JPH10258004A - Mechanism for unifying squeegee-pressing force in automatically external surface cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable efficient cleaning work by adjusting a pressing force of a squeezee constantly with a low power consumption. SOLUTION: In a pressing force adjusting mechanism, a support base member A for supporting a squeegee S and a pressing base member B are moved along guide members D and E arranged parallel with the body C of the apparatus while the pressing base member B is pressed to be urged to the front side by a press urging means F. As a result, the support base member A and the pressing base member B are driven to be relatively moved by a relative displacement drive means G.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic outer surface cleaning apparatus which moves along the outer surface of a building, removes dirt on the outer surface with a rotating brush using cleaning water, and wipes off water drops with a squeegee to clean the outer surface. The present invention relates to a squeegee pressing force constant mechanism for pressing a squeegee against a cleaning surface with a constant force.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art To repair or clean the outer surface of a building, an automatic device or a manned cage is hung from a rooftop roof car or the like, and these are lifted and lowered along the outer surface automatically or by workers in the cage. Was done by hand,
In particular, the outer surface cleaning work is often performed by an automatic outer surface cleaning device that can automatically perform the cleaning operation while moving along the outer surface due to the dramatic increase in the outer surface area accompanying the recent rise of buildings. Has become.

FIG. 16 shows an example of an automatic outer surface cleaning device. This is provided with a rotating brush 5C to which cleaning water is supplied between the squeegees 5A and 5B which are disposed at predetermined intervals above and below, and the building 1
0 is supported by the hanging rope 5D so as to be able to ascend and descend along the outer surface 11, and is lowered while cleaning the outer surface 1 with the rotating brush 2C. It catches and collects sewage flowing down.

[0004] The squeegee is formed of an elastic material such as rubber, and has a constant pressing force mechanism so as to be able to press against the outer surface with a constant pressing force irrespective of the relative displacement of the automatic outer surface cleaning device with respect to the cleaning surface. It is provided through.

The pressing force stabilizing mechanism is provided so that a support member for supporting the squeegee is moved and driven by a servomotor on a guide rail disposed orthogonally to the cleaning surface, and the servomotor is provided on the cleaning surface of the squeegee. The pressing force is maintained constant based on the pressing force detected by the pressing force sensor that detects the pressing force on the pressing member.

[0006] Recently, there has been provided an engagement moving mechanism which is movably engaged with a guide rail provided in advance on the outer surface of a building, and is self-propelled along the guide rail to perform a cleaning operation. A traveling self-propelled cleaning device has been proposed.

In particular, in a building in which windows, which have been increasing in accordance with recent diversification of architectural design, are horizontally continuous for each story, cleaning work can be performed rationally by moving up and down. Although it is not possible, cleaning work can be performed rationally by moving horizontally along guide rails provided horizontally on the outer surface of the building.

Such a self-propelled automatic cleaning device is provided with a tank for storing cleaning water and sewage, and is configured to be moved and driven by a motor powered by a battery.

[0009]

Here, in the self-propelled automatic cleaning device configured as described above, in order to reduce the frequency of charging the battery and perform an efficient cleaning operation, There is a demand for power saving.

However, in the squeegee pressing force stabilizing mechanism having the above-described structure, since the pressing force is constantly adjusted by the servomotor, the power consumption is large, and as a result, a large and heavy battery can be used. There has been a problem that it is necessary to prepare the battery and frequent charging is required, so that the cleaning operation cannot be performed efficiently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an automatic outer surface cleaning device capable of adjusting the pressing force of a squeegee to a constant level with low power consumption and enabling an efficient cleaning operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for stabilizing the squeegee pressing force.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the mechanism for stabilizing the pressing force of the squeegee in the automatic outer surface cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is provided by a rotating brush using cleaning water while moving along the outer surface of the building. In an automatic outer surface cleaning device for removing dirt on the outer surface and wiping off water drops with a squeegee, the squeegee is pressed against a cleaning surface with a constant force, the squeegee is supported, and a cleaning surface is provided on the device body. A support base member movably provided in a direction substantially orthogonal to the support base member, and a support base member movably provided in the same direction as the movement direction with respect to the support base member, and urged toward the cleaning surface by pressing urging means. A pressing base member, a relative displacement driving means for driving the supporting base member and the pressing base member for relative displacement and for fixing the supporting base member and the pressing base member so as not to be relatively displaceable; Detection means for detecting the position of the member,
Control means for driving the relative displacement driving means so as to maintain the pressing urging force of the pressing urging means within a predetermined range based on the position of the pressing base member by the detecting means. It is characterized by.

