JPH03104756A - Car wash device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To have certain operation of car wash by making avoid entry on the basis of an index mark at the inlet to the body of device, sensing the avoid position of car on the basis of the avoid entry controlling so as to make avoid motion only for the part sensed, and washing the rest according to the normal process. CONSTITUTION:Operator pushes an avoid entry key when an object to be avoided (taxi indicator lump) is approaching an index mark X at the inlet to the body 1 of device, and the entry key is pushed again when the mark X is passed. The motion distance data an entering is read and stored as the avoid position data. When the motion distance data at the outlet has attained a value formed by adding a certain value C1 to the position data L1 at the time of first entry, top brush 10 is avoided, and return is made when the value obtained by adding a certain another valve C2 to the position data L2 at the time of second entry. The values C1, C2 are set on the basis of distance from the mark X to be brush 10. Accordingly only an avoid entry gives avoid motion, which should ensure easy and certain washing of a car.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a type of car washing apparatus that conveys a car by a conveyor and automatically washes the body of the car accordingly. [Prior art and its problems] In general, this type of device operates car washing processing devices such as cleaning brushes and blower nozzles along the shape of the vehicle body. There was a risk that the brush or nozzle would get caught in this part and cause damage to the protruding object. For this reason, when washing a car with such protrusions as described above, it is necessary to operate the brush or nozzle in advance so as not to act on the car body, which could cause damage.

However, for example, in a vehicle equipped with a roof carrier and a taxi indicator light as described above, the entire top surface of the vehicle body is left unwashed because the top surface cleaning brush and top surface blower nozzle are not activated, resulting in the inconvenience of requiring long hours of manual labor. There is. On the other hand, in so-called gate-type car wash*m, as seen in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 116542/1983, a means for inputting information to avoid the protrusion is provided to enable avoidance operation, and the first process of car washing is to avoid the protrusion. There is a known device that automatically avoids the protrusion in subsequent steps if an avoidance operation is performed.

However, unlike gate-type washing machines, this type of equipment has a long depth, making it difficult to perform avoidance operations while checking the operation of the cleaning brushes, etc. It could not be applied.

[A Thousand Steps to Solve the Problems] The present invention includes means for detecting when a car enters the apparatus main body, and means for detecting the distance traveled by the car after the entrance is detected by the entrance detecting means. , means for performing an avoidance input according to the position of a predetermined mark at the entrance of the main body of the device and a vehicle passing there; and an avoidance position of the vehicle based on the travel distance of the vehicle at the time when the input is made in the avoidance input means. and a means for controlling the car wash processing device to perform an avoidance operation based on the position data provided by the avoidance position detection means, in order to solve the above problems. In the embodiment, the entrance detection means corresponds to the entrance detector 31, the moving distance detection means is included in the unit control section 26d, and the avoidance position detection means and the control means are included in each of the unit control sections 26a to 26d.

[Function] As a result, if an avoidance input is made based on the landmark at the entrance of the main body of the device, the avoidance position of the vehicle is detected based on this avoidance input, and the aIJ can be controlled so that the avoidance operation is performed only in the necessary part of the input. 6 [Example] The remaining parts can be washed as usual. 6 [Example] The example will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of one embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a washing unit 11 {device main body, 2 is a conveyor, and the car washing device main body 1 includes a first washing unit a, a second washing unit h, and a wax unit. It is constructed so that it can be divided into lc and drying unit d.

The cleaning unit)-a includes a rinse nozzle 3 that discharges clean water, a detergent nozzle 4 that discharges detergent water, and front and side brushes 5 and 5 that clean the front and side surfaces of the automobile.
A car washing processing device such as rear side brushes 6, 6 for washing the side and rear surfaces of the automobile is also provided. The front side brushes 5, 5 and the rear side brushes 6, 6 are cantilevered by swing arms 7, 7, 8, 8, respectively, and swing from the inward operating position to the lateral retracted position (the state shown). It is possible to do so.

