JP2005138795A - Car washing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a car washing device lessening the installation space of its body and flushing uniformly the washing water certainly to the whole surfaces of a car while washing time is shortened. <P>SOLUTION: The car washing device is composed of body frames 1 installed in straddlingly a car to be washed, truck running rails 2 mounted on the frames 1, a truck 3 running along the rails 2, swing arms 7 supported swingably on the truck 3, flush nozzles 8 and 9 mounted on the arms 7 and to flush the washing water to the car, and a water supplying unit 5 to supply a high pressure water to the nozzles 8 and 9, in which the swing arms 7 are installed in a pair on the left and right, and in the condition that the side of the car is left open, the high pressure washing water is flushed to wash the car while the front face and the rear face of the car are put in the closed condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a brushless type car wash apparatus in which washing water, a liquid agent, wax, a water repellent, or the like is sprayed on an automobile, and a user performs car washing by hand washing.

  Self-car-washing systems that allow customers to easily perform car-washing have become widespread, and various car-washing devices have been proposed to deal with this system. As one of them, there is a so-called gate-type car wash machine equipped with car wash equipment such as a rotating brush, a drying nozzle, a watering nozzle, etc. in a frame formed in a gate shape, and washing the car by reciprocating this frame across the automobile. Are known. Although this type of car wash device is widely recognized as being able to wash the car easily without bothering the user, it is still concerned about the scratches caused by the rotating brush, and there are still doubts about the remaining washing and cleaning power. Many users have it. Such users perform car washing by hand washing using a type of car washing apparatus equipped with a spray gun for spraying washing water or liquid. This type of car washer is designed to perform high-pressure washing of the vehicle body with washing water or liquid sprayed from a spray gun, and recently equipped with a function to spray foam-like liquid or water repellent, Some users can use the car wash by hand. However, these devices are not easy to work with because they need to move around the vehicle with a spray gun, making it difficult to apply water to the wash water. It was difficult.

In order to solve the problems with these car washing apparatuses, as disclosed in JP-A-2-38170, the washing water can be uniformly sprayed around the automobile with a simple configuration without a rotating brush. Car wash devices have been proposed. However, in this device, a rail of a size surrounding the car to be washed is suspended from the ceiling, and the running body provided with the injection nozzle circulates along this rail, so that the cleaning water is sprayed onto the vehicle body for cleaning. Larger rails are required than automobiles, and installation work becomes large. In addition, the rail is set in such a range that a sufficient clearance is provided around the automobile to prevent the traveling body from coming into contact with the automobile to be cleaned. Moreover, since one traveling body circulates along a rail, there exists a problem that it takes time to inject washing water to the whole motor vehicle.
JP-A-2-38170

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a car wash device that can uniformly spray wash water on the entire surface of an automobile while reducing the installation space of the main body and shortening the car wash time.

  In order to solve such a problem, the present invention has a frame disposed so as to straddle the automobile to be cleaned, a carriage traveling rail attached above the frame, and an upper portion of the automobile along the rail. A carriage traveling in the direction, a pair of left and right swing arms suspended from the carriage so as to surround the automobile, an injection nozzle provided on the arm for injecting cleaning water toward the automobile, and high-pressure water to the nozzle A water supply unit to be supplied, and the swing arm is swingable from an open position sandwiching the vehicle in the width direction to a closed position that wraps around the front or rear surface of the vehicle. The washing water from the spray nozzle is jetted to perform car washing.

  The carriage includes a liquid agent spraying means for spraying foamy liquid agent or the like on the front part and the rear part, and a water repellent spraying means for spraying a water repellent and cleaning water. Water repellent or washing water was selectively sprayed.

  In addition, a first switch is provided at one end of the travel range of the carriage on the carriage travel rail, and a second switch is provided at the other end. Of the travel positions of the carriage detected by the first and second switches, Setting means for setting either one as the standby position of the carriage is provided, and the carriage is caused to travel from the standby position set by the setting means.

  According to the car wash device of the present invention, the pair of left and right swing arms provided with the injection nozzles are located between the front closed position and the rear closed position of the front and rear surfaces of the automobile from the open position sandwiching the automobile in the width direction. The car can be washed by swinging it, so it is only necessary to run the carriage in a range shorter than the length of the car, and the swing arm that goes around the car while reducing the installation space makes it possible to wash a wide area. Can be formed. Moreover, since the swing arms are provided in a pair on the left and right, the washing water can be reliably sprayed to the entire circumference of the automobile while shortening the washing time.

