JPH08119076A - Top brush device in car washing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To facilitate switch to soft cleaning and to easily adopt a top brush using a fabric brush unit. CONSTITUTION: When an upper face side of a vehicle to be washed is washed by means of a top brush 30, the top brush 30 can be brought into contact (pressure contact) with the upper face side of the vehicle to be washed while receiving a symmetrical load of a weight 38 by self-weight of the top brush 30, an arm 27, or the like. In washing of the upper face side, the top brush 30 is moved so as to be positioned in the predetermined position for softened washing. That is, downward rotation of the top brush 30 because of its self-weight or the like is prevented, as a rotary shaft 21 is locked after an operation device 40 is operated so as to move the top brush 30 in the predetermined position, so that shift and positioning in the predetermined position can be carried out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to various types of car wash machines such as a mobile type in which cleaning is performed by reciprocating a stopped vehicle to be cleaned (passenger car, etc.), and a stationary type in which cleaning is performed while transporting the vehicle to be cleaned. Related to the top brush device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of car wash machine, there has been provided a mobile car wash machine as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-135355. In this conventional configuration, a side brush device and a top brush device are provided in the car wash machine body. Here, in the top brush device, a pair of left and right drive shafts oriented in the left-right direction are provided on the side portion of the car wash machine body, and substantially the center of the brush arm is fixed to the end portions of these drive shafts. A top brush is pivotally attached between one ends of both brush arms, and a balance weight, a reduction motor, etc. are attached to the other ends. Further, a multi-stage cylinder or the like is arranged between the car wash main body and the brush arm.

In this conventional structure, washing can be performed by stopping the automobile and reciprocating the car wash main body.
At that time, the top brush is rotated by the deceleration motor, and the brush arm is swung by the cylinder to move up and down according to the cleaning situation. Further, when the top brush cleans the upper surface side of the vehicle, the brush arm is basically free, and the top brush is in contact with the upper surface side of the vehicle by its own weight.

[0004]

According to the above-mentioned conventional structure, the top brush is pressed against the upper surface side by itself due to its own weight when cleaning the upper surface side of the automobile. Therefore, the brush mainly made of a resin material of the top brush is used. The bristles are brought into contact with the upper surface side with a considerable pressure contact force. As a result, soft cleaning (soft brushing) cannot be performed,
In the worst case, it will damage the car body. In addition, in a top brush using a single brush made of cloth, which has recently been attracting attention, since the rigidity of the single brush is weak, the brush loses the pressure contact force and cannot be easily adopted.

An object of the present invention is to provide a top brush device for a car washing machine that can be easily switched to soft cleaning and can be easily adopted as a top brush using a cloth brush alone.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a top brush device for a car washing machine according to the first aspect of the present invention has a left-right rotating shaft provided on both sides of a car washing machine main body and both rotating shafts. A pair of left and right arms having an intermediate portion fixed, a top brush arranged between free ends of both arms via a top brush shaft, and a rotary drive device provided at a base end of the arm so as to interlock with the top brush shaft. , A weight provided at the base ends of both arms, and an actuating device provided between the main body of the car wash machine and at least one rotating shaft for vertically moving and positioning the top brush.

In the second aspect of the present invention, in the top brush device for a car washing machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, the top brush is formed by laminating a single brush made of cloth. The third aspect of the present invention is the top brush device for a car wash according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, wherein the actuating device is a motor attached to the main body of the car wash, and the motor is interlocked with the motor and is external to the rotating shaft. The rotating body fitted, the locking body attached to the rotating body, and the locked portion provided on the rotation shaft side. On the other hand, the locking body is disposed so as to be freely contactable.

Furthermore, the fourth invention is provided with a detecting device for detecting the positioning position by the actuating device in the top brush device of the car washing machine according to the above-mentioned third invention.

[0009]

According to the structure of the first aspect of the present invention described above, the desired cleaning can be performed by stopping the vehicle to be cleaned and reciprocating the main body of the car wash machine. At this time, the top brush device can rotate the top brush by rotating the top brush shaft by the rotation driving device.

When the top brush device is used for cleaning the upper surface side of the vehicle to be cleaned, and when softening the cleaning,
The top brush is moved to a predetermined position and positioned. That is, the actuating device is actuated, the arm is pivoted up and down through the pivot shaft to move the top brush to a predetermined position, and then the pivot shaft is locked so that the top brush rotates downward due to its own weight. It can be prevented from moving and thus can be moved to a predetermined position and positioned.

By forcibly moving the top brush up and down and locking it in this manner, it is possible to prevent the top brush from accidentally colliding with or caught on the front and rear surfaces of the vehicle to be cleaned, and to further clean the vehicle. It is possible to avoid a collision with a protrusion of the vehicle.

Further, according to the structure of the second aspect of the present invention, the upper and lower positions of the top brush are locked and positioned by the actuating device, thereby facilitating the soft cleaning by the top brush formed by laminating the cloth brushes alone. You can do it.

According to the structure of the third aspect of the present invention, by operating the motor to rotate the rotating body, the locking body integrated with the rotating body is brought into contact with the surface of the locked portion to rotate the rotating shaft. The top brush can be rotated, so that the top brush is moved to a predetermined position, and the top brush is prevented from rotating downward due to its own weight or the like by preventing the locked portion from contacting with the locking body to position the top brush. . Also, the top brush is overloaded during cleaning (strong contact pressure)
When the above action is exerted, the upward movement force of the top brush acts in the direction in which the locked portion separates from the locking body, so that the top brush is automatically moved upward without any trouble. Overload can be eliminated.

Further, according to the structure of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the movement to the positioning position by the actuating device can be arbitrarily and easily controlled based on the detection by the detecting device, and the learning control and the correction of the learning data can be facilitated. You can do it.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A mobile car washer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 5, a gate-shaped car wash main body 1 is mounted on a floor-side rail 3 via a plurality of wheels 2, and is reciprocally traveled on a fixed route by the operation of a travel drive device (not shown). It In the car wash machine body 1,
Finishing wax arch 4, Base wax arch 5,
Rinse arch 6, Detergent arch 7, Top nozzle device 8, High pressure spray nozzle device 9, Side nozzle device
10, side brush device 11, rocker brush device 12
A vehicle height detecting device (such as sonic) 13 and a top brush device 20 are properly incorporated. Reference numeral 18 indicates a vehicle to be cleaned.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the top brush device 20 has a pair of left and right rotary shafts 21 in the left-right direction (the width direction of the car wash machine), and these rotary shafts 21 are the main body 1 of the car wash machine. , And are rotatably supported via bearings 22. A bounce prevention device interlocking with at least one of the rotating shafts 21 is provided. That is, an L-shaped actuating rod 23 is externally fitted to one of the rotating shafts 21 via an intermediate portion and is fixed via a key 24. A cylinder device (an example of a bounce prevention device) 26 is arranged between the free end of the lever portion 23A, which is one side of the operating rod 23, and the bracket 25 connected to the car wash machine body 1.

A case-shaped arm 27 is fixed to each of the rotating shafts 21 via an intermediate portion near the base end. The free ends of both arms 27 have a rotation shaft in the left-right direction.
28 are rotatably arranged via bearings 29, and
A top brush 30 is arranged between the projecting inner ends of 28. That is, the top brush 30 is attached to the top brush shaft 31,
One brush unit consisting of only cloth such as woven cloth and non-woven cloth
32 is formed by stacking a large number of sheets 32 in the left-right direction while fitting them on the outside. Then, the top brush 30 is formed by connecting both ends of the top brush shaft 31 to the rotary shaft 28, respectively.
It is arranged between the free ends of both arms 27.

At the base ends of both arms 27, a motor (an example of a rotary driving device) 33 which is interlocked with the top brush shaft 31 is provided. That is, the motor 33 is fixed to the base end of the arm 27 with its output shaft 34 protruding into the case-shaped arm 27, and the drive sprocket 35 attached to the output shaft 34 and the rotary shaft 28. A chain 37 is wound around the attached passive sprocket 36. Weights 38 are attached to the base ends of both arms 27, respectively.

An operating device 40 for vertically moving and positioning the top brush 30 is provided between the car wash machine body 1 and at least one rotating shaft 21. That is, the motor 42 with the speed reducer 41 is fixed to the bracket 25 on one side of the car wash machine body 1. Then, a drive sprocket 44 is fixed to an output shaft 43 in the left-right direction from the reduction gear 41, a passive sprocket (an example of a rotating body) 45 is fitted onto the rotating shaft 21 so as to freely rotate, and both sprockets 4 are provided.
A chain 46 is wound between 4 and 45. An inward locking body 47 is attached to the inner side surface of the passive sprocket 45, and the locking body 47 is in the middle of the locked portion 23B on the other side of the operating rod 23 and of the top brush 30. Downward rotation side surface
It is arranged so as to be able to abut against 23b.

With the above structure, the actuating device 40 is actuated to rotate the rotating shaft 21 in the forward and reverse directions through the locking body 47, the operating rod 23 and the like, and through the arm 27, the top brush.
The 30 can be pivoted up and down about the pivot axis 21a. Here, both limits of the rotation of the top brush 30 are restricted by the locked portion 23B of the operating rod 23 coming into contact with the pair of stopper bodies 39a, 39b provided on the bracket 25 side from above. It On the other side as well, a pair of stopper bodies 39a,
39b and the operating rod 23 of only the locked portion 23B are provided.

A detection device 50 for detecting the positioning position of the actuating device 40 is provided. That is, a disc 51 is fixed to the output shaft 43, and an uneven portion 52 is formed around the disc 51. Further, detectors 53 facing the concave-convex portion 52 from the left and right sides are arranged at two locations in the circumferential direction and attached to the bracket 25 side. This detector 53
Is, for example, a proximity switch type, detects unevenness of the uneven portion 52, counts it with a control device (not shown), and drives or stops the motor 42 in the reverse direction according to an instruction from the control device. Is configured.

The cleaning operation according to the above embodiment will be described below. Basically, the intended cleaning can be performed by stopping the vehicle to be cleaned 18 at a predetermined position and causing the car wash machine body 1 to travel back and forth. At this time, the top brush device 20 rotates the top brush 30 by driving the motor 33 to rotate the top brush shaft 31 via the chain 37 and the like. At the time of cleaning, the operation device 40 is operated based on the learning data of the vehicle height learning in which the vehicle height detection device 13 detects the shape of the vehicle to be washed 18, and the top brush 30 is forcibly moved to a predetermined upper and lower position. It will be positioned later.

That is, with the cylinder device 26 opened, the motor 42 of the actuator 40 is operated to rotate the passive sprocket 45 via the drive sprocket 44 and the chain 46. As a result, the locking body 47 integrated with the passive sprocket 45 is brought into contact with the surface 23b of the locked portion 23B, and the rotary shaft 21 is rotated through the operating rod 23, so that the top brush 30 is predetermined. The position of the top brush 30 can be positioned by stopping the top brush 30 from rotating downward due to its own weight by the contact of the locked portion 23B with the locking body 47.

During such movement, a passive sprocket
The uneven portion 52 formed on 45 rotates in front of the detector 53, and by counting the number of alternating passages of the unevenness, it is possible to detect the rotation amount of the passive sprocket 45, that is, the movement amount of the top brush 30. Thus, when the value is a predetermined value based on the learning data described above, the motor 42 automatically stops and enters the locked state. Thereby, based on the detection by the detection device 50, the movement to the positioning position by the actuator 40 can be arbitrarily and easily controlled, and the movement position can be further positioned,
Learning control can be easily performed.

When an overload (strong contact pressure) is applied to the top brush 30 during cleaning, the upward moving force of the top brush 30 causes the locked portion 23B to separate from the locked body 47. Since it works, the top brush 30 is automatically moved upward without any trouble, and the overload is eliminated. At that time, the uneven portion formed on the passive sprocket 45
By counting the number of passages of 52 by the detector 53, the detection signal can be input to the control unit to correct the learning data.

As described above, by forcibly moving the top brush 30 up and down based on the learning data, the top brush 30 accidentally collides with the front and rear surfaces of the vehicle 18 to be cleaned, It is possible to prevent the vehicle from being caught, and it is possible to avoid collision with the outward projection of the vehicle to be cleaned 18. Then, when the top brush 30 cleans the upper surface side of the vehicle to be cleaned 18, the cylinder device 26 basically becomes free, and the top brush 30 is balanced by the weight of the top brush 30 and the arm 27 due to its own weight. Contacting the upper surface of the vehicle to be cleaned 18 under pressure (pressure contact)
Have been.

As described above, when the car wash main body 1 is reciprocated and the top brush device 20 is used to clean the upper surface side of the vehicle 18 to be cleaned, soft cleaning is preferable especially for the cloth brush 32 alone. Easy to do.

By operating the actuating device 40 as described above, as shown by the solid and phantom lines in FIGS. 3 and 4,
The arm 27 is rotated via the operating rod 23 and the rotary shaft 21 so that the rotary shaft axis 21a
The upper brush 30 is rotated up and down around, so that the top brush 30 is moved up and down. At this time, the lower limit of the top brush 30 is such that the locked portion 23B is the stopper body as shown by the solid line in FIGS.
It is regulated by abutting against 39a, and the rising limit is regulated by abutting of the locked portion 23B against the stopper body 39b as shown by the phantom line in FIGS. 3 and 4.

During the cleaning operation, the cylinder device 26
Is to prevent the top brush 30 from unexpectedly bouncing up and down. In the above-described embodiment, the moving type car washer that performs reciprocating movement with respect to the stopped vehicle 18 to be washed has been described.
The same can be applied to a stationary car washing machine that cleans while conveying.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the form in which the cloth brush 32 is laminated as the top brush 30 is shown. However, in the first invention, an embodiment using a conventional side brush made of resin brush bristles is also used. It is possible.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the disc-shaped disc 51 is shown in the detection device 50, but it may be a tooth-shaped disc having the necessary irregularities 52. In the above embodiment,
Although all of the vertical movement of the top brush 30 is performed by the actuator 40, in the present invention, a large vertical movement is performed by the cylinder device 26, and a small vertical movement and positioning are performed by the actuator 40 as in the conventional case. May be. When the cylinder device 26 makes a large up-and-down movement, the actuator 40 is in a free state with the brake released.

[0032]

According to the first aspect of the present invention having the above structure, the top brush can be moved up and down to a predetermined position by the operation of the actuating device and then locked at the predetermined position, so that the top brush can be attached to the vehicle to be cleaned. It is possible to prevent pressure contact. This makes it possible to easily switch to soft cleaning.

According to the second aspect of the present invention having the above structure, a top brush using a single brush made of cloth can be easily adopted. Further, according to the third aspect of the invention having the above-described structure, the top brush is moved to a predetermined position by rotating the rotation shaft by bringing the locking body integrated with the rotating body into contact with the surface of the locked portion. Further, the positioning of the top brush at a predetermined position can be performed by preventing the top brush from rotating downward by contacting the locked portion with the locked portion. Also, when an overload (strong contact pressure) is applied to the top brush during cleaning, the upward movement force of this top brush acts in the direction in which the locked part separates from the locking body. It can be automatically moved upward without any trouble, thus eliminating overload.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention having the above-described structure, the movement of the actuating device to the positioning position can be arbitrarily and easily controlled based on the detection by the detecting device, and the learning control and the correction of the learning data are also easy. Can be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main portion of a top brush device showing a mobile car washer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the top brush device.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of the top brush device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a positioning device portion of the top brush device.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the entire car wash machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Car Wash Machine Main Body 8 Top Nozzle Device 9 High Pressure Spray Nozzle Device 10 Side Nozzle Device 11 Side Brush Device 12 Rocker Brush Device 13 Height Detection Device 18 Vehicle to be Washed 20 Top Brush Device 21 Rotating Shaft 23 Actuating Rod 23A Lever 23B Covered Device Locking part 23b surface 26 Cylinder device (bouncing prevention device) 27 Arm 30 Top brush 31 Top brush shaft 32 Brush unit 33 Motor (rotary drive device) 38 Weight 40 Actuating device 42 Motor 45 Passive sprocket (rotating body) 47 Locking body 50 Detector 51 Disk 52 Concavo-convex section 53 Detector

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A left-right rotating shaft provided on both sides of a car washing machine main body, a pair of left and right arms having an intermediate portion fixed to both rotating shafts, and a top brush shaft interposed between free ends of both arms. A top brush arranged at the base, a rotary drive device provided at the base ends of the arms so as to interlock with the top brush shaft, a weight provided at the base ends of both arms, a car washing machine body, and at least one rotating shaft. A top brush device for a car washing machine, which is configured by an actuating device which is provided between the top brush and which moves and positions the top brush in a vertical direction. 2. The top brush device for a car wash machine according to claim 1, wherein the top brush is formed by laminating a single brush made of cloth. 3. A motor having an actuating device mounted on a car washing machine main body, a rotating body interlocked with the motor and externally fitted to a rotating shaft, a locking body mounted on the rotating body, and the rotating shaft. And a locked portion provided on the side, and the locking body is disposed so as to be capable of abutting on the surface of the locked portion on the lower rotation side of the top brush. Item 3. A top brush device for a car wash machine according to Item 1 or 2. 4. The top brush device for a car wash machine according to claim 1, further comprising a detection device for detecting a positioning position of the actuating device.