JP3850412B2 - Gate-type car wash machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gate-type car wash machine that is equipped with a brush device and a blower nozzle in a car wash device body that travels across an automobile to automatically wash the automobile and dry the vehicle body after washing.

  Conventionally, a car wash machine described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 49-110159 (hereinafter referred to as a conventional example) is known as this type of device. That is, a cleaning unit that performs cleaning with a brush and water is provided on the front side of a portal frame that travels across an automobile, and a drying unit that performs drying with a blower nozzle is provided on the rear side of the portal frame. An air curtain that ejects pressurized air is formed between them, and cleaning and drying can be performed simultaneously before and after the air curtain.

  By the way, in the air curtain as used in the above conventional example, it is easily affected by the air blown from the blower nozzle of the drying unit, and the air flow of the air curtain is disturbed and does not function sufficiently, so it is necessary to install it away from the blower nozzle. There was a problem that the size of the device was forced to increase. Moreover, since most of this type of car wash machine is installed outdoors, it will be affected not only by the blower nozzle but also by the wind, and the air curtain and screen will not function at all on a strong wind day. There is a problem that water is scattered and the drying performance is remarkably deteriorated, and water is discharged in the washing section and the hair of the brush is deformed to cause unwashed residue.

In addition, in the case of the conventional air curtain, the cleaning water splashing from the horizontal upper surface brush acting on the upper surface of the vehicle body is comparatively effective, but the cleaning water splashing from the long side brush is cut off. As a result of experiments, it has been found that there is almost no effect. In particular, when washing or drying the vehicle body, it is customary to treat the vehicle body upper surface and then the vehicle body side surface. In this case, the side brush is positioned closer to the drying section, and cleaning and drying are performed simultaneously. If it is attempted to be carried out in progress, there is a problem that the washing water scattered from the side brush is brought to the drying section and the drying performance is remarkably deteriorated.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 49-110159

  An object of the present invention is to provide a shield between the cleaning unit and the drying unit to block the influence of air blown from the blower nozzle and other winds, and it is sufficient to execute cleaning and drying simultaneously. It is in the point of providing a car wash machine that can demonstrate washing performance and drying performance.

The present invention relates to a car wash apparatus body that travels across an automobile, a gate-type car wash machine that includes a brush device and a blower nozzle and automatically performs washing of the automobile and drying of the vehicle body after washing. An upper surface brush device for brushing the upper surface of the vehicle body on the front side, a side brush device for brushing the front and rear surfaces and the side surface of the vehicle body on the rear side, and a blower nozzle on the rear side, and between the side brush and the blower nozzle, A shutter body for blocking the space is provided so as to be able to move up and down. The shutter body has a width that is wider than the position where the side brush device is provided, and is supported by a pair of left and right rails provided on the inner surface of the car wash machine. Rutotomoni, and lift alone vehicle body and without contact with the vehicle body detecting means on the lower end sides, with the at least wash apparatus main body to outbound forward before As it characterized in that a viable speed car wash carried out on the fly and vehicle drying by the brushing cleaning by brush device Burowanozuru, in which attempted to solve the above problems.

As a result, the shielding body is moved up and down between the cleaning unit and the drying unit to physically block the two, so that cleaning water or the like is not scattered from the cleaning unit to the drying unit, and air is blown from the drying unit. Is not blown into the cleaning section and does not adversely affect cleaning, so cleaning and drying can be performed simultaneously before and after the shield, enabling quick car washing, and separating the cleaning section from the drying section. Therefore, the apparatus can be downsized. At the same time, it is possible to block the external wind blown into the car wash machine by the shield, and it does not adversely affect the functions of cleaning and drying. Even when a side brush is placed near the drying section of the cleaning section, the width of the shutter body is wider than the position of the side brush. Therefore, a sufficient drying effect can be obtained even if drying is performed simultaneously with cleaning. Furthermore, since the shutter body is provided with vehicle body detection means on both sides of the lower end, the shutter body can be moved up and down along the upper surface of the car alone, and this shutter body is supported by a pair of left and right rails on the inner surface of the car wash machine. Therefore, since the left and right end portions of the shutter body do not flutter, the cleaning portion and the drying portion can be reliably separated.

