JPH0152221B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a car wash machine, particularly a gate-shaped frame that can straddle a vehicle and move back and forth between a storage position and a forward position along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Various processing devices are provided, such as a drying device having a top nozzle for blowing out air and a rotating brush device for brushing cleaning. Related to connected car wash machines.

Conventionally, in such car wash machines, if the gate frame runs to wash a vehicle that is higher than the vehicle height that can be washed, the car wash machine and the vehicle will be damaged. , a detection means is provided for stopping the traveling of the portal frame. By the way, the drying device is equipped with a top nozzle that moves up and down in accordance with the top surface of the vehicle, and if the top nozzle moves up and down in accordance with the top surface of the vehicle, the drying device can be used without any special detection means for detecting the top surface of the vehicle. In the case of a vehicle whose height is higher than that which can be washed, the movement of the portal frame may be stopped to prevent damage to the vehicle or the car wash machine.

The present invention has been made based on this viewpoint, and determines the fluid signal pressure when the totsuzu nozzle moves up and the traveling direction of the portal frame,
To provide a car wash machine which avoids damage caused by a car wash operation to a vehicle whose height is higher than that which can be washed by stopping the running of a gate-shaped frame.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.First, in FIG. It is possible to travel between That is, the gate-shaped frame 1 is
It is mounted via running wheels 3a, 3b on guide rails 2a, 2b laid on the ground along the front and back direction of the rail 2 by a motor (not shown).
Move back and forth on a and 2b. This gate frame 1
, a drying device D including a pair of side nozzles 4a, 4b and a top nozzle 11, a rotating brush device RB including a pair of side brushes 80, a top brush 81 and a pair of rocker brushes 82,
Other processing devices, not shown, are provided and operate in corresponding processing steps.

In this invention, the processing devices other than the drying device D do not play an important role, and their configurations are conventionally well known, so detailed explanations will be omitted, and the following description will explain only the processing devices that play important functions in the present invention. Drying device D
Only the parts related to this will be explained in detail.

In Figures 2 and 3, the portal frame 1
A pair of side nozzles 4a and 4b for drying the side surfaces of the vehicle body are arranged opposite to each other on the left and right sides of the
These side nozzles 4a, 4b are connected to blowers 5a, 5b provided on both sides of the upper part of the portal frame 1.
are connected via ducts 6a and 6b. In addition, at the inner ends of both side nozzles 4a, 4b, drying air outlets 7a, 7b directed inward of the portal frame 1 are formed.
Flexible guide plates 9a and 9b are fixed to the rear end edges of the gate-shaped frame 1 along the return direction 8 toward the storage position of the gate-shaped frame 1 when the vehicle is dry.

In the upper center of the gate-shaped frame 1, there is a lifting mechanism 1.
0 to the top nozzle 1 for drying the top surface of the car body.
1 is supported, and this top nozzle 11 is connected to flexible conduits 12a, 12b and a substantially L-shaped duct 1.
It is connected to the blowers 5a, 5b via 3a, 13b.

The elevating mechanism 10 includes a pair of parallel links 14a and 14b whose one end is rotatably supported at the center of the upper part of the gate-shaped frame 1 and extends downward;
A pair of arms 1 having one end connected to the other ends of 4a and 14b and the other end fixed to the top nozzle 11.
5a, 15b, and one end is pivoted to the upper center of the portal frame 1, and the other end is both arms 15a, 15.
b A single guide rod 16 connected to the other end, and the upper center and both parallel links 14 of the portal frame 1
A pair of springs 1 interposed between the other ends of a and 14b
7a, 17b, a hydraulic cylinder 18 supported by the portal frame 1, and a sprocket 20 rotatably connected to the piston rod 19 of the hydraulic cylinder 18.
The chain 21 extends downward through the chain 21 and is connected to one parallel link 14a.

