JPH08119071A - Car washing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To smoothly change a direction of a vehicle for washing even when a rear/front space of a conveyor is narrow by providing a driving device rotating a turntable in one direction at an angular pitch made by the conveying direction of the conveyor and the vehicle traveling direction. CONSTITUTION: When front wheels of a vehicle 2 transferred onto a turnable 12 do not reach an optical axis 35, a signal light 27 instructs advance of the vehicle 2. When the front wheels reach the optical axis 35 and cut off the optical axis 35, the signal light 27 instructs a stop of the vehicle 2. In this way, a driver in the vehicle 2 can stop the vehicle precisely in the predetermined position on a vehicle mounting face 14 of the turntable 12 according to the indication of the signal light 27. As a motor 22 is operated and its rotary shaft, is rotated by the predetermined number of revolutions, the turntable 12 is rotated in one direction by an angle α made by the conveying direction 17 of the roller conveyor 3 and the vehicle traveling direction 18. In this way, the direction of the vehicle 2 on the turntable 12 is changed, and the front part of the vehicle 2 is directed to a vehicle passage port 16.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a car-washing facility having a stationary car-washing machine main body and a conveyor for carrying a vehicle into the car-washing machine body from the front and unloading the car from the car-washing machine body to the rear.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of car wash equipment, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-193458 can be cited. That is, in the installation space such as a refueling station, a stationary car washer body and a roller conveyor for delivering the vehicle from the front of the car washer body to the rear of the car washer body are provided. . The car wash main body is formed in a gate shape, and is provided with a plurality of rotary brushes and a drying nozzle inside.

According to this method, the vehicle is washed on the inside of the car washer body while being conveyed on the roller conveyor by driving the roller conveyor after the vehicle is loaded on the starting end portion of the roller conveyor. Is transported to the back of.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the above conventional format,
As shown in FIG. 7, when the rear space 62 formed behind the roller conveyor 61 is limited by obstacles such as the wall 63 and the building 64, the vehicle 65 is transported to the rear of the roller conveyor 61. , Turn at the rear space 62 and turn to the rear space
I was exiting from 62 through exit 66. However,
In the case where the rear space 62 is narrow, the vehicle 65 has to be turned back and over again and turned to the side of the exit 66, which is very troublesome.

The present invention solves the above problems, and provides a car wash facility that can smoothly change the direction of the vehicle and wash the car even when the space behind or in front of the conveyor is small. The purpose is.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the first aspect of the present invention is to provide a stationary car washing machine main body, and to carry the vehicle into the car washing machine main body from the front and to carry it out from the car washing machine main body to the rear. A conveyor to be installed, a turntable is provided on either the front or the rear of the conveyor, the upper surface of the turntable is formed flat as a vehicle mounting surface, and a vehicle passage is formed on the side of the turntable. A drive device is provided for rotating the turntable in one direction at an angular pitch formed by the conveyor carrying direction and the vehicle passing direction.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a step is provided between one end of the conveyor and the turntable so as to communicate with the conveying surface of the conveyor and the vehicle mounting surface of the turntable.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, a turntable is provided at the rear of the conveyor, and a signal light for instructing the forward movement and stop of the vehicle is provided at the rear of the turntable.

[0008]

According to the structure of the first aspect of the present invention, when the turntable is provided at the rear of the conveyor, the vehicle is washed in the car washer body and conveyed to the rear end of the conveyor, and then the vehicle is transferred to the turntable. Stop on the vehicle mounting surface. After that, the drive device is driven to rotate the turntable in one direction by the angle formed by the conveyor carrying direction and the vehicle passing direction. As a result, the vehicle on the turntable is turned from the conveying direction of the conveyor to the vehicle passage direction, and the front portion of the vehicle is directed to the vehicle passage opening. After that, the vehicle travels forward and exits from the turntable through the vehicle passage.

When a turntable is provided in front of the conveyor, the vehicle rides on the turntable through the vehicle passage and stops on the vehicle mounting surface. After that, the drive device is driven to rotate the turntable in one direction by the angle formed by the conveyor carrying direction and the vehicle passing direction. As a result, the vehicle on the turntable is turned from the traveling direction of the vehicle to the conveying direction of the conveyor, and the front portion of the vehicle is directed to the front end side of the conveyor. After that, the vehicle travels forward, moves from the turntable to the front of the conveyor, and stops. Then, the conveyor is driven to wash the vehicle while it is being transported.

