JP2773567B2 - 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 for self-propelled car washing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A method of cleaning the upper surface of a vehicle in a conventional car washing machine of this type will be described. In order to clean the upper surface of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 7, a gate-shaped car wash machine body 1 that reciprocates back and forth across the vehicle, a brush 3 rotating at one end of an arm 2, and a balance at the other end. A weight 4 is attached, and a brush 3 is moved up and down around the rotation fulcrum A of the arm 2 to dispose an upper surface cleaning brush 6 for washing the upper surface of the vehicle 5 with the brush 3. The main body of the car washer 1 is self-propelled in the forward direction F while rotating the brush 2, and the brush 3 is controlled up and down by rotating the arm 2 so that the brush 3 is appropriately brought into contact with the upper surface of the vehicle 5 to clean the upper surface of the vehicle 5. ing. 7, reference numeral 7 denotes a weight 4 of the arm 2.
And a rotation motor of the brush 3 attached between the rotation fulcrum A and the rotation force of the motor 7 is transmitted to the brush 3 via a chain 8 stretched between the brush 3 and a sprocket 3A fixed to the shaft of the brush 3. Is transmitted.

An upper surface cleaning brush 6 is provided so that the upper surface of the vehicle 5 can be optimally cleaned according to the shape of the upper surface (cleaning surface) of the vehicle 5.
Is controlled by the weight of the brush 3 and the brush 3
Or a method of controlling the angle of the arm 2 by detecting a change in the angle of the arm 2 with a sensor.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 9 denotes a sonic sensor which is mounted on the front upper portion of the car washer body 1 and serves as a vehicle height detecting means for detecting the vehicle height of the vehicle 5.

[0005]

However, in the above-described conventional method of cleaning the upper surface of a vehicle, the ceiling 5C of the vehicle 5 shown in FIG.
In the new wagon type vehicle 5 'in which the ceiling is raised and the space for the loaded luggage is increased by further providing a stepped portion 5C', the rotation fulcrum A of the arm 2 must be lower than the stepped portion 5C '. As a result, the brush 3 is caught by the step, and the vehicle body of the vehicle 5 'and the brush 3 are damaged.

[0006] The present invention is to solve the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new wagon type car washing machine capable of washing the upper surface.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a car washer according to the present invention comprises a gate-type car washer which reciprocates back and forth across a vehicle and uses a rotating brush to wash the upper surface of the vehicle. An upper surface cleaning brush that can be moved up and down, and a vehicle height detecting unit that is located a predetermined distance ahead of the upper surface cleaning brush and detects the vehicle height of the vehicle before the upper surface cleaning brush, and moves the car washer body forward. While cleaning the upper surface of the vehicle with the upper surface cleaning brush, a vehicle height signal is input from the vehicle height detecting means to detect a ceiling of the vehicle, and a step higher than the ceiling at the ceiling is detected. And a control means for forcibly raising the upper surface cleaning brush at the step.

[0008]

According to the above construction, when a step is detected at the ceiling of the vehicle, the upper surface cleaning brush is forcibly raised at the step, so that the upper surface cleaning brush does not get caught on the step, and the vehicle body and the brush of the vehicle are prevented from being caught. Damage is prevented.

[0009]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same components as those of the conventional example shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control system of a car washer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a torque detecting device for detecting a torque based on a current of a rotation motor 7 of the brush 3, and detects a repulsion balance between the own weight of the brush 3 and the cleaning surface of the vehicle 5 due to the rotation of the brush 3. The torque detection signal d is input to the control device 12.
Further, a vehicle height detection signal c including the vehicle height value h of the sonic sensor 9 is also input to the control device 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lifting drive system of the upper surface cleaning brush 6 supplies and discharges oil from the first and second oil tanks 13 and 14 to the cylinder 15 to raise and lower the upper surface cleaning brush 6. When raising the upper surface cleaning brush 6, the changeover switch (solenoid A) 16 and the changeover switch (solenoid B) 17 are both turned off, and the first oil tank is supplied from the compressor 18 through the silencer 19.
Supply air to the cylinder 13 and pressurize and extrude the oil in the first oil tank 13 to supply the oil to the cylinder 15. Turn on the changeover switch 16 to lock up / down and set the changeover switch 16 to lower it. The air in the first oil tank 13 is discharged from the exhaust nozzle 22 through the check valve 20 and the silencer 21 by turning off the changeover switch 17 and turning on the first switch.
The oil is returned to the oil tank 13. Reference numeral 23 denotes a check valve provided for sucking outside air and lightening the movement of the cylinder 15 when a force to push the upper surface cleaning brush 6 upwards works when the changeover switch 16 is turned on to lock the elevation. It is.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 12 includes an input / output unit 31, a control unit 32, and a storage unit 33. The control unit 12 controls an operation signal from an operation surface 34 to control the upper surface cleaning brush 6. a, the vehicle height detection signal c and the torque detection signal d are inputted, and a control signal e comprising an ascending / elevating lock or descending command and a motor rotating / stopping command, that is, a changeover switch 16 , 17, a compressor 18 drive signal, and a motor 7 drive signal. Reference numeral 35 denotes a power supply of the control device 12.

