JPH0532156A - Car washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a spraying arch of car washing machine, with which detergent can be sprayed atomizedly to the oversurface of a car body wastelessly and vigorously. CONSTITUTION:The body 1 of a car washing machine is equipped with a sonic sensor 2 and a top nozzle 3 capable of rising and falling, and a spraying arcj 17 is mounted on the top nozzle 3. At the time of washing a car, the machine body 1 is advanced, and a control device acknowledges the configuration of the car body on the basis of the car height sensed by the sonic sensor 2 and elevates and sinks the top nozzle 3 along the car body configuration acknowledged. Thereby the spraying arch 17 rises and falls along the car body configuration together with tone top nozzle while spraying detergent, so that the distance between the arch 17 and the car body oversurface can be made small and constant, and spraying can be done wastelessly and vigorously.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a car washing machine which is self-propelled and performs car washing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a car washing machine of this type, there is one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-87066. That is, a top nozzle (upper drying nozzle) is provided in the upper portion of the car wash machine body, and a detergent arch (spray arch) is provided behind the top nozzle. During car washing, this detergent arch (spray arch) sprays detergent onto the upper surface of the automobile. Further, instead of the detergent, it was possible to rinse away the detergent attached to the vehicle body by spraying water from a detergent arch (spray arch).

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the detergent arch (spray arch) is fixed to the main body of the car wash machine, and therefore, the detergent arch (spray arch).
From the vehicle to the hood, rear trunk, and roof of a car with a low vehicle height. Therefore, most of the sprayed detergent is scattered around before reaching the upper surface of the vehicle body, and there is a problem that a large amount of detergent is wasted. Further, since the pressure of the detergent sprayed on the upper surface of the vehicle body becomes weak, there is a problem that the cleaning effect is poor. Further, there is a problem that the rinsing effect is poor even when the detergent attached to the vehicle body is rinsed by spraying water from the detergent arch (spray arch) instead of the detergent.

The present invention solves the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a car washer capable of spraying detergent, water, etc. onto the upper surface of a vehicle body efficiently and without waste.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a vehicle height detecting device in a car wash main body, and an upper drying nozzle that is movable up and down behind the vehicle height detecting device. A spray arch is attached to the upper drying nozzle to recognize the vehicle body shape based on the vehicle height detected by the vehicle height detection device while advancing the car wash machine body, and to perform the upper drying operation along the recognized vehicle body shape. It is provided with a control device for moving the working nozzle up and down.

[0006]

With the above structure, at the time of car washing, the detergent is sprayed from the spray arch while advancing the main body of the car washing machine. At this time,
The vehicle height detection device detects the vehicle height of each part of the vehicle body, and the control device
The vehicle body shape is recognized based on the detected vehicle height, and the upper drying nozzle is moved up and down along the recognized vehicle body shape. As a result, the spray arch moves up and down along with the upper drying nozzle along the shape of the vehicle body, so that the distance from the spray arch to the upper surface of the vehicle body can be made small and constant. Further, instead of the detergent, water can be sprayed from the spray arch to rinse away the detergent attached to the vehicle body, and the upper drying nozzle can be moved up and down along the vehicle body shape to dry the upper surface of the vehicle body.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a freely washable car wash main body, and a sonic sensor 2 which is an example of a vehicle height detection device is provided at an upper portion of a front end thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, a distance L behind the sonic sensor 2 is
A top nozzle 3 (upper drying nozzle) that can move up and down is provided. One end of a blower pipe 4 is connected to the top nozzle 3, and the other end is connected to a blower device (not shown). As a result, the air sent from the blower device passes through the blower pipe 4 and is blown downward from the top nozzle 3.

Guide roller devices 5 are provided on both right and left sides of the top nozzle 3, and the top nozzle 3 and both guide roller devices 5 are connected by a supporting member 7.
A pair of upper and lower guide rollers 6 provided in each guide roller device 5 are guided by guide rails 11 arranged in the vertical direction and are rotatable. As a result, the top nozzle 3
Can be moved up and down via a guide roller device 5.

A pair of left and right wheels 8 and 9 are rotatably provided on the car wash machine body 1 side above and below both guide roller devices 5. A rope 10 (a wire, a chain, etc.) is wound between the wheels 8 and 9 facing each other vertically among the wheels 8 and 9, and both ends of the rope 10 are connected to upper and lower ends of the guide roller device 5. Has been done.

A pair of upper right and left wheel bodies 8 are connected to each other via a rotary shaft 12, and a wheel body for detection 13 is provided on either one of the wheel body 8 for left and right. Is an electric motor 14
Are linked together. 16 is a pulse encoder.
Since this encoder 16 detects the number of rotations of the detection wheel body 13, the up-and-down distance of the top nozzle 3 can be calculated from this number of rotations. Therefore, the height of the top nozzle 3 can be obtained by adjusting the vertical distance of the top nozzle 3 from the reference height.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of spray arches 17 arranged in the left-right direction are provided downwardly behind the top nozzle 3 by a distance L1. Of these, the spray arches 17 located at the left and right ends are respectively bent toward the inside of the car wash machine body 1. Since these spray arches 17 are integrally attached to the top nozzle 3, they move up and down together with the top nozzle 3. Each spray arch 17 is branched from a short pipe 18, which
One end of a water supply pipe 19 is connected to 18. Also, the water pipe
The other end of 19 is connected to the detergent tank 20. A changeover switch 21 (solenoid) and a pump 22 are connected between the path from the short pipe 18 to the detergent tank 20.