The second washing unit b is provided with a pair of rocker brushes 9 and a top brush 10 as a car washing processing device. 1. The brush 10 is supported at both ends by a pair of swinging arms 11, and is configured to be able to move up and down from the lower operating position to the upper retracted position. A rinse nozzle 12 for discharging clean water; 3; a wax nozzle for discharging wax water; 4; a pair of Zide brushes 15 and 1; Sidebranch 15.15 is the front side booklet 5.
・Similarly to 5, the swing arm is swingably supported by 7 and 17.
Similarly, it is supported by swing arms 18, 18 so as to be able to move up and down.

The drying unit 1-d is provided with a car wash processing device including a blower I9 and a proso nozzle 20, 21, and 21. The blower nozzle 20 is connected to the link arm 2
2, and is supported by the lift lever 2, and extends from the lower operating position to the upper retracted position.

At each outlet i-a=d, there is an electromagnetic JF that opens and closes each pipe of the liquid agent discharge and nozzles 3, 4, 12, ]3, and ]4.
Various controlled devices are provided, such as a motor that drives the brush or blower, and an actuator such as an air cylinder that operates the swing arm or link arm and moves the brush or blower nozzle to a retracted position. Relay boards 23a to 23d are provided to perform energization operations, 25 is a central tlNIJ section, 26a to 26d are unit #J control sections provided in each unit, and 27 is connected to the central control section 25. It is an operation panel. Reference numeral 28 denotes a cable that connects these control units, and functions as a system bus for transmitting various data and control signals. Therefore, each unit control section 26a to 26d is controlled by the central control section 25.
A control signal is exchanged with the system bus 28, and based on this control signal, the relay boards 23a to 23d
The unit outputs a signal to control the power supply to the controlled equipment in that unit.

The conveyor 2 is provided with a drive motor 29 at the rear of the apparatus main body 1, and is controlled by a unit control section 26d of the drying unit d. 30 is a rotary encoder attached to the transmission part of the drive motor 29, which outputs a pulse every time the conveyor 2 moves a unit distance, and this pulse signal is counted in the unit control part 26d.
31 is an entry detector provided at the entrance of the device main body 1, which is used to detect the moving distance of the conveyor 2;
It consists of a well-known photoelectric switch and detects when a car enters the device.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the operation surface of the operation board 27.
It consists of a display 35, a key input section 36, and a coin/card reception section 37, and is laid out so that according to the guide display on the display 35, a coin or card is inserted, the car wash fee is processed, and the desired car wash is executed manually using the key. ing. In the key manual s36, 36 is a car wash course specification key, 36 is an avoidance input key, 361 is a setting key, specify the desired car wash course with the car wash course specification key 381, and press the setting key 38 to start the car wash. can do. Here, if the car to be cleaned has a protruding object such as a brush that requires avoidance action, the area in which the protruding object should be avoided is set at the corner By using the avoidance entry key 382 to specify the detection position) as a landmark, the car wash will be executed while automatically avoiding the specified area. This avoidance input key 382 consists of a top avoidance j key and a side avoidance j key.
[Side avoidance 1 key performs avoidance input for each of the side brushes 5, 5, 6, 6, 15, and 15. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control system of the above embodiment.

The central control section 25 includes a transmission control section 25. which performs transmission control with the unit control sections 26a to 26d. and an operation panel control section 25 that accepts input on the operation board 27 and displays it on the display 35. Sends an entrance detection signal from

Each of the unit control sections 26a to 26d includes a transmission control section 261 connected to the central control section 25 via a system bus 28, and an operation control section 26 that outputs control signals to the relay boards 23a to 23d. There is. When the unit control section 26d receives the entry detection signal from the central control section 25, it counts the pulse signal from the rotary encoder 3o and
The distance traveled from the start of tc is detected and sent to the system bus 28.

Further, when the unit control sections 26a to 26d receive the input car wash course from the central control section 25, they output control signals to the relay boards 23a to 23d in accordance with the sequence corresponding to the car wash course. The sequence performed here is executed based on the movement distance data transmitted from the drying unit d. Furthermore, when an avoidance input is transmitted from the central control unit 25, the movement distance data immediately after the reception is stored as avoidance position data, and based on this stored position data, the car wash processing device included in the Uninote is to be avoided. Avoid operating.

