JP4855243B2 - Car body drying apparatus and car washing apparatus equipped with the apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle body drying device that blows off water droplets adhering to a vehicle body by blowing air to dry the vehicle body, and a car wash device including the device.

  As this type of vehicle body drying device, there is known a device that guides high-pressure air from a blower to a blowing nozzle through a duct hose, and relatively moves the nozzle and the automobile while blowing air from the nozzle toward the vehicle body to dry the vehicle body. ing. The blower nozzle in such a device has a shape in which an elongated slit-like blower opening that satisfies a wide width or height direction of the automobile is opened at one corner of a substantially triangular cross section. In such a blower nozzle shape, the wind guided from the blower through the cylindrical duct hose diffuses in the nozzle, thereby losing energy. Therefore, when the wind blown from the blower port is separated from the nozzle to some extent, the momentum is rapidly increased. And the drying power is significantly reduced. For this reason, as a function of bringing the blowing nozzle as close as possible to the vehicle body in order to ensure the drying performance, means for detecting the distance between the vehicle body and the nozzle, means for contacting and separating the nozzle, safety device considering the risk of the nozzle contacting the vehicle body, etc. There is a problem that the equipment is complicated and the cost is increased.

In addition, in the patent document 1, the present applicant forms a cleaning unit with a brush or the like in front of the main body frame, forms a drying unit with a blower nozzle at the rear, and forms a rigid body between the cleaning unit and the drying unit. A car washing device has been proposed in which brushing cleaning by the cleaning unit and blower drying by the drying unit are simultaneously performed while the shutter body is disposed and the main body frame travels one time. When washing and drying are performed at the same time as in this car wash device, although the washing unit and the drying unit are separated by the shutter body, the rigid shutter body cannot be brought into contact with the vehicle body. The water droplets in the cleaning part entered the drying part through the gaps between them, and the drying performance was lowered. And since the air blowing nozzle used in this car washing device also forms a slit-like air blowing port as described above, the energy acting on the vehicle body is weak, and it is not expected to blow off water droplets over a wide range with the Coanda effect. At the same time, since the blowing area is large, there is a problem in that the drying efficiency is not good because the ratio of water droplets floating around the surface of the vehicle body mixed with the blast and reattached to the vehicle body increases.
Japanese Patent No. 3512316

  Accordingly, a first problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a vehicle body drying device that can efficiently apply high-pressure air from a blower to a vehicle body without bringing a blower nozzle close to the vehicle body. .

  A second problem to be solved by the present invention is a car washing device that automatically performs washing and drying, and includes a vehicle body drying device that can improve the drying performance and reduce the residual amount of water droplets. It is to propose a car wash device.

In order to solve such a first problem, the present invention relates to a vehicle body drying device that blows high-pressure air from a blower from a blower nozzle toward a vehicle body to dry the vehicle body. Two or more blowing nozzles that are independent in the vertical direction are arranged on one side of the vehicle body, and the blowing from the blowing nozzle located on the upper side among the blowing nozzles is from the blowing nozzle located on the lower side. It is arranged so as to be directed to act on the automobile prior to the blowing . The shape of the air blowing port of the air blowing nozzle is desirably set within a range surrounded by a rectangle having a short side / long side of 0.2 or more.

  Further, in order to solve the second problem, the present invention provides a blow nozzle of a blow nozzle for drying a car in a car wash apparatus that automatically cleans and drys the car with relative movement between the car and the main body frame. Are formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and a plurality of are provided on one surface of the vehicle body. In addition, in a car wash apparatus of a type in which a cleaning unit and a drying unit are formed in the main body frame, and the cleaning unit and the drying unit are partitioned by a shutter body so that cleaning and drying can be performed simultaneously, In addition to forming the air outlet of the air blowing nozzle in a substantially cylindrical shape, a plurality of air outlets are provided on one surface of the vehicle body.

  Two or more blower nozzles are arranged in the vertical direction with respect to one side surface of the vehicle body, and the blower from the blower nozzle located on the upper side of the blower nozzle precedes the blown air from the blower nozzle located on the lower side. It is arranged to be oriented so as to act on the. Further, there are provided means for detecting the height of the upper surface of the automobile, means for vertically swinging the blower nozzle, and means for displacing the swing position of the blower nozzle in accordance with the height of the upper face of the automobile.

