JPH06321068A - Car washing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a car washing device which enable a vehicle to exit therefrom even though the car washing device is installed in an area having no extra space through which the vehicle can pass longitudinally thereof. CONSTITUTION:A bogie 10 runs from a vehicle washing position within a car washing machine 1 to a vehicle exit position outside of a running space in the car washing machine 1, in a direction orthogonal to the running direction of the car washing machine 1, and control means controls the running of the bogie 10 in accordance with a detection signal indicating whether a vehicle is set on the bogie 10 or not.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a car-washing device of the type in which a gate-shaped device body is reciprocated so as to straddle a vehicle so as to wash the vehicle, and in particular, the vehicle can be easily exited after washing. About what I did.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional so-called gate-type car wash machines are often installed in gas stations and the like, but most of them are installed in corners surrounded by wall surfaces as shown in FIG. It is impossible to secure a space in the longitudinal direction through which the vehicle stopped at the washing position can pass forward.
Therefore, in such an installation form, a relatively troublesome work such as backing and turning is required when leaving the vehicle, which is particularly troublesome for an unfamiliar driver. In addition, a vehicle waiting for the next car wash cannot stand by near the entrance of the car wash machine due to the vehicle leaving work accompanied by a bag, resulting in very poor car wash efficiency.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the object of the present invention is to simplify the work of leaving a vehicle in a limited space for installing a car wash machine and to perform the work safely. The point is whether a car wash device that improves the turnover rate of the car wash machine can be obtained.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention cleans the vehicle by reciprocally moving a device body formed in a gate shape so as to straddle a vehicle stopped at a predetermined cleaning position. In a cleaning device of the type intended, a carriage that normally stands by at the cleaning position of the vehicle and travels in a direction substantially orthogonal to the traveling direction of the device body when exiting, and transports the vehicle outside the traveling area of the device body; The vehicle detection means and the control means for driving the bogie depending on the presence / absence of the vehicle detected by the vehicle detection means.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the trolley that is normally waiting at the washing position can be moved to the outside of the running space of the car washer body when the car washing is completed, and the vehicle can be transported to a position where it can be exited by forward movement. . Therefore, even a car washing device in a limited installation mode in which a space cannot be secured in the longitudinal direction can leave the car washing machine without performing troublesome work such as backing and turning. Also, it becomes possible to wait for the next car wash near the entrance of the car wash device.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of the car wash device in the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory front view. 1 is the car wash device body,
It travels back and forth on rails 2 and 2'formed in a gate shape and laid on the floor. Inside the main body 1, various brushes 3, 4, 4,
The blower nozzles 5, 6 and 6, as well as a water spray nozzle, a liquid agent tank and the like are provided, and perform cleaning work of spraying water, detergent, wax, etc. and brushing as the vehicle travels, and drying work of blowing air from the blower nozzle.

The rails 2 and 2'are laid in a groove portion C which is recessed from the traveling road surface B of the vehicle A so as not to interfere with the entry of the vehicle A. Further, projecting pieces 7 and 8 are provided at the front and rear ends of the rail 2 ', and the limit switches 9 provided on the main body 1 come into contact with the projecting pieces 7 and 8 to detect the front and rear traveling limits of the main body 1. The movable range is set.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a bogie, which is a recessed portion dug down from a traveling road surface B of the main body 1 so as to cross the rail 2 in the traveling direction of the bogie 10 among the traveling rails 2 and 2'of the main body 1 from the washing position of the vehicle A. Travel in the H along the rails 11, 11. That is, the trolley 10 moves in the recess H so as to slide in a direction substantially orthogonal to the traveling direction of the main body 1, and is normally in the cleaning position of the main body 1 and waits for the vehicle A to enter. There is.

The vehicle entry surface D of the carriage 10 is set at substantially the same height as the traveling road surface B of the main body 1 because the carriage 10 is provided in the recessed portion H as described above, and the four wheels of the vehicle A are set. Has a longitudinal dimension such that a passenger can get in. Further, a groove E having the same shape as the groove C is formed on the boarding surface D so that the traveling rail 2 of the main body is formed when the carriage 10 is in the normal position, and the rail 2 is formed in the groove E. A continuous rail 12 is provided. Reference numeral 14 is a stopper placed at the front wheel stop position of the vehicle A.

Reference numeral 15 is a rail 1 in the recess H of the carriage 10.
A chain that runs on the wheels 1 and 11 is stretched in a loop between a pair of front and rear sprockets 41 and 41, and is connected to the carriage 10 via a shock absorber 42. 16 is a drive motor,
Front sprocket 41 with universal joint
It is connected to an operating rod 43 which is connected to the vehicle via a fan belt 40, and moves the chain 15 to drive the carriage 10. Here, the drive motor 16 is mounted on the upper part of a storage box 29, which will be described later, according to the regulations of the law, and includes the chain 15, the sprockets 41, 41, and the operating rod 4.
The transmission mechanism including 3 is provided in a recessed portion that is dug in substantially the same way as the recessed portion H in which the carriage 10 travels. Reference numeral 19 is a limit switch for detecting the travel limit of the carriage 10. The limit switch 19 is operated by the protrusions 17 and 18 provided on the rail 11, and as shown in FIG. 3, a washing position at which the vehicle A can enter, and a leaving position. It is intended to be run between.

Reference numeral 21 is an entrance guide light provided on the front surface of the main body 1, and reference numeral 22 is an exit guide light provided behind the main body 1 at a position visible from the driver's seat of the vehicle A at the car wash position and the exit position. An operation box 23 is provided at a position corresponding to a predetermined car wash position on the main body 1 and accepts operations such as charging and selection input of car wash contents. The operation box 23 may correspond to a prepaid card registered by membership or may be a non-contact type operated by a remote controller.

The operation box 23 is erected and supported by a base 24 installed on the side of the car wash space via an arm 25 so as not to interfere with the traveling of the main body 1. Arm 2
5 is swingably supported by the base 24 by a link structure as shown in FIG. 3, and along with the operation of the air cylinder 26, a car wash reception position approaching the vicinity of the driver's seat of the vehicle A and the traveling of the main body 1. So that there is no hindrance to the vehicle A, it can take two forms, that is, a retracted position away from the vehicle A. As a result, the operation box 23, which is normally in the retracted position, is displaced to the car wash reception position when the vehicle A enters the trolley 10 (cleaning position), and the input operation can be performed from the driver's seat.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a vehicle detector provided on the front operation panel 28 of the operation box 23. The vehicle detector 27 includes a light emitting portion 27a and a light receiving portion 27b. A beam constantly emitted from the light emitting portion 27a is reflected by the vehicle body and is received by the light receiving portion 27b. It detects the incoming light and detects the presence or absence of the vehicle A on the carriage 10.

Reference numeral 29 is a storage box installed on a base 24 supporting the operation box 23. An air cylinder for mounting the drive motor 16 for driving the trolley 10 on the upper portion and swinging the operation box 23 for the lower portion. Holds 26.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the control system of the embodiment. A control unit 30 including a microcomputer receives a car wash in the operation box 23 and outputs a signal to the main body drive unit 31 and the truck drive unit 32 based on signals from various sensors such as the limit switches 9 and 19 and the vehicle detector 27. However, a predetermined operation is given to the main body 1, the carriage 10 and the operation box 23.