Hereinafter, the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view of the embodiment, FIG. 2 is an explanatory side view of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory front view of the same. .

  Reference numeral 1 denotes a car wash apparatus body which is formed in a gate shape and reciprocates on the rails 2 and 2 so as to straddle the automobile A. As shown in FIG. 1A, the main body 1 stops at the rear end of the traveling range normally given by the rails 2 and 2, and starts washing the car from this position. The main body 1 is provided with brush devices 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, blower nozzles 6, 7, and watering nozzles 19 a to 19 c, a liquid agent tank (not shown), and the like. A cleaning operation of spraying wax or the like and a drying operation of blowing air from a blower nozzle are performed. Here, the automobile A enters from the front of the travel range of the main body 1 given by the rails 2 and 2 as shown by the arrows in FIG. 1A, and the car wash is completed as shown in FIG. 1B. The route is set so as to leave the traveling range backward.

  The brush device is located on the front side of the main body 1 and moves up and down along the upper surface of the vehicle body and brushes the upper surface, and the brush device is positioned below the upper surface brush device 3 and moves toward and away from the vehicle body. A pair of left and right rocker brush devices 4 and 4 that mainly brush the lower side of the vehicle body, and the front and rear surfaces of the vehicle body that are located behind the upper surface brush device 3 and the rocker brush devices 4 and 4 and that move toward and away from the vehicle body. And a pair of left and right side brush devices 5 and 5 for brushing the side surfaces. The brush devices 3, 4, 4, 5, and 5, together with the watering nozzles 19 a to 19 c, are located on the front side of the main body 1 with respect to the blower nozzles 6, 7, and 7 to form a cleaning unit S.

  The blower nozzle is located behind each brush device 3, 4, 4, 5, 5. The upper blower nozzle 6 moves up and down along the upper surface of the vehicle body and blows air on the upper surface to dry the upper blower nozzle 6. Further, it is composed of a pair of left and right side blower nozzles 7 and 7 that are positioned behind the main body 1 and blown air to the side of the vehicle body to dry. A drying section D is formed on the rear side of the main body 1. Reference numeral 22 denotes an operation box provided at a height that can be operated from the driver's seat of the vehicle just before entering the travel range of the main body 1 given by the rails 2 and 2, and accepts operations such as charge input and selection input of car wash contents.

  The rails 2 and 2 are attached to a groove C where the car wash device installation surface is recessed, and are provided so that the automobile can freely pass on the rail without protruding from the installation surface. The groove portion C communicates with a drain pit P disposed in the center between the rails 2 and 2 and is formed so as to collect cleaning water scattered mainly to the outside of the rails 2 and 2 and lead it to the drain port D. It also functions as a drain.

  Reference numeral 8 denotes a shutter body that is positioned behind the cleaning section S of the main body 1 and in front of the drying section D so as to block water scattered from the brush device and the watering nozzle from reaching the drying section D having the blower nozzle. Hereinafter, the configuration of the shutter body 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of the shutter portion of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the shutter portion as viewed from the rear of the main body 1, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the ascending / descending end portion of the shutter body.

  The shutter body 8 has chains 9 and 9 fixed integrally on both side edges thereof. The chain 9 and 9 are meshed with the sprockets 10, 10, 11 and 11 above the main body 1 to connect the sprockets 10 and 10. The shaft 12 is moved up and down by being rotationally driven by a gear motor 13. Here, the shaft 12 is fed downward by forward rotation and is fed upward by reverse rotation.

  The shutter body 8 has a known structure in which long and narrow steel plates arranged side by side are connected to each other in the vertical direction. The shutter body 8 has at least the same rigidity as that of a known steel plate shutter and does not bend against air blown from a blower nozzle or strong winds during stormy weather. Before and after meshing with the sprockets 10 and 10, they are guided by a substantially U-shaped rail 14 that holds both side edges (chains 9 and 9) of the shutter body 8, and along the rail 14 as the gear motor 13 is driven. Slide. Between the sprockets 10, 10 and 11, 11, the shutter body 8 is disposed substantially horizontally above the water spray nozzle 19 c on the cleaning section S side and extends longer than the shutter body 8. Is slid downward from the sprockets 11 and 11 to slide in a reverse U-shaped path so as to straddle the watering nozzle 19c. Weights 18 and 18 are attached to the lower ends of the hanging chains 9 and 9, and the shutter body 8 is stretched so as not to loosen behind the sprockets 10 and 10.