Here, "the pressing base member is provided so as to be able to move relative to the supporting base member in the same direction as the moving direction of the supporting base member" means that the supporting base member is provided on the main body of the self-propelled cleaning device as a cleaning surface. A guide member for the pressing base member is provided movably along the guide member for the supporting base member provided orthogonally, and a guide member for the pressing base member is provided on the main body chassis in parallel with the guide member for the supporting base member. A configuration in which a pressing base member is movably provided on a guide member for a base member, and a supporting base member is movably provided along a guide member provided substantially orthogonal to a cleaning surface on the self-propelled cleaning device body. In addition, a guide portion parallel to the guide member is formed on the support base member, and the pressing base member is movably provided on the guide portion. The running cleaning device main body is provided movably along a guide member provided substantially orthogonal to the cleaning surface, and a guide portion parallel to the guide member is formed on the pressing base member, and the support base member is formed on the guide portion. A configuration provided movably, a configuration in which the support base member and the pressing base member are provided movably along one guide member provided on the main body of the self-propelled cleaning device in a direction substantially orthogonal to the cleaning surface, etc. It is.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the entire outer shape of an automatic window cleaning device to which an example of a configuration of a squeegee pressing force stabilizing mechanism in an automatic outer surface cleaning device according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a diagram in which a cover and the like are removed from FIG. , FIG.
1 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, (A) is a cross-sectional view along AA, (B)
1 is a sectional view taken along line BB, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

The illustrated automatic window cleaning device 1 moves horizontally (ie, traverses) along a guide rail 12 horizontally disposed on the outer surface 11 of the building 10 to move the windows 13, 1 of the building 10.
4 is for cleaning the outer surface.

The guide rails 12 are provided for each level of the building 10. The guide rails 12 are provided upright on the lower inner surface of the concave portion 16 having a rectangular cross section provided horizontally on the outer surface 11 of the building 10 in parallel with the outer surface. Is what it is.

The automatic window cleaning device 1 includes a control unit 20 including a control device and a control device 21 such as a power supply battery.
And the cleaning system unit 30 including the cleaning mechanism 40 are connected by the connecting bar 50 and the connecting mechanism 60, and the engagement moving mechanisms 70 (70FU) provided at the upper and lower ends of the control system unit 20 and the cleaning system unit 30, respectively. , 70FL,
70RU, 70RL) are engaged with the guide rail 12 so as not to fall off, and the engagement moving mechanism 70FU, 70FU,
The cleaning system unit moves along the guide rail 12 with the control system unit 20 as the front side (toward the right side in the drawing) by the driving of the moving drive gear motor 75 (75U, 75L) as the driving means provided in the 70FL. The windows 13 and 14 of the building 10 are cleaned by the 30 cleaning mechanism 40.

