JPH0236422B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a self-service car wash system in which a customer arbitrarily operates a car wash nozzle that discharges high-pressure water to wash a car.

[Prior art and its problems] This type of car wash has been developed in recent years to meet the car wash needs of drivers who do not have a car wash space at home, and is gaining popularity. However, until now, car washes have only been configured with a number of well-known spray-type car wash machines arranged according to the space available, and each car wash machine functions independently. Management work such as maintenance and inspection of mechanical parts, setting of car wash hours and fees had to be carried out for each installed car wash machine.

[Means for Solving the Problems] Accordingly, the present invention solves the above problems by proposing a car wash system having the following configuration.

A main unit comprising a water storage unit that stores wash water, a plurality of pumps that absorb water from the water storage unit, and a control unit that controls controlled equipment such as the pumps; connected to each of the pumps via a water supply pipe. a nozzle unit, and a terminal unit connected to the control unit via a signal line,
A system is configured by providing a plurality of terminal devices formed separately from the main body device. The control unit includes means for setting the time of executable car wash courses, and means for setting the fees for the car wash courses, and the terminal unit is provided with a means for setting the time of executable car wash courses, and a means for setting the fees for the car wash courses, and the terminal unit is provided with a means for setting the time of executable car wash courses, and a means for setting the fees for the car wash courses, and the terminal unit is provided with a means for setting the time of executable car wash courses, and a means for setting the fees for the car wash courses. and the means to
and a coin device that accepts a fee according to the car wash course, and transmits and receives signals between the control unit and the terminal unit via the signal line based on the time and fee set by both the setting means. . Here, in the terminal unit, when a desired car wash course is selected by the selection means and the fee set by the rate setting means according to the car wash course is accepted by the coin device, the control unit selects the time setting. The corresponding pump is driven and controlled based on the time set by the means, and washing water is discharged from the nozzle unit at the terminal to enable car washing.

Further, in the present invention, the terminal unit is provided with a means for accepting a cashless car wash by a member, and a means for transmitting the received membership data to the main unit, and the control unit is provided with a means for registering a member, and a means for registering a member. and a means for collating the members received at the terminal unit based on the member data in the storage means, and configured to enable car washing based on the collation results, and centrally manage the membership. It is also possible to do this.

Furthermore, the control unit includes a means for totalizing car wash performance data at the car wash based on signals from each terminal unit, a means for storing data compiled by the totalizing means, and a means for displaying or printing the data stored in the storage means. It would be convenient if the data could be aggregated by providing a means for outputting the data.

In the following embodiment, the time setting means and charge setting means correspond to the keyboard 43, and the transmission means is included in the main board 42. In addition, the member reception method in implementation section (2) is the data key 6 below.
0, the member data transmission means is sent to the sub-board 55,
The member registration means corresponds to the keyboard 43, the storage means corresponds to the memory device 47, and the member verification means corresponds to the main board 42. Furthermore, in embodiment item (3), the counting means is included in the main board 42,
The storage means corresponds to the memory device 47.

[Example] Examples thereof will be described below based on the drawings.

Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the basic configuration of this system;
FIG. 2 is an external view of one embodiment of this system.

1 is a main unit; 2 is a terminal device connected to the main unit via a water pipe 3 and an electric wire 4; a plurality of terminal devices 2 are appropriately installed according to the capabilities of the main unit 1; The terminal device 2 includes a nozzle unit 6 connected to the water supply pipe 3 and having a car wash nozzle 5 at its tip.
and a terminal unit 7 which is connected to the electric wire 4 and sends and receives car wash signals.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the main device 1.
9 is the exterior body of the main device 1, 9 is the water storage unit, 12
13 is a pump, and 13 is a control unit.