In such a lifting mechanism 10, when hydraulic pressure is supplied to the hydraulic cylinder 18 and the piston rod 19 is driven to contract, the chain 21 rises and the parallel link 1
4a, 14b are pulled up, thereby causing the top nozzle 11 to rise. Also, the hydraulic cylinder 18
When the supply of hydraulic pressure to the top nozzle 11 is stopped and the hydraulic pressure is released, the top nozzle 11 descends due to its own weight. Note that the springs 17a and 17b are connected to the top nozzle 1.
1 exerts a spring force in the contraction direction in the lowered state, and functions to reduce the lifting force of the top nozzle 11, that is, the load on the hydraulic cylinder 18.

In FIG. 4, the top nozzle 11 has a triangular cross section that narrows downward, and a drying air outlet 22 directed downward inside the gate-shaped frame 1 is located at the lower end of the top nozzle 11. It is opened. Go-around direction 8 of the portal frame 1 when drying the vehicle
An elongated flexible guide plate 23 is fixed and suspended from the rear end edge of the spout 22 along the .

In FIG. 5, a support member 24 is provided protruding from the front wall of the top nozzle 11 along the going-back direction 8, and a horizontal axis 25 that is perpendicular to the going-back direction 8 rotates on the support member 24. It is freely supported. One end of a connecting rod 26 perpendicular to the shaft 25 is fixed, and the other end of the connecting rod 26 is fixed to the shaft 25.
A support shaft 27 parallel to is fixed. A pair of first guide wheels 28 are loosely fitted onto this support shaft 27 so as to be freely rotatable about its axis.

Furthermore, a cam 31 is fixed to the shaft 25,
A detection rod 34 extending rearward along the backward direction 8 is integrally fixed to the cam 31. Therefore, the detection rod 34 is integrated with the shaft 25.
The detection rod 34 passes through a hole 35 formed in the flexible guide plate 23. Furthermore, a second guide ring 36 having a relatively small diameter is rotatably supported at the free end of the detection rod 34.

Here, with reference also to FIG. 6, the configuration of the control means C that controls the operation of the lifting mechanism 10, particularly the hydraulic cylinder 18, will be explained.
, an actuator 41 for operating the switching valve 39 in accordance with the angular displacement of the cam 31, and a forced operation switching means 87 comprising a shuttle valve 55 and an electromagnetic switching valve 59.

The cam 31 has a small arcuate cam surface 29 formed on its outer periphery over a range of a certain central angle α;
It has a large-diameter cam surface 30 formed over the remaining central angle, and a stepped portion 3 between both cam surfaces 29 and 30.
2 and 33 are provided, respectively. The cam surface 29 is disposed at a position opposite to the direction in which the detection rod 34 extends with respect to the shaft 25. When the cam 31 is inactive, it moves in the direction indicated by the arrow 37 (see FIG. 4) due to the weight of the detection rod 34, first guide rod 28, etc.
A regulating plate 38 is fixed to the support member 24 in order to prevent the cam 31 from rotating more than necessary in this state. A stepped portion 32 located on the upper side of the cam surface 29 along the rotation direction 37 can come into contact with the regulating plate 38 .

A control switching valve 39 is fixed to the upper part of the support member 24, and the upper end of the control switching valve 39 is pivoted to the main body 40 of the control switching valve 39 so as to be swingable around an axis parallel to the shaft 25. It is actuated by a supported actuator 41. Actuator 41
A follower 42 that contacts the cam 31 is provided at the lower end of the cam 31.
The follower 42 of the actuator 41 is in contact with the cam surface 29 when the cam 31 is in the inactive state and the stepped portion 32 is in contact with the regulating plate 38 as described above. .

Referring again to FIG. 6, the hydraulic cylinder 18 is a double acting cylinder, and when the hydraulic pressure is applied to the rod side hydraulic chamber 43 and the hydraulic pressure in the head side hydraulic chamber 44 is released, the piston rod 19 is moved into the cylinder tube. 45, i.e. the piston rod 1
It functions to drive the reduction of 9. Hydraulic cylinder 18
An oil tank 46 is provided for smooth operation, and the interior of this oil tank 46 is partitioned into a pressurizing chamber 48 and an open chamber 49 by a partition plate 47. The lower part of the pressurizing chamber 48 is communicated with the rod-side hydraulic chamber 43 of the hydraulic cylinder 18 via a conduit 50.
The lower part of the open chamber 49 is communicated with the head side hydraulic chamber 44 via a conduit 51. Moreover, the upper part of the open chamber 49 is open to the atmosphere, so that the hydraulic pressure in the head side hydraulic chamber 44 of the hydraulic cylinder 18 is always released. In the upper part of the pressurizing chamber 48, there is a pneumatic pipe line 52.
One end is connected to this pneumatic pipe 52
By introducing air pressure into the pressurizing chamber 48, the hydraulic oil in the pressurizing chamber 48 is pressurized, and therefore the hydraulic pressure acts on the rod side hydraulic chamber 43, and the piston rod 19 is driven to contract. Ru.

The other end of the pneumatic pipe 52 is connected to a shuttle valve 53.
is connected to an outlet 54 of. This shuttle valve 53
has two inlets, a first inlet 55 and a second inlet 56, and the difference in air pressure between the two inlets 55 and 56 causes the valve body 57 to move, thereby blocking the inlet with lower air pressure. The first inlet 55 is connected to a pneumatic source 61 via a pneumatic line 58, a solenoid switching valve 59 and a pneumatic line 60, and the second inlet 56 is connected to a pneumatic line 62, a switching valve 39 and a pneumatic line 63. The air pressure source 61 is connected to the air pressure source 61 through the air pressure source 61.

The electromagnetic switching valve 59 is a 3-port, 2-position switching valve, and the mode in which the pneumatic lines 58 and 60 are communicated, and the mode in which the open line 64 opened to the atmosphere is communicated with the pneumatic line 58 are used to excite the solenoid. It can be switched accordingly.

The main body 40 of the control switching valve 39 includes a pneumatic pipe line 6.
2 and a first port 65 communicating with the pneumatic pipe line 63.
A second port 66 communicating with the atmosphere and a third port 67 open to the atmosphere are bored, and the first port 6
5 communicates with the center of a flow path 70 formed in a straight line between the pair of valve chambers 68 and 69.
The second port 66 communicates with a valve chamber 68 , and the third port 67 communicates with a valve chamber 69 . A valve seat 71 is provided at one end of the flow path 70 facing the valve chamber 68 , and a valve seat 72 is provided at the other end facing the valve chamber 69 . A valve rod 73 is disposed passing through the flow path 70, and a valve body 74 that can be seated on the valve seat 71 is fixed to one end of the valve rod 73. Further, the other end of the valve rod 73 protrudes from the main body 40 so as to be freely displaceable, and the protruding end has a pressing portion 75 that is in contact with the actuator 41.
is provided. Furthermore, a valve body 76 that can be seated on the valve seat 72 is fixed near the other end of the valve stem 73 . Both valve bodies 74 and 76 are formed into disk shapes made of flexible material, and the peripheral edges of these valve bodies 74 and 76 are held between the main body 40. Moreover, due to the spring force of the spring 77, the valve stem 73 is moved in the direction in which the pressing portion 75 comes into contact with the actuator 41, that is, the valve body 74 is moved toward the valve seat 7.
1 in the direction of seating.

In the control switching valve 39 having such a configuration,
When the follower 42 of the actuator 41 is in contact with the cam surface 29, the valve body 74 is in contact with the valve seat 71, and the valve body 76 is separated from the valve seat 72. Therefore, the first port 65 and the third port 67 communicate with each other, and the first port 65 and the second port 66 are disconnected, resulting in the second mode. Also actuator 4
When the follower 42 of No. 1 is separated from the cam surface 29 and comes into contact with the cam surface 30, the valve stem 73 is pushed into the main body 40 against the spring force of the spring 77, thereby causing the valve body 76 to close to the cam surface 30. The valve body 74 is seated on the seat 72 and separated from the valve seat 71. Therefore, the first port 6
5 communicates with the second port 66, and the first port 65 and the third port 67 are cut off, resulting in the first mode.