  In addition, the carriage has dedicated pipes for spraying liquids and waxes on the front and rear, respectively, so it is only necessary to drive the carriage in the minimum required traveling range, and the liquid and water repellents can be reliably applied to the upper surface of the automobile. Is sprayed.

  Furthermore, since the stand-by position of the carriage can be set arbitrarily, the main body can be laid out according to the circumstances of the limited installation location depending on the position of the entrance of the car to the main body and the presence or absence of surrounding obstacles, etc. Assembling property can be improved.

  Not only at gas stations and manned car wash stations, but also at unmanned coin car wash stations, high pressure washing water was sprayed on the entire surface of the car to remove dirt, and handwashing was performed with the liquid sprayed on the car surface. After that, it can be used as a car washing device that is used for rinsing.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the car wash apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus.
Reference numerals 1 and 1 denote body frames, which are formed in an arch shape so as to straddle a car wash area A set on the floor surface in the short direction, and are installed in a pair of front and rear with a predetermined interval S1. The spacing S1 between the frames is determined in consideration of installation and transportation convenience. If the frame is set within a range that can be loaded on a truck or the like with the frames arranged at the front and rear, Assembly work can be reduced. Reference numeral 2 denotes a bogie running rail, which includes a fixed portion 2a installed above the frames 1 and 1 and an extension portion 2b attached to the front and rear of the frames 1 and 1, and is longer than the interval S1 between the main body frames 1 and 1. It is provided on the upper inner surface between the main body frames 1 and 1 in a state where the traveling range of the carriage is secured. Reference numeral 3 denotes a carriage which reciprocates on the carriage travel rail 2 within a travel range S2 provided by limit switches 4a and 4b provided one by one near the front end and the rear end of the carriage travel rail 2, respectively. Here, the carriage 3 is set as a standby position in which the limit switch (4a in the figure) on the side opposite to the entrance of the automobile in the car wash area A is switched. Therefore, in the initial stage where the main body is installed, it is only necessary to determine which of the limit switches 4a and 4b is switched to the standby position of the carriage 4, and the degree of freedom of the installation layout is increased.

  Reference numeral 5 denotes a water supply unit incorporating a pump or the like, and supplies cleaning water to the carriage 3 via a hose. A hose from the water supply unit 5 is connected to a pipe lead-in part 1a formed at the lower part of one of the main body frames 1 and is raised along the frame 1 to form a pipe lead-out part formed at the upper part of the frame 1 After being pulled out from 1 b, it is supported by a water supply arm 1 c that is foldably attached to the frame 1 and connected to a carriage 3. 6 is a reception unit for receiving a fee and selecting a car washing course, and a function box portion 6a having an operation panel and electrical components is formed at a height that is easy for a user to operate, and a car wash tool (bucket or hand wash) is provided below. A storage portion 6b for storing a mouton or the like is formed. The storage portion 6b is provided with a forward storage box on the front surface and a towel rack on the side surface.

  In the apparatus configured as described above, the frame 1 and 1 are transported in a state where the fixed portion 2a of the carriage traveling rail 2 and the carriage 3 are assembled, and the water supply unit 5 is placed on the left or right side of the main body frame 1 at the installation location. After deciding whether to install or whether the entrance of the car should be on the front or back side of the main body frame 1, the main body frame 1 is mounted and fixed, and the extension part 2b of the bogie running rail 2 is assembled, and the water supply unit 5 and the bogie It is only necessary to connect 3 and installation can be performed very easily.

  Reference numerals 7 and 7 denote swing arms attached to the lower side of the carriage 3, which are provided in a pair of left and right, and are arranged along the running direction of the carriage 3 from an open state that is positioned so as to sandwich the automobile perpendicular to the running direction of the carriage 3 Displacement is made in a range S3 from the front closed state that wraps around the front end of the vehicle to the rear closed state that wraps around the rear end of the vehicle along the traveling direction of the carriage 3. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, a car wash area A that is expanded in an arc shape before and after the traveling range S <b> 2 of the carriage 3 is formed. The swing arms 7 and 7 are provided with rotary tubes 7a and 7a attached to the carriage 3, horizontal tubes 7b and 7b extending horizontally from the rotary tubes 7a and 7a, and from the tips of the horizontal tubes 7b and 7b toward the floor surface. The vertical pipes 7c and 7c extend vertically and are formed in an inverted L shape when viewed from the front. These rotary pipes 7a to 7c are all hollow and pass water, receive water from the water supply unit 5, and enter the plurality of injection nozzles 8 and the vertical pipe 7c provided inside the horizontal pipe 7b. High-pressure washing water is jetted from the provided jet nozzle 9.