The cleaning mechanism 40 is supported by a frame base 41 provided on the vertical frame 31 of the cleaning unit 30. A rotary brush mechanism 80 is provided on the front side of the vertical frame 31 in the traveling direction, and a squeegee mechanism is provided on the rear side of the cleaning system unit 30 in the traveling direction. Although not shown in detail, a water supply tank, a water supply pump, a sewage tank, a sewage suction pump, and the like are provided behind the vertical frame 31. In addition, the rotating brush mechanism 80 and the squeegee mechanism 90 are provided with two windows 13 in the upper and lower rows.
14, two sets are provided corresponding to each of them. As the cleaning system unit 30 moves along the guide rail 12, the rotating brush mechanism 80 brushes the outer surfaces of the windows 13 and 14 with the rotating brush 82 using cleaning water, and the squeegee mechanism 90 controls the squeegee 9
1 wipes water droplets and dirt remaining on the outer surfaces of the windows 13 and 14 to clean them.

The rotating brush mechanism 80 includes a frame base 4
1, a horizontal guide 81 provided on the front side of the vertical frame 31 in the traveling direction of the vertical frame 31 has windows 13 and 1 whose outer shape is to be cleaned.
A cylindrical rotary brush 82 having a height substantially equal to the width of the vertical frame 4 has a rotation axis parallel to the vertical frame 31 and a horizontal guide 81.
Is provided so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the outer surface 11 of the building 10 along the axis and to be rotationally driven by a brush rotation drive motor (not shown). It is configured so as to be separated and contacted at right angles. Cleaning water is supplied to the rotating brush 82 from a water supply tank (not shown).

As shown in an enlarged plan view of FIG. 5 and an arrow D view of FIG. 6, the squeegee mechanism 90 is provided on the rear side of the vertical frame 31 in the traveling direction in the automatic outer surface cleaning apparatus according to the present invention. The squeegee 91 is supported in parallel with the vertical frame 31 via a pressing force adjusting mechanism 100 and a swing mechanism 200, which are one configuration example of the pressing force constant mechanism.

The squeegee 91 is made of an elastic material such as rubber and has a rectangular shape having a length substantially equal to the width of the windows 13 and 14 to be cleaned. It is mounted on a holder 92 that is swingably provided on a support base 120 as a support base member with a swing shaft 93 parallel to the vertical frame 31.

The swing mechanism 200 includes a pressing force adjusting mechanism 100.
Drive motor 20 fixed to the support base 120
The rotating plate 202 mounted on the rotating shaft 1
The squeegee 91 is connected to the holder 92 via the drive shaft 03 and is driven to rotate the squeegee 91 around a pivot shaft 93 within a predetermined angle range by rotation of the pivot drive motor 201.

The pressing force adjusting mechanism 100 is a sectional view taken along the line EE in FIGS. 5, 6, and 6, a sectional view taken along the line FF in FIG. 7, FIG. 7, and a sectional view taken along the line GG in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the horizontal guide 110 supported by the frame base 41 and disposed on the rear side of the vertical frame 31
The support base 120 and the rack base 130 are provided so as to be movable, respectively, and the support base 120 and the rack base 130 can be driven to move relative to each other and fixed so as not to move relative to each other by a drive motor 101 provided as a relative displacement drive means provided on the support base 120 And a gas spring 102 as a pressure urging means for urging the rack base 130 toward the building 10.

The horizontal guide 110 has a convex ridge 110A having a rectangular cross section on its outer surface (the surface opposite to the vertical frame 31).
Are formed in a direction orthogonal to the outer surface 11 of the building 10, and guides (first guide 1) are provided on the outer surface and the lower surface, respectively.
11, the second guide 112) is provided so that its guiding direction is orthogonal to the outer surface of the building. Further, a holding member 113 is provided near the rear end, and the holding member 113 supports the rear end of the gas spring 102. Further, a sensor holder 115 is provided at the lower edge of the rear end, and the sensor holder 114 supports two proximity sensors 103 (103F, 103R) as detecting means.

Proximity sensor 103 (103F, 103R)
Are arranged at predetermined intervals facing a movement path of a detection target 107 (described later) supported by the detection target arm 106 when the rack base 130 moves along the second guide 112. As shown in FIG. 11 which is a block diagram of the control system, the approach information of the approach 107 is detected and input to the pressing force stabilizing control device 140.