Note that data transmission via the system bus 28 is performed by a polling method, and the central control unit 25
! , a normal polling sequence is transmitted to prompt transmission from the unit controllers 26a to 26d, and if there is data to be transmitted from the central controller 25, a selecting sequence is transmitted to transmit the data.

FIGS. 4 to 8 are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the above embodiment, and here they illustrate the operation of the first and second washing units when washing a taxi. After receiving the input of the car wash course on the operation panel 27, the entrance detector 31
When the entry of a car is detected, car washing starts from the first washing unit a (see Fig. 4).

When the car enters the vehicle, the operator inputs an avoidance input to the part (in this example, the taxi indicator light T) where an avoidance operation is to be performed.

In other words, press the avoidance input key 382 before the object to be avoided (taxi indicator light T) approaches the landmark X at the entrance of the main body of the device.
(1 upper surface avoidance 1 key) is pressed (see FIG. 5), and when the object to be avoided passes the mark X, the avoidance input key 382 is pressed again (see FIG. 6).

When this avoidance input is received, each unit control section 26a to 26d
Then, the movement distance data at the time of input is read and stored as avoidance position data. After that, the movement distance data sent from the drying unit d is ! & Predetermined value C programmed into position data L at the time of first input
When the value obtained by adding 1 is reached, the car wash processing device (top brush 10 in the drawing) is moved to its retracted position (see Fig. 7), and the moving distance data is changed to the position data at the time of the next input. When the value obtained by adding the programmed predetermined value C2 to L2 is reached, the car wash processing device that has been avoided is returned to its operating position (see FIG. 8).

? The predetermined values C1 and C2 are set based on the distance from the mark It is set to start the avoidance operation and return from the avoidance state after a slight delay, so that the relationship C1≦C2't holds.

This embodiment is constructed as described above, and when the entrance detector 3 detects the entrance of a car, from this point on, the pulse signal from the tally encoder 30 is counted to monitor the distance traveled by the car, When there is an avoidance input key 38■ based on the mark This is what we do.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, in this example, each unit is provided with a control section to perform distributed control, but the controlled devices of each unit may be connected to one control section for unified control. Further, in this example, the distance traveled by the automobile is detected using a rotary encoder, but it is also possible to detect the distance traveled by other means such as counting with a timer. Furthermore, in this example, the position of the car is detected only by the distance traveled by the device itself, but each unit is equipped with an entry detector, and each unit is detected based on its detection operation. It is also possible to adopt a configuration that allows more fine-grained control such as detecting the position of the vehicle.

Further, it is not necessary to provide a mark as a reference for the avoidance input, as long as it is located near the entrance of the device and can identify the positional relationship between the vehicle and the device main body.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention is configured as described above, and if an avoidance input is made when a car enters the vehicle, the car wash processing device can be caused to perform an operation accompanied by an avoidance operation, and the operator stays with the car wash and performs the avoidance operation. There's no need to. Further, the avoidance operation can be performed only on the inputted necessary parts, making it possible to wash the car with less leftover parts. Furthermore, avoidance inputs can be made using the landmarks at the entrance of the main body of the device, allowing for much better visibility and reliable input compared to operating the car wash processing device located inside the device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view of one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the main parts of the same example. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control system of the same embodiment. Figures 4 to 8 are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the same embodiment. 1 is a car wash device main body, 2 is a conveyor, 25 is a central control means, 26a to 2
6d is a unit control means, 28 is a system bus, 31 is an entrance detector, a is a first cleaning unit, b is a second cleaning unit, C is a wax unit, d is a drying unit,
X is a landmark. Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A car wash device of the type that includes a device main body in which car wash processing devices such as cleaning brushes and blower nozzles are arranged, and a conveyor, and that automatically washes a car as it is moved by the conveyor, wherein a car enters the device main body. a means for detecting the entry of the vehicle; a means for detecting the distance traveled by the vehicle after the entry is detected by the entrance detection means; means for performing an avoidance input; means for detecting an avoidance position of the automobile based on the travel distance of the automobile at the time when the input is made in the avoidance input means; and the car wash processing device based on the position data provided by the avoidance position detection means. A car washing device characterized by comprising: means for controlling to perform an avoidance operation.