JP2630094B2 - Car wash machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a car washer provided with a lower side cleaning brush (rocker brush).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional car washing machine, for example,
As seen in JP 4917, a pair of left and right rocker brushes is attached to the car wash body via an arm,
A motor for driving is provided on the arm, and the arm is configured to be movable close to and away from each other via the arm.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional type, the lower halves of the both sides of the vehicle body are cleaned from the rocker portion including the wheels with the pair of right and left rocker brushes. As shown in FIG. 12, in the corner portion 73 formed by the rim 71 and the wheel cap 72, there is a problem that the cleaning of the portion 73a particularly on the rotation direction 74 side becomes insufficient.

[0004] The present invention is to solve the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a car washer capable of sufficiently washing wheels of a vehicle body.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a car washer according to the present invention has a brush which is rotatable around a vertical axis on a car washer body, and which is close to a vehicle which is to wash the brush. A lower side cleaning brush device configured to be detachable and swingable along a vertical plane; and a sonic sensor for detecting a vehicle height of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle shape is detected by a vehicle height signal of the sonic sensor. And a control device that detects the front wheel position and the rear wheel position of the vehicle, and swings the brush of the lower side cleaning brush device at the front wheel position and the rear wheel position.

[0006]

According to the structure of the present invention, the shape of the vehicle to be washed is detected from the vehicle height signal of the sonic sensor, and the front wheel position and the rear wheel position of the vehicle are detected from the detected vehicle shape. Then, the brush of the lower side cleaning brush device is swung at the rear wheel position. Therefore, a portion of the wheel that is insufficiently cleaned on the rotation direction side of the brush can be displaced around the vertical axis along the vertical plane, and as a result, the wheel can be sufficiently cleaned.

[0007]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a car washer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a portal type car washer body 1 is mounted on a rail 3 via a plurality of wheels 2 in a front view, and an operation of a travel driving device (not shown) is performed. This allows the vehicle to reciprocate on a fixed route. The car wash body 1 also includes a first wash water arch 4, a first wax arch 5,
A second washing water arch 6, a second wax arch 7, and a detergent arch 8 are arranged in this order, and a top nozzle 9 and a side nozzle 10 for drying are provided at the location of the first washing water arch 4. The top brush 11 and the side brush 12 are mounted via swingable arms 13 and 14, respectively. A pair of left and right rocker brushes 15 are provided at lower portions on both sides of the car wash machine body 1 so as to be able to approach and separate from each other. A sonic sensor 46 for detecting the height of the vehicle 40 to be washed is provided at an upper front end of the car washer body 1, and an operation panel 45 is provided at a front side portion. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 41 denotes wheels of a vehicle 40 to be washed, and includes a wheel cap 42, a rim 43, and tires 44.

The mounting of the rocker brush 15 and the driving mechanism will be described with reference to the perspective view of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, an inverted L-shaped holding arm 16 is provided in a front view, and a free end of a parallel link mechanism 17 is connected to an upper surface of the holding arm 16. Are connected to each other via a fixture 29. The parallel link mechanism 17 is a support arm 18
And a tie rod 19, which supports the holding arm 16 and is rotatable in the horizontal direction. A cylinder device 20 for rotating the parallel link mechanism 17 is provided on the car wash machine main body 1 side, and a distal end of the piston rod 21 is fixed to a lower portion of a support shaft 22 penetrating the base end of the support arm 18. It is connected to the free end of the lever 23. This allows the support arm 18
Moves together with the lever 23. An operating device 24 for operating the cylinder device 20 is provided on the car wash machine main body 1 side. A horizontal shaft 27 that is rotatable around a left-right axis 26 along a vertical plane protrudes from a lower surface of the vertical frame portion 25 of the holding arm 16 and from a side surface facing each other. This horizontal axis 27 is the vertical frame part
Through a transmission (not shown) disposed in the motor 25, it is operatively connected to a rocking device 30 such as a motor or a cylinder device.

A C-shaped swing arm 31 is attached to the inner end of the horizontal shaft 27 so as to be swingable around a left-right axis 26. That is, the horizontal axis is located below the vertical frame 32 of the swing arm 31.
The inner end of 27 is fitted, and the swing arm 31 is
They are mounted with the sides with openings facing each other. Further, a rotation shaft (vertical axis) 36 rotatable around a rotation axis 35 orthogonal to the left-right axis 26 is provided at the inner end of the swing arm 31.
The rotary shaft 36 is integrated with the brush shaft 37, and the rocker brush 15 is mounted thereon. The rotating shaft 36 is linked to a rotating device 39 such as an electric motor via a transmission (not shown) provided in the upper and lower horizontal frame portions 33.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sonic sensor 46 cannot detect the vehicle height because the sound wave is reflected obliquely at the front window portion 40B and the rear window portion 40D of the vehicle 40. Therefore, the front window 40B and the rear window 40D of the vehicle 40 are detected by detecting the point where the sonic sensor 46 becomes undetectable from the above phenomenon, and the vehicle height before and after the front window 40B and the rear window 40D is reduced. The detected area is the hood 40A, the ceiling 40C, and the trunk 40E of the vehicle 40.
Can be determined. It is also possible to determine the type of the vehicle 40 based on the detected position of the boundary between the ceiling portion 40C and the rear window portion 40D (hereinafter, referred to as point P) and the rear end position of the trunk portion 40E (hereinafter, referred to as point F). it can. The determination of the type of the vehicle 40 will be described with reference to the explanatory diagram of FIG.