The support base 120 is a flat base plate 1.
A slide piece 122 fixed to the upper edge of the horizontal guide 110 is slidably fitted to the first guide 111 of the horizontal guide 110, and the first guide 1
11 is provided so as to be movable. Base plate 12
A swinging mechanism 200 and a drive motor 101 are mounted on the outer surface side (the side opposite to the horizontal guide 110) of the device 1.

The drive motor 101 is a flange-type gear motor provided with a brake device,
The output shaft is fixed to the base plate 121 so as to penetrate and project inward (toward the horizontal guide 110). A pinion gear 104 is fixed to the output shaft, and the pinion gear 104 meshes with a rack gear 132 fixed to a rack base 130 described later. The drive of the drive motor 101 is controlled by a pressing force constant control device 140.

The rack base 130 is a substantially flat plate having a rectangular planar shape, and a slide piece 131 fixed to the upper surface of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the mounting portion 130A along one long side has a second guide 112 of the horizontal guide 110. The rack support portion 130B along the other long side is protruded toward the support base 120 and is movably provided along the second guide 112 in a horizontal state. .

A rack gear 132 is fixed to the lower surface of the rack support portion 130B along the long side with the teeth portion facing downward, and an L for supporting a pressing force adjusting screw on the lower surface of the front end portion of the mounting portion 130A. A letter-shaped press fitting 133 is fixed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10 which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line H--H in FIG. 8 and FIG. 6, an object to be detected is supported on the rear end face of the rack gear 132 (the end face opposite to the building 10). A detection arm 106 is provided.

The pressing bracket 133 has a front end vertically formed so as to hang vertically.
08 is screwed in parallel with the guides 111 and 112 and fixed with a lock nut.

The gas spring 102 has its cylinder 1
The rear end of 02A is held by the holding metal 113 of the horizontal guide 110, the telescopic rod 102B is directed to the front side, and the axis is substantially aligned with the axis of the pressure adjusting screw 108 and provided in parallel with the guides 111, 112. Have been. As a result, the distal end of the telescopic rod 102B is
No. 08 abuts against the rear end, and is pressed by the urging force. That is, the gas spring 102 presses the rack base 130 forward by the urging force via the pressing force adjusting screw 108 and the pressing bracket 133.

In the configuration of the pressing force adjusting mechanism 100, the support base 120 and the rack base 130 are movably provided on the guides 111 and 112, respectively, but the output shaft of the drive motor 101 provided on the support base 120 is provided. The pinion gear 104 fixed to the rack base 130
Because it is engaged with the rack gear 132 provided in
When the drive motor 101 is stopped, the two are in a coupled state in which they cannot move relative to each other. However, since the first guide 111 and the second guide 112 are arranged in parallel, the support base 1
The rack base 130 and the rack base 130 may move together.

For this reason, when the squeegee 91 is pressed to the side away from the building 10 in a state where the drive motor 101 is stopped, the support base 120 and the rack base 130 move together to compress the gas spring 102, A forward return force acts on the squeegee 91 in accordance with the amount of compression of the gas spring 102 (squeegee 91
Is pressed forward by the return force of the gas spring 102).

Here, the screwing position of the pressing force adjusting screw 108 to the pressing bracket 133 and the detected material 107 and the proximity sensor 10
The positional relationship between the 3F and 103R is as follows.
When the detected material 107 is located between the two proximity sensors 103F and 103R provided on the horizontal guide and is not detected by any of the proximity sensors 103F and 103R, the gas spring 102 is squeegeeed. 91
Is set so that the amount of compression can be obtained to obtain a desired return force for pressing the pressure on the windows 13 and 14.

On the other hand, by driving the drive motor 101,
The support base 120 moves relatively to the rack base 130 along the first guide 111. That is, the support base 120 (that is, the squeegee 91 that supports the rack base 130) can be moved back and forth without changing the position of the rack base 130 with respect to the horizontal guide 110.