According to the present invention, since the air outlet of the air blowing nozzle is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape, it is possible to act on the vehicle body while maintaining the wind speed from the blower, and it is not necessary to make the air blowing nozzle approach the vehicle body. By providing a plurality of the air blowing nozzles, even if the air diffused due to the Coanda effect is peeled off on the stepped vehicle body surface, the air is diffused throughout the vehicle body to remove water droplets. In addition, since at least one of the plurality of blowing nozzles is blown in the direction opposite to that of the other blowing nozzles, the wind from the blowing nozzles does not interfere with each other when diffused in the vehicle body. The wind can be efficiently applied to the entire vehicle body.

In addition , the wind blown from the cylindrical air outlet diffuses widely along the body surface due to the Coanda effect, so that a wide range of water droplet removal is realized, and the wind blown from the cylindrical air outlet is The amount of water droplets floating around the vehicle body after washing is mixed with the air flow and blown to the vehicle body is small, and the drying efficiency is not lowered. Further, the wind diffused along the vehicle body surface due to the Coanda effect spreads from the gap between the shutter body and the vehicle body to the cleaning section, thereby preventing water droplets from entering. Furthermore, by arranging the air blowing nozzle that blows air to the side of the vehicle body so that the air is blown first from the upper side, when the air spreads while spreading in the vehicle body, it does not hinder the dripping of water drops below the vehicle body, and the efficiency Dry well. In addition, it is possible to diffuse the blast evenly over the entire body surface corresponding to the height of the automobile.

Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a car wash apparatus provided with a vehicle body drying apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a main body frame 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. 1, the main body frame 1 stops at the rear end portion of the traveling range given by the normal rails 2 and 2 and starts car washing from this position. The main body frame 1 is provided with brushing devices 3, 4, 4, blower nozzles 6, 7, 7 as well as watering nozzles (not shown) as various processing devices for performing a car washing process. As the frame 1 travels, cleaning is performed by spraying water, detergent, wax or the like, and drying is performed by blowing air from a blower nozzle.

  The brush device is located on the front side of the main body frame 1 and is moved up and down along the upper surface of the vehicle body to brush the upper surface. The brush device is located behind the upper surface brush device 3 and is in contact with and separated from the vehicle body (opening and closing). It consists of a pair of left and right side brush devices 4 and 4 that operate and brush the front and rear surfaces and side surfaces of the vehicle body. The brush devices 3, 4, and 4, together with the watering nozzles, are located on the front side of the main body frame 1 with respect to the blower nozzles 6, 7, and 7, and form a cleaning portion S.

  The blower nozzle is located behind each brush device 3, 4, 4, and is moved up and down along the upper surface of the vehicle body to blow air on the upper surface to dry the upper blower nozzle 6, and further to the rear of the body 1 from the upper blower nozzle 6. It consists of a pair of left and right side blower nozzles 7, 7 that are positioned and blown air onto 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 8 denotes a shutter body, which is located between the cleaning unit S and the drying unit D and is a cleaning water splash preventing unit that blocks the cleaning water splashed from the cleaning unit S from reaching the drying unit D. The shutter body 8 is provided on the ceiling of the main body 1 between the side brush 4 and the upper blower nozzle 6 and is moved up and down along the upper surface shape of the vehicle body by a known lifting device.

  Reference numeral 9 denotes a travel position detection device that detects the travel position of the main body frame 1, and 10 denotes a vehicle shape detection device that is provided at the front edge of the main body frame 1 on the front side of the brush device. The travel position detection device 9 includes an encoder that outputs a pulse every time the main body 1 travels a unit distance, and detects the travel position of the main body frame 1 by counting the pulse signals. The vehicle shape detection device 10 has a light emitting unit 10a in which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged vertically and a light receiving unit 10b in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged in correspondence with the light emitting unit 10a. Synchronously with the pulse signal, the optical signal (infrared light) is exchanged between the two, thereby detecting the position of the upper surface of the car body to be washed, and in addition to this, each vehicle such as a bonnet, window, roof, trunk, etc. A part, a vehicle type, a position and a type of a projection are detected. 11 is an operation box provided at a height that can be operated from the driver's seat of the car just before entering the main body 1 traveling range (car wash area) given by rails 2 and 2, and operations such as charge input and selection input of car wash contents Accept.

  The main body frame 1 is installed in a space through which the automobile can pass, and the traveling range of the main body frame 1 given by the rails 2 and 2 is used as a car wash area. Then, the vehicle enters the car wash area from the front, and when the car wash is finished, exits to the rear of the car wash area. In other words, the car travels forward and enters, and after the car is washed, it also travels forward and leaves, allowing a car wash device user (driver) to drive-through and wash through the car while driving. .