Depending on the type of the vehicle 40, the vehicle 40 is located at a point P, F
The dimensions up to the point are almost fixed. When the point P is detected, if the dimension from the front wheel to the point P is less than 2700 mm, the vehicle type is determined to be a passenger car or a light passenger car.
As shown in (a), the dimension from front wheel to point F is 2900mm
In this case, it is determined that the vehicle is a passenger car, and when it is less than 2900 mm as shown in FIG. 4B, it is determined to be a light passenger vehicle. In addition, as shown in FIG.
When the distance is less than 3200 mm, as shown in FIG. 4D, it is determined that the van is a medium-sized van. Also, as shown in FIG.
When the vehicle height at the front wheel position 40 (distance r) is equal to or higher than the height h corresponding to the height of the ceiling portion 40C, it is determined that the vehicle is a wagon vehicle.

When the vehicle type is determined, as shown in FIG. 4, the rear wheel position is specified. In the case of a passenger car, a position 100 mm from the point P to the side of the trunk portion 40E from the point P, and in the case of a mini passenger car, the position from the point P. In the case of a small van at a position of 100 mm on the side of the ceiling 40C,
The position is 700 mm from the point P to the ceiling 40C side, the position of the medium van is 500 mm from the point P to the ceiling 40C side, and the position of the wagon is 400 mm from the point P to the ceiling 40C side.

FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of a car washer according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the control block diagram of FIG. 5, the control system of the car washer is built in the car washer body 1 and includes a control device 51 including a microcomputer, a sensor system 52 including the operation panel 45, a sonic sensor 46, and the like. The driving device 53 includes a driving system 53 having a motor, a driving system 54 including a driving device for the rocker brush 15 (an operating device 24, a swinging device 30, and a rotating device 39) and a power supply 55. An operation signal such as start and stop from the panel 45 and a detection signal of the sensor system 52 are inputted and stored, and according to the operation signal, the drive system 54 is controlled to control the entire operation of the car wash machine body 1. .

A method of driving the rocker brush 15 and a method of driving the travel driving device 53 based on the vehicle height detection signal of the sonic sensor 46 by the control device 51, which is the gist of the present invention, will be described below. Description will be made based on a block diagram.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 61 denotes a traveling control unit for outputting a driving signal to a traveling driving device 53, and 62 denotes a driving device of the rocker brush 15, that is, the operating device 24, the oscillating device 30, and the rotating device 39.
A rocker brush control unit that outputs a drive signal to the vehicle.A tire position detection unit 63 is provided to supply the front wheel detection signal a and the rear wheel detection signal b of the vehicle 40 to the traveling control unit 61 and the rocker brush control unit 62. Along with the tire position detecting section 63, a vehicle position detecting section 64 for detecting whether the vehicle is a wagon vehicle and the points P and F from the vehicle height detection signal c from the sonic sensor 46, a traveling control section A travel distance calculation unit 65 that integrates a travel speed signal d from 61 to detect a travel distance R, and a travel control unit 61 when a P point detection signal e is input from a vehicle body position detection unit 64.
Is integrated by integrating the traveling speed signal d from
When the front wheel detection signal a is input from the P point traveling distance calculation unit 66 for detecting the vehicle speed, and the front wheel detection signal a from the tire position detection unit 63, the traveling speed signal d from the traveling control unit 61 is integrated to detect the traveling distance K from the front wheel position. A traveling distance calculation unit 68 is provided.
Further, based on an operation signal from the operation panel 45, an operation control unit 69 for outputting a drive command signal (start command signal, stop command signal) g to the traveling control unit 61 and the rocker brush control unit 62 is provided.

