JP2003081068A - Vehicle washing device and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle washing device in which the amount of water in use is reduced without lowering washing effect. SOLUTION: This vehicle washing device comprises a washing space 2 provided with an injection nozzle 4 for injecting a detergent and water selectively; a discharging tank 6 for discharging the injected liquid; first and second reservoir tanks 7, 8 for reserving the injected liquid; a circulation device consisting of piping 10, 12, 14 and pumps 13, 15; piping 10 provided with opening/closing valves 11a, 11b for switching a liquid path from the washing space 2 to at least one of the waste water tank 6 and the first reservoir tank 7; heaters 21 for heating a reservoir liquid arranged at the reservoir tanks 7, 8; and a control device 26 for controlling opening/closing operations of the opening/ closing valves and on/off operations of the heaters.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle cleaning device and a vehicle cleaning method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle cleaning device and a vehicle cleaning method in which a cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the outer surface of a vehicle to decompose and separate oils and fats and the like and then washed with water or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of flaw detection tests have been performed on bogies of railroad vehicles such as electric trains and diesel locomotives (having wheels for mounting a main body for accommodating passengers and cargo). In order to carry out this flaw detection test, it is necessary to clean the outer surface of the truck prior to the test. Known examples of this cleaning include air-blowing cleaning in which dirt is blown off by compressed air, wet cleaning in which hot water or a cleaning liquid is sprayed, and the like.

In wet cleaning, hot water is used to remove stains on the surface of the trolley in advance, and then a cleaning liquid is sprayed on the outer surface of the trolley to decompose and separate oils and fats. Then, hot oil is sprayed to wash away the oil and fat components and dirt that have been decomposed and separated together with the cleaning liquid. After that, for a predetermined period of time, water is continuously sprayed to carry out finish cleaning. During the cleaning operation, the sprayed cleaning liquid and water are continuously cleaned along with the dropped dirt and drained. Since the cleaning work generally takes about 1 hour at a time, the amount of drained water becomes large. Therefore, the amount of water consumption becomes enormous, and the purification cost for drainage water needs to be fully operated, resulting in high operating costs.

[0004]

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle cleaning apparatus and a vehicle cleaning method in which the amount of water used is greatly reduced.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A vehicle cleaning device of the present invention is a vehicle washing space in which an injection device for selectively injecting a cleaning liquid and water into a vehicle to be cleaned is provided, and a liquid which is injected is drained. A drainage device for storing the jetted water, a circulation device for circulating the water in the jetting device, and a liquid path from the car wash space to at least one of the drainage device and the circulation device. The pipe is provided with a first switching device for switching to, and a control device for controlling the switching operation of the first switching device.

According to such a cleaning device, since the liquid (cleaning liquid and water) can be selectively jetted to the vehicle to be cleaned, the pre-cleaning with only water before the cleaning with the cleaning liquid and the separation of the oil and fat from only the cleaning liquid. It is possible to perform the usual washing process of washing away the oil and fat or the washing liquid with water, and the finish washing with only water. Further, the used liquid is selected, sent to a circulation device and circulated, and by reusing it, washing can be continuously performed without supplementing water. On the other hand, by switching the liquid path by the first switching device, it is possible to send only the used liquid with severe dirt to the drainage device for draining. That is, in the above-mentioned pre-cleaning and finish cleaning, the used liquid (water) containing less cleaning liquid and less fat and oil and less contaminated can be circulated and used. As a result, the amount of water used as a whole can be significantly reduced. The storage device is a large-capacity unit provided in the circulation path for smooth circulation of water.

In the vehicle cleaning apparatus, the storage device has heating means for heating the stored water, and the control device is configured to control the heating operation of the heating means. Can be pre-washed with warm water prior to the step of using a washing liquid, for example, and the dirt can be effectively removed in this pre-washing. Moreover, when the cleaning liquid is used immediately after this pre-cleaning, the temperature of the vehicle to be cleaned has already been raised, so that the decomposition and separation of oil and fat by the cleaning liquid is promoted. Further, when the oil and fat are separated and then washed away, the effect is enhanced by using warm water.

Alternatively, in the vehicle cleaning device in which the storage device has an oil / fat removing means for removing an oil / fat from the stored water, the cleaning water to be circulated (actively Is cleaning water that does not contain cleaning liquid)
It is preferable because the cleanliness of is improved.

Furthermore, a cleaning liquid supply means for supplying the cleaning liquid to the above-mentioned jetting device, and a second switching device for switching the liquid path from the washing liquid supplying device to the jetting device and the circulation device to at least one of them. In the vehicle cleaning device in which the above-mentioned control device is configured to control the switching operation of the second switching device, for example, the above-mentioned pre-cleaning and finishing with water are performed. This is preferable because it is possible to automatically switch between the cleaning and the separation of the oil and fat by the cleaning liquid.