Next, the configuration of the side blower nozzle 7 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The side blower nozzle 7 includes a substantially cylindrical nozzle body 12, 13 exposed from an opening opened on the inner side surface of the main body frame 1, and a swing plate 14, which swings and swings these nozzle bodies 12, 13 in the vertical direction. 15. The nozzle bodies 12 and 13 are arranged vertically with the height position changed with respect to the inner side surface of the main body frame 1, and communicate with the side surface blower 18 through the duct hoses 16 and 17, respectively. The side blower 18 is provided with a branch body 19 that branches an air passage at the air outlet, and the duct hoses 16 and 17 are connected to distribute air to the nozzle bodies 12 and 13. The conventional slit type nozzle has a length dimension corresponding to the height of the vehicle body, and the air blown from the blower loses momentum by diffusing through the nozzle body, and the wind force is weakened. In this respect, the side blower nozzle 7 of the present invention is characterized in that the air blown from the blower 18 through the branch body 19 is blown out from the nozzle bodies 12 and 13 as it is.

  The shape of the opening of the nozzle bodies 12 and 13, that is, the air blowing port may be circular, but may be an ellipse, a polygon, an approximate circle, or the like. According to the experiment of the present applicant, if the opening shape is set in a range surrounded by a rectangle of short side / long side = 0.2 or more, even if the nozzle and the vehicle body are separated like a light car, Diffusion due to the Coanda effect was obtained on the surface of the vehicle without bringing the nozzle close to the vehicle. Preferably, a circular opening shape circumscribing a rectangle of short side a / long side b = 0.5 to 1.0 as shown in FIG. 5 is effective.

  The nozzle bodies 12 and 13 are attached in a state where the upper nozzle body 12 is inclined toward the traveling direction of the main body frame 1 and the lower nozzle body 13 is inclined toward the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the main body frame 1. Each of them is designed to blow air toward the diagonally forward and diagonally rear side of the vehicle body. This is to prevent the air blown from both nozzle bodies from interfering when the air blown on the vehicle body surface spreads along the vehicle body surface by the Coanda effect. In addition, by blowing air first from the top of the vehicle body, there is an effect that when the blown air diffuses and spreads in the vehicle body, it does not hinder dripping of water droplets below the vehicle body and can be efficiently dried.

  The swing plates 14 and 15 are pivotally supported between support members 20 and 21 fixed to the main body frame 1, and are linked via a link member 22. The link member 22 is driven by the cylinder 23 and swings the nozzle bodies 12 and 13 at a predetermined angle. Here, the two air cylinders 23a and 23b are connected so as to expand and contract in the opposite direction, and in addition to the downward position where both cylinders shown in FIG. 4 are contracted, the upward position where both cylinders are extended, Displacement is performed at four positions, ie, a slightly downward position where only 23a is extended, and a slightly upward position where only cylinder 23b is extended. In this embodiment, a cylinder is used as a means for swinging the nozzle body, and the nozzle body is swung stepwise by a predetermined angle unit. However, the nozzle body is swung steplessly using a motor or the like. Also good. In the present embodiment, the nozzle body is swingable, but the same effect can be obtained even if the nozzle body can be raised and lowered within a predetermined range.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the control system of the first embodiment.
A control unit 30 having a microcomputer receives a car wash in the operation box 11 and selects a car wash menu selected in the operation box 11 based on signals from various sensors including the travel position detection device 9 and the vehicle shape detection device 10. The movement of the main body frame 1, the operation of the brush devices 3, 4, 4 and the blower nozzles 6, 7, 7, the water discharge from the watering nozzle, and the elevation of the shutter body 8 are controlled via the drive circuit 31.

  In the operation box 11, a speed car wash (0.5 reciprocating car wash) that completes cleaning and drying only by the main body frame 1 traveling forward once, and a second time after the main body frame 1 performs a reciprocating cleaning operation. A normal car wash (1.5 reciprocating car wash) that dries when the car goes out, and a wax car wash (1.5 reciprocating car wash) that the body frame 1 reciprocates once and performs a washing operation and wax application, and a drying operation during the second go. ) Can be selected. In addition to this, it is possible to incorporate a treatment such as a coating treatment and a water scale treatment so that the traveling of the main body frame 1 is reciprocated 2.5 times or 3.5 times to perform a car wash operation with higher added value.