FIG. 7 shows a procedure for detecting the points P and F and the type of the vehicle as a wagon vehicle from the vehicle height detection signal from the sonic sensor 46 and a procedure for detecting an abnormality of the sonic sensor 46 in the vehicle body position detecting section 64. This will be described according to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the vehicle height detection signal c of the sonic sensor 46
It is determined whether the height of the vehicle 40 detected by the vehicle is higher than the height h corresponding to the height of the ceiling 40C (step -1). It is determined whether R is less than the distance r corresponding to the position of the front wheels of the vehicle 40 (step-2). If it is confirmed that the traveling distance R is less than the distance r, the vehicle type is determined to be a wagon vehicle and a wagon vehicle inspection is performed. An output signal f is output (step-3). Next, it is determined whether the vehicle height is zero, that is, whether a floor is detected (step-
4) When the floor is detected, it is determined that the point F has been detected, and an F point detection signal m is output (step-5), and the process ends. If the vehicle height is not zero in Step-4, it is determined whether the sonic sensor 46 has become undetectable (Step-6). If the vehicle height cannot be detected, it is determined that the P point has been detected, and the P-point detection signal e Is output (step-7). Next, confirm that the vehicle height is detected again (step-
8) The traveling speed signal d from the traveling control unit 61 until it is detected
To calculate the traveling distance A from point P (step-
9) If the vehicle height cannot be detected before the traveling distance A reaches the predetermined value (step-10), it is determined that the sonic sensor 46 is abnormal, and the rear wheel prohibition signal j is output (step-10).
11). When the vehicle height is detected in step-8,
It is determined that the position of the boundary between the rear window portion 40D and the trunk portion 40E (hereinafter referred to as point Q) has been detected (step-1).
2). Next, it is determined whether the vehicle height is zero, that is, whether or not a floor has been detected (step-13), and the traveling speed signal d from the traveling control unit 61 is integrated to calculate the traveling distance C from point Q until the vehicle height is detected. (Step-14) If the vehicle height cannot be detected to be zero before the traveling distance C reaches the predetermined value D (Step-15),
When it is determined that the sonic sensor 46 is abnormal, a rear wheel wash prohibition signal j is output in step-11. When a floor is detected in Step-13, an F point detection signal m is output in Step-5 and the processing is terminated.

As described above, the vehicle position detection unit 64 detects P
It is detected whether the point, the point F, and the vehicle type are wagons, a P-point detection signal e, an F-point detection signal m, and a wagon detection signal f are output, and an abnormality of the sonic sensor 46 is detected, and rear wheel washing is performed. The prohibition signal j is output.

Next, in the tire position detecting section 63, the vehicle 40
The procedure for detecting the front wheel position and the rear wheel position will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In addition, rocker brush 15
As shown in FIG. 3, the distance between the sonic sensor 46 and the rotating shaft 36 of the rocker brush 15 is 82
It shall be 0 mm.

First, the travel distance K (initial value 0) from the front wheel position input from the front wheel travel distance calculation section 68 is (2900-820).
) Is determined (step-1), and this travel distance K
Is less than (2900−820), the vehicle position detection unit 64 sends F
It is determined whether or not the point detection signal m has been input (step-
2) If "F" point detection signal m is input, "light" is set (step-3). Next, it is determined whether or not the P-point detection signal e has been input from the vehicle body position detection unit 64 (step-
4) If the P-point detection signal e is input, it is determined whether the wagon detection signal f is input (step-
5). If the wagon detection signal f is not input, it is determined whether the traveling distance K from the front wheel position is less than (2700-820) (step-6). If the traveling distance K is less than (2700-820), It is determined that the vehicle is a passenger car or a light passenger car, and then the "light" setting is confirmed (step-7). In the case of the "light" setting, it is determined that the vehicle is a light passenger vehicle, and if the traveling distance L from the point P input from the P point traveling distance calculation unit 66 is equal to or more than (820-100) (step-8), the vehicle body position detection unit It is confirmed that the rear wheel wash detection signal j has not been inputted from the step 64 (step-9), and the rear wheel detection signal b is output (step-9).
Ten). In Step-7, if the setting is not “light”,
It is determined that the vehicle is a passenger car, and the travel distance L from point P is (820 + 100).
If the above is confirmed (step-11), the rear wheel detection signal b is output in steps-9 and 10. Step 6
, The traveling distance K from the front wheel position is (2900-820)
In the above case, it is determined that the vehicle is a small van or a medium-sized van. Then, it is determined whether the traveling distance K from the front wheel position is less than (3200-820) (step-12). If it is smaller than 820), it is determined that the vehicle is a small van, and if the traveling distance L from the point P is equal to or more than (820-700) (step-12), the rear wheel detection signal b is output in steps -9 and 10. If the traveling distance K from the front wheel position is equal to or more than (3200-820) in Step-12, it is determined that the vehicle is a medium-sized van, and if the traveling distance L from point P is equal to or more than (820-500), it is confirmed (Step-13). In steps -9 and 10, a rear wheel detection signal b is output. If a wagon detection signal is input in step-5, the traveling distance L from point P
Is greater than (820-400) (step-15),
In steps 9 and 10, a rear wheel detection signal b is output.