In addition to the cleaning device, the storage device has a heating means for heating the liquid stored therein, and the control device injects the water in the storage device heated by the heating means. Sending to the device, the water sprayed in the car wash space is circulated to the injection device by the circulation device, and then the second switching device is switched so that the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply device to the injection device, and then the second switching device is switched. Sending water from the circulation device to the injection device and switching the first switching device to send the cleaning liquid and water in the car wash space to the drainage device, and then circulating the water to the injection device by the circulation device and switching the first switching means to wash the car. A vehicle cleaning device in which water sprayed in a space is controlled so as to circulate through a circulation device is preferable.

The cleaning method of the present invention comprises a pre-cleaning step of injecting warm water into the vehicle to be cleaned while circulating it, a cleaning step of injecting a cleaning liquid into the vehicle to be cleaned, and then injecting hot water into the vehicle to be cleaned. The cleaning liquid removing step of draining the warm water after the jetting and the finishing cleaning step of jetting the water while circulating the water to the vehicle to be washed are included.

According to this cleaning method, the used cleaning water in the pre-cleaning step and the finishing cleaning step, which has a relatively small amount of oil and fat or the cleaning liquid mixed in the water after cleaning, is circulated and reused. The amount of water used can be effectively reduced without decreasing. Since the cleaning step uses a cleaning liquid, it can be said to be a step of decomposing and separating oil and fat on the surface of the vehicle to be cleaned.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a vehicle cleaning apparatus and a vehicle cleaning method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a vehicle cleaning apparatus of the present invention.

In the cleaning apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, a carriage C is provided with a car wash space 2 for injecting hot water or a cleaning liquid. A turntable 3 for placing a carriage C in the car wash space 2 and a spray nozzle 4a for spraying water on the carriage C.
And a spray nozzle 4b for spraying the cleaning liquid. Plural injection nozzles 4a and 4b are provided so as to face the upper surface, the side surface, and the lower surface of the carriage C, respectively. Therefore, by spraying the liquid (water or cleaning liquid) from all the spray nozzles 4a and 4b while rotating the turntable 3, it is possible to clean every corner of the surface of the carriage C. The turntable 3 makes one rotation in several tens of seconds, for example. A drain port 5 for collecting and discharging the sprayed cleaning liquid and water is provided at the bottom of the car wash space.

The cleaning device 1 is provided with a drainage tank 6 connected to a drainage pipe 6a, a first storage tank 7 and a second storage tank 8 as storage devices, and a cleaning liquid supply device 9. Branch from the drain port 5 and drain tank 6
And a pipe 10 connected to the first storage tank 7. On-off valves 11a and 11b as first switching devices are arranged at the inlet of the drainage tank 6 and the inlet of the first storage tank 7 in the pipe 10, respectively. A pipe 12 is connected between the first storage tank 7 and the second storage tank 8, and a pump 13 for pumping liquid from the first storage tank 7 to the second storage tank 8 is connected to the pipe 12.
Is provided.

A pipe 14 that branches from the second storage tank 8 and reaches each injection nozzle 4a is connected. A pump 15 for pumping the liquid from the second storage tank 8 to each of the injection nozzles 4 a is arranged at the outlet of the second storage tank 8 in the pipe 14. Further, an opening / closing valve 16 is arranged in each of the pipes 14 extending from the second storage tank 8 to each of the injection nozzles 4a. The water supply pipe 1 for supplying water to the second storage tank 8 from a cleaning water supply device (not shown).
7 are provided. The storage tanks 7 and 8, the pipes 10, 12, and 14 and the pumps 13 and 15 function as a circulation device. That is, the liquid jetted from the jet nozzle 4a toward the carriage C is sent from the drain port 5 to the first storage tank 7 and the second storage tank 8 when necessary, and reaches the respective jet nozzles 4a from here to be reused as wash water. Used.

The cleaning liquid supply device 9 is a cleaning liquid tank 9a.
A pipe 18 is connected from the cleaning liquid tank 9a to each injection nozzle 4b, and a pump 19 for pumping the cleaning liquid and an on-off valve 20 for closing and opening the pipe 18 are arranged in the pipe 18. It is set up. As the cleaning liquid, for example, an alkaline degreasing cleaning agent or the like is used. From the opening / closing valve 20 and the second storage tank 8 to each injection nozzle 4a
The on-off valve 16 on the pipe 14 leading to the function as a second switching device. That is, when injecting the cleaning liquid, one on-off valve 20 is opened and the other on-off valve 16 is closed,
When injecting water, one opening / closing valve 20 is closed and the other opening / closing valve 16 is opened.