  The vertical tubes 7c of the swing arms 7 and 7 are arranged with a distance L shifted back and forth in plan view with respect to the horizontal tube 7b. This is to prevent the cleaning water sprayed from the respective spray nozzles 9 from interfering with the vertical pipes 7c and 7c facing each other (opened state), thereby reducing the cleaning effect. One vertical tube 7c (left side in FIG. 3) is shifted forward and the other vertical tube 7c (right side in FIG. 3) is shifted rearward by a distance L. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the injection nozzle 9 of the vertical pipe 7c is made to inject obliquely downward as viewed from the front. Thereby, the washing water can be efficiently injected into the vehicle body without interference between the injection from the injection nozzle 8 of the horizontal pipe 7b and the injection from the injection nozzle 9 of the vertical pipe 4c.

Then, the apparatus attached to the trolley | bogie 3 is demonstrated using FIGS.
Reference numeral 10 denotes a cart traveling motor capable of forward and reverse rotation, and of the four wheels 11, 11, 12, 12 is linked to the axle 13 of the drive wheels 11, 11 via the linkage device 14, and the cart 3 is coupled to the cart traveling guide frame 2. In the front-rear direction. Reference numerals 15 and 15 denote pivoting devices for opening and closing the swing arms 7, 7, first sprockets 16 R, 16 L fixed to the tips of the rotary tubes 7 a, 7 a of the arms 7, 7, and second sprockets 17 R attached to the carriage 3. , 17L, chains 18R and 18L for suspending both sprockets 16 and 17, a connecting body 19 installed between the left and right chains 18R and 18L, and a cylinder 20 for moving the connecting body 19 back and forth. . The cylinder 20 has two rods 20 a and 20 b that extend back and forth. The tip of one rod 20 a is linked to the connecting body 19, and the tip of the other rod 20 b is fixed to the carriage 3. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, the swing arms 7 and 7 are opened in the width direction of the car wash area A at the position where the first rod 20a of the cylinder 20 is contracted and the second rod 20b is extended (FIG. 5a). ), The rods 20a and 20b are rotated forward to the closed position (FIG. 5b), and the rods 20a and 20b are retracted to the rear and closed (FIG. 5c). To do.

  21, 21, 22, 22 are water spray pipes attached to the front end and rear end of the carriage 3, 21 is a foam spray pipe for spraying foam-like detergent, and 22 is a water repellent pipe for spraying water repellent. is there. As shown in FIG. 6 a, the foam injection pipe 21 is provided with an injection nozzle 23 that is directed slightly outward and downward toward the automobile at the tip, and the water repellent pipe 22 is formed as shown in FIG. A plurality of injection nozzles 24 directed vertically downward are provided at predetermined intervals. As a result, the bubbles from the bubble injection pipe 21 are uniformly distributed to the front end and the rear end of the automobile.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a pipe line configuration in the above embodiment.
A high pressure pump 25 supplies water to the swing arms 7 and 7 of the carriage 3 through the hose 27. A low pressure pump 26 supplies water to the foam jet pipe 21 of the carriage 3 via the hose 28 and also supplies water to the water repellent pipe 22 of the carriage 3 via the hose 29. The water supply of the high-pressure pump 25 reaches from the hose 27 to the tip of the rotary tube 7a of the swing arm 7, and is injected from the injection nozzles 8 and 9 of the horizontal tube 7b and the vertical tube 7c. The water supply of the low-pressure pump 26 is branched into the water supply pipes 30 and 31 in the water supply unit 5 and reaches the foam injection pipe 21 and the water repellent pipe 22 from the hose 28 and the hose 29 via the electromagnetic valves 32 and 33, respectively. Yes.

  A detergent line 35 communicating with the detergent tank 34 is connected to the line 30 leading to the foam jet pipe 20 in the mixer 36, and the detergent is mixed from the detergent tank 34 as water flows into the line 30. Reference numeral 37 denotes an electromagnetic valve provided in the detergent conduit 35. A water repellent pipe 39 communicating with a water repellent tank 38 is connected to the pipe 31 leading to the water repellent pipe 22, and the water repellent is mixed into the pipe 31 via the chemical pump 40.