A pressure switch 84 is provided in the middle of the pneumatic pipe line 62 that connects the control switching valve 39 and the shuttle valve 53, and this pressure switch 84 is activated when air pressure from the pneumatic source 61 acts on the pneumatic pipe line 62. Then, the actuation signal is supplied to the electronic control circuit 85. This electronic control circuit 85 controls the operation of the car wash machine, and when the operation signal from the pressure switch 84 is input when the portal frame 1 is traveling forward from the storage position to the forward position,
A control signal for stopping the movement of the portal frame 1 is output.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.
When washing the vehicle V, the portal frame 1 is in the retracted position as shown in FIG. At this time,
The electromagnetic switching valve 59 has a switching mode in which the pneumatic pipes 58 and 60 communicate with each other, and air pressure from the pneumatic pressure source 61 acts on the valve body 57 to open the first inlet 55 of the shuttle valve 53 and apply pressure. The hydraulic oil in the pressure chamber 48 is pressurized. As a result, the hydraulic cylinder 18 draws the piston rod 19 into the cylinder tube 45, and the top nozzle 11 is pulled up to the upper limit storage position.

In this state, the gate-shaped frame 1 first starts moving back and forth from the storage position as shown by the arrow 86 in FIG. 1 in order to wash the vehicle V. At this time, when the height of the vehicle V is higher than the height that can be washed, the first guide wheel 28 or the second guide wheel 36 comes into contact with the upper surface of the vehicle V as the portal frame 1 moves back and forth. The cam 31 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow 37 in FIG. Therefore, the valve rod 73 of the control switching valve 39 is pushed up, the first and second ports 65 and 66 are communicated, and air pressure acts on the pneumatic pipe line 62. Therefore,
Pressure switch 84 is activated and electronic control circuit 85
An actuation signal is input to. As a result, the forward movement of the gate-shaped frame 1 is stopped, and damage caused by collision of the vehicle V with the top nozzle 11 etc. is avoided.

If the vehicle V is lower than the car washable height, the first guide wheel 28 or the second guide wheel 36 will not come into contact with the vehicle V, and therefore the control switching valve 39 will not come into contact with the vehicle V.
In this case, the first and third ports 65 and 67 remain in communication, and the pressure switch 84 is not operated. Therefore, the gate-shaped frame 1 continues to move back and forth as it is, and the cleaning process by the rotating brush device B or the like is performed.

Following this cleaning process, the portal frame 1 moves back from its forward position to its retracted position,
During this time, a drying process is performed by the drying device D. The effect will be explained with reference to FIG. 7. When the portal frame 1 starts going back. Blower 5a, 5b is driven. Furthermore, the electromagnetic switching valve 59 has a switching mode that allows the pneumatic pipe line 58 to communicate with the open pipe line 64. Therefore, in the oil tank 46, the air pressure within the pressurizing chamber 48 is released to the atmosphere. As a result, the piston rod 19 can move freely in the hydraulic cylinder 18, and the top nozzle 11 is lowered by its own weight.

In this state, the portal frame 1 is moving in the going direction 8.
When you drive towards the left and right side nozzles 4a,
4b faces both sides of the vehicle V, and the top nozzle 1
1 faces the trunk lid surface T, and includes blowers 5a,
Pressurized air from 5b is sent to both side nozzles 4a, 4b.
It can be ejected from the top nozzle 11 to dry the trunk lid surface T and both side surfaces along it.

At this time, the top nozzle 11 is located above the trunk lid surface T with a certain distance, but the pressurized air jetted from the jet nozzle 22 of the top nozzle 11 flows along the flexible guide plate 23 toward the trunk lid. It is guided along the surface T in a substantially rectified state, so that the trunk lid surface T is efficiently dried.

Further, the side nozzles 4a, 4b are also arranged at a certain distance from both sides of the vehicle V, but in this case as well, the ejection ports 7a, 4b of the side nozzles 4a, 4b,
The pressurized air blown out from 7b is guided along flexible guide plates 9a and 9b fixed to their rear edges, so both sides of the vehicle V are efficiently dried.

The drying effect of the side nozzles 4a, 4b on both sides of the vehicle V is the same over the entire length of the vehicle V, and the subsequent side nozzles 4a, 4b
The explanation of the effect of is omitted.

The gate-shaped frame 1 further travels in the go-around direction 8, and the first guide wheel 28 moves toward the rear glass window of the vehicle V.
When it comes into contact with Wr, the first guide ring 28 rotates around the axis of the shaft 25 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. rotate in the opposite direction. As a result, the follower 42 which has been in contact with the cam surface 29 until now is now in contact with the stepped portion 33.
The pressure portion 75 is pressed by the actuator 41 and the valve rod 73 is pushed into the main body 40 . Therefore, the valve body 76 seats on the valve seat 72 and the first port 65 and the third port 67 are cut off, and the valve body 74 separates from the valve seat 71 and the first port 65 and the second port 66 are closed. The air pressure from the air pressure source 61 acts on the second inlet 56 of the shuttle valve 53 and the valve element 57
is displaced to open the second inlet 56. As a result, air pressure acts on the pressurizing chamber 48 of the oil tank 46 to pressurize the working oil pressure, and the piston rod 19 in the hydraulic cylinder 18 is driven to contract, and by the action of the lifting mechanism 10, the top nozzle 11 and the first guide wheel 28 etc. will be increased. 1st guide wheel 2
8 rises and separates from the rear glass window Wr,
The cam 31 rotates in the rotation direction 37 due to the weight of the first guide ring 28, the detection rod 34, etc., and returns to the state shown in FIG. The communication returns to the second aspect. At this time, the first inlet 55 of the shuttle valve 53 is in a closed state, and the air pressure in the pressurizing chamber 48 is released to the atmosphere, so the top nozzle 11 and the first guide ring 28 are lowered. In this way, the top nozzle 11 repeatedly ascends and descends.

Here, air pressure acts on the pneumatic pipe line 62 every time the control switching valve 39 is switched to the first mode,
The pressure switch 84 inputs an activation signal to the electronic control circuit 85 each time, but since the portal frame 1 is traveling in the backward direction 8, the traveling of the portal frame 1 is not stopped. Therefore, the drying process of the vehicle V continues.

When the top nozzle 11 repeatedly ascends and descends until it reaches a position corresponding to the roof surface R of the vehicle V, the flexible guide plate 23 directs the airflow to be ejected toward the roof surface R, as shown in FIG. It bends backward and rises from the roof surface R. Due to this bending of the flexible guide plate 23, the detection rod 34 passing through the hole 35 is lifted upward. Therefore, cam 31
rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow 37, and the first guide wheel 28 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 4 and is pulled upward. Moreover, the amount of angular displacement of the cam 31 is such that the follower 42 comes into contact with the middle of the stepped portion 33 between the cam surfaces 29 and 30. Therefore, in the switching valve 39, both valve bodies 74 and 76 71 and 72, and the first
In a third embodiment, the port 65 communicates with the second and third ports 66 and 67, respectively. Therefore, a part of the pressurized air from the air pressure source 61 is
The pressurized chamber 48 of the oil tank 46 is discharged from the port 67 through the shuttle valve 53.
supplied to As a result, the air pressure acting within the pressurizing chamber 48, that is, the hydraulic pressure acting on the rod side hydraulic chamber 43 of the hydraulic cylinder 18, is transferred to the top nozzle 11.
The descending force due to its own weight and the driving force for reducing the piston rod 19 by the hydraulic cylinder 18, that is, the pulling force of the top nozzle 11, are balanced, and the first guide wheel 28 is maintained at a position separated from the roof surface R. As a result, when the roof surface R is dry, the first guide wheel 28 and the second guide wheel 36 are prevented from coming into contact with the roof surface R, and the first guide wheel 28 and the second guide wheel 36 are brought into contact with the roof surface R.
Also, rolling traces of the second guide wheel 36 are prevented from remaining.

The gate-shaped frame 1 continues to run and the vehicle V
When the flexible guide plate 23 reaches a position corresponding to the front glass window Wf, the flexible guide plate 23 hangs downward, and the second guide ring 36 at the tip of the detection rod 34 comes into contact with the front glass window Wf, and the guide plate 23 hangs downward. The top nozzle 11 descends so that the plate 23 does not come into contact with the front glass window Wf, and the pressurized air from the jet nozzle 22 closes the front glass window Wf.
is dried.

When the portal frame 1 reaches the position of the bonnet surface B of the vehicle V, the top nozzle 11
The bonnet surface B is dried in the same way as the trunk lid surface T described above.

As another embodiment of the present invention, a three-way solenoid valve may be used as the forced operation switching means 87.

As described above, according to the present invention, a control switching valve is provided between the elevating mechanism and the signal fluid pressure source for communicating the signal fluid pressure source with the elevating mechanism and elevating the top nozzle in response to detection of the top surface of the vehicle. is interposed between the control switching valve and the elevating mechanism, and a forced activation switching means is provided between the control switching valve and the elevating mechanism for communicating the signal fluid pressure source with the elevating mechanism and elevating the top nozzle to the upper limit storage position when the drying device is not in operation. A pressure switch is provided in the fluid pressure line between the forced operation switching means and the control switching valve, and is operated by detecting fluid pressure.
The activation signal of the pressure switch is supplied to an electronic control circuit that stops the movement of the portal frame in response to the input of the activation signal when the portal frame moves back and forth from the retracted position to the forward position. With a simple configuration that uses signal fluid pressure to control the vertical movement of the top nozzle, it is possible to stop the car wash operation by detecting a vehicle that is higher than the vehicle height that can be washed.
A special detection means for detecting the vehicle height is not required.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an overall side view, Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of the drying device showing a simplified gate-shaped frame, and Fig. 3 is a line taken along the - line in Fig. 2. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view taken from the - line in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. The system diagram, FIG. 7, is an action diagram showing the vehicle drying process. 1... Gate-shaped frame, 10... Lifting mechanism, 11
...Top nozzle, 39...Control switching valve, 61...
...Air pressure source as a signal fluid pressure source, 62...Pneumatic line as a fluid pressure line, 84...Pressure switch, 85...Electronic control circuit, 87...Forced operation switching means, D...Drying device, RB...Rotating brush device, V...Vehicle.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A drying device having a top nozzle for blowing drying air onto the top surface of the vehicle and a rotating brush for cleaning brushing, mounted on a gate-shaped frame that can straddle the vehicle and reciprocate between a storage position and a forward position along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In a car wash machine, the top nozzle is connected to an elevating mechanism that receives a signal fluid pressure to raise and lower the top nozzle according to the top surface of the vehicle. A control switching valve is interposed between the control switching valve and the lifting mechanism to communicate the signal fluid pressure source to the lifting mechanism to raise the top nozzle in response to detection of the top surface of the vehicle. is equipped with forced operation switching means for communicating the signal fluid pressure source with the lifting mechanism to raise the top nozzle to the upper limit storage position when the drying device is not in operation, and the forced operation switching means and the control switching valve are connected to each other. A pressure switch that detects fluid pressure and operates is provided in the fluid pressure pipeline between the two, and the activation signal of the pressure switch is generated when the portal frame moves from the storage position to the forward position. A car wash machine characterized in that the input is supplied to an electronic control circuit that stops traveling of the portal frame in response to an input.