In the pressing force adjusting mechanism 100, the pressing force stabilizing control device 140 uses the proximity sensors 103F and 103R.
The drive motor 101 is driven and controlled as described below based on the detection information of, and the squeegee 91 is pressed against the cleaning surface with a constant pressing force.

First, the support base 120 is advanced with respect to the rack base 130 by the drive of the drive motor 101, and after the squeegee 91 contacts the outer surfaces of the windows 13 and 14, the detection target 107 is further moved to the two adjacent positions. Sensor 103F,
103R, any of the proximity sensors 103F, 1
Driving is continued until the state is not detected even in 03R. After the squeegee 91 comes into contact with the outer surfaces of the windows 13 and 14, the rack base 130 retreats with respect to the support base 120 because the support base 120 is prevented from moving forward. Detecting material 107
Is located between the two proximity sensors 103F and 103R and is not detected by any of the proximity sensors 103F and 103R, the gas spring 102 has the set compression amount, and the squeegee 91 is appropriately moved to the windows 13 and 14 ( (Set) force.

In the subsequent cleaning operation, the drive motor 101 is so positioned that the detected material 107 is positioned between the two proximity sensors 103F and 103R and is not detected by any of the proximity sensors 103F and 103R. Drive control.

That is, when the front proximity sensor 103F detects the detection target 107, the rack base 130
Since the (squeegee 91) is positioned too forward and the amount of compression of the gas spring 102 is smaller than the set value and the restoring force is insufficient, the drive base 101 drives the support base 120 forward with respect to the rack base 130, and the rear. When the proximity sensor 103R on the side detects the detection target 107, the rack base 130 (squeegee 91) is positioned too rearward, the compression amount of the gas spring 102 is large, and the return force is excessive, so that the drive motor 101 The support base 120 is moved backward with respect to the rack base 130 by the driving of
The state that is not detected by 103R is maintained, whereby the compression amount of the gas spring 102 is always maintained within a predetermined range. As a result, the squeegee 91 is constantly pressed against the outer surfaces of the windows 13 and 14 with a certain range of force. You can do it.

In the pressing force adjusting mechanism 100 of this configuration, the squeegee 91 is normally urged against the windows 13 and 14 with a predetermined force by the return force of the gas spring 102, and the gas spring is moved by the relative displacement between the apparatus body and the window surface. Only when the compression amount of the gas spring 102 changes and the pressing force becomes excessive or insufficient, the gas spring 102 is driven back and forth by the driving motor 101 so that the deformation amount of the gas spring 102 is appropriate (the return force is appropriate). For this reason, the drive frequency of the drive motor 102 is low, and power consumption is suppressed. As a result, a long-time operation can be performed with one charge of the battery, and the cleaning operation can be performed efficiently. .

In the above configuration example, as shown in a conceptual configuration diagram in FIG. 12, a support base member A (support base 120) and a pressing base member B (support base) for supporting the squeegee S (squeegee 91 in the above configuration example). The rack base 130 moves along guide members D and E (first guide 111 and second guide 112) arranged in parallel with the apparatus main body C (horizontal guide 110), and a pressing base member B
(Rack base 130) is configured to be urged forward by the urging means F (gas spring 102), and the supporting base member A and the pressing base member B are relatively moved and driven by the relative displacement driving means G. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the support base member A is provided so as to move along the guide member D provided on the apparatus main body C as shown in the conceptual configuration diagram in FIG. A guide portion E 'parallel to the guide member D is formed on the support base member A, and the pressing base member B is movably provided on the guide portion E'. On the contrary, FIG. 14 shows a conceptual configuration diagram. As described above, the pressing base member B is provided so as to be movable along the guide member E disposed on the apparatus main body C,
A guide portion D 'parallel to the guide member E on the pressing base member B;
The support base member A is movably provided on the guide portion D ′. Further, as shown in the conceptual configuration diagram of FIG. 15, the support base member A and the pressing base member B are respectively disposed on the apparatus main body C. A configuration may be employed in which the movable member is provided so as to be movable along one provided guide member D, and can be driven relative displacement by a relative displacement driving means G such as a feed screw.