  An air tank 41 is connected to the compressor and stores compressed air, and is connected to the drive cylinder 17 of the swing arms 4 and 4 via a regulator 42. Moreover, the high pressure air from the air tank 41 is introduced into the water supply pipes 30 and 31 via the solenoid valve 43 and the hose 27 and the solenoid valve 44, respectively, and drains water (freezing prevention measures) in the pipe line as necessary. ) Used. Furthermore, it is connected to the pipe line 30 through the electromagnetic valve 45, and when the detergent aqueous solution is discharged from the injection nozzle 19 of the foam injection pipe 20, the detergent is foamed by introducing air. In addition to improving the fixability to the vehicle body, a show effect as a car wash machine can be obtained.

Next, the control system of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
A control unit 51 includes a microcomputer 52 and is connected to limit switches 4a and 4b, an operation panel 54, and a temperature sensor 55 at an input port 53, and is connected to the travel motor 10 and the swing arms 7 and 7 of the carriage 3 at an output port 56. The drive cylinder 20 and the operation device of the water supply unit 5 are connected. The temperature sensor 55 is provided at a position near the bottom of the reception unit 6 that is not easily affected by the outside, and detects the outside air temperature at which the car wash machine is used.

  The operation panel 54 includes a course key 57 for selecting a car wash course, a start key 58 for starting car wash, a stop key 59 for stopping car wash, a card reader 60 for accepting a prepaid card, and a coin mech 61 for accepting a coin. The car wash configuration can be set according to the wishes. In the Kosky 57, a desired course can be selected from a plurality of car washing courses that give different sequence operations. Here, a normal one-way water washing car course, a two-way hand washing detergent course, a three-way water-repellent course, and a double water-repellent course Course can be selected. These car washing courses can be appropriately changed by the management function in the control unit 51. In addition, the management function in the control unit 51 can be used as a setting means for initially setting the standby position of the carriage 3 in addition to performing the counting of the number of car wash and maintenance when each abnormality occurs.

Then, the case where a hand-washing car wash is performed with the car wash apparatus comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated. FIG. 9 is a flowchart when the double water-repellent course is selected as the car wash course, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing the operation state of the car wash course.
A car is put into the car wash area A, the course key 57 is operated on the operation panel 54 of the reception unit 6 to select “double water repellent course”, and when the start key 58 is pressed, the car wash operation is executed. The controller 51 checks whether the carriage 3 is in the standby position by the signals from the limit switches 4a and 4b, and then enters a car wash operation. The swing arms 7 and 7 are in an open state opened in the width direction of the car wash space A at a position where the first rod 20a of the cylinder 20 is contracted and the second rod 20b is extended.

○ First Outgoing Step A high-pressure cleaning is performed in which the high-pressure pump is operated to inject high-pressure water from the swing arms 7 and 7 to wash away sand and mud adhering to the automobile. First, the cylinder 20 is driven to open the swing arms 7 and 7 while jetting high-pressure water from the swing arms 7 and 7 while the carriage 3 is in the standby position (here, the limit switch 4a is switched). From the state, the front end of the automobile is washed with high pressure by reciprocating once in the front closed state. Then, after returning the swing arms 7 and 7 to the open state, the traveling motor 10 is driven to move the cart 3 forward, and the side surface of the automobile is washed with high pressure. Next, when the limit switch 4b detects that the carriage 3 has reached the rearward travel limit, the carriage 3 stops traveling, and the cylinder 20 is driven to open the swing arms 7, 7 from the open state to the rear closed state. The rear end of the automobile is washed with high pressure by rotating it back and forth once. (Fig. 10a)
○ First Returning Process Accompanying the return trip of the carriage 3, foam spraying is performed in which the detergent water generated from the spray nozzle 23 of the foam spray pipe 21 is sprayed and adhered to the vehicle body. The foam injection pipe 21 is provided at the front end and the rear end of the carriage 3, and the injection nozzle 23 is directed slightly inward from the pipe tip toward the automobile and toward the automobile leading end. Foam detergent is sprayed evenly. (Fig. 10b)
○ Hand-washing process When the first recovery process is completed, the car-washing operation is temporarily stopped, and a hand-washing car wash by a user or a serviceman is performed. The vehicle body is cleaned while spreading the foam-like detergent sprayed on the automobile body in the first recovery process using a towel or a mouton. After the car wash operation, the car wash operation can be resumed by inputting the start key 58 again. In addition, when installing in the self-service type car wash station mainly used by the user, it is desirable to set a time limit and notify that the car wash operation is resumed after the time has elapsed. At this time, needless to say, the time limit may be variable.
○ Second Outgoing Step When the car wash is resumed, high pressure washing is performed in the same procedure as the first outgoing step, and rinsing is performed to remove bubbles after the car wash. (Fig. 10a)
○ Second Returning Process Accompanying the return trip of the carriage 3, wax spraying is performed in which cleaning water containing a water repellent is injected from the injection nozzle 24 of the water repellent pipe 22 to adhere to the vehicle body. Since the spray nozzle 24 of the water repellent pipe 22 is composed of a highly dispersible nozzle, the water repellent is uniformly distributed to the automobile. (Fig. 10c)
○ Third Outgoing Step Wax spraying is performed in the same procedure as the second backward step. Thus, the water repellent is sprayed while the carriage 3 substantially reciprocates, and the water repellent can be reliably applied to the vehicle body. (Fig. 10c)
○ Third return step With the return of the carriage 3, the vehicle body is rinsed by injecting only the wash water not containing the water repellent from the injection nozzle 24 of the water repellent pipe 22 at a low pressure. (Fig. 10c)