The water storage unit 9 consists of a water storage section whose interior is divided into three to form water tanks 14, 15, and 16, and a heating means having boilers 10 and 11, and the water tanks 14 and 16 each have a ball tap 17,
Water is supplied from a water supply pipe 19 through a water tank 18, and a water tank 14 stores rinsing water, a water tank 15 stores detergent liquid, and a water tank 16 stores an aqueous solution of the detergent liquid in the water tank 15. The aqueous detergent solution in the water tank 16 is obtained by sucking the detergent solution into the water supply stream in a mixer 20 provided in the water supply line to the water tank 16 .

The boiler 10 includes the water tank 14 and the circulation pump 2.
2, and the water in the water tank is forcedly circulated into the boiler and heated to an appropriate temperature. The boiler 11 has the water tank 16
The aqueous detergent solution is connected through a circulation pipe 23 equipped with a circulation pump 24 to heat the circulating detergent aqueous solution to an appropriate temperature.

A plurality of pumps 12 are arranged according to the number of terminal devices 2 to be connected, and are connected to the water tanks 14 and 16 via electromagnetic valves 25 and 26, respectively.
Water for rinsing or detergent is sucked from a water supply channel 27 which is selectively opened and closed by the nozzle unit 6 at the terminal.

The control unit 13 controls the energization of each of the above parts according to a built-in program, and is connected to each of the terminal units 2 via electric wires 4 to send and receive signals to and from the terminals, thereby turning the pump 12 on and off as well as other functions. It performs control and management such as setting car wash fees, aggregating car wash data, and storing and storing that data, details of which will be described later.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a freeze prevention bypass pipe that connects the circulation pipe 21 and the water supply channel 27 via a solenoid valve 30. When the control unit 13 detects that the temperature has reached a certain level or below, it drives the circulation pump 22 and opens the electromagnetic valves 25 and 30 to release the water in the water tank 14 from the nozzle unit 6 via the bypass pipe. It is configured to allow

FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory diagram of the terminal device 2. As shown in FIG.

The nozzle unit 6 is mounted on a stand 31 of an appropriate height.
, a guide pole 32 rotatably supported by the stand 31 , a flexible hose 33 extending from the tip of the guide pole 32 , and the hose 3
It consists of a car wash nozzle 5 provided at the tip of 3,
The hose 3 is supported at a high position by the stand 31 and the guide pole 32, and the guide pole 32 rotates to guide the nozzle 5 as it moves, so that the nozzle can be easily moved. There is.

The car wash nozzle 5 is also equipped with a hand switch 38 that can arbitrarily start and stop watering.
The terminal unit 7 sends this signal to the terminal unit 7 via a signal line installed integrally with the electric wire 4.
The terminal is then sent to the control unit 13 to obtain the energization operation of the pump 12 corresponding to that terminal.

The terminal unit 7 is raised on the stand 34 to an appropriate height for easy operation of the unit main body 35.
The unit main body 35 is equipped with an operation panel 36 for inputting car wash information, and a display panel 37 for displaying the car wash work to be performed and its progress.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the transmission and reception of electrical signals.
The control unit 13 and the terminal unit 7 are connected to the signal line 1.
The control unit 13 and the plurality of terminal units 7 are connected by electric wires 4 consisting of a total of two pairs of power wires, and one pair of power wires. It is possible to send and receive signals between each device simply by connecting them with wires.

Reference numeral 40 indicates electric equipment 41 such as the pump, boiler, solenoid valve, etc., based on a control signal from the control unit 13.
This is a relay board that opens and closes the circuit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration and connections of the control unit 13. As shown in the figure, the main board 42 is connected to the keyboard 43, display 44, printer 45, alarm 46, memory device 47, etc., respectively. It consists of 13.

The main board 42 is equipped with a CPU, a calendar clock, a ROM with a built-in program, and a working RAM, and sends and receives signals to and from each connected device according to the program.

The keyboard 43 is used mainly by the car wash manager to input setting data, and is composed of data input keys 48 such as a numeric keypad, and function keys 49 for inputting instructions for work items. Various processing operations such as car wash fee setting, member registration, car wash timer setting, time setting, data printout, inspection operation, etc. are set for each time.

The display 44 guides the input work on the keyboard 43 and displays the format and procedure of data to be input, and also displays data stored in the memory device 47 as necessary.

The printer 45 prints out a list of the data stored in the memory device 47 and generates an alarm 46.
outputs an alarm when any abnormality is detected on the main board 42.

The memory device 47 retains data processed by the main board 42 based on key inputs on the keyboard 43 and input signals from the terminal via the signal line 50 of the electric wire 4, and mainly stores membership registration data and dates. It stores total car wash data such as total, monthly, and annual totals, such as the number of car washes and the amount received within a specified period.

51 is a block showing a group of sensors provided in each part, and the water tanks 14, 15, 51 of the water storage unit 9,
It is detected whether the water level and temperature at 16 are within the respective settings, and a signal is output to the control unit 13. Further, 52 is a backup power source, and 53 is an AC power source.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration and connections of the terminal unit 7. The terminal unit 7 is constructed by connecting a sub-board 55 to an operation board 56, a terminal display 57, etc.

Sub board 55 has a built-in CPU and program.
It is equipped with a ROM and working RAM, and is connected to the control unit 13 via a signal line 50.

The operation board 56 includes a coin device 58 with a coin slot, a car wash course selection key 59 for selecting a desired course from a plurality of car wash courses depending on whether detergent is required, length of time, etc., and a membership contract. The bank is equipped with a data key 60 for a customer to enter the assigned pin code, and a display lamp 61 for displaying an insufficient deposit, a wrong pin code, etc.

The terminal display 57 displays input guidance and instructions on the operation board 56, whether or not a car wash is accepted, and the time elapsed during the car wash, and will be described in detail later. 62 is an alarm that outputs a warning.

The terminal unit 7 is also connected to the hand switch 38 via a signal line, and outputs a car wash start command and a temporary stop command to the main body 1 in response to an operation input from the hand switch.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the control operation in the control unit 13, and the operation will be explained below based on this figure.

In the figure, a is the main flow that is executed normally,
The program is structured such that a timer interrupt is generated at regular intervals during execution of flow a to cause flow b to be executed.

In flow a: (1) When the power is turned on, an initial setting routine is executed, and the main board 42 reads the program from the ROM and also updates the set fees and timer settings for each car wash course written in the memory device 47. Output the initial data to the terminal unit 7.

(2) The control unit 13 and the terminal unit 7 constantly repeatedly transmit and receive signals cyclically, and self-check the transmitted and received signals to detect the presence or absence of an abnormality. If there is an abnormality here, the alarm 46 outputs a warning to prompt inspection, and the terminal in which the abnormality occurs is displayed on the display 44 as a transmission abnormality.

(3) Read the signals sent from each sensor 51, detect whether the detected value of the sensor is within the setting, and if it is in an abnormal state, declare to the terminal that car wash reception is prohibited, and display on the display 44. Display prohibition of reception. On the other hand, if there is no sensor abnormality, a signal is output to the terminal indicating that the car wash can be accepted.

(4) Read the current time from the built-in clock of the main board 42, detect whether the time is within the set business hours, and if it detects that it is outside business hours, declare to the terminal that reception is prohibited. After a certain amount of preparation time, the terminals are turned off at the end of the work day.
Turn off.

(5) In the keyboard 46, it is detected whether or not any function key 46 has been pressed, and if it has been pressed, a routine is executed to perform the operation set for the pressed key; If not, repeat the operation from step (2) above.

Here, the operations set for each function key 49 will be explained (see FIG. 7).

Charge key: Set and register charges for each car wash course set on the operation board 56 of the terminal unit 7.

Membership key: A member's PIN number is assigned to a customer who has applied for membership, and the details of the contract (number of car washes, etc.) are registered.