In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, the storage tank 8
By making the jet nozzle for jetting water from the nozzle and the jet nozzle for jetting the cleaning liquid different from each other, the water path and the cleaning liquid path are set as separate independent paths, and the respective on-off valves 16,
Although 20 is used as the second switching device, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the same injection nozzle is used to join the water path and the cleaning solution path, and the opening and closing valves 16 and 20 arranged on the respective paths before the merging open and close the water and the cleaning solution at different times. You may go. Alternatively, the same injection nozzle may be used to join the water passage and the washing liquid passage, and a switching valve may be provided at this joining point, and this switching valve may be the second switching device. However, in consideration of ease of maintenance, it is preferable to use different injection nozzles as shown in the drawing, and to set the water path and the cleaning solution path as separate independent paths.

First storage tank 7 and second storage tank 8
Each of them is provided with a heater 21 for generating Joule heat for heating the liquid inside, and an oil and fat removing device 22 for removing oil and fat that may float on the liquid surface. Of course, the heater 21 can set the temperature,
The liquid inside the tanks 7 and 8 can be maintained at an arbitrary temperature by the control device 26 described later. The oil and fat removing device is, for example, immersed in a belt on the liquid surface and pulled up,
An oil skimmer that scrapes off oil and fat adhered to the belt surface can be applied. Further, a floating oil recovery device or the like may be applied in which the liquid near the liquid surface is sucked from the tank to separate the fat and oil from the water and only the water is returned into the tank. Each storage tank 7,
A drainage pipe 23 is provided at 8 for draining the liquid inside without circulating it. A drum screen 24 and a paper filter 25 as a filtration device are provided at the outlets of the circulation pipes 10 and 12 to the storage tanks 7 and 8.
Is provided.

The cleaning device 1 is provided with a control device 26. The control device 26 rotates the turntable 3 and switches the switching devices described above (switch valves 11a, 11b, 16). 20 opening / closing operation), operation of each pump 13, 15, 19, heater 21 based on set temperature
Controls the on / off of, and the supply operation of washing water from the water supply pipe. In the main cleaning device 1, the controller 26 controls the operation of each device, so that the amount of cleaning water used is greatly reduced.

An example of the operation of the cleaning device 1 will be described below.

In general, the trolley C is washed by warm water to remove the dirt on the surface of the trolley and to warm the trolley, and then to wash the trolley with a cleaning liquid to decompose and separate fats and oils. (Washing step), a washing step of washing away the oil and fat components and dirt decomposed and separated by blowing warm water together with the washing solution (washing solution removing step), and finally a finishing washing step of continuously spraying water on the carriage C for washing.

First, the carriage C to be cleaned is pulled onto the turntable 3. In the pre-cleaning step, the opening / closing valve 20 of the cleaning liquid supply device 9 and the opening / closing valve 11a of the drainage tank 6 are closed, and the opening / closing valve 11b of the circulation path of the cleaning water is opened. The heaters 21 of both storage tanks 7 and 8 are operated to heat the wash water in the tanks. Then, while rotating the turntable 3, the pumps 13 and 15 in the circulation path are operated to inject hot water from the injection nozzle 4a toward the entire surface of the carriage. At this time, in order to sequentially use the plurality of water nozzles 4a, the plurality of open / close valves 16 can be sequentially opened and closed. This is to adjust the water pressure. The operation of these devices is controlled by the controller 26
Controlled by. Then, the hot water sprayed toward the carriage C is circulated through the storage tanks 7 and 8 and the spray nozzle 4a while dust and the like are removed by the filtering devices 24 and 25, and is continuously used. Wash water is supplied from the water supply pipe 17 to the storage tank 8 as needed. When the pre-cleaning is completed, the pumps 13 and 15 are stopped. In this embodiment, this pre-cleaning step is performed for about 15 minutes. At the end of the pre-cleaning, the trolley has been heated to an appropriate temperature.

Next, in the oil / fat separation step, the controller 2
6 closes the on-off valve 11b of the wash water circulation path, the on-off valve 20 of the cleaning liquid supply device 9 and the on-off valve 11a of the drain tank 6.
Open. Then, while rotating the turntable 3, the pump 19 of the cleaning liquid supply device 9 is operated to inject the cleaning liquid from the injection nozzle 4b toward the entire surface of the carriage. This injection is performed for about 3 minutes. After that, the pump 19 is stopped and held for about 10 minutes. During this time, the cleaning liquid spreads to every corner of the outer surface of the dolly C, and causes a chemical reaction with the oil and fat on the dolly surface to decompose and separate it. Since the trolley C is heated in the pre-cleaning step, decomposition and separation of oil and fat by the cleaning liquid is promoted.