According to the configuration of the second invention, the vehicle is
When moving between one end of the conveyor and the turntable,
Since it passes over the steps, it can be moved smoothly. According to the configuration of the third aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle conveyed to the rear end of the conveyor is moved forward, transferred onto the turntable, and stopped on the vehicle mounting surface, the vehicle is at a predetermined position on the vehicle mounting surface. If not reached, a signal light will indicate the forward movement of the vehicle. Then, when the vehicle reaches a predetermined position on the vehicle mounting surface, the signal light instructs the vehicle to stop. This allows
The driver in the vehicle can accurately stop the vehicle at a predetermined position on the vehicle mounting surface of the turntable by looking at the signal light.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, in a gas station, car wash, etc., the stationary car wash main body 1 and the left and right that carry the vehicle 2 into the car wash machine main body 1 from the front and unload it from the car wash machine main body 1 to the rear A pair of roller conveyors 3 are installed. The car wash main body 1 is formed in a gate shape in a front view, and is provided therein with a plurality of rotary cleaning brushes 4, a rotary wax coating brush 5, a drying nozzle 6, and the like.

A rear space 8 is formed behind the roller conveyor 3. Walls 9 and 10 are formed on the back and one side of the rear space 8, and obstacles such as a building 11 are installed on the other side, and the rear space 8 is connected to the walls 9 and 10. It is surrounded by building 11.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a turntable 12 is provided in the rear space 8. The turntable 12 is formed in a disk shape in a plan view, and an inclined surface 13 that inclines downward is formed on the entire periphery of the turntable 12. In addition, the upper surface of the turntable 12 is the vehicle mounting surface 14
Is formed flat.

A vehicle passage 16 is formed on the side of the turntable 12 and between the building 11 and the car wash machine body 1 so that a vehicle that has finished washing can exit. A drive device 19 for rotating the turntable 12 in one direction is connected to the turntable 12 at a pitch of an angle α formed by the conveyance direction 17 of the roller conveyor 3 and the vehicle passage direction 18. That is, the drive device 19 includes the sprocket 20 provided on the side of the turntable 12 and the sprocket 20.
20, a chain 21 wound around the turntable 12, a motor 22 for rotating the sprocket 20, and the motor 22.
And a pulse encoder 23 that is connected to the rotating shaft and counts the number of rotations of the rotating shaft. The motor 22 is stopped by the control unit 24 when the count value of the pulse encoder 23 reaches the set value.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, between the rear end of the roller conveyor 3 and the turntable 12, the transport surface 25 of the roller conveyor 3 and the vehicle mounting surface 14 of the turntable 12 are provided.
A step 26 is provided that communicates with and. The rear edge of this step 26 is formed in an arc shape along the vehicle mounting surface 14 of the turntable 12 and also the turntable 12
It covers the slope 13 above.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a turntable is provided.
A signal light 27 for instructing the vehicle 2 to move forward and backward is attached to a wall 9 behind and behind 12. A mounting position sensor 30 for detecting the position of the front wheel 29 of the vehicle 2 mounted on the vehicle mounting surface 14 of the turntable 12 is provided in the rear space 8. That is, the mounting position sensor 30
Is composed of a projector 33 and a photoreceiver 34 of a photoelectric switch provided on the floor 31 via a bracket 32. As a result, an optical axis 35 is formed between the light projector 33 and the light receiver 34 so as to cross the upper rear portion of the vehicle mounting surface 14 of the turntable 12 in the left-right direction.

Further, as shown in FIG.
16 includes a passage confirmation sensor 37 for confirming the passage of the vehicle.
Is provided. That is, the passage confirmation sensor 37 includes a projector 39 and a photoreceiver 40 of a photoelectric switch provided on the floor 31 via a bracket. As a result, an optical axis 41 that crosses the vehicle passage 16 is provided between the light projector 39 and the light receiver 40.
Is formed.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below.
After the vehicle 2 has entered the front end of the roller conveyor 3, it is stopped and the side brakes are activated to lock the wheels. After that, the roller conveyor 3 is driven and the vehicle 2 is
While being transported by the roller conveyor 3, the vehicle is washed in the car wash main body 1 and transported to the rear end of the roller conveyor 3. Then, the vehicle 2 is moved forward and transferred to the turntable 12. At this time, since the vehicle 2 passes over step 26,
It smoothly moves from the roller conveyor 3 to the turntable 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the front wheels 29 of the vehicle 2 that has transferred to the turntable 12 have not reached the optical axis 35, the signal light 27 instructs the vehicle 2 to move forward. And FIG.
As shown in, when the front wheel 29 reaches the optical axis 35 and the optical axis 35 is blocked by the front wheel 29, the signal light 27 instructs the vehicle 2 to stop. As a result, the driver inside the vehicle can accurately stop the vehicle 2 at a predetermined position on the vehicle mounting surface 14 of the turntable 12 while seeing the display of the signal light 27.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, since the motor 22 operates and the rotation shaft thereof rotates by a predetermined number of rotations, the turntable 12 makes an angle between the transport direction 17 of the roller conveyor 3 and the vehicle traveling direction 18. Rotate in one direction by α. As a result, the vehicle 2 on the turntable 12 is turned around, and the front portion of the vehicle 2 is directed to the vehicle passage 16. Then, the vehicle 2 travels forward and exits from the turntable 12 through the vehicle passageway 16. At this time, if the vehicle 2 gets stuck in the middle of the vehicle entrance 16 due to a failure of the vehicle 2 or the like, the optical axis 41 is blocked for a certain period of time or more, so the vehicle entrance
It is possible to detect an abnormal situation in 16 and take safe measures such as immediately stopping the car wash.

As described above, since the turntable 12 provided in the rear space 8 can easily change the direction of the vehicle 2, it suffices to secure an area where the turntable 12 can be installed as the rear space 8. The area of the rear space 8 can be reduced.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. A front space 51 is formed in front of the roller conveyor 3. This front space 51 is the wall 9, 10
It is surrounded by Building 11. A turntable 12 is provided in the front space 51. In addition, between the side of the turntable 12 and the building 11 and the car wash machine body 1,
A vehicle passage 16 is formed for the vehicle 2 to enter in front of the roller conveyor 3. A drive device 19 for rotating the turntable 12 in one direction is connected to the turntable 12 at a pitch of an angle α formed by the conveyance direction 17 of the roller conveyor 3 and the vehicle passage direction 18. Step 26 is provided between the front end of the roller conveyor 3 and the turntable 12.
Is provided.

A vehicle passage through the turntable 12
On the other side of 16, a signal light for instructing the vehicle 2 to move forward and stop
27 is installed. A mounting position sensor 30 for detecting the position of the front wheel 29 of the vehicle 2 mounted on the vehicle mounting surface 14 of the turntable 12 is provided in the front space 51.

According to this, the vehicle 2 rides on the turntable 12 through the vehicle passage 16 and stops on the vehicle mounting surface 14. At this time, the vehicle 2 riding on the turntable 12
When the front wheel 29 of the vehicle does not reach the optical axis 35, the signal light 27 instructs the vehicle 2 to move forward. Then, when the front wheel 29 reaches the optical axis 35 and the optical axis 35 is blocked by the front wheel 29, the signal light 27 instructs the vehicle 2 to stop. As a result, the driver in the vehicle sees the display of the signal light 27 and turns the vehicle 2 to the turntable 12
The vehicle can be accurately stopped at a predetermined position on the vehicle mounting surface 14.

After that, the motor 22 is operated to rotate its rotation shaft by a predetermined number of rotations, so that the turntable 12 rotates in one direction by an angle α formed by the conveying direction 17 of the roller conveyor 3 and the vehicle passing direction 18. . As a result, the vehicle 2 on the turntable 12 is turned around, and the front portion of the vehicle 2 is directed to the front end side of the roller conveyor 3. After that, the vehicle 2 is moved forward, transferred from the turntable 12 to the roller conveyor 3, and stopped on the roller conveyor 3. After that, the roller conveyor 3 is driven, the vehicle 2 is washed in the car wash machine body 1 while being conveyed, and is discharged to the rear of the roller conveyor 3.