  When the washing operation is completed, exit from the car washing area is prompted by an end notification or the like. At this time, when the outside air temperature detected by the temperature sensor 55 is likely to freeze (for example, 5 ° C. or less), an anti-freezing measure for draining the pipe used to prevent freezing in the pipe is performed. To do.

  The car washing device constructed in this way does not have a rotating brush and performs washing by jetting high-pressure washing water and hand washing by spraying liquid or water repellent, and is installed at a service station where service personnel are stationed. Thus, it can be used for both full-service car washing and when the user performs car washing by installing it at an unmanned coin car wash. In order to prevent high-pressure washing water from splashing around the installation, it is desirable to cover the peripheral surface except for the entrance to the car with a curtain, etc., and the effect of the show to the surroundings is lost by configuring this curtain with a transparent body. You can appeal without

  In particular, it is possible to provide a car wash machine that does not include a brush and appeals that careful car washing is performed by high-pressure washing and hand washing.

It is a front view which shows the car wash apparatus of Example 1 of this invention. It is a side view of the same apparatus. It is a top view of the apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the trolley | bogie 2 in the apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the arm drive means in the same apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the watering nozzle in the apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the pipe line system in the apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the control system in the apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement of the apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body frame 2 Car trolley rail 3 Car 4a, 4b Limit switch 5 Water supply unit 6 Reception unit 7 Swing arm 7a Rotating pipe 7b Horizontal pipe 7c Vertical pipe 8 Injection nozzle (attached horizontal pipe)
9 Injection nozzle (with vertical pipe)
20 cylinder (arm drive means)
21 Pipe for foam injection 22 Pipe for water repellent 23 Injection nozzle (for foam injection)
24 spray nozzle (for water repellent)
51 Control unit (setting means)

Claims (3)

A frame disposed so as to straddle the automobile to be cleaned, a carriage traveling rail attached above the frame, a carriage that travels in the longitudinal direction of the automobile along the rail, and surrounds the automobile from the carriage A pair of left and right swing arms suspended like this, an injection nozzle that is provided on the arm and injects cleaning water toward the automobile, and a water supply unit that supplies high-pressure water to the nozzle,
The swing arm is swingable from an open position sandwiching the vehicle in the width direction to a closed position that wraps around the front or rear surface of the vehicle, and the washing water from the spray nozzle is applied to the entire circumferential surface of the vehicle. A car wash apparatus for performing car wash by spraying. The carriage includes a liquid agent spraying means for spraying foamy liquid agent or the like on the front and rear, and a water repellent spraying means for spraying a water repellent and cleaning water. 2. The car wash apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid agent, the water repellent or the washing water is selectively sprayed. A first switch is provided at one end of the traveling range of the carriage on the carriage traveling rail, a second switch is provided at the other end, and any one of the traveling positions of the carriage detected by the first and second switches is selected. 2. The car wash apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising setting means for setting one of them as a stand-by position of the carriage, wherein the carriage is caused to travel from the stand-by position set by the setting means.

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