Next, in the flushing step, the control device 26 closes the opening / closing valve 20 of the cleaning liquid supply device 9 and opens the opening / closing valve 16 before the injection nozzle 4a in the circulation path of the cleaning water. Then, while rotating the turntable 3, the pumps 13 and 15 in the circulation path are operated to inject hot water from the injection nozzle 4a toward the entire surface of the carriage. Kotoki, second storage tank 8
If there is a sufficient amount of hot water inside, the pump 13 at the outlet of the first storage tank 7 may not be operated. The dirt containing the oil and fat separated from the carriage C by this hot water jet is washed away with the wash liquid by the hot water. This wastewater is primarily stored in the drainage tank 6 and then drained and cleaned.
This process lasts about 5 minutes.

Finally, in the finish cleaning process, the controller 2
Reference numeral 6 closes the opening / closing valve 11a of the drainage tank 6 and opens the opening / closing valve 11b upstream of the first storage tank 7 in the wash water circulation path. Then, while rotating the turntable 3, the pumps 13 and 15 in the circulation path are operated to inject water from the injection nozzle 4a toward the entire surface of the carriage. By doing so, the water jetted toward the trolley C is filtered by the filtration devices 24, 25.
It is continuously used by circulating through the storage tanks 7 and 8 and the injection nozzle 4a. Wash water is supplied from the water supply pipe 17 to the storage tanks 7 and 8 as needed. When the finish cleaning is completed, the pumps 13 and 15 are stopped. In this embodiment, this finishing cleaning process is performed for about 20 minutes. Finally, the surface of the truck is naturally dried or hot air dried.

Through the above steps, the surface of the carriage C is cleaned and the flaw detection test can be performed.

As described above, since the cleaning water is circulated in the pre-cleaning step and the finishing cleaning step, the amount of water used is greatly reduced.

In the above embodiment, two storage tanks 7 and 8 are used.
However, the present invention is not particularly limited to this configuration. There may be one storage tank. However, it is preferable to use two, because the washing water can be continuously filtered by the pump 13 and the paper filter 25 as described above, and the degree of purification of the washing water is further improved.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the amount of water used can be greatly reduced without lowering the cleaning effect. Along with that, the cost spent for wastewater treatment is also reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a vehicle cleaning device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Vehicle cleaning device 2 ... Car wash space 3 ... Turntable 4a ... (for water) injection nozzle 4b ... (for cleaning liquid) injection nozzle 5 ... Drainage port 6 ... Drainage tank 6a, 23 ... Drainage pipe 7 ... First storage tank 8 ... Second storage tank 9 ··· Cleaning liquid supply device 10, 12, 14, 18, ... Piping 11a, 11b, 16, 20, ... Open / close valve 13, 15, 19 ... Pumps 17 ... Water supply pipe 21 ... Heater 22 ··· Oil and fat removing device 24 ... Drum screen 25 ... Paper filter 26 ··· Control device C ... Truck (vehicle to be washed)

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Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A car wash space in which an injection device for selectively injecting a cleaning liquid and water into a vehicle to be cleaned is provided, a drainage device for draining the injected liquid, and the injected water A circulation device for circulating the water in the injection device, which has a storage device for storing, and a first switching device for switching the liquid path from the car wash space to at least one of a drainage device and a circulation device are provided. And a control device for controlling the switching operation of the first switching device. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the storage device has heating means for heating the stored water, and the control device is configured to control the heating operation of the heating means. Cleaning device. 3. The vehicle cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage device has an oil / fat removing means for removing an oil / fat from the stored water. 4. A cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the injection device, and a second switching device for switching at least one of the cleaning liquid supply device reaching the injection device and the liquid path from the circulation device. 2. The vehicle cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is configured to control the switching operation of the second switching device. 5. The vehicle cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the storage device has a heating means for heating the stored water, and the control device is heated by the heating means. The water in the storage device is sent to the injection device, the water injected in the car wash space is circulated to the injection device by the circulation device, and then the second switching means is switched so as to supply the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply means to the injection device. The second switching device is switched to send water from the circulation device to the injection device, and the first switching device is switched to send cleaning liquid and water in the car wash space to the drainage device, and then the water is circulated to the injection device by the circulation device and A vehicle cleaning device in which one switching unit is switched to control so that water injected in a car washing space is circulated to a circulation device. 6. A pre-cleaning step of injecting hot water into a vehicle to be cleaned while circulating it, a cleaning step of injecting a cleaning liquid to the vehicle to be cleaned, and a hot water after injecting hot water to the vehicle to be cleaned. A method for cleaning a vehicle, comprising: a cleaning liquid removing step for draining the vehicle; and a final cleaning step for injecting water into the vehicle to be cleaned while circulating the water.