A method of detecting a predetermined position of a new wagon-type vehicle 5 'in which a step 5C' is further provided on the ceiling 5C to increase the ceiling and increase the space for loaded luggage will be described with reference to FIG.

The vehicle height detection signal c of the vehicle 5 'from the sonic sensor 9 becomes zero because sound reflection is oblique at the front window 5B of the vehicle 5' and the vehicle height cannot be detected. Therefore, abruptly becomes zero from vehicle height value h ₁ of the vehicle height detection signal c bonnet portion 5A from the phenomenon, the vehicle height detection signal c is restored, vehicle height h ₂ at this time bonnet portion 5A
When the vehicle height value h _{1 is} larger than the vehicle height value h ₁ , the front end of the ceiling 5C of the vehicle 5 ′ (this point is defined as point P) can be detected, and then the vehicle height value h 1
Becomes zero, the rear end of the vehicle 5 '(this point is designated as point R) can be detected. In FIG. 3, a step portion of the ceiling 5C is shown.
The front end of 5C 'is the Q point.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling the upper surface cleaning brush 6 by the controller 32 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The input / output to the control unit 32 is performed by the input / output unit 31.
The operation signal a for performing the cleaning of the vehicle 5 ′ at the time of forward movement by the upper surface cleaning brush 6 is output from the operation surface 34, and the points P and R are detected by the above method. And As shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal distance q between the axis of the sonic sensor 9 and the brush 3 of the upper surface cleaning brush 6 is q ₁ when the brush 3 is at the height of the ceiling 5C of the vehicle 5 ′, and the step height is when in the height of the part 5C 'and q _2.

First, it is confirmed whether or not the car washer body 1 is traveling in the forward direction F (step-1). If it is not traveling in the forward direction F, parameters and flags described later are initialized (step-2). ), and ends, when the previous traveling direction F, or control end flag F _R of the upper surface washing brush 6 is set (F _R = 1 or) confirm (step -3),
If not set, the running time S is counted (S =
S + T _S) (step -4). Next, it is checked whether the P point detection control end flag _FP is set ( _FP = 1) (Step-5).
It is confirmed whether or not a point has been detected (step-6). If the point P has not been detected, immediately after the start of traveling (traveling time S <time S ₁ ).
(Step-7), immediately after the start of driving,
A drive signal is output to the compressor 18 (step-8),
A drive signal is output to the motor 7 (step-9), and then a lowering operation of turning off the changeover switch 16 and turning on the changeover switch 17 is performed so as to lower the upper surface cleaning brush 6 to the lowest position (step-10). . Then, after the time S _1, performs lifting or maintain constant torque by the torque detection signal d (step -11). That is,
When the torque decreases, a lowering operation is performed to press the brush 3 against the cleaning surface of the vehicle 5 '(step-10). If the torque is within a certain range, a holding operation of turning on the changeover switch 16 is performed (step-10). -12) When the torque increases, the ascending operation of turning off both the changeover switches 16 and 17 is performed so as to separate the brush 3 from the cleaning surface of the vehicle 5 '(step -13).

[0017] In step -6, the point P is detected, P point detection flag F _X is or has been set (F _X
= 1), or to confirm (if step -14), has not been set, sets the flag F _X out P inspection (F _X = 1) (step -15), the car the vehicle height h of the status quo at this time stored as high h ₁ (h ₁ = h) (step -16), the flow returns to step -7. In step 14, it is confirmed that the P-point detection flag F _X is set, step Q
Whether the point detection flag F _Q is set (F _Q = 1)
Check (Step 17), if not set,
Deviation of vehicle height h ₁ is the data of vehicle height h and the previous current state Check greater than a predetermined vehicle height H, i.e. to see if there are more steps vehicle height H (step -1
8) If there is no step, return to step-16. When there is a step, and stores the travel time S as the time S _Q (S _Q = S)
(Step-19), the step Q point detection flag _FQ is set ( _FQ = 1) (step-20). In step -17, or step Q point detection flag F _Q that is present set is confirmed, or when step -20 is completed, the horizontal distance q ₁ is wash machine body 1 travels in the travel time S time S _Q It is checked whether the time obtained by adding the time (q ₁ / V; V is the running speed) is exceeded (whether S> S _Q + q ₁ / V) (step-
21) After confirming, the traveling time S is further reduced to a predetermined time S ₂
(S> S _Q + q ₁ / V + S ₂ ) is confirmed (step-22). If not confirmed, the changeover switch 16,
Perform a climbing operation that turns off both 17 (Step-2
3) When confirmed, perform a lowering operation of turning off the changeover switch 16 and turning on the changeover switch 17 (step -24),
The P point detection control end flag _FP is set ( _FP = 1) (step-25), and the process ends.

