JPS60176852A - Cleansing method by car washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a door mirror from being damaged by a side brush, by making the side brush so as to separate it sidewards away to a car with a part of the door mirror. CONSTITUTION:A reflection type supersonic detector 35 to detect a car level and a body position of a car to be washed is set up in a front upper part along a forward direction of a running frame 2. This device 35 has an oscillating part 36 and a receiving part 37 being set up closely with each other. Supersonic waves oscillated out of the oscillating part 36 are reflected by a car body and this reflected waves are received by the receiving part 37 whereby a position of the car body is judged in design. With forward movement of the running frame, when a side brush is made contact with the front of the car, brush-washing over a windshield of the car takes place. In addition, the frame travels and thereby the detector 35 detects a boundary P1 between a front window FW and a ceiling surface RF, the side brush 7 gets shifting outside after the elapse of T1 sec. of detection. After the elapse of T2 sec. furthermore, the side brush moves to come nearer to the car body whereby any damage to a mirror is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cleaning method using a car wash machine, and in particular, to a concave traveling frame capable of straddling a vehicle to be washed and traveling along the front and back directions of the vehicle, the present invention provides a method for traversing a vehicle in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle. The present invention relates to a washing method using a car washing machine, which is equipped with a pair of side brushes capable of cleaning, and in which the traveling frame moves back and forth during the washing process.

Conventionally, when such a car wash machine washes a vehicle equipped with a door mirror, the door mirror may be damaged by the side brush because the door mirror protrudes to the side of the vehicle.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a cleaning method using a car wash machine that prevents the side brush from being damaged by the side brush by moving the side brush away from the side of the vehicle at the side mirror portion. The purpose is to provide

In order to achieve such an object, according to the present invention, ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the top surface of a vehicle, and when the top surface of the vehicle is inclined at a certain angle or more with respect to a horizontal plane, the ultrasonic waves are emitted from the top surface of the vehicle. By avoiding receiving reflected waves of The brushes are moved away from the side surfaces for a second set time, and after the second set time has elapsed, both side brushes are moved close to the side surfaces of the vehicle.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.
First, in FIG. 1 showing a first embodiment of the present invention, a car wash machine 1 is equipped with a gate-shaped traveling frame 2 that straddles a vehicle (not shown), and a pair of front and rear wheels 3 provided on this traveling frame 2 are arranged as shown in FIG. It is placed on a rail 4 extending along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and one of the wheels 3 is rotationally driven by a travel drive device M. Therefore, the traveling frame 2 can travel along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

The traveling frame 2 is provided with a rotating brush device B, a drying device, and other processing devices (not shown). Control panel 5 installed on frame 2
It is controlled by a control circuit 42 (see FIG. 2) inside.

The rotating brush device B includes a top brush 6 and a pair of side brushes 7 arranged behind the top brush 6 along the forward direction of the traveling frame 2 indicated by an arrow 8 .

The top brush 6 is swingably supported via a swing arm 10 on a horizontal shaft 9 that is rotatably supported on the traveling frame 2 . The swinging arm IO is provided with a prime mover 11 on its upper part, and a transmission mechanism (
(not shown), the top brush 6 is rotationally driven.

Further, a sprocket 12 is fixed to the horizontal shaft 9, and a drive shaft 13 is rotatably supported on the traveling frame 2 on the side of the horizontal shaft 9. This drive shaft 13 has another sprocket 1.
4 is fixed. An endless chino 15 is mounted four times on both sprockets 1-12.
8 are connected. Therefore, by driving the air cylinder 17 to extend, the brushes 1 to 6 can be held in the upper storage position as shown by the two-dot chain line. Furthermore, when the air cylinder 17 is inactivated, the top brush 6 can freely swing between its vertical position and the storage position at least toward the rear along the outgoing direction 8 using the horizontal axis 9 as a fulcrum. In the cleaning process, the 1-tube brush 6 comes into contact with the top surface of the vehicle and swings according to the shape of the top surface of the vehicle.

The rotation shafts 22 of the pair of side brushes 7 are held by a holding cylinder 23 extending vertically, and the holding cylinder 23 is connected to a moving frame 24.
is fixed to. The movable frame 24 is slidably engaged with a guide rail 25 that extends horizontally on the traveling frame 2, and is laterally driven by a drive means (not shown). Further, both ends of the guide rail 25 are rotatably supported by the traveling frame 2 via a support shaft 26, so that the guide rail 25, the moving frame 24
, the holding cylinder 23, the rotating shaft 22, and the side brush 7 are swingable along the traveling direction of the traveling frame 2 with the supporting shaft 26 as a fulcrum. Further, a prime mover 27 is supported on the movable frame 24, and an endless chino 30 is attached to a sprocket 28 fixed to the output shaft of the prime mover 27 and a sprocket 29 fixed to the end of the rotating shaft 22. 4 times, and the side brush 7 is rotationally driven by the prime mover 27.

The drying device is disposed on the traveling frame 2 in front of the rotating brush device B along the outgoing direction 8, and is installed on the traveling frame 2.
A pair of side nozzles 31 opening inward on both sides of the
and a top nozzle 32 that opens downward at the top and is connected to a blower 33. The top nozzle 32 is raised and lowered by a lifting means (not shown) in accordance with the height of the vehicle to be dried.

A reflective ultrasonic detection device 35 is disposed at the front upper portion of the traveling frame 2 along the outgoing direction 8 to detect the height and body position of the vehicle to be washed. The configuration of this ultrasonic detection device 35 will be described below with reference to FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, the ultrasonic detection device 35 includes a transmitting section 36 and a receiving section 37 that are arranged close to each other. The transmitter 36 includes a transmitter circuit 38 for transmitting signals toward the top of the vehicle.
A pulsed ultrasonic signal is returned from the vehicle, and the receiver 37 receives the reflected wave reflected from the top surface of the vehicle.
Enter 9. The receiving circuit 39 determines whether the reflected wave is an ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmitting section 36 or not, and inputs the received signal to the arithmetic circuit 40 when it is transmitted from the transmitting section 36. On the other hand, a transmission signal from the transmission circuit 38 is inputted to the calculation circuit 40, and the distance to the top of the vehicle is calculated based on the time difference between transmission and reception, and a voltage signal proportional to the distance is sent from the calculation circuit 40 to the comparison circuit. 41. A reference voltage signal vb is input to the comparison circuit 41 in correspondence with a preset height, for example, the height H from the bonnet surface BT of the vehicle V to the ceiling surface RF as shown in FIG. Therefore, below the transmitting section 36 and the receiving section 37, the vehicle ■
When the top surface of the control panel 5 is positioned, a detection signal is output from the comparison circuit 41, and this detection signal is given to the control circuit 42 in the control panel 5.

Here, the transmitting part 36 and the receiving part 37 of the ultrasonic detection device 35 are formed in a conical shape that becomes larger in diameter toward the bottom. There is a risk that the cleaning water will adhere to the inner surfaces of the transmitting section 36 and the receiving section 37, and the ultrasonic waves emitted from the transmitting section 36 will directly enter the receiving section 37, causing malfunction. In addition, weak ultrasonic waves called side lobes are generated along the conical side wall of the transmitter 36, but the propagation direction and intensity of these side lobes change depending on the temperature, density, etc. of the atmosphere. Therefore, depending on the atmospheric condition, the receiving section 37 may receive a counter-wave from an object located laterally instead of a reflected wave from a reflector directly below it, causing a malfunction.

Therefore, at the tips of the transmitting part 36 and the receiving part 37, a slow-closing cylinder 36a made of synthetic resin, which is elongated in the vertical direction and whose lower end is open, is installed.
37a, respectively, and these slow closing cylinders 36a, 37a
This prevents splashes of purified water or the like from being emitted during car washing and entering the receiving sections 36, 37, and also closes the side lobes of the ultrasonic waves described above late. Furthermore, when the car wash machine 1 is operated in cold weather, the temperature and humidity of the air inside the car wash machine 1 rises because the temperature of the washing water is higher than the outside air.
Condensation occurs on the receiving sections 36 and 37, and water droplets adhere to their inner surfaces, causing failures and malfunctions. However, when the signal is emitted, the tips of the receiving sections 36 and 37 are closed slowly by the cylinder 36a.

37a to suppress the convection of air inside and outside the slow-closing cylinders 36a, 37a.
It is possible to prevent fog from forming in the receiving sections 36 and 37.

In such an ultrasonic detection device 35, when the top surface of the vehicle (2) is inclined at a certain angle, for example, 15 degrees or more with respect to the horizontal plane, the ultrasonic waves reflected from the top surface of the vehicle (2) are received by the receiving unit 37. Not done.

On the other hand, the front window FW of the vehicle V is generally inclined at 15 degrees or more with respect to the horizontal plane, and therefore the front window FW is not detected by the ultrasonic detection device 35.

Therefore, when the traveling frame 2 is moving forward, a detection signal is output from the ultrasonic detection device 35 only at the front edge of the ceiling surface RF, that is, at the boundary P1 between the front window FW and the ceiling surface RF. become.

Next, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the operation of the rotating brush device B1, especially the side brush 7, during the cleaning process will be explained. During the cleaning process, the traveling frame 2 travels in the forward direction 8, and the first The cleaning process of the vehicle V is completed by the forward movement.

When the traveling frame 2 starts moving, both side brushes 7 are located at the innermost position, and when the traveling frame 2 comes to the position where it comes into sliding contact with the front of the vehicle, the front side is brushed and cleaned while the side brushes 7 are moved to the innermost side. The vehicle V is then moved toward the front and further inward to brush and clean the side surface of the vehicle V. When the side brush 7 comes to the position indicated by 7A, the ultrasonic detection device 35 is located at the position indicated by 35A, and detects the boundary P1 between the front window FW and the ceiling surface RF.

That is, the ultrasonic detection device 35 does not detect the front window FW whose inclination angle with respect to the horizontal plane is equal to or greater than a certain value even if the height is equal to or greater than the height H1, and outputs a detection signal for the first time at the boundary P1. When this detection signal is input to the control circuit 42, or when the first set time T1 has elapsed, that is, when the side brush 7 comes to the position 7B in front of the door mirror DM, the side brush 7 moves outward. The vehicle starts moving towards the direction of the vehicle V and moves away from the side of the vehicle V. Next, when the second set time T2 has elapsed since the start of the outward movement of the side brush 7, the side brush 7 starts approaching the vehicle (2).

The first set time T1 is the distance between the ultrasonic detection device 35 and the side brush 7, the door mirror DM and the boundary P.

This is determined based on the positional relationship between the side brush 7 and the traveling speed of the traveling frame 2, and depending on the case, the first set time T is set to zero, that is, when the ultrasonic detection device 35 detects the boundary P1, the side brush 7 is set to the vehicle. It may be made to move away from the side surface of the V. Further, the second set time T2 is set as a sufficient time for the side brush 7 to leave the door mirror DM.

After the second set time T2 has elapsed, the side brush 7 approaches the side surface of the vehicle V and brushes the side surface. When the running frame 2 passes the vehicle V@I, the side brush 7 is not shown at 7C and is in the closed position.
The cleaning process is complete.

In this way, when the side brush 7 comes to the position corresponding to the door mirror DM, it is operated to move away from the vehicle
Therefore, the side brush 7 is prevented from coming into contact with the door mirror DM, and as a result, damage to the door mirror DM is prevented.

5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the ultrasonic detection bag N35 has a height H2 lower than the bonnet surface BT. As a result, when the traveling frame 2 moves back and forth, the ultrasonic detection device 35 is connected to the bonnet surface B.
Although the height of T is detected, once it passes the boundary P2 between the bonnet surface BT and the front window FW, it becomes impossible to detect it due to the inclination of the front window FW. Thereby, the side brush 7 separates from the side of the vehicle V when the boundary P2 is detected or after the first set time T1 has elapsed, and then when the second set time T2 has elapsed, the side brush 7 moves away from the side of the vehicle V.
is operated in close proximity to the side of the

2 Also in this second embodiment, damage to the door mirror DM caused by the side brush 7 can be prevented as in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the present invention, ultrasonic waves are transmitted to two surfaces of a vehicle, and when the top surface of the vehicle is inclined at a certain angle or more with respect to a horizontal plane, the ultrasonic waves are emitted from the top surface of the vehicle. By avoiding receiving reflected waves of The side brushes are moved away from the side for a second set time, and after the second set time has elapsed, both side brushes are moved closer to the side of the vehicle, so the side brushes are moved so as not to come into contact with the door mirror, which is located approximately in line with the front window. This prevents the side brush from coming into contact with the door mirror, thereby preventing damage to the door mirror.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show the first embodiment of the present invention. 3 Therefore, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the car wash machine, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic detection device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the locus of the side brush when the traveling frame moves back and forth, and FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a side view corresponding to FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 4. 1...Car wash machine, 2...Traveling frame, 7...Side brush, 35...Ultrasonic detection device, BT...Bonnet surface, FW...Front window, P,, P2...・Boundary, RF...Ceiling surface, T I,
T+...First set time, T2...Second set time, ■...Vehicle 4 Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] A concave running frame that can straddle the vehicle to be washed and run along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is equipped with a pair of side brushes that can move laterally in a direction perpendicular to the running direction. In a car wash machine where a vehicle is traveling, an ultrasonic wave is emitted to the top surface of a vehicle, and when the top surface of the vehicle is inclined at a certain angle or more with respect to a horizontal plane, a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave from the top surface of the vehicle is received. By detecting the boundary between the front window of the vehicle and the bonnet surface or the ceiling surface, when the boundary is detected or after a first set time has elapsed, the both side brushes are moved from the side of the vehicle to the second setting. A cleaning method using a car wash machine, characterized in that the side brushes are moved away from each other for a certain period of time, and after a second set period of time has elapsed, both side brushes are moved close to the sides of the vehicle.