WO2009101694A1

WO2009101694A1 - Car washer

Info

Publication number: WO2009101694A1
Application number: PCT/JP2008/052452
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eiji Takeuchi; Shigeo Takeuchi
Original assignee: Takeuchi Techno Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2008-02-14
Filing date: 2008-02-14
Publication date: 2009-08-20

Abstract

A car washer comprising a top brush (13) fitted to a rotation support shaft (21) mounted on a travel frame (2) so that disk-shaped washing members (61A,61B) are inclined against the rotary shaft line of the rotation support shaft (21), wherein the angle of the inclination is in the range of 15° to 25° against a right angle plane orthogonal to the rotary shaft line. Accordingly, the angle of moving direction of the washing members of the top brush against the moving direction of the top brush with respect to a vehicle being washed can be set to a given extent, thereby attaining enhancement of washing effects and shortening of car wash time.

Description

Car wash machine

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to a car wash machine for cleaning a vehicle body surface by rotating and following the cleaning body to a vehicle body surface of a vehicle to be cleaned such as an automobile.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a car wash machine having a cleaning brush in which a disc-shaped cleaning body is attached to a rotation support shaft so as to be inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the rotation support shaft is well known (see Patent Document 1 below).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-282451

By the way, when the washing brush moves relative to the vehicle body surface of the vehicle to be cleaned, the car wash machine can move the outer peripheral surface in contact with the vehicle body surface of the cleaning body in the left-right direction, thereby improving the cleaning effect of the vehicle body surface. There is an advantage of improving.

However, if the angle of inclination of the cleaning body with respect to the perpendicular plane orthogonal to the axis of the rotation axis of the cleaning brush is relatively small (less than 15 °) as shown in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is within a short time. In addition, there is a problem that the desired cleaning effect cannot be obtained, and if the inclination angle is relatively large (25 ° or more), the surface pressure of the cleaning body against the vehicle body surface decreases, and the desired cleaning can be performed in a short time. Another problem that the effect cannot be obtained was found from the experimental results by the inventors of the present application.

Therefore, as a result of repeated research, study, and experiment by the inventors, it was found that when the inclination angle of the cleaning body is in a specific angle range, the cleaning time can be shortened to obtain a sufficient cleaning effect. .

The present invention has been made as a result, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel car wash machine that solves the above problems.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a car wash machine comprising a cleaning brush in which a disc-shaped cleaning body is attached to a rotation support shaft provided on a frame so as to be inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the rotation support shaft. The inclination angle is 15 to 25 degrees with respect to a right-angle plane orthogonal to the rotation axis.

According to the characteristics of the present invention, the cleaning effect can be improved and the car washing time can be improved by increasing the moving direction angle (α to be described later) of the cleaning body provided on the cleaning brush with respect to the traveling direction of the cleaning brush with respect to the vehicle to be cleaned. Can be shortened.

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a car wash machine of the present invention. (First embodiment) FIG. 2 is a plan view of the car wash machine along line 2-2 in FIG. (First embodiment) FIG. 3 is a rear view of the car wash machine along line 3-3 in FIG. (First embodiment) FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion surrounded by an imaginary line 4 in FIG. (First embodiment) FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of a portion surrounded by a virtual line 5 in FIG. (First embodiment) FIG. 6 is a side view of the cleaning body material. (First embodiment) FIG. 7 is a front view of the first cleaning body. (First embodiment) FIG. 8 is a front view of the second cleaning body. (First embodiment) FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. (First embodiment) FIG. 10 is a front view of the cornering machine. (First embodiment) FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11-11 in FIG. (First embodiment) FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory view showing the cornering process of the cleaning body material. (First embodiment) FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a cleaning process of an automobile using a top brush. (First embodiment) FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a state of the top brush when cleaning the upper surface of the vehicle body. (First embodiment) FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a state when the side surface of the vehicle body is cleaned by the side brush. (First embodiment) FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the inclination angle of the cleaning body with respect to the traveling direction of the top brush (side brush). (First embodiment)

Explanation of symbols

2 ・・・・・・・・・・・ Frame (running frame)
21 ............ Rotation support shaft 67 ............ Rotation support shaft 13 ............ Cleaning brush (top brush)
40 ... Cleaning brush (side brush)
61A ... Cleaning body (first cleaning body)
61B ... Cleaning body (second cleaning body)

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below based on the embodiments of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

1 to 3, a car wash machine main body 1 of a car wash machine includes a portal-type travel frame 2 as a frame that can straddle an automobile V as a vehicle to be cleaned. The travel frame 2 is composed of

travel motors

3 and 3. The pair of left and

right driving wheels

4 and 4 and the pair of left and right driven

wheels

5 and 5 are driven to reciprocate on the pair of left and

right traveling rails

6 and 6. A rotary encoder 51 for detecting the travel position of the car wash machine body 1 is provided on the output shaft of one travel motor 3.

An elevating drive shaft 7 extending in the left-right direction is rotatably supported on the upper part of the traveling frame 2, and a rotary encoder 28 for detecting an elevating position of a top brush 13 described later is provided at one end of the elevating drive shaft 7. It has been.

Also, a pair of left and

right guide rails

8 and 8 extending in the vertical direction are integrally provided on the left and right side portions of the traveling frame 2. The

guide rails

8 and 8 are formed in a U-shaped cross section. The

guide rails

8 and 8 include two

rollers

9 and 9 guided by the inner walls of the

guide rails

8 and 8 and the guide rails. A pair of left and right carts 11A and 11B having one roller 10 guided by inner walls of 8, 8 are provided so as to be able to move up and down, respectively.

Both ends of the top brush support shaft 12 of the top brush 13 are fixed to the pair of carriages 11A and 11B, and the top brush 13 described later is rotatably supported on the top brush support shaft 12. The top brush 13 is guided to the pair of left and

right guide rails

8 and 8 together with the pair of carriages 11A and 11B.

As shown in FIG. 2, an elevating motor 14 is provided on one side of the traveling frame 2. An endless chain 17 is wound around a sprocket 15 fixed to the output shaft of the lifting motor 14 and a sprocket 16 fixed to the lifting drive shaft 7.

Sprockets

18 and 18 are fixed to both ends of the elevating drive shaft 7, while

other sprockets

19 and 19 corresponding to the

sprockets

18 and 18 are rotatable at the left and right lower portions of the traveling frame 2.

Chains

20 and 20 are respectively wound around these

sprockets

18, 18, 19 and 19, and both ends of these

chains

20 and 20 are respectively located above and below the carriages 11A and 11B. It is connected.

However, when the elevating motor 14 is driven, the pair of left and right carriages 11A and 11B are guided by the

guide rails

8 and 8 to be synchronized and raised.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rotation support shaft 21 made of a pipe of the top brush 13 (detailed later) is rotatably supported by the top brush support shaft 12 via a bearing. The sprocket 22 is integrally provided at one end close to the one carriage 11B. One carriage 11 B is provided with a brush rotation motor 23. An endless chain 25 is wound around the sprocket 24 provided on the output shaft of the brush rotation motor 23 and the sprocket 22. And according to the drive of the brush rotation motor 23, the rotation support shaft 21 of the top brush 13 is rotationally driven.

As shown in FIG. 2, a lower limit detection switch 26 for detecting that the carriage 11A is at the lower limit position and a carriage 11A at the upper limit position are provided at the lower and upper portions of the guide rail 8 for guiding the other carriage 11A. An upper limit detection switch 27 is provided for detecting the presence.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a guide rail 31 extending in the left-right direction of the traveling frame 2 is supported on the upper portion of the traveling frame 2 on the rear side in the forward direction.

Rails

31A and 31B are fixed. A pair of left and

right carts

32L and 32R are supported on the guide rail 31 so as to be able to reciprocate, and a drive wheel 33 and a free wheel 34 that roll on the mountain-shaped rail 31A are rotatable above the

carts

32L and 32R. A pair of

idle wheels

35, 35 that roll on the mountain-shaped rail 31B are rotatably supported at the lower portions of the

carriages

32L, 32R.

Torque motors

36L and 36R are supported on the

carriages

32L and 32R, respectively, and the

drive wheels

33 and 33 are connected to output shafts of the

torque motors

36L and 36R, respectively.

However, if each

torque motor

36L, 36R is driven, each

carriage

32L, 32R can reciprocate along the guide rail 31, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, support shafts 37 extending in the lateral direction are fixed to intermediate portions of the carriages 32 L and 32 R, and brush support cylinders 38 are respectively attached to these support shafts 37 through bearings. It is supported so as to be swingable in the left-right direction. The brush support cylinder 38 extends in the vertical direction, and a rotary shaft 39 extending in the vertical direction is rotatably supported at a lower portion thereof, and a side brush 40 described in detail later is provided on the rotary shaft 39. .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a motor base 41 is fixed to the upper portion of each brush support cylinder 38, and a rotary motor 42 is provided on the motor base 41. An endless chain 45 is stretched between a sprocket 43 provided on the output shaft of the rotary motor 42 and a sprocket 44 provided on the upper end of the rotary shaft 39.

However, the side brush 40 described later can be rotated by driving the rotary motor 42.

As shown in FIG. 3, the

carriages

32L and 32R are provided with

stoppers

46 and 47 above the support shaft 37 and on both sides of the brush support cylinder 38, respectively. Each brush support cylinder 38 can swing between the

stoppers

46 and 47. When the brush support cylinder 38 hits the stopper 46, the side brush 40 is in the vertical position (position in FIG. 3), and the brush When the support cylinder 38 hits the stopper 47, the side brush 40 is in an inclined position.

Close switches

48L and 48R that detect that the

carriages

36L and 36R are in the closed positions (positions in FIG. 3) are provided at the center of the guide rail 31, and the carriages are provided on the left and right sides of the guide rail 31.

Open switches

49L and 49R are provided for detecting that 36L and 36R are in open positions, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 1, a start position cam 52 is provided on the installation surface of the car wash machine, while the traveling frame 2 detects that the car wash machine body 1 is in the start position by hitting the start position cam 52. A start position detecting switch 53 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, vehicle upper surface position detecting means 54 for detecting the upper surface position of the automobile V (see FIG. 15) is provided in front of the top brush 13 of the traveling frame 2. The vehicle upper surface position detecting means 54 includes a first

photoelectric sensor group

54A, 54B, 54C,... 54N and a second photoelectric sensor group 54A ′ arranged in the vertical direction on both the left and right sides of the traveling frame 2, respectively. , 54B ′, 54C ′,... 54N ′, and the first

photoelectric sensor group

54A, 54B, 54C,... 54N group are projectors, and the second photoelectric sensor group 54A ′. , 54B ′, 54C ′,... 54N ′ are light receivers.

In FIG. 2, a two-dot chain line L indicates an optical axis between the first photoelectric sensor 54A and the second photoelectric sensor 54A ′.

As shown in FIG. 1, a control panel 55 for controlling the operation of the car wash machine is provided on the front surface of the traveling frame 2, and the car wash equipment provided in the frame 2 is controlled in the control panel 55. A control device 56 is provided.

1, reference numeral 57 is a top nozzle for blowing dry air on the upper surface of the vehicle V, and reference numerals 58 and 58 are a pair of side nozzles for blowing dry air on both sides of the vehicle V.

Although not shown, the traveling frame 2 is provided with a conventionally known cleaning water injection device that injects cleaning water onto the automobile V.

Next, the structure of the top brush 13 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIGS.

The top brush 13 includes a top brush support shaft 12 fixed to the left and right carriages 11A and 11B, a rotation support shaft 21 made of a pipe that is rotatably supported by the support shaft 12 via a bearing, and the rotation support shaft. 21 and a plurality of cleaning body units 60 fixed with rivets R. Each cleaning body unit 60 includes a first cleaning body 61A and a second cleaning body 61B, and an attachment portion 62. And the presser plate 63 to be fixed to the rotation support shaft 21.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the first cleaning body 61 A is formed in a disk shape from a nonwoven fabric, and alternately has a plurality of mountain folds and valley folds in the radial direction, and is formed in a wave shape in the circumferential direction. As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of (5) cleaning body materials 64 are stacked and stitched concentrically at positions N2, N3, and N4.

Describing how to make the first cleaning body 61A, as shown in FIG. 6, both ends N1 and N1 of a rectangular cleaning body material 64 made of non-woven fabric are stitched into a ring shape. Next, the ring-shaped cleaning body material 64 is mountain-folded and valley-folded at a plurality of positions shown in FIG. 6 to form a disk shape as shown in FIG. Next, it is made by cutting into a circular C with a big type (Thomson type) and drilling a plurality of bolt holes H1.

8 and 9, the second cleaning body 61B is composed of the cleaning body material 64 configured as described above and another cleaning body material 65.

Explaining how to make the second cleaning body 61B, a plurality (5 sheets) of the above-mentioned cleaning body materials 64 are stacked, and a plurality of other cleaning body materials 65 (2) are provided on one side as shown in FIG. Sheet) and are stitched concentrically at the positions N2, N3 and N4 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, the other cleaning body material 65 is a flat non-woven fabric (Thomson type), and is cut into a circular shape so as to have the same outer dimensions as the circular C of the cleaning body material 64. Next, it is made by drilling a plurality of bolt holes H1 at intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery of the mounting hole H2.

Next, a description will be given of how to make the cleaning body unit 60 composed of the first cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61B, which is manufactured as described above.

One first cleaning body 61A and two second cleaning bodies 61B are prepared. As shown in FIG. 4, the other cleaning body material 65 of the second cleaning body 61B has a plate-like shape on both sides. Thus, the first cleaning body 61A is sandwiched between the second cleaning bodies 61B, and the first cleaning body 61A and the

second cleaning bodies

61B and 61B are connected to the flange portion 62F of the mounting portion 62 and the presser plate 63. And are fixed with a plurality of bolts and nuts 66.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning unit 60 including the first cleaning body 61 A and the second cleaning body 61 B is a right angle orthogonal to the rotation axis of the rotation support shaft 21 while being attached to the rotation support shaft 21. It is inclined with respect to the surface by an inclination angle β (about 20 degrees).

Next, the structure of the side brush 40 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The side brush 40 is configured by vertically fixing a lower side brush 40A, a middle side brush 40B, and an upper side brush 40C to a rotary support shaft 67 made of a pipe fixed to the rotary shaft 39.

The lower side brush 40A, the middle side brush 40B, and the upper side brush 40C each have a separate cleaning body unit, and the lower side brush 40A is attached to the rotary support shaft 67 as shown in FIG. The cleaning unit 60A and the sponge disc 68, which have the same structure as the unit 60 and have different external dimensions (slightly smaller in diameter than the cleaning unit 60), are alternately mounted. The sponge disc 68 has an attachment hole 69 slightly obliquely smaller than the outer dimension of the boss portion 62A of the attachment portion 62 at the center, and is attached to the boss portion 62A by the frictional force due to the elasticity of the attachment hole 69. It has been.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the middle side brush 40B has a plurality of foam cleaning bodies 60C radially attached to the rotation support shaft 67 and made of foam (sponge) and divided by cutting the outer periphery. Configured. The middle side brush 40B is composed of an upper brush 40Bu, an intermediate brush 40Bn, and a lower brush 40Bl. The upper brush 40Bu and the lower brush 40Bl are attached in a semicircular shape and their phases are shifted by 180 degrees.

Further, the upper side brush 40C is configured by attaching a plurality of cleaning body units 60B having the same structure as the cleaning body unit 60 to the rotation support shaft 67 and having different external dimensions, and these cleaning body units 60B. The angle of attachment to the rotation support shaft 67 is the same as that of the cleaning unit 60A.

The

cleaning unit

60, 60A, 60B performs a chamfering process in order to eliminate the fiber corner of the cut surface by the big die, that is, the cutting angle (see FIG. 12).

Since the

cleaning body units

60, 60A, and 60B all perform the same cornering processing, the cleaning body unit 60 is selected and the cornering processing will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The cleaning body unit 60 is rotatably supported on a support base 71 and is driven to rotate by a motor 72 provided on the support base 71. Sandpaper 75 is laid on the upper surface of a lifting platform 74 that can be moved up and down by a plurality of cylinders 73 under the cleaning unit 60. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, when the lifting unit 74 is slowly raised from the state where the cleaning body unit 60 is not in contact with the sandpaper 75, as shown by the two-point solid line in FIGS. The abrasive surface of the sandpaper 75 is brought into contact with the outer periphery of the cleaning unit 60 that is being operated. Thereby, the corner | angular of the fiber of a cut surface, ie, a cutting | disconnection angle (refer FIG. 12), can be eliminated.

In this embodiment, the corners of the fibers on the cut surface are not polished on the slopes, but the corners may be rounded by rounding the corners by other cornering processes.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

When a start key (not shown) provided in the car wash machine is pressed, the car wash machine body 1 travels from the start position. During this traveling, the vehicle to be cleaned, the vehicle body surface of the automobile V in this embodiment, is cleaned with the top brush 13 and the side brushes 40 and 40.

The top brush 13 has a vehicle upper surface position determined by the vehicle upper surface position detected by the vehicle upper surface detection means 54, the traveling position of the car wash machine body 1 detected by the rotary encoder 51, and the elevation position of the top brush 13 detected by the rotary encoder 28. Up and down by controlling the elevating motor 14 so as to follow the upper surface of the vehicle at a constant distance from the vehicle.

On the other hand, the side brushes 40 and 40 are in contact with the side surfaces of the vehicle body with a constant pressing force by controlling the

torque motors

36L and 36R.

By the way, in the cleaning process of the automobile V by the top brush 13, the outer peripheral portions of the

cleaning body materials

64 and 65 are moved by the rotation of the top brush 13, as shown in FIGS. Move up and down. By this left and right movement, the tips of the

cleaning body materials

64 and 65 move to the left and right in the oblique directions a and b with respect to the traveling direction of the top brush 13 as shown in FIG. The cleaning effect can be improved by the movement in the oblique directions a and b, and as a result, the cleaning time can be shortened.

Here, considering the relationship between the inclination angle of the first cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61B, the cleaning effect, and the cleaning time, the cleaning

bodies

61A and 61B are attached to the rotary support shaft 21. When the inclination angle β with respect to the right-angle plane orthogonal to the rotation axis in the closed state is less than 15 degrees (disclosed in Patent Document 1), the maximum of the left and right movements of the first cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61B The angle α (α shown in FIG. 16) is small, the desired cleaning effect within a predetermined cleaning time cannot be obtained, and it is difficult to shorten the cleaning time. When the inclination angle β with the cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61B attached to the rotation support shaft 21 exceeds 25 degrees, the cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61B are inclined to the left and right. Small force to contact the car body surface Ku, intended cleaning effect in a predetermined cleaning time can not be obtained, it was found that it is difficult to the extent that it is possible to shorten the cleaning time.

On the other hand, when the inclination angle β of the cleaning body 61A and the cleaning body 61B attached to the rotation support shaft 21 is specified to be 15 to 25 degrees (particularly 20 degrees), the cleaning body 61A and other cleaning bodies 61B are specified. While sufficiently securing the force to contact the vehicle body surface when tilted left and right, the angle α in the direction of movement can be increased, and as a result, the cleaning effect can be improved and the cleaning time can be shortened. it can.

In FIG. 16, the tips of the

cleaning body materials

64 and 65 move in the directions indicated by the movement directions a and b, and the movement direction changes between the ranges am to bm. Further, the maximum angle α in the moving direction when the inclination angle β is less than 15 degrees is α1, α is α2 when β is 15 degrees to 25 degrees, and α is β3 when β exceeds 25 degrees. given that,
α1 <α2 <α3.

Further, the cut surfaces of the cleaning body material 64 and the other cleaning body material 65 move in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 12 as the traveling frame 2 travels. Although there is a risk of scratching the surface of the vehicle body at the corner, this fear can be prevented by performing the above-described corner dropping process.

Further, since both sides of the

cleaning body units

60, 60A and 60B are made into other cleaning body materials 65 having a flat plate shape without folding and the cleaning body material 64 having a folded structure is formed between them, the other cleaning body materials 65 on the outer side are formed. A space is formed between the intermediate cleaning body material 64 and the intermediate cleaning body material 64 so that the entire

cleaning body unit

60, 60A, 60B can have a volume feeling, and the appearance of the

cleaning body unit

60, 60A, 60B can be improved. In addition, the cleaning body material 65 can prevent the bent portion of the cleaning body material 64 from being caught by the vehicle body. Further, the cleaning body material 64 and the other cleaning body material 65 can be separated from each other by the folding structure of the cleaning body 64, that is, the top brush 13 is arranged in the horizontal direction in FIG. In FIG. 3, it can be scattered in the vertical direction, and the cleaning effect can be improved.

In the side brushes 40, 40, the outer peripheral part of the other cleaning body material 65 of the cleaning body material 64 moves up and down. Thereby, the same effect as the top brush 13 is produced.

Further, as clearly shown in FIG. 5, the lower side brush 40A is provided with the cleaning body unit 60A and the sponge disk 68 alternately, so that the cleaning body material 64 and other cleaning bodies are disposed in the tire house of the automobile V. It is possible to prevent the material 65 from entering and damaging the

materials

64 and 65 and the vehicle body.

Furthermore, since the intermediate brush 40Bn of the middle side brush 40B is made of foam, it is possible to prevent damage to accessory devices protruding from the vertical intermediate portion of the vehicle body such as the door mirror M and the fender mirror.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is implemented in a car wash machine that causes the car wash machine body 1 to travel with respect to the vehicle to be cleaned has been described. Can be implemented.

In the present invention, the nonwoven fabric is used for the cleaning body material 64 and the other cleaning body material 65, but other fabrics such as a woven fabric and a knitted fabric can be used instead. Moreover, in the cleaning body material 64, when it is a big shape and it is not cut | disconnected by the circular C, in the state of the rectangle in the middle of a process shown in FIG. It is good also as processing.

Claims

In the car wash machine provided with the cleaning brush attached to the rotation support shaft provided in the frame so that the disc-shaped cleaning body is inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the rotation support shaft.
The car wash machine characterized in that the inclination angle is set to 15 to 25 degrees with respect to a right angle plane orthogonal to the rotation axis.