Further, steps-10, 12, and
When 13 is completed, it is checked whether the R point is detected (step-26). When the R point is detected, it is checked whether the R point detection flag _FZ is set ( _FZ = 1) ( step -27), if not set, and stores the travel time S at this time as a time S _R (S _R = S) (step-2
8), sets the flag F _Z out R Inspection (F _Z = 1) (step -29). In step -27, when it is confirmed that R-point detection flag F _Z is set, the running time S time S _R to the horizontal distance q ₂ time car washing machine body 1 travels (q ₂ / V; (V> running speed) is exceeded (S> S _R + q ₂ / V) (Step -30), and when it is confirmed, the brush 3 is switched so as to be separated from the cleaning surface of the vehicle 5 ′. performs rising operation that turns off both the switches 16 and 17 (step -31), sets the control completion flag F _R of the upper surface washing brush 6 (F _R = 1) (step -32).

If the control end flag F _R of the upper surface cleaning brush 6 is set (F _R = 1) in Step-3, a holding operation of turning on the changeover switch 16 is performed (Step-33). A stop signal is output to the compressor 18 (step-34), a stop signal is output to the motor 7 (step-35), and the process ends.

With the above configuration, when the car wash machine main body 1 starts moving forward, the upper surface cleaning brush 6 is lowered while rotating the brush 3 (steps -8 to 10), and is controlled to move up and down according to the torque detected thereafter (step -8). -10～13), also point P is detected, the detected level difference Q points, the distance q ₁ travels,
That is, the brush 3 reaches the step point Q, forcibly raised (step -17～23), contacting the brush 3 on the step portion 5C 'lowered with time S ₂ (step -24)
Be vertically controlled in accordance with the torque detected thereafter (step -10～13), followed by R point is detected, the distance q ₂ travels, i.e. the brush 3 reaches the rear end of the vehicle 5 ', the upper surface washing brush 6 is raised, and the rotation of the brush 3 is stopped (steps -26 to 35).

As described above, the brush 3 is raised at the step Q point of the vehicle 5 ', and is again lowered and brought into contact with the step 5C' to prevent the brush 3 from being caught at the step Q point. Therefore, the vehicle body of the vehicle 5 'and the brush 3 can be prevented from being damaged, and the stepped portion 5C' can be cleaned as usual.

In this embodiment, the sonic sensor 9 is used as the vehicle height detecting means. However, the sonic sensor 9 is detected by a plurality of photoelectric switches installed opposite to each other with the vehicle 5 'interposed therebetween at predetermined height intervals. It is also possible. The horizontal distance q between the axis of the sonic sensor 9 and the brush 3 of the upper surface cleaning brush 6 is fixed at q ₁ and q _{2 at} the ceiling 5C and the step 5C ′ of the vehicle 5 ′. Since the length of the arm 2 between the rotation fulcrum A and the brush 3 is known in advance, the horizontal distance between the axis of the sonic sensor 9 and the axis of the brush 3 of the upper surface cleaning brush 6 is detected by detecting the inclination of the arm 2. And brush P point, Q point and R point
Can be accurately detected when the vehicle passes.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a step is detected at the ceiling of a vehicle, the upper surface cleaning brush is forcibly raised at the step to prevent the upper surface cleaning brush from being caught on the step. Therefore, damage to the vehicle body and the brush can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control system of a car washer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a drive system of an upper cleaning brush of the car washer.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining control of an upper cleaning brush of the car washer, and a characteristic diagram of a sonic sensor.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an upper cleaning brush control by the control device of the car washer.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of control of an upper cleaning brush by the control device of the car washer.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an upper cleaning brush control by the control device of the car washer.

FIG. 7 is a trajectory diagram of an upper cleaning brush at the time of cleaning a conventional car.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between an upper cleaning brush and a step when cleaning a conventional new wagon type vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car wash machine main body 3 Brush 5 Vehicle 6 Upper surface cleaning brush 7 Brush rotation motor 9 Sonic sensor (vehicle height detecting means) 11 Torque detecting device 12 Control device

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A gate-type car washing machine main body reciprocating back and forth across a vehicle, an upper surface cleaning brush capable of lifting and lowering an upper surface of the vehicle with a rotating brush, and a predetermined distance ahead of the upper surface cleaning brush. And vehicle height detecting means for detecting the vehicle height of the vehicle prior to the upper surface cleaning brush, when the upper surface cleaning brush to clean the upper surface of the vehicle while moving the car wash machine body forward, Control means for inputting a vehicle height signal from the vehicle height detecting means to detect a ceiling of the vehicle, and for detecting a step higher than the ceiling at the ceiling, forcibly raising the upper surface cleaning brush at the step. A car washer characterized by that: