JPH068801A - Vehicle rear portion shape detector in car washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a car washing machine which can effectively perform a car washing work by automatically discriminating whether a vehicle in washing is a passenger car or a van from the height of the rear portion of the vehicle, and also by controlling ascent and descent of a top brush and a top drying nozzle to the rear shape of each vehicle. CONSTITUTION:The height of the rear portion of a vehicle is found by a vehicle height detecting means H for detecting the height of the vehicle, a rear end detecting means R moving together with the vehicle height detecting means, for detecting the rear end of the vehicle, and a vehicle height signal output from the vehicle height detecting means H on the basis of the time where the rear end of the vehicle is detected by the rear end detecting means. And a rear portion shape signal output means S for outputting a passenger car shape signal or a van shape signal is provided in a car washing machine.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a car wash machine for cleaning a vehicle body of an automobile, and more particularly to a vehicle rear shape detecting device for moving an upper surface brush and an upper surface drying nozzle of the vehicle body along a rear shape of the vehicle body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application No. Sho 63-6 already proposed by the applicant.
The top surface brush device of the body cleaning device of No. 868 pivotally supports a support arm that can be vertically rotated by a motor on a gate-shaped traveling frame that can reciprocate along a rail, and cleans the top surface of the vehicle body at the tip of this support arm. The base end of the swing arm having a top brush is pivotally supported. According to this upper surface brush device, when cleaning a wagon vehicle having a high vehicle height, the support arm is rotated upward to raise the position of the upper surface brush to wash a passenger car or a van type vehicle having a low vehicle height. In this case, by rotating the support arm downward and lowering the position of the upper surface brush, vehicles of various vehicle body shapes can be efficiently washed.

[0003]

However, even for vehicles having the same low vehicle height, the shape of the rear portion of the vehicle body greatly differs between a passenger vehicle having a trunk portion and a van type vehicle having no trunk portion. For this reason, even if the above-mentioned upper surface brush device can be used to efficiently wash the passenger car, the van-type vehicle can be cleaned in the course of the return travel of the gate-type traveling frame when the van-type car is washed. In some cases, the top brush was caught in the rear window portion of the model car, which stood up vertically, which hindered smooth cleaning.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to control the position of the supporting arm separately for cleaning a passenger car and a van-type car, and change the moving path of the upper surface brush. For this purpose, it is necessary to detect whether the vehicle to be washed is a passenger vehicle or a van type vehicle, and perform control suitable for each case.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is an apparatus for detecting a rear shape of a vehicle in a car wash machine for cleaning the body of an automobile in order to move an upper surface brush or the like along the rear shape of the vehicle. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle rear shape detecting device in a car wash machine according to the present invention moves in the front-rear direction of the vehicle to continuously increase the vehicle height of the vehicle. The vehicle height detecting means for detecting, the rear edge detecting means for moving with the vehicle height detecting means to detect the rear edge of the vehicle, and the vehicle based on the time when the rear edge detecting means detects the rear edge of the vehicle. The first feature is that the vehicle height of the rear portion of the vehicle is obtained from the vehicle height signal output by the height detection means, and the rear shape signal output means outputs the passenger vehicle shape signal or the van shape signal.

Further, the vehicle rear shape detecting device in the car wash machine of the present invention is a vehicle height detecting means which moves along the front-rear direction of the vehicle and continuously detects the vehicle height of the vehicle, and the vehicle height detecting means. A traveling position detecting means for outputting a pulse at a predetermined time interval corresponding to a moving position of the means, a memory for sequentially storing a vehicle height signal output by the vehicle height detecting means at the time of outputting the pulse, and a memory for storing the vehicle height signal. Sequential reading of vehicle height signal,
The rear end detection means for obtaining the address of the memory where the vehicle height signal reaches the lower limit and the vehicle height signal stored at the address which is a predetermined number above the address output from the rear end detection means A second feature is that the vehicle is provided with rear shape signal output means for obtaining a height and outputting a passenger car shape signal or a van shape signal.

[0008]

[Operation] According to the first feature of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration, the vehicle height detecting means and the rear end detecting means are moved along the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and in the process, the vehicle height detecting means is The vehicle height of the vehicle is continuously detected, and the rear end detecting means detects the rear end of the vehicle. The rear shape signal output means detects the vehicle height of the rear portion of the vehicle from the vehicle height signal output when the vehicle height detection means passes through the rear portion of the vehicle, based on the time when the rear end detecting means detects the rear end of the vehicle. Then, based on this vehicle height, it is determined whether the vehicle is a passenger vehicle or a van type vehicle, and a rear shape signal is output.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the vehicle height signal output by the vehicle height detecting means moving along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is stored in the memory every time the traveling position detecting means outputs a pulse. Remembered. The rear end detection means sequentially reads out the vehicle height signal stored in the memory and outputs the address of the memory at which the vehicle height signal reaches the lower limit, that is, the address of the memory corresponding to the rear end of the vehicle. The rear shape signal output means obtains the vehicle height of the rear portion of the vehicle from the vehicle height signal stored at an address which is a predetermined number of reverses from the address output by the rear end detection means, and whether the vehicle is a passenger vehicle from this vehicle height. The rear shape signal is output by determining whether the vehicle is a van type.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a vehicle rear shape detecting device in a car washing machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the apparatus, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of support shafts 2, 2 are rotatably supported at the center of both sides of the gate type traveling frame 1, and the support shafts 2, 2 have sprockets. A pair of support arms 4 and 4 to which 3 and 3 are fixed are rotatably supported. Swing shafts 6, 6 fixed to the intermediate portions of a pair of swing arms 5, 5 are rotatably supported at the tips of the support arms 4, 4, and the upper surfaces of the swing arms 5, 5 are provided at the tips thereof. Both ends of a brush support shaft 8 to which the brush 7 is fixed are rotatably supported.

A balance weight 9 is fixed to the upper end of one swing arm 5, and a speed reducer motor 10 that also functions as a balance weight is fixed to the upper end of the other swing arm 5. Then, by connecting the sprocket 11 fixed to the output shaft of the motor 10 with a speed reducer and the sprocket 12 fixed to the brush supporting arm 8 with the chain 13,
The top brush 7 is driven to rotate.

The sprockets 14 and 14 fixed to the outer ends of the swing shafts 6 and 6 and the sprockets 15 and 15 having the same number of teeth fixed to the middle of the support shafts 2 and 2 are chains 16 and 16, respectively.
The cylinder arm 17 fixed to the outer end of the one support shaft 2 is connected to the other end of a cylinder 19 whose one end is pivotally supported by the gate type traveling frame 1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, by extending the cylinder 19, the support shaft 2 is rotated via the cylinder arm 17, and the rotation of the support shaft 2 is transferred to the swing shaft 6 via the chain 16. When transmitted, the swing arm 5 is rotated so that the upper surface brush 7 is positioned above. When the cylinder 19 is deactivated, the upper surface brush 7 swings downward due to its own weight. At this time, the stopper arm 18 fixed to the opposite side of the support shaft 2 to the cylinder arm 17 comes into contact with the stoppers 20 and 21 provided on the gate type traveling frame 1, whereby the upper and lower swing ranges of the swing arm 5 are increased. Is restricted.

A mounting plate 23 having a magnet 22 is fixed to the other support shaft 2, and the gate type traveling frame 1 is provided.
The reed switch 24 provided in the upper part detects that the upper surface brush 7 has reached the upper limit position. Further, the outer end of the support shaft 2 is connected to a rotary encoder 25 for detecting the rotation angle of the swing arm 5, and the rotary encoder 25 and the reed switch 24 serve as a swing angle detecting device as vehicle height detecting means. H is configured so that the rotation angle of the swing arms 5, 5 from the upper limit position, that is, the vehicle height can be detected.

Sprockets 27, 2 are provided at both ends of a tuning shaft 26 rotatably supported on the upper portion of the gate type traveling frame 1.
7 are fixed and these sprockets 27, 27
Is connected to endless chains 28, 28 to sprockets 3, 3 which are integral with the swing arms 4, 4. Further, the sprocket 29 fixed to one end of the tuning shaft 26 is a chain 3
1 is connected to a sprocket 30 of a motor 32 with a worm gear reducer provided on the gate type traveling frame 1 for self-braking. Therefore, the tuning shaft 26 is rotated by driving the motor 32 with a reduction gear, and the tuning shaft 26 is rotated.
The pair of support arms 4 and 4 connected to is rotated in synchronization with each other. At this time, by the action of the magnet 33 of the mounting plate 34 fixed to the outer end of the tuning shaft 26 and the action of the three reed switches 35A, 35B, 35C arranged on the portal frame 1, the swing shaft in FIG. The lower limit position 6a, the intermediate position 6b, and the upper limit position 6c of 6 are detected.

The above-mentioned portal traveling frame 1 is further provided with a side brush 40, a side drying nozzle 41, and an upper surface drying nozzle 42. The driving wheels 37 and 37 and the idle wheels 38 and 38 rotated by the traveling drive device 36. Running rail 3
It is capable of traveling back and forth over 9,39.

Further, an ultrasonic detecting device R as a rear end detecting means for detecting the rear end of the vehicle body by utilizing the reflection of ultrasonic waves is provided on the upper right end of the gate type traveling frame 1. That is, the ultrasonic detecting device R emits ultrasonic waves downward and outputs a signal when the vehicle body as a reflecting surface exists at a position higher than the installation surface of the car wash machine. Therefore, the rear end of the vehicle body is detected when the ultrasonic detecting device R stops detecting the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave while the gate type traveling frame 1 is traveling.

Next, the operation of one embodiment of the vehicle body cleaning apparatus according to the present invention having the above-mentioned structure will be described.

FIGS. 4 to 7 show a vehicle cleaning process and a flow chart thereof. In FIG. 4, the gate type traveling frame 1 is located at the left end of the traveling rail 39, and the swing shafts 6, 6 are provided.
Is at the intermediate position (6b), and the upper surface brush 7 is at the standby position (a) at the upper left position. In the state where the vehicle is stopped, the upper surface brush 7 is rotated counterclockwise, the motor 32 is driven to rotate the support arm 4 clockwise, and the swing shafts 6 are set to the lower limit position from the intermediate position (6b). Rotate to (6a). At the same time, the cylinder 19 is deactivated and the upper surface brush 7 is lowered to the lower limit position (b), and the gate type traveling frame 1
When the vehicle travels to the right, the upper surface brush 7 brushes and cleans the upper surface of the vehicle. When the swing angle detecting device H detects that the support shafts 2 and 2 are in the position of (c) and the swing arms 5 and 5 swing at a preset angle, the motor 32 is driven to drive the swing shaft. 6 and 6 are rotated counterclockwise from the lower limit position (6a) to the intermediate position (6b). As the gate type traveling frame 1 travels forward, the upper surface brush 7 is a bonnet,
When the upper surfaces of the roof and the trunk are brushed and washed in the order of (d), (e), and (f), and separated from the vehicle, the swing shaft 6 of the upper surface brush 7 is at the lower limit position (g) at the intermediate position (6b). Becomes Further, when the gate type traveling frame 1 reaches the position (h), the outward traveling is stopped and the cleaning in the outward traveling is completed.

In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the first counting is started in step S1 at the same time when the forward traveling of the gate type traveling frame 1 is started, and when the upper surface brush 7 reaches the roof position of (e), step S2 is performed. Then, the first count is incremented. Subsequently, the second count is reset in step S3, and at the same time, the reading of the output signal of the ultrasonic detection device R is started in step S4. When the gate type traveling frame 1 reaches the position of 1 (A) (FIG. 4) and the ultrasonic detecting device R no longer detects the reflected wave from the vehicle body, the second counting is started in step S6 to perform the gate type traveling. When the frame 1 reaches the position of 1 (B) (FIG. 4), the second count is incremented in step S9.

At this time, the upper surface brush 7 is located at the rear portion of the vehicle body as shown in (f), and in the case of a passenger car having a trunk portion with a low vehicle height, the upper surface brush 7 is lowered by its own weight to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line. In addition, in the case of a van type vehicle that does not have a trunk portion, the upper surface brush 7 is kept at the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line.
Then, in step S10, the swing angle detecting device H as vehicle height detecting means detects the angle of the swing arms 5, 5 due to the difference in the vehicle body shape, and in step S11, when the angle is equal to or larger than the predetermined angle. If the angle of the passenger car shape signal is less than or equal to the predetermined angle in step S12, step S1
At 4, a van shape signal is output and these rear shape signals are temporarily stored.

The above-mentioned rear shape signal is output from the rear shape signal output means S in the block diagram of FIG. That is, the rear shape signal output means S stores the reference angles of the swing arms 5, 5 which serve as a reference for judging whether the vehicle is a passenger car or a van type vehicle, and the output from the ultrasonic detecting device R as the rear end detecting means. The rear shape signal is obtained by synchronizing the vehicle height signal output from the swing angle detecting device H as the vehicle height detecting means at the time when the upper surface brush 7 is located at the rear portion of the vehicle with the reference angle in synchronization with the signal. It is like this.

When the rear shape signal is stored as described above, the vehicle is washed back for traveling in step S13 or step S15.

In steps S7 and S8 in the above-mentioned flow chart, when the output of the ultrasonic detector R is read in step S4, the interruption of the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves in the rear window of the passenger car is regarded as the rear end of the vehicle. It is provided to prevent a false detection error, and if a reflected wave is detected again in step S8, step S8 is performed.
The process after 3 is repeated.

FIG. 5 shows the washing process in the backward traveling when the vehicle is judged to be the passenger vehicle Vp in the forward traveling.

First, the upper brush 7 is rotated clockwise, and the motor 32 is driven to rotate the support arms 4 and 4 clockwise to set the swing shafts 6 and 6 to the lower limit position (6a).
The gate type traveling frame 1 is returned to the left. The gate type traveling frame 1 moves from the position (i) to (n), where the upper surface brush 7 comes into contact with the trunk portion of the passenger vehicle Vp and the swing arms 5, 5.
When the swing angle detecting device H detects that the swing shaft 5 has swung at a predetermined angle, the motor 32 is driven based on the stored passenger vehicle shape signal, and the swing shafts 6, 6 are
It is rotated counterclockwise from the lower limit position (6a) to the intermediate position (6b). As a result, the upper surface brush 7 brushes and cleans the upper surface of the passenger vehicle Vp in the order of (L), (E), and (W) as the gate-shaped traveling frame 1 travels, and the rear traveling and the upper surface brush at the position (F). Is stopped, the cylinder 19 is operated, and the upper surface brush is set to the standby position (a) to complete the cleaning in the backward traveling.

In FIG. 6, the vehicle is a van type vehicle Vb in the forward running.
7 shows the cleaning process in the return travel when it is determined that

The gate type traveling frame 1 moves from the position (R) to the position (N), where the upper surface brush 7 comes into contact with the rear end of the van type vehicle Vb, and the swing arms 5, 5 have a predetermined preset value. When the swing angle detecting device H detects that the swing shaft 6 has swung, the motor 32 is driven based on the stored bun shape signal, and the swing shafts 6 are moved from the lower limit position 6a to the upper limit position 6c. It is rotated counterclockwise. At the same time, the traveling speed of the gate-type traveling frame 1 becomes low between the position (nu A) and the position (nu B), whereby the upper surface brush 7 moves up while brushing and cleaning the rear surface of the van-shaped vehicle Vb, and Along the roof, the position (C) reaches the position (E). Here, the swing shafts 6 and 6 are moved from the upper limit position (6c) to the intermediate position (6b).
The upper surface brush 7 is rotated in the clockwise direction to
In this order, the upper surface of the van type vehicle Vb is brushed and washed, and the washing in the return run is completed.

9 to 11 show another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is as shown in the block diagram of FIG.
The vehicle height detection means H, the traveling position detection means P, the memory M, the rear end detection means R, and the rear portion shape signal output means S are included. As the vehicle height detecting means H, the swing angle detecting device is used as in the previous embodiment, and the traveling position detecting means P is pulsed at predetermined time intervals in association with the traveling of the portal traveling frame 1. A rotary encoder that outputs is used. Further, the memory M, the rear end detection means R, and the rear shape signal output means S are realized by using a microcomputer MC.

In the flowchart of FIG. 11, when the gate type traveling frame 1 starts forward traveling in step S20,
In step S21, the traveling position detecting means P composed of a rotary encoder that rotates in conjunction with traveling of the gate type traveling frame 1 outputs pulses at predetermined time intervals. When the output signal of the swing angle detecting device H is read every time the pulse is output in step S22, the result is stored in the X address of the memory M in step S23. The vehicle height signal output from the swing angle detecting device H is sequentially stored in the address obtained by adding 1 to the X address each time a pulse is output.