Now, an example of the car wash operation of the car wash apparatus according to the first embodiment configured as described above will be described below. FIG. 7 illustrates the operation of the speed car wash described above.
After a car wash user enters a car wash fee in the operation box 11 and selects a desired car wash menu, the main body frame 1 starts going when the car is put into a predetermined car wash position. As the vehicle travels, the top position of the vehicle is extracted by the vehicle shape detection device 10 while the travel position detection device 9 detects the travel position of the main body frame 1 to recognize the top shape of the vehicle.

  In the cleaning section S, first, the upper surface brush 3 is driven along the shape of the upper surface of the automobile to perform brushing cleaning of the upper surface of the vehicle body while discharging the cleaning water and the detergent water from the watering nozzle. Subsequently, the side brushes 4 and 4 are closed toward the center of the main body frame 1, and from the closed state, the front brushes are applied to the front end of the vehicle to perform brushing cleaning on the front surface of the vehicle body. Brush the side. At this time, after the shutter body 8 is lowered to the lower limit position, the shutter body 8 is moved up and down along the upper surface position of the automobile to shield the scattering of cleaning water accompanying the cleaning operation from reaching the drying section D.

  When the front end of the vehicle enters the drying unit D from the cleaning unit S as the main body frame 1 travels, the blower nozzles 6, 7, and 7 start to blow air and sequentially perform drying from the front end of the vehicle. In the cleaning section S, the top and side surfaces of the automobile are continuously subjected to brushing cleaning with discharge of cleaning water, and the cleaning and drying are performed in the main body frame 1 at the same time.

  In the drying section D, the upper surface blower nozzle 6 moves up and down following the shape of the upper surface of the vehicle, blows air to the upper surface of the vehicle as close as possible to the vehicle body, and the side blower nozzle 7 The swing position is displaced to blow air to the vehicle body, and water droplets remaining on the cleaned vehicle body are blown away. Here, the drying action by the side blower nozzle 7 which is a characteristic configuration of the present invention will be described.

  The air blown from the nozzle bodies 12 and 13 is blown toward the vehicle body with almost no loss of the air generated by the blower 18. The air blown vigorously diffuses along the surface of the vehicle body due to the Coanda effect, and exhibits the drying power of removing water droplets over a wide area. At this time, since the upper nozzle body 12 is directed in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the main body frame 1, the wind blown from the nozzle body 12 acts on the upper part of the side surface of the automobile in advance and becomes elliptical. It diffuses and blows away water droplets. Further, since the lower nozzle body 13 is oriented in the traveling direction of the main body frame 1, the wind blown from the nozzle body 13 is delayed from the upper nozzle body 12 and acts on the lower part of the side surface of the vehicle body to become elliptical. It diffuses and blows away water droplets.

  Thereby, the part which mutual ventilation interferes decreases, and a water droplet does not remain in a streak form in an interference part (Drawing 8). In addition, the dripping of the water droplets from the upper part of the side surface is not hindered, the water droplets can be removed smoothly, and the wind-up from the lower nozzle body 13 can be prevented. In addition, the air blown from the nozzle bodies 12 and 13 is diffused also to the cleaning unit S side, works on the surface of the brushes 4 and 4 to change the direction of splashing of water droplets from the brushes, and suppresses the intrusion into the drying unit D. Effect is also produced (FIG. 9). Furthermore, since the blowout area from the nozzle bodies 12 and 13 is smaller than that of the conventional slit-like nozzle, water droplets floating between the nozzle and the vehicle body are mixed with the wind and attached to the vehicle surface. It is.

  When the automobile is removed from the cleaning section S, the upper surface brush 3 and the side brushes 4a and 4b are returned to the fixed positions, and the cleaning is completed. In the drying section D, the upper surface blower nozzle 6 is moved up and down along the upper surface of the vehicle body to blow air onto the vehicle body together with the side surface blower nozzles 7 and 7. The side blower nozzle 7 is swung to an air blowing position suitable for the height of the vehicle body in accordance with the height of the upper surface of the automobile detected by the vehicle shape detection device 11 so that efficient air blowing is performed. For example, when the automobile to be dried is a normal car, the air is blown in a state of swinging downward, and when the automobile to be dried is a wagon car, the air is blown up to a position of swing (FIG. 10).

  Further, the swing position may be displaced according to the body part detected by the vehicle shape detection device 11. In this case, if the car to be dried is an ordinary car, the bonnet side part is swung downward, the driver's seat side part is slightly upward, and the trunk side part is swung downward. If the car to be dried is a wagon car, the bonnet side It is conceivable that the part is swung slightly downward and the driver's seat side part is swung upward. The air blown from the nozzle bodies 12 and 13 spreads radially due to the Coanda effect after colliding with the vehicle body surface, so that it can be applied to the entire vehicle body most efficiently when applied toward the center of the vehicle body. When two upper and lower nozzle bodies are provided, the upper half of the longest vehicle height (height up to the roof) is used as a reference so that each working wind can act on the entire vehicle body even if the diffusion of the action winds is attenuated. Is swung to a position where the upper nozzle body 12 and the lower half are blown by the lower nozzle body 13.