As described above, since the turntable 12 provided in the front space 51 can easily change the direction of the vehicle 2, the area where the turntable 12 can be installed should be secured as the front space 51. Good luck, front space
The area of 51 can be reduced.

The third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. That is, the third embodiment is a combination of the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, and the turntables 12 are provided in front of and behind the roller conveyor 3, respectively.

According to this, since the direction of the vehicle 2 can be easily changed by the turntables 12 provided in the front space 51 and the rear space 8, the area where each turntable 12 can be installed is limited to the front area. It is only necessary to secure the space 51 and the rear space 8, so that the areas of the front space 51 and the rear space 8 can be reduced.

In each of the above embodiments, the turntable 12 is not provided with roller conveyors or wheel guides, and the top surface of the turntable 12 is formed flat as the vehicle mounting surface 14. After turning 12 by one angle α, turntable 12
Then, the turntable 12 may be continuously rotated to the one side by the angle α, and there is an advantage that the turntable 12 does not have to be reversely rotated and returned to the original position each time the car is washed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, since the turntable 12 has an inclined surface 13 which is inclined downward at the peripheral edge thereof, the floor 2 and the turntable 12 can smoothly move in and out of the vehicle 2. You can do it. Also a turntable
Since the rotation angle α of 12 can be changed, the rotation angle α of the turntable 12 can be freely set according to the surrounding layout.

Although the roller conveyor 3 is used as the conveyor in the above embodiments, it may be a belt conveyor. Further, although the pair of left and right roller conveyors 3 are provided, the left and right wheels may be supported by one wide conveyor.

[0032]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the turntable is provided in front of or behind the conveyor,
The direction of the vehicle can be easily changed. In this way, since it is sufficient to secure a space for installing the turntable in front of or behind the conveyor, it is possible to smoothly change the direction of the vehicle and wash the car even in a narrow place.

Further, since no conveyor or wheel guide is provided on the turntable and the upper surface of the turntable is formed flat as a vehicle mounting surface, after the turntable is rotated to one side, the next time the car is washed. The turntable can be rotated continuously to one side. In this way, it is not necessary to reversely rotate the turntable back to the original position each time the car is washed, and therefore the car washing process is shortened.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the vehicle moves between one end of the conveyor and the turntable, the vehicle passes over the steps, so that the vehicle can move smoothly. According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle conveyed to the rear end of the conveyor is moved forward and transferred onto the turntable and stopped on the vehicle mounting surface, the vehicle reaches a predetermined position on the vehicle mounting surface. If not, the signal light will indicate the forward movement of the vehicle. Then, when the vehicle reaches a predetermined position on the vehicle mounting surface, the signal light instructs the vehicle to stop. As a result, the driver inside the vehicle can accurately stop the vehicle at a predetermined position on the vehicle mounting surface of the turntable by looking at the signal light.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of car wash equipment according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a turntable of the car wash facility.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the vehicle stopped at a predetermined position on the turntable of the car wash facility.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the movement of the vehicle from the roller conveyor of the car wash equipment to the turntable.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of car wash equipment according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of car wash equipment according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of conventional car wash equipment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Car Wash Machine Main Body 2 Vehicle 3 Roller Conveyor 12 Turntable 14 Vehicle Placement Surface 16 Vehicle Passage 17 Transport Direction 18 Vehicle Passage 19 Drive 25 Transport Surface 26 Step 27 Signal Light α Angle

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A stationary car wash main body, and a conveyor for loading the vehicle into the car wash main body from the front and unloading the car from the car wash main body to the rear are provided, and a turntable is provided either before or after the conveyor. The upper surface of the turntable is formed flat as a vehicle mounting surface, a vehicle passage opening is formed on the side of the turntable, and the turntable is formed at an angular pitch formed by the conveying direction of the conveyor and the vehicle passage direction. Car wash equipment, characterized in that it is provided with a drive device for rotating the car in one direction. 2. A step is provided between one end of the conveyor and the turntable, the step of communicating with the conveying surface of the conveyor and the vehicle mounting surface of the turntable.
Car wash equipment described. 3. The car wash equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a turntable is provided at the rear of the conveyor, and a signal light for instructing the forward movement and stop of the vehicle is provided at the rear of the turntable.