Then, in step S24, the trailing edge detecting means R determines whether or not the gate type traveling frame 1 is on the forward path, and the steps S21 to 24 are repeated while the trailing frame 1 is on the forward path. This judgment is made by opening and closing the side brush 40, for example. When the forward traveling of the gate type traveling frame 1 is completed, the trailing edge detecting means R reads the vehicle height signal stored in the address obtained by subtracting 1 from the last address X of the memory M in step S25, and the upper surface brush 7 in step S26. Is at the lower limit position, that is, whether the upper surface brush 7 is detached from or in contact with the rear portion of the vehicle body. This determination is repeated up and down the address X sequentially until the upper surface brush 7 is no longer at the lower limit position, and when the upper surface brush 7 reaches the address X corresponding to the X position in FIG. 10, which is the moment when the upper surface brush 7 moves away from the rear end of the vehicle. finish. Then, in step S27, the vehicle height signal stored in the address which goes up Y from the address X is read. This vehicle height signal is at the position (f) in FIG.
It corresponds to the height of the upper surface brush 7 at the rear part of the vehicle on the left side of the position by the distance Y. Therefore, in step 28, the rear shape signal output means S determines whether the stored vehicle height signal is equal to or less than the predetermined angle, thereby identifying whether the vehicle is a passenger vehicle or a van type vehicle, and step S29. ，
In S31, the rear shape signal output means S outputs a corresponding rear shape signal.

When the rear shape of the vehicle is identified as described above, the backward traveling of the gate type traveling frame 1 is started in steps S30 and S32, and it is adjusted to the rear shape of the vehicle as in the previous embodiment. Car wash is carried out.

In both of the above embodiments, the car wash machine is constructed by pivoting the base ends of the swing arms 5, 5 having the upper surface brush 7 at the tips of the support arms 4, 4 which are vertically rotatable. However, the present invention can also be applied to a car washing machine in which an upper surface brush is directly attached to the tip of a vertically rotatable support arm as described in JP-A-63-78851. is there.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various small modifications can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims. It is possible to make design changes.

For example, the trailing edge detecting means R in the first embodiment is not limited to that in the above embodiment, but the gate type traveling frame 1 is used.
Attach a photoelectric detector or an ultrasonic detector between both side walls of the
It is also possible to confirm the closing of the side brush.
Further, the vehicle height detecting means H is not limited to that of the above embodiment, and it is possible to use a photoelectric detector or an ultrasonic detector provided between the both side walls of the gate type traveling frame 1.

Further, the traveling position detecting means P in the second embodiment is not limited to that of the above embodiment, but can be realized by a timer which outputs a pulse at a predetermined time interval.

The present invention can be applied not only to the lifting control of the upper brush 7 but also to the lifting control of the upper drying nozzle 40 of the car wash machine, whereby the drying of both the passenger car and the van type car is performed. The processing can also be effectively performed.

[0038]

According to the vehicle rear shape detecting device in the above-described car wash machine of the present invention, the vehicle height detecting means continuously detects the vehicle height while moving along the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the rear end of the vehicle is detected. The detection means detects the rear end of the vehicle and selects a vehicle height signal corresponding to the rear portion of the vehicle from a series of vehicle height signals output by the vehicle height detection means based on the output signal of the rear end detection means. Therefore, from the vehicle height at the rear of the vehicle, it is automatically identified whether the vehicle being washed is a passenger car or a van-type vehicle, and the upper surface brush and the upper surface drying nozzle are vertically moved according to the rear shape of each vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently perform the cleaning work of the vehicle by the car wash machine.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a car washer equipped with a vehicle rear shape detecting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a vehicle cleaning process (when going forward) according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a vehicle cleaning process (at the time of a return trip) of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a vehicle cleaning process (when returning) of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a control unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a control unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a vehicle cleaning process of the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 H vehicle height detecting means R rear end detecting means S rear shape signal outputting means P traveling position detecting means M memory

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle height detecting means (H) that moves along the front-rear direction of the vehicle and continuously detects the vehicle height of the vehicle, and a vehicle height detecting means (H) that moves together with the vehicle height detecting means (H) to Based on the rear end detecting means (R) for detecting the rear end and the vehicle height signal output from the vehicle height detecting means (H) based on the time when the rear end detecting means (R) detects the rear end of the vehicle, the vehicle is detected. A vehicle rear shape detecting device in a car wash machine, comprising: rear shape signal output means (S) for obtaining a rear vehicle height and outputting a passenger vehicle shape signal or a van shape signal.