[0043]

As described above, according to the mechanism for stabilizing the pressing force of the squeegee in the automatic outer surface cleaning device according to the present invention, the squeegee is normally pressed against the cleaning surface by a predetermined force by the pressing biasing means. When the amount of displacement of the pressing urging means changes due to the relative displacement between the apparatus main body and the cleaning surface, and the pressing force becomes excessive or insufficient, the amount of displacement of the pressing urging means is returned to the set value and the pressing force becomes appropriate. Is driven by the relative displacement driving means. For this reason, the driving frequency of the relative displacement driving means is low and power consumption is suppressed, and as a result,
This makes it possible to perform a long-time operation with a single charge of the battery, and to efficiently perform a cleaning operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the entire outer shape of an automatic window cleaning device to which a configuration example of a squeegee pressing force constant mechanism in an automatic outer surface cleaning device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram in which a cover and the like are removed from FIG.

3A is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the squeegee mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line EE in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line FF of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line GG of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line HH in FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a control system of the pressing force stabilizing control device.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a pressing force adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual configuration diagram of another configuration example of the pressing force adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual configuration diagram of another configuration example of the pressing force adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual configuration diagram of another configuration example of the pressing force adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a conceptual configuration of an automatic outer surface cleaning device as a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 automatic window cleaning device (automatic outer surface cleaning device) 10 building 11 outer surface 12 guide rail (guide rail member) 13, 14 window (cleaning surface) 82 rotating brush 90 squeegee mechanism 91 squeegee 100 pressing force adjusting mechanism 101 drive motor (relative) Displacement drive means, drive means 102 Gas spring (pressing and urging means) 103 (103F, 103R) Proximity sensor (detection means) 104 Pinion gear (relative displacement drive means) 107 Detected material (detection means) 110 Horizontal guide (device) Main body) 111 First guide (first guide) 112 Second guide (second guide) 120 Support base (support base member) 130 Rack base (pressing base member) 132 Rack gear (relative displacement driving means) 140 Constant pressing force Control device (control means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An automatic outer surface cleaning apparatus that moves along the outer surface of a building while cleaning the outer surface by using a cleaning brush to remove dirt on the outer surface using cleaning water and wiping off water droplets with a squeegee. A squeegee is supported, and a squeegee is supported, and a support base member is provided on the apparatus main body so as to be movable in a direction substantially orthogonal to the cleaning surface, and a moving direction of the support base member with respect to the support base member. A pressing base member which is provided to be relatively movable in the same direction and is urged toward the cleaning surface by a pressing urging means; and the support base member and the pressing base member are relatively displaceably driven, and are not displaceable relative to each other. A relative displacement driving unit that can be fixed, a detecting unit that detects a position of the pressing base member, and the pressing unit that detects the position of the pressing base member by the detecting unit. Pressing force constant mechanism squeegee in an automatic external surface cleaning device, characterized in that the urging pressure is configured to include a control means for driving the relative movement driving means so as to maintain within a predetermined range of means. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support base member is movably provided on a first guide member provided on the apparatus main body in a direction substantially orthogonal to a cleaning surface, and the pressing base member is parallel to the first guide member. The second guide rail is provided movably urged toward the cleaning surface by the pressing urging means, and the relative displacement driving means connects the support base member and the pressing base member. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
4. A squeegee pressing force stabilizing mechanism in the automatic outer surface cleaning device according to 4. 3. The relative displacement driving means includes a rack gear provided in one of the support base member and the pressing base member in parallel with the first guide member and the second guide member, and a drive gear in the other. The squeegee pressing force constant mechanism in the automatic outer surface cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a pinion gear provided rotatably and fixedly by means is meshed with the pinion gear.