If the P-point detection signal e has not been input in step-4, or if steps-8, 11, 13, and
When the traveling distance L from the point P is smaller than the set value at 14 and 15, the traveling distance R input from the traveling distance calculation unit 65 is equal to the traveling distance R shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, a fixed distance S between the rotating shaft 36 of the rocker brush 15 and the front wheels of the vehicle 40 stopped in contact with the tire mate 70
It is determined whether the vehicle has reached the position (Step-16). When the vehicle reaches the position, the front wheel detection signal a is output (Step-17).

By the operation of the tire position detector 63, the front wheel position is detected, the type of the vehicle 40 is determined, the rear wheel position is detected in accordance with the vehicle type, and the front wheel detection signal a and
A rear wheel detection signal b is output.

Next, the operation of the traveling drive device 53 and the rocker brush drive device at the time of cleaning the side surface of the vehicle 40 according to the above embodiment will be described. After the vehicle 40 is stopped at a predetermined position at the tire mate 70, the operation panel 45 is operated to input the start of cleaning. Then, the control device 51 drives the traveling drive device 53 to cause the car wash machine body 1 to travel, activates the rotation device 39, and rotates the rocker brush 15 around the rotation axis 35. In this state, by operating the operating device 24, the piston rod 21 of the cylinder device 20 expands and contracts, and in conjunction with this, the parallel link mechanism 17 is rotated in the horizontal direction. At this time, even if the parallel link mechanism 17 rotates, the holding arm 16 moves while always maintaining the same mounting posture. As a result, the rocker brush 15 is moved closer from the separated state, and is brought into contact with the lower side surface of the vehicle body for cleaning. When the rocker brush 15 faces the wheel 41, that is, when the front wheel position or the rear wheel position is detected by the tire position detection unit 63, the rocking device 30 is operated, and the horizontal shaft 27 is moved through the transmission device. At a set angle in the direction. As a result, the rocker brush 15 is swung in one direction around the left-right axis 26 via the swing arm 31. As a result, as shown in FIG. Will move in one direction,
Many of the portions 48a of FIG. 9 will be subject to regular cleaning. Further, the rocking device 30 is operated in the opposite direction to the above, and rocks the rocker brush 15 in the other direction. As a result, FIG.
As shown in (1), the portion 48a where cleaning is insufficient is moved in the other direction, so that all of the portion 48a in FIG. 9 receives regular cleaning. Then rocker brush
15 is returned to the normal posture as shown in FIG.

As described above, while the car washer body 1 is running, the lower side surface of the vehicle 40 is cleaned with the rocker brush 15 while the rocker brush
Washing can be performed while oscillating 15, and strong washing power can be exerted when wheels 41 are very dirty.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the shape of the vehicle to be washed is detected from the vehicle height signal of the sonic sensor.
The front wheel position and the rear wheel position of the vehicle are detected from the detected shape of the vehicle, and the brush of the lower side cleaning brush device is swung at the front wheel position and the rear wheel position, so that the rotation of the brush on the wheel is performed. Insufficient cleaning occurring on the directional side can be displaced around the vertical axis, so that
The wheels can be sufficiently washed. From the above, the car washing efficiency of the car washing machine is improved as compared with the conventional one, and sufficient car washing can be performed in a short time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a car washer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a rocker brush device of the car washer.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of vehicle height detection by a sonic sensor of the car washer.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a vehicle type discriminating method by the control device of the car washer.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of the car washer.

FIG. 6 is a main block diagram of a control device of the car washer.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a vehicle body position detection unit of the control device for the car washer.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a tire position detection unit of the control device for the car washer.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing an operation state of a rocker brush when the wheels of the car washer are washed.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing an operation state of a rocker brush during wheel washing of the car washer.

FIG. 11 is a schematic side view showing an operation state of a rocker brush during wheel washing of the car washer.

FIG. 12 is a schematic side view showing an operation state of a rocker brush of a conventional car washer during wheel washing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car wash machine body 15 Rocker brush 16 Holding arm 17 Parallel link mechanism 18 Support arm 19 Tie rod 20 Cylinder device 24 Actuator 26 Left-right axis 27 Horizontal axis 30 Swinging device 31 Swing arm 35 Rotation axis 36 Rotation axis 39 Rotation Device 40 Vehicle 41 Wheel 42 Wheel cap 43 Rim 46 Sonic sensor 51 Control unit 53 Travel drive unit 63 Tire position detection unit 64 Body position detection unit

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A lower side surface having a brush that is rotatable around a vertical axis in a car washer body, and configured such that the brush is freely movable toward and away from a vehicle to be washed and swingable along a vertical plane. A washing brush device, a sonic sensor for detecting a height of the vehicle, and a front wheel position and a rear wheel position of the vehicle are detected from a shape of the vehicle detected by a vehicle height signal of the sonic sensor. A car washing machine comprising a control device for swinging a brush of the lower side cleaning brush device at a position and a rear wheel position.