  Further, when the swing position of the nozzle body is displaced along the upper surface shape of the automobile, the position of the equipment (for example, antenna or carrier on the roof) provided on the vehicle body is also swung. It is desirable to determine the swing position based on the height of the roof boundary. Note that the outline extraction and reference point detection of the automobile can be performed by the method proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent No. 2717888, and the description thereof is omitted here. In addition, the vehicle shape detection is not limited to the method of recognizing the upper surface level by the light transmission / shielding of the optical axis and taking the upper surface level in units of relative movement positions of the main body frame and the vehicle to create vehicle shape data. An image pickup device such as the above may be used to extract the body contour by performing image processing, and the method is not limited.

  Thus, when the automobile passes through the drying section D, the shutter body 8 is raised above the main body frame which is the standby position, the blower 18 is stopped, and the car wash is completed. Thereafter, the vehicle A is urged to move forward and leave the car wash area, and when the vehicle exit is detected, the main body frame 1 is returned to the standby position at the rear end of the rail to prepare for the next car wash. As described above, the brushing cleaning and the drying process are performed at the same time as the main body frame 1 travels, and the car washing that has been performed one reciprocation by the conventional gate-type car wash machine is performed only in one half of the outward travel. Once completed, a speed car wash is performed.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, A various embodiment can be considered in the range which does not deviate from description of a claim. In the embodiment, the cleaning unit S is formed at the front of the main body frame 1 and the drying unit D is formed at the rear. However, after the drying unit is provided at the front as in the case of a widely used portal 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 main body frame and 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. Further, the washing unit and the drying unit can be physically separated, and the washing unit and the drying unit can be employed independently. Further, the vehicle shape detection is not limited to the above-described method of recognizing the upper surface level by the light transmission / shielding of the optical axis and taking the upper surface level in units of relative movement positions of the main body frame and the vehicle to create vehicle shape data. An image pickup device such as the above may be used to extract the body contour by performing image processing, and the method is not limited.

It is a top view which shows the car wash apparatus provided with the vehicle body drying apparatus of Example 1. FIG. It is a side view of the same apparatus. It is an external appearance explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the side blower nozzle. FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram showing an operation mode of the nozzle 7. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an opening shape of the nozzle 7. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a control system according to the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement timing of each part in a car wash operation | movement. It is explanatory drawing which shows the ventilation state of the side blower nozzle. It is explanatory drawing which shows the drying image of the side blower nozzle. It is explanatory drawing which shows the vehicle specific drying image of the side blower nozzle 7. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body frame 6 Upper surface blower nozzle 7 Side blower nozzle 8 Shutter body 12 Upper nozzle body 13 Lower nozzle body 14 Oscillating plate (upper)
15 Swing plate (bottom)
18 Side blower

Claims (5)

In a vehicle body drying apparatus that blows high pressure air from a blower toward a vehicle body from a blower nozzle, the blower nozzle has a substantially cylindrical air outlet and is vertically independent of one side of the vehicle body. Two or more blower nozzles are arranged, and the blower from the blower nozzle located on the upper side among the blower nozzles is arranged to be directed so as to act on the automobile prior to the blown air from the blower nozzle located on the lower side. A car body drying device characterized by that.
2. The vehicle body drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the air blowing port of the air blowing nozzle is set in a range surrounded by a rectangle having a short side / long side of 0.2 or more .
3. A car wash apparatus for automatically washing and drying an automobile with relative movement between the automobile and a main body frame, comprising the vehicle body drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
A car washing device for automatically washing and drying an automobile with relative movement between the automobile and the main body frame , wherein the washing section and the drying section are formed in the main body frame. 3. A car wash apparatus comprising the vehicle body drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the car wash apparatus is partitioned by a shutter body so that cleaning and drying can be performed simultaneously .
It comprises means for detecting the height of the upper surface of the automobile, means for swinging the blower nozzle in the vertical direction, and means for displacing the swing position of the blower nozzle in accordance with the height of the top face of the automobile. A car wash apparatus comprising the vehicle body drying apparatus according to claim 3 or 4 .

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