On the front operation panel 28 of the operation box 23, in addition to the vehicle detector 27, a notification section 3 for outputting a voice is provided.
4, a car wash fee receiving section 35 such as a coin mech, a course selection key 36 for selecting a predetermined car wash course, a start key 37 for starting a car wash, and a dolly drive key 38 for driving the dolly 10 to the exit position after the car wash is completed. ing. Accordingly, when the vehicle detector 27 detects the entry of the vehicle A,
When the notification unit 34 prompts an operation, and the start key 37 is pressed after inputting the course selection key 36 corresponding to the charge input in the charge reception unit 35, the car wash is started. After the car wash, if the truck drive key 38 is pressed, the truck 1 carrying the vehicle A
0 moves to the exit position outside the traveling area of the main body 1. All of these operations can be performed from the driver's seat of the vehicle A.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the above embodiment, and the operation of this embodiment will be described by using this. As described above, the main body 1, the trolley 10 and the operation box 23 are in a normal state and are waiting at the positions shown in FIGS. That is,
The main body 1 is at the rearmost end, the carriage 10 is waiting at the washing position where the limit switch 19 contacts the protruding piece 17, and the operation box 23 is waiting at the retracted position, and the entry guide light 21 indicates that entry is possible. There is.

In this state, the vehicle detector 27 of the operation box 23 monitors the entry of the vehicle (1). When the vehicle A enters and is stopped at a predetermined position on the carriage 10, the approach guide light 21 is turned off, and the operation of the air cylinder 26 moves the operation box 23 to the car wash reception position near the driver's seat (2). Here, operation box 2
When the car wash reception is completed on the operation panel 28 of No. 3 by the above-mentioned procedure (3), the air cylinder 26 is operated and the operation box 23 is moved to the retracted position (4).

Subsequently, a car wash operation is performed according to the accepted car wash process (5), and when the car wash is completed (6), the operation box 23 is moved to the car wash acceptance position again (7), and this time the trolley drive key. 38 is awaited for input (8). When the truck drive key 38 is pressed, the truck 10 is moved (9),
When the carriage moves to the exit position where the limit switch 19 contacts the protrusion 18 (10), the exit guide light 22
Is lit to prompt (11) exit. When the vehicle detector 27 confirms the exit of the vehicle A (12), the exit guide light 22 is turned off, and then the trolley 10 and the operation box 23 are returned to the normal state (13). To do.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various embodiments can be obtained. For example, with respect to the operation box, in the above description, the link structure is used to provide the operation in the front-rear direction, but the operation box may be configured to rotate within a range of approximately 90 °. Further, although the reflection type beam sensor is used as the vehicle detector, an ultrasonic sensor for detecting the presence / absence of the vehicle from above and a loop coil for detecting the vehicle on the bogie do not change. Furthermore, the carriage may be moved to the left or right as long as it is a direction substantially orthogonal to the traveling direction of the main body.

[0021]

As described above, the present invention relates to a cleaning device of a type in which a gate-shaped device body is reciprocated across a vehicle stopped at a predetermined cleaning position to clean the vehicle. A trolley that normally stands by at the washing position of the vehicle and travels in a direction substantially orthogonal to the traveling direction of the device body when exiting to convey the vehicle to the outside of the traveling area of the device body; and a means for detecting the vehicle on the trolley. Since the vehicle detection means detects the presence or absence of the vehicle and the control means causes the vehicle to travel, the vehicle exits by moving forward even in a limited installation mode of the apparatus main body that does not take up space in the longitudinal direction. It can be used safely.
Further, since no backing or turning is performed, the next car wash can be waited at the entrance of the main body of the apparatus, so that the car wash can be smoothly performed and the rotation rate can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a conventional car wash device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a car washing device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the same device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation form of the same apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control system of the device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Device main body 10 Bogie 19 Limit switch which is a vehicle position detecting means 21 Entry guide light 22 Exit guidance light 23 Operation box 27 Vehicle detector 30 Control section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning device of a type in which a gate-shaped device body is reciprocated so as to straddle a vehicle stopped at a predetermined cleaning position to clean the vehicle, and is usually located at the cleaning position of the vehicle. A truck that waits and exits the vehicle and travels in a direction substantially orthogonal to the traveling direction of the apparatus body to convey the vehicle to the outside of the traveling area of the apparatus body, a means for detecting the vehicle on the vehicle, and a vehicle detection means for detecting the vehicle. A car wash device comprising: a control unit that causes the bogie to travel depending on the presence or absence of a vehicle.