  A window 15 made of a transparent material such as acrylic is provided at the lower end of the shutter body 8. The window portion 15 is provided with a height dimension that does not reach the position of the sprockets 10 and 10 when the shutter body 8 is at the upper limit position. The window portion 15 is pivotally supported by the chains on both sides and is provided so as to be swingable toward the drying portion D. As shown in FIG. 6, the window portion 15 swings even if it contacts the cleaned vehicle body. Escape, damage to the vehicle body and shutter body can be prevented. Further, the window portion 15 is restricted from swinging to the cleaning portion S side at the projection portion 16 so that the window portion 15 is not swung to the cleaning portion S side by air blown from the blower nozzle so as not to disturb the cleaning operation.

  Sensor boxes 17 and 17 are attached to both sides further below the window 15 at the lower end of the shutter body 8 so as to face each other. In the sensor boxes 17 and 17, two pairs of photoelectric switches 24 and 24 are provided in front of and behind the shutter body 8. One sensor box contains the light-emitting unit of the photoelectric switches 24 and 24, and the other sensor box contains the same light-receiving unit. When an optical signal transmitted between the light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit is blocked by the automobile, It outputs a detection signal and is used as a vehicle body detection means and is used to raise and lower the shutter body 8 along the shape of the upper surface of the vehicle body without contacting the vehicle body.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control system of the embodiment, in which 20 is a control unit provided with a microcomputer, and 21 is a drive circuit of each unit. The control unit 20 receives the car wash in the operation box 22, and runs the car wash device main body 1 according to a sequence programmed in advance based on signals from the photoelectric switches 24 and 24 and other various sensors (not shown). The operation of 4, 4, 5 and 5 and the blower nozzles 6, 7 and 7, the water discharge from the watering nozzles 19a to 19c, the raising and lowering of the shutter body 8 and the like are controlled via the drive circuit 21.

  FIG. 8 is a time chart for explaining an example of a car wash operation according to the embodiment. Here, a speed car wash that completes washing and drying only by the main body 1 traveling once is illustrated. In addition to this, a plurality of car washing operations are possible such that the main body 1 is sufficiently brushed with one reciprocating travel, and the waxing and the drying process are simultaneously performed during the subsequent travel. The operation of the embodiment will be described below with reference to this figure.

  The car wash apparatus main body 1 is normally stopped at the car wash start position behind the rails 2 and 2. When a car wash user inputs a car wash fee in the operation box 22 and selects a desired car wash menu, an entry guide light (not shown) is turned on to enter the entrance enabled state. Here, when the user enters a car between the rails 2 and 2 and the car is stopped at a predetermined car wash position, a car wash operation is started. In addition, the user during the car wash waits in the car.

  When the car wash is started, the apparatus main body 1 is moved forward, and first, the washing water is discharged from the watering nozzle 19a and the detergent water is discharged from the watering nozzle 19b, and the upper surface brush 3 is driven to lower the rocker brushes 4 and 4. Is driven and pressed against the lower part of the side surface of the vehicle body, and brushing cleaning of the upper surface of the vehicle body and the lower part of the side surface is started. Further, the gear motor 13 is driven, and the shutter body 8 wound up to the upper standby position is lowered to the lower limit position to prevent scattering of cleaning water or the like accompanying the started cleaning operation.

  Subsequently, the side brushes 5 and 5 are driven to close toward the center of the main body 1. When the front end of the automobile touches the closed side brushes 5 and 5, this is detected by known detection means. The traveling of the apparatus main body 1 is temporarily stopped, and the side brushes 5 and 5 are opened along with the discharge of the washing water from the watering nozzle 19c to perform the brushing washing of the front surface of the vehicle body. Before and after this, a blower (not shown) is driven to start blowing air from the blower nozzles 6, 7, 7. When the side brushes 5 and 5 are opened and the cleaning of the front surface of the vehicle body is completed, the forward movement of the apparatus body 1 is resumed and the brushing cleaning of the upper surface and the lower side of the vehicle body is continued and the side brushes 5 and 5 are pressed against the side surface of the vehicle body. Brush the side. As the running resumes, the vehicle body sequentially reaches the drying section D to remove moisture from the vehicle body surface. Here, the shutter body 8 moves up and down along the shape of the vehicle body and blocks the washing water from being scattered from the washing section S to the drying section D.

