21A, 31A, 41A of the sponge brush unit 27, 37, 47 group.
By being set longer than 7a and 47a, the flexible cloth brush units 25, 35, and 45 groups come into close contact with the vehicle body 6 side in a wide range and in a dense manner, and thus are left unwashed. It can promote good cleansing.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
It will be described based on. That is, in the side brush 20, the action radius 25a from the brush axis 21A of the sponge brush unit 27 group is set to be longer than the action radius 25a of the cloth brush unit 25 group from the brush axis 21A.

According to the second embodiment, the sponge brush units 27 are used to restrict the cloth brush units 25 from above and below.
It is possible to prevent the shape of No. 5 from becoming wavy, and to make the shape of the brush uniform when the side brush 20 is rotated so that the side brush 20 has a good appearance. The rocker brush 3
The 0 and the top brush 40 can be similarly formed.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
It will be described based on. That is, in the side brush 20, the working radius 25a from the brush shaft center 21A of the cloth brush unit 25 group and the working radius 27a from the brush shaft center 21A of the sponge brush unit 27 group are set to the same length. ing. The rocker brush 30 and the top brush 40 can be formed in the same manner.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
It will be described based on. That is, in the side brush 20, the cloth brush unit 25 and the sponge brush unit 27 are used.
The long one is used as. The cloth brush unit 25 and the sponge brush unit 27 are spirally arranged with respect to the brush shaft 21, and in this case, in the direction of the brush shaft center 21A, the cloth brush unit 25 and the sponge brush unit. The single bodies 27 are arranged so as to be alternately positioned.

According to the fourth embodiment, the contact portions of the cloth brush unit 25 and the sponge brush unit 27 are moved in the direction along the brush axis 21A as the side brush 20 is rotated. As a result, the surface to be cleaned of the vehicle body 6 can be uniformly cleaned. The rocker brush 30 and the top brush 40 can be formed in the same manner.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the vehicle 5 to be cleaned is
On the other hand, a movable car wash machine that moves the car wash machine body 10 back and forth is shown. This is a fixed car wash machine that moves a vehicle to be washed by a conveyor device or the like with respect to a fixed car wash machine body. It may be.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, all the brushes 20, 30, 40 are made of cloth brushes 25, 35, 45.
A form constructed using both a group and a group of sponge brushes 27, 37, 47 is shown, which is
At least one brush in the group of brushes 20, 30, and 40 may have the above configuration, and the remaining brushes may have another configuration including the conventional configuration.

In the above-mentioned respective embodiments, all the brushes 20, 30, 40 are made of cloth brushes 25, 35, 45.
Although the group and the group of sponge brushes 27, 37, 47 are alternately arranged one by one in the direction of the brush axes 21A, 31A, 41A, two groups (two or more) are arranged. Alternating type, sponge brush unit 27,3 between single cloth brush unit 25,35,45
A format in which two sheets (plural sheets) of 7, 47 are arranged, a format in which two brush sheets (25, 35, 45) made of cloth are arranged between the single sponge brush bodies 27, 37, 47, etc. May be Furthermore, the brushes 20 and 3
The format may be changed for each 0, 40.

In each of the above embodiments, the disc-shaped sponge brush units 27, 37, 47 are shown.
This is a sponge brush unit 27,3 with a strip-shaped tip.
It may be 7,47.

In the car wash machine described in the above embodiment, the arrangement order and the number of various arches and nozzles are examples, and the car wash machine in which the arrangement order and the number thereof are arbitrarily changed may be used. .

[0041]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the sponge brush alone can be formed to have a large thickness and strong strength, and can be made to contain less water, thereby reducing the total weight of the brush. It can be made lighter so that the drive device (motor, etc.) for rotating the brush is not overloaded, and freezing does not easily occur in winter. Moreover, by reducing the total amount of the sponge brush used alone, it is possible to reduce the cleaning noise when the brush comes into contact with the vehicle body, and to give the driver a sense of security. Further, the cloth brush alone can reduce the damage to the outer surface of the vehicle to be cleaned due to its flexibility, can easily contain water to improve the water retention property, and can be washed with good washing without leftovers. . Moreover, the cloth brush alone has excellent durability, and the frequency of repair work such as replacement can be reduced.

According to claim 2 of the present invention described above,
The sponge brush alone restricts the cloth brushes from both sides to prevent the cloth brushes from wavy in shape and prevent the woven cloth brushes from sticking to each other due to moisture.

According to the third aspect of the present invention described above, when the action radius of the cloth brush unit is set to be long, the flexible cloth brush unit group can contact the vehicle to be cleaned in a wide range and in a dense manner. Therefore, it is possible to promote a good-cleaning that does not leave any residue. Further, when the action radius of the sponge brush alone is set to be long, it is possible to sufficiently regulate the cloth brush alone group from both sides, so that the brush shape when the side brush is rotated is made uniform, You can make it look good.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a car wash machine showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the car washing machine.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a side brush of the car washing machine.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a rocker brush in the car wash machine.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a top brush of the car wash machine.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention and is a front view of a side brush in a car wash machine.

FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention and is a front view of a side brush in a car wash machine.

FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a side brush in the car wash machine according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 Vehicle to be washed 6 car body 10 car wash machine body 11 wheels 20 side brush 21 brush shaft 21A Brush shaft center 25 cloth brush only 25a Working radius 27 Sponge brush only 27a Working radius 30 rocker brush 31 brush shaft 31A Brush shaft center 35 cloth brush only 35a Working radius 37 Sponge brush only 37a Working radius 40 top brush 41 brush shaft 41A brush shaft center 45 cloth brush only 45a Working radius 47 Sponge brush only 47a Working radius

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A car wash machine for cleaning a vehicle to be cleaned by a group of brushes by relatively moving a car wash main body and a vehicle to be cleaned in a vehicle length direction, wherein at least a part of the brushes is a cloth brush. A car wash machine that is configured by using both a single body and a single sponge brush. 2. The car wash machine according to claim 1, wherein the cloth brushes and the sponge brushes are arranged alternately in the direction of the brush axis. 3. The action radius from the brush shaft center of the cloth brush alone or the action radius from the brush shaft center of the sponge brush alone is set to be long. The car wash machine described in 2.