An upper brush 23 is provided behind the spray arch 17. The upper brush 23 is connected to the car wash machine body 1 via a support arm 24 that is vertically swingable around the upper end, and is rotatable about a rotation shaft 25 in the left-right direction. 26 is an electric motor for driving the upper brush 23.

As shown in FIG. 5, the car wash main body 1 is provided with a control device 27 including a microcomputer. An operation signal a from the operation panel 28 and a vehicle height detection signal b including the vehicle height value detected by the sonic sensor 2
Is input to the control device 27. Then, the control device 27
Recognizes the vehicle body shape based on the vehicle height detection signal b. Further, the pulse count value of the encoder 16 is input to the control device 27, and the control device 27 calculates the height of the top nozzle 3 based on these pulse count values.

Further, the control device 27 includes a changeover switch.
21, ON / OFF signals of the pump 22, and the brush motor 26 are output, and a control signal c including an ascending or descending command is output to the drive system of the top nozzle 3.
Further, the control unit 27 is provided with a memory unit 31, and the vehicle height values detected by the sonic sensor 2, the traveling distance of the car wash machine body 1 for each vehicle height value, and the like are stored in the memory unit 31.

A method of controlling the spray arch 17 by the control device 27 will be described below with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. First, as shown by the solid line in FIG.
Is stopped at a predetermined position in front of the car wash machine body 1, and the front end portion of the automobile 33 is positioned below the sonic sensor 2. Then, the car wash is started according to the operation signal a from the operation panel 28. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the sonic sensor 2 operates to detect the height h1 of the hood portion 34 of the automobile 33, and the vehicle height detection signal b is input to the control device 27. The controller 27 lowers the top nozzle 3 based on the input vehicle height detection signal b (step G-1).

The top nozzle 3 has a height h of the bonnet portion 34.
It is judged whether or not it is located above a constant interval α above 1, and if it is located above h1 + α, the top nozzle 3 is continuously lowered (step G-2), and the top nozzle 3 is located at the position of h1 + α. When it has descended to the top, the top nozzle 3 is stopped (step G-3). This allows
The spray arch 17 stops together with the top nozzle 3 at the position of h1 + α.

Then, the pump 22 is turned on and the changeover switch 21 (solenoid) is turned on (step G-
4). As a result, the detergent is sent from the detergent tank 20 to the spray arch 17 and sprayed downward from the spray arch 17.

The upper brush 23 and other brushes (not shown) are rotated, and the car washer body 1 is moved forward (step G-5). Then, it is determined whether the starting point P of the front window portion 35 is detected (step G-
6). That is, the sonic sensor 2 cannot detect the vehicle height because the sound waves are reflected obliquely in the front window portion 35 and the rear window portion 36 of the automobile 33.
Therefore, when the sonic sensor 2 detects the reflected wave, the control device 27 determines that the sonic sensor 2 has not reached the point P yet, and continues to drive the car wash machine body 1 forward. As a result, the detergent is sprayed from the spray arch 17 onto the hood portion 34, and immediately after that, the hood portion 34 is cleaned by the upper brush 23. Further, in the above (step G-6), when the sonic sensor 2 no longer detects the reflected wave, the control device 27 causes the sonic sensor 2 to detect P.
Judge that the point has been reached.

Then, the controller 27 determines whether the car wash machine body 1 has traveled the distance L (step G-7). When the car wash machine body 1 travels the distance L, the control device 27 determines that the top nozzle 3 has reached the point P, and raises the top nozzle 3 to a certain height hA (step G-
8). This prevents the top nozzle 3 from colliding with the front window portion 35. The constant height hA is higher than the roof 37 of the automobile 33.

Then, it is judged whether or not the end point Q of the front window portion 35 has been detected (step G-9). That is,
When the sonic sensor 2 detects the reflected wave again, the control device 27 determines that the sonic sensor 2 has reached the point Q, lowers the top nozzle 3 from the constant height hA, and the sonic sensor 2 detects the reflected wave. The roof 37 is stopped above the height h2 by a constant distance α (step G-1).
0).

Then, it is judged whether or not the starting point R of the rear window portion 36 has been detected (step G-11). That is, when the sonic sensor 2 detects the reflected wave, the control device 27
Judges that the sonic sensor 2 has not reached the point R yet, and continues to drive the car wash machine body 1 forward. As a result, the detergent is sprayed from the spray arch 17 onto the roof 37,
Immediately thereafter, the roof 37 is cleaned by the upper brush 23.
Further, in the above (step G-11), when the sonic sensor 2 stops detecting the reflected wave, the control device 27 determines that the sonic sensor 2 has reached the point R.

Then, it is determined whether the end point S of the rear window portion 36 has been detected (step G-12). That is, when the sonic sensor 2 detects the reflected wave again, the control device 27
Judges that the sonic sensor 2 has reached the point S.

Then, the control device 27 determines whether the car wash machine body 1 has traveled the distance L + L1 (step G-1).
3). When the car wash machine body 1 travels the distance L + L1,
The control device 27 determines that the spray arch 17 has reached the point S, and positions the top nozzle 3 above the height h3 of the rear trunk portion 38 detected by the sonic sensor 2 by a constant interval α. Down to stop (step G-14). As a result, the spray arch 17 stops at the position of h3 + α together with the top nozzle 3 and sprays the detergent on the rear trunk portion 38. Immediately after that, the rear trunk part 38
Are cleaned by the upper brush 23.

When the vehicle height value detected by the sonic sensor 2 becomes zero, the control device 27 determines that the sonic sensor 2 has reached the floor surface 39 via the end point T of the rear trunk portion 38 ( Step G-15). Thereafter, the control device 27 determines whether the car wash machine body 1 has traveled the distance L + L1 (step G-16). Car wash machine body 1 distance L +
When traveling only L1, the control device 27 controls the spray arch.
Judging that 17 has reached the end point T of the rear trunk portion 38,
Raise the top nozzle 3 to the standby position before starting car wash,
The changeover switch 21 (solenoid) and the pump 22 are turned off (step G-17).

This completes the cleaning of the upper surface of the automobile 33 by the spray arch 17 and the upper brush 23. After that, the drying air is jetted from the top nozzle 3 and the car wash machine body 1 travels in the opposite direction, and the vehicle height values stored in the memory unit 31 and the travel distance of the car wash machine body 1 for each vehicle height value are calculated. The top nozzle 3 is moved up and down based on the
Dry the top surface of the.

In the above embodiment, as shown in the locus 40 (dashed line) of the spray arch 17 shown in FIG. 2, the spray arch 17 is moved up and down together with the top nozzle 3 along the shape of the automobile 33 while the detergent is being washed. Spray the top brush 23
The upper surface of the automobile 33 can be cleaned by. At this time, since the distance α from the spray arch 17 to the upper surface of the automobile 33 can be made small and constant, the detergent can be sprayed onto the upper surface of the automobile 33 without waste and strongly.

In the above embodiment, the detergent is sprayed from the spray arch 17, but the detergent arch may be sprayed with water for rinsing the detergent. Further, in the above embodiment, the car is washed from the front part of the automobile 33, but it may be washed from the rear part of the automobile 33.

In the above embodiment, the sonic sensor 2 was used as the vehicle height detecting device, but this has a light projecting portion on the inner side surface of one guide roller device 5, as shown by the phantom line in FIG. The photoelectric switch 41 may be provided, and the photoelectric switch 42 having a light receiving portion may be provided on the inner surface of the other guide roller device 5 so as to face the photoelectric switch 41.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the control device recognizes the vehicle body shape based on the vehicle height detected by the vehicle height detection device, and the upper drying nozzle follows the recognized vehicle body shape. By moving up and down, the distance from the spray arch attached to the upper drying nozzle to the upper surface of the vehicle body can be made small and constant.

As a result, the detergent sprayed from the spray arch reliably reaches the upper surface of the vehicle body without being scattered, so that cleaning can be performed without waste. Moreover, since the pressure of the detergent sprayed on the upper surface of the vehicle body is strong, the cleaning effect is improved.

Further, even when water is sprayed from the spray arch instead of the detergent and the detergent adhering to the vehicle body is rinsed off, the pressure of the water sprayed on the upper surface of the vehicle body is strong, so that the rinsing effect is good. Further, the upper surface of the vehicle body can be dried by moving the upper drying nozzle up and down along the shape of the vehicle body while injecting the drying air from the upper drying nozzle.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a car wash machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a spray arch provided in the car washing machine.

FIG. 3 is a view on arrow AA in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view on arrow BB in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of the car wash machine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing control of a spray arch by a control device provided in the car wash machine.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing control of the spray arch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Car wash machine body 2 Sonic sensor (vehicle height detection device) 3 Top nozzle (upper drying nozzle) 17 Spray arch 27 Control device h1 Vehicle height h2 Vehicle height h3 Vehicle height

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A vehicle height detecting device is provided in a car wash main body, and an upper drying nozzle that is movable up and down is provided behind the vehicle height detecting device, and a spray arch is provided in the upper drying nozzle. A controller for mounting and moving the main body of the car washer while recognizing the vehicle body shape based on the vehicle height detected by the vehicle height detecting device and moving the upper drying nozzle up and down along the recognized vehicle body shape. A car washing machine characterized by being provided.