  The control unit 20 detects the position and length of the vehicle body by detecting the vehicle body position and the distance traveled by known detection means as the apparatus main body 1 travels, and the brushes and the watering nozzles are moved to the vehicle body based on the detected data. The timing of deviating from the rear end is estimated, and the operation is sequentially stopped. Further, the shutter body 8 is lowered until the driving of all the brushes and the water discharge from the watering nozzle are stopped, and the space above the vehicle body is blocked by the shutter.

  In the drying section D, the upper blower nozzle 6 moves up and down along the upper surface of the vehicle body and operates so that the side blower nozzles 7 and 7 appear and disappear along the side surface of the vehicle body. The driving of the blower nozzle is also controlled based on the detection data, and the operation is stopped when the blower nozzle reaches the rear end position of the vehicle body. Further, when the shutter body 8 stops driving all the brushes and water is discharged from the watering nozzles and confirms that the rear end of the vehicle body has passed the position of the shutter body 8 based on the detection data, the shutter body 8 moves to the upper standby position. Rolled up.

  Thus, when the speed car wash that the main body 1 travels only once is completed, the control unit 20 turns on an exit guide light (not shown) to prompt the car to leave, and in response, the car exits. When detected by a vehicle body detector (not shown), the apparatus main body 1 is moved backward to the car wash start position. The car wash in FIG. 8 is executed as described above, and the brushing washing and the drying process are simultaneously performed along the way, and the car washing that has been performed one reciprocation by the conventional gate type car wash machine is performed once in half. Can only be completed on the way out.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various embodiments can be considered without departing from the description of the claims. In the embodiment, the cleaning unit S is formed on the front side of the apparatus main body 1 and the drying unit D is formed on the rear side. However, after the drying unit is provided on the front side as in the case of a widely used gate-type car wash machine. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus in which a washing section is provided near the vehicle and a car washing operation is performed by reciprocating the main body. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to a car wash machine in which an automobile is run in the apparatus main body and is washed. Further, although the cleaning unit S of the embodiment performs brushing cleaning, it is apparent that the cleaning unit S can be applied to a brushless car washer that does not have a brush and performs cleaning with high-pressure spray.

It is a plane explanatory view of an example. It is side explanatory drawing of an Example. It is front explanatory drawing of an Example. It is side surface explanatory drawing of an Example principal part. It is back explanatory drawing of the Example principal part. It is explanatory drawing of the Example principal part. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of an Example. It is a time chart explaining operation | movement of an Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car wash apparatus main body 3,4,4,5,5 Brush 6,7,7 Blower nozzle 8 Shutter body 9,9 Chain 10,10 Sprocket 11,11 Sprocket 13 Gear motor 17,17 Sensor box 20 Control unit 21 Drive circuit 22 Operation box

Claims (1)

In the car wash machine body that travels across the automobile, the gate type car wash machine equipped with the brush device and blower nozzle to automatically wash the car and dry the car body after washing,
The car wash device main body is provided with an upper surface brush device for brushing the upper surface of the vehicle body on the front side, a side brush device for brushing the front and rear surfaces and side surfaces of the vehicle body on the rear side, and a blower nozzle on the rear side. A shutter body that cuts off the space above the vehicle body is provided so as to be movable up and down. The shutter body has a width that is wider than the position where the side brush device is provided, and a pair of left and right rails provided on the inner surface of the car wash machine. It is supported and moved up and down, and is provided with a vehicle body detection means on both sides of the lower end portion, and is lifted and lowered independently without contacting the vehicle body. At least as the car washing device main body travels forward, brushing washing by the brush device and by the blower nozzle A gate-type car wash machine that is capable of performing a speed car wash that simultaneously performs body drying.

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