Timer key: Performs timer setting operations such as setting the times for the rinsing process, detergent process, etc. in each car wash course, setting the time during which work can be interrupted by operating the hand switch 38, and setting the opening and closing times of the car wash.

Time key: Registers the month, day, and time of the calendar clock in the main board 42.

Print key: Selectively prints out aggregated data such as daily, monthly, and annual totals, member data that displays member registrant's password, number of remaining contracts, etc.

Inspection key: Set each terminal to car wash standby,
The car wash operation can be performed without inserting a coin or entering a password, and the car wash operation can be inspected.

In flow b, (6) It is detected whether there is a car wash input by inserting a coin or entering a member's PIN code on the terminal, based on the transmission signal from the terminal, and if there is a car wash input, it is determined whether the input is related to the member or not. It detects whether the customer is a cash customer, verifies the password entered on the terminal if the member is a member, and transmits the verification result to the terminal.

(7) If there is a car wash start command from the terminal in conjunction with the operation of the hand switch 38 in the nozzle 5, the selection key 59 is activated based on the data transmitted from the terminal.
The solenoid valve 25 or 26 corresponding to the process of the selected car wash course is opened, and the pump 12 corresponding to the terminal receiving the command is driven.

(8) Similarly, with the operation of the hand switch 38, if there is a car wash interruption command from the terminal, the solenoid valve that is currently open is closed and the pump 12 that is currently being driven is turned off.

(9) If there is a command to proceed to the car wash process along with execution of the selected car wash course, one of the solenoid valves 2526 that is open is closed and the other is opened. That is, switching is performed between rinsing with water and cleaning with detergent water.

(10) When a signal indicating that the car wash course that was being executed has ended is input from the terminal, the solenoid valve is closed, the pump drive is stopped, and the aggregated data corresponding to the case is stored in the memory device 47. It reads member data and performs data processing such as adding the number of car washes performed, the amount of money, etc., and subtracting the member's number of contracts from the member data.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation in the terminal unit 7, and the operation in the terminal will be explained below based on this diagram.

(1) When the power is turned on, first, the timer settings and values related to control operations are sent from the control unit 13.
Reads data such as charges and stores it in the built-in memory.

(2) Detect whether or not the control unit 13 declares that the car can be washed, and if possible, displays A on the terminal display 57, that is, ``Currently accepting a car wash, please insert coins.'' Displays that the car wash is currently being accepted. on the other hand,
If it is declared that reception is prohibited, display B is displayed, that is, a state in which reception is not possible is displayed such as "Car washing is stopped."

(3) If a coin is inserted or a member's password is entered on the operation board 56, the control unit 1
3, and the display 57 displays display C, that is, the amount of money invested or the remaining number of contracts if the member is a member.

(4) Wait until a car wash course is selected using the car wash course selection key 59 on the operation board 56;
If there is a selection input, it will be displayed on the display 57D,
In other words, it displays the message "Please press the hand switch." indicating that the machine is waiting for the car wash to start.

(5) The hand switch 38 of the nozzle 5 waits until there is a start input, and if there is an input, it outputs a car wash start command to the central car wash unit 13 and displays E,
That is, a bar graph as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed to represent the elapsed car wash time according to the timer count in the sub-board 55. On the other hand, the function key 4 remains in a standby state with no input.
When the interruptible time set by the timer setting operation in step 9 is exceeded, a warning is output from the alarm 62 and the control unit 1 is automatically activated.
A start command is output to 3 to start the car wash.

(6) When the hand switch 38 is pressed while the car wash is in progress, it is judged as an interruption request and the control unit 1
3, a car wash interruption command is output, the above-mentioned display D is displayed, and the process waits for the car wash to start.

(7) When the timer counter on the sub-board 55 indicates the car wash end time, the control unit 13
At the same time, display F is displayed, indicating that the car wash has been completed with the message "Thank you."

Therefore, according to the above embodiment, the main body device 1 includes a water storage unit 9 and a plurality of pumps 1 necessary for car washing.
Since the terminal device 2 is only equipped with the nozzle unit 6 and the terminal unit 7, detergent replenishment and pump maintenance work are carried out by the main device 1.
You can do it all at once.

Furthermore, data based on the time and fee for the car wash course set in the car wash unit 13 is sent to each terminal unit 7 via the signal line 50, so there is no need to set the fee and time for each terminal.

Further, since the member data received at the terminal unit 7 is verified in the control unit 13, if the member data is registered in the control unit 13, the member can receive a member car wash at all terminals.

Furthermore, the control unit can aggregate the number of car washes and fees received at the terminal, and display or print them out, making it easy to understand the performance of the entire car wash facility.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention is configured as described above and has the following remarkable effects.

Management work such as replenishment of detergent and pump maintenance work can be performed centrally in the main unit, resulting in a significant reduction in labor.

Since the terminal devices are each configured separately from the main device and can be installed without restrictions, it is possible to create an efficient and flexible layout according to the site of the car wash, and it is also easy to add more terminals.

By setting the time and fee for a car wash course in the control unit, all terminals can wash the car at the same time and fee, eliminating the need to set the time and fee for each terminal as in the past.
Moreover, the car wash fee can be conveniently used by simply depositing the fee at the terminal where the car wash is performed.

Since it is only necessary to install a terminal device in each car wash space, the installation area occupied by the terminal device is extremely small, and a significant space saving can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view of a system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an external view of the embodiment system. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the main body device of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a front view of the terminal device of the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the control system of the embodiment. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are block diagrams illustrating the configuration of the main parts of the embodiment. FIGS. 8 and 9 are flowcharts explaining the operation of the embodiment. 1 is the main device, 2 is the terminal device, 3 is the water pipe,
4 is an electric wire including a signal line, 5 is a car wash nozzle, 6 is a nozzle unit, 7 is a terminal unit, 9 is a water storage unit, 12 is a pump, 13 is a control unit, 43
44 is a display, 45 is a printer, 47 is a memory device, 50 is a signal line, 56 is an operation board, 58 is a coin device, 59
is a car wash course selection key which is a car wash course selection means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A main unit including a water storage unit that stores cleaning water, a plurality of pumps that suck water from the water storage unit, and a control unit that controls controlled equipment such as the pumps; A system is configured by providing a plurality of terminal devices formed separately from the main device, including a nozzle unit connected via a water pipe, and a terminal unit connected to the control unit via a signal line. The control unit is provided with means for setting the time of executable car wash courses, and means for setting the fee for the car wash courses, and the terminal unit is provided with a means for setting the time of executable car wash courses, and a means for setting the fees for the car wash courses, and the terminal unit is provided with a means for setting the time of executable car wash courses, and a means for setting the fee for the car wash courses, and a coin device that accepts a fee according to the car wash course, and a coin device that accepts the time and fee set in both the setting means via the signal line between the control unit and the terminal unit. When a desired car wash course is selected by the selection means in the terminal unit and the charge set by the charge setting means according to the car wash course is accepted by the coin device, the control unit The car wash system is characterized in that a corresponding pump is driven and controlled based on the time set by the time setting means, and washing water is discharged from a nozzle unit at the terminal to enable car washing. 2. The terminal unit is equipped with a means for accepting a cashless car wash by a member and a means for transmitting the received member data to the main unit, and the control unit is equipped with a means for registering a member,
A patent characterized in that it comprises means for storing data associated with membership registration, and means for collating members received at a terminal unit based on the member data in the storage means, and enables car washing based on the result of this collation. A car wash system according to claim 1. 3. The control unit includes a means for aggregating car wash performance data at the car wash based on signals from each terminal unit, a means for storing the data aggregated by the aggregating means, and a means for displaying or printing out the data stored in the memory means. 2. The car wash system according to claim 1, further comprising means for: