JPH02293241A - Car washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To keep off any damage to a car by constituting an upper brush to be forcedly controlled to go up stepwise at a rear window of the car at time of washing clean a top face of the car as reversing a car washing machine body. CONSTITUTION:When a car washing machine body 1 is in travel in a rear direction B, an upper brush 6 is lowered up to a lowermost position immediately after reverse starting, and then whether a brush 3 is reached to a rear window part 5A and it washes a car or not is checked. When the brush 3 is not in the rear window part 5A, down operation, holding operation or up operation are performed so as to cause a torque to become constant by a torque detection signal just like at time of advancement. When the brush 3 is in the rear window part 5A, the brush 3 is made to go up stepwise irrespective of the torque. With this constitution, the ascent of the brush 3 is smoothly performed, and any damage to the car 5 due to the brush 3 is kept back and, what is more, since brushing takes place with reciprocation, a washing effect is thus enhanced.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a car wash machine that is self-propelled and washes cars. 2. Prior Art This article describes a conventional method of washing the top surface of a car using this type of car wash machine. In order to wash the top surface of a car, as shown in FIG. An upper brush 6 is arranged to wash the top surface of the car 5 with the brush 3 by moving the brush 3 up and down around a rotational fulcrum A. When washing the top surface of the car 5, the car washing machine main body 1 is rotated while rotating the brush 3. The brush 3 is moved up and down by moving forward in the forward direction F, and the arm 2 is rotated to control the brush 3 up and down to bring it into proper contact with the top surface of the car 5, thereby cleaning the top surface of the car 5. The method of controlling the upper brush 6 to optimally clean the top surface of the car 5 according to the shape of the top surface (cleaning surface) of the car 5 is to balance the repulsion between the weight of the brush 3 and the cleaning surface caused by the rotation of the brush 3. Alternatively, a method of detecting the angle change of the arm 2 with a sensor and controlling it has been adopted.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in conventional car wash machines, the rotation angle θ of the arm 2 of the upper brush 6 is determined by the mechanism (cylinder, etc.) that drives the arm 2 or the rotation angle θ of the arm 2 of the car wash machine body 1, as shown in FIG. Since the angle is limited to about 90 degrees due to the size, there is no problem when the car wash main body 1 is moved forward F to wash the top surface of the car 5, but if the car wash main body 1 is moved backward B When cleaning the top surface of the car 5 by running the car, the brush 3 is pushed up at the rear window part 5A of the car 5 while trying to raise the brush 3, so the brush 3 does not rise smoothly and may damage the car 5. There was a risk of it getting lost. The present invention solves the above problems, and provides a car wash machine that prevents damage to the car caused by the upper brush when the car wash main body is running in reverse, and allows the upper brush to wash the top surface of the car even when the machine is running in reverse. The purpose is to Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the car wash machine of the present invention has an upper brush that moves up and down to wash the top surface of the car, and a car height detection means that detects the car height of the car. is provided in the main body, and when the top surface of the car is washed by the upper brush while moving the car washing machine main body forward, the vehicle height signal from the vehicle height detection means is inputted to detect the rear window portion of the car. , comprising a control unit that controls forcibly raising the upper brush in a stepwise manner in the rear window portion of the vehicle when the upper brush washes the upper surface of the vehicle while moving the car washing machine body in reverse; It is.

Function: Due to the above-mentioned elliptical configuration, when the upper brush is used to wash the top surface of the car while the car wash machine is moving in reverse, the upper brush is forcibly raised up the stairs at the rear window of the car. The climb will be smoother and damage to the car will be prevented. EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. Note that the same components as those of the conventional example shown in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of the control system of the car wash machine of the present invention. The vehicle height detection device 11 is attached to the upper front of the car wash main body 1 as shown in FIG. 2, and detects the vehicle height of the car 5.
A vehicle height detection signal C consisting of the vehicle height value h is input to the control device 12. Further, the torque detection device 10 detects the torque by fg and fH of the motor that drives the brush 3, and detects the repulsion balance between the own weight of the brush 3 and the cleaning surface of the car 5 due to the rotation of the brush 3. The torque detection signal d is also transmitted to the control device 1.
2 is input. As shown in FIG. 3, the drive system for the upper brush 6 includes first and second oil tanks 13. The upper brush 6 is raised and lowered by supplying and discharging oil from the cylinder 14 to the cylinder 15. When raising the upper brush 6, both the changeover switch (solenoid A) 16 and the changeover switch (solenoid B) 17 are turned off. Then, air is supplied from the compressor 18 to the first oil tank 13 via the silencer 19, and the oil in the first oil tank 13 is pressurized and extruded to supply oil to the cylinder 15. When locking the elevation, switch The switch 16 is turned on, and when lowering, the changeover switch 16 is turned off, and the changeover switch 17 is turned on, and the air in the first oil tank 13 is discharged from the exhaust nozzle 22 via the check valve 20 and the silencer 21, and the cylinder is Oil is returned from 15 to the first oil tank 13. Reference numeral 28 denotes a check valve provided to suck in outside air and lighten the movement of the cylinder 15 when a force pushing the upper brush 6 upward is exerted when the changeover switch 16 is turned on and the elevation is locked. be. As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 12 includes an input/output section 23,
It is composed of a control section 24 and a storage section 25, and receives an operation signal a from an operation surface 26 in order to control the upper brush 6.
, the vehicle height detection signal C and the torque detection signal d are input, and a control signal e consisting of a lift, lift lock, or lowering command is inputted to the drive system of the upper brush 6, that is, a changeover switch 1
6. It outputs 17 on/off signals. 27 is a power source for the control device 12. Hereinafter, a method of controlling the upper brush 6 by the control section 24 will be explained. Note that the control unit 2
It is assumed that the input/output to the vehicle 4 is performed via the input/output unit 23, and an operation signal a is outputted from the operation surface 26 to cause the upper brush 6 to wash the vehicle 5 when moving forward and forward. First, the case where the upper brush 6 cleans the wheel 5 during forward movement will be explained according to the flowchart of FIG. 4. First, it is checked whether the car wash main body 1 is traveling in the forward direction F (Step G-1), and if it is not traveling in the forward direction F, the parameters described below are initialized (Step G-2).
When the vehicle is running in the forward direction F, the travel time S is counted (step G-3). Next, immediately after the start of travel (time S1), a lowering operation is performed by turning off the changeover switch 16 and turning on the changeover switch 17 to lower the upper brush 6 to the lowest position (step G4).
, G-5>. After the time s1 has elapsed, the torque is raised, lowered or maintained so as to be constant according to the torque detection signal d (step G-6). In other words, when the torque becomes small, the brush 3 is pressed against the cleaning surface of the car 5. If the torque is within a certain range, perform a holding operation to turn on the selector switch 16 (Step G-7), and if the torque increases, the brush 3
the selector switch 16,1 so as to keep it away from the cleaning surface of the car 5.
7 are both turned off (Step G-8)
), then the time t1 when the brush 3 reaches the rear window portion 5A of the car 5 and the time t2 when the brush 3 finishes cleaning the rear window portion 5A are detected.

That is, based on the vehicle height detection signal C, when the vehicle height value h reaches the rear window portion 5A of the vehicle 5, the vehicle height value h decreases for the first time, and after the decrease, the torque of the brush 3 decreases, so the time t1 is detected (steps G-9 to G-15), rear window section 5
When the vehicle passes through A, the vehicle height value h returns to a substantially constant value, and the torque increases thereafter, so that time t2 is detected (steps G-16 to G-22). Then, the time T at the end of forward movement is determined (step G-23).

Next, a case in which the vehicle 5 is washed by the upper brush 6 during reversing will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, it is checked whether the mode is such that the upper brush 6 washes the car 2 even when driving in reverse (step H-1), and when this mode is confirmed, it is checked whether the car is traveling in the backward direction B (reversing). Confirm (Step H-2>, and if the vehicle is traveling in reverse, count the traveling time t in reverse (Step H-3). If the mode is not above or the vehicle is not traveling in reverse, initialize the parameters ( Step H-4) is completed. At the start of reverse travel (time 11 when traveling time is t), a lowering operation is performed to lower the upper brush 6 to the lowest position (Steps H-5 and H-6). .Next, check whether the brush 3 reaches the rear window part 5A and cleans it.In other words, since the brush 3 takes the same trajectory when moving backward as when moving forward, the times t1 and t2 obtained when moving forward are It is confirmed that the brush 3 is present in the rear window portion 5A and is being cleaned by checking whether the travel time t of the reverse travel exists within the time range subtracted from the time T at the end of the forward travel (step H-7). , if the brush 3 is not in the rear window portion 5A, perform a lowering operation, a holding operation, or a raising operation so that the torque becomes constant according to the torque detection signal d as in the case of forward movement (steps H-6 and H-8). ~H10).When the brush 3 is in the rear window part 5A, the brush 3 is raised up the stairs regardless of the torque.That is, the raising operation is performed for a time m1, and the holding operation is performed for a time (m2-m1). Repeat what is done (steps H-9, H-10, H-11 to H-14>
．． Note that the times m1 and m2 are set to be enough time to raise the rear window portion 5A of a general passenger car. With the above control method, even when cleaning the rear window part 5A with the brush 3 when driving in reverse, the problem that the brush 3 repeatedly rises and descends and does not rise smoothly as in the conventional case is eliminated, and the brush 3 causes damage to the car 5. can be prevented. Furthermore, since brushing is performed back and forth, the cleaning effect can be increased. In this embodiment, the times t1 and t+ during which the brush 3 passes through the rear window portion 5A are detected using the vehicle height detection signal C and the torque detection signal d, but it may also be detected using only the vehicle height detection signal C. It is possible. That is, the vehicle height detection device 1
1 and the rotational fulcrum A of the upper brush 6, the height from the ground to this rotational fulcrum A, and the length of the arm 2 between the rotational fulcrum A and the brush 3, so the vehicle height can be detected. The times t1 and t2 of the brush 3 passing later than the vehicle height detection device 11 can be estimated from the time the device 11 passes the rear window portion 5A and the detected vehicle height value h. Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, when the upper brush washes the upper surface of the car while the car wash machine is running in reverse, the upper brush is forcibly raised up the stairs in the rear window section of the car. By doing so, the upper brush rises smoothly in the rear window area, and it is possible to prevent damage to the car caused by the upper brush when reversing, which is the case with conventional vehicles. Furthermore, the cleaning effect can be increased by performing cleaning when reversing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the control system of a car wash machine showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining control of the upper brush of the car wash machine, and Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the upper part of the car wash machine. FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts of upper brush control by the control device of the car wash machine, and FIG. 6 is a trajectory diagram of the upper brush during conventional car washing. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Car wash machine body, 5... Book, 6... Upper brush, 11... Vehicle height detection device, 12... Control device. Agent Yoshihiro Morimoto Figure l Aj/B4RenS2NoNow1721 Figure 2 W-

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A car wash main body is provided with an upper brush that moves up and down to wash the top surface of the car, and a vehicle height detection means that detects the height of the car, while the car wash main body is moved forward. When washing the upper surface of the vehicle with the upper brush, inputting a vehicle height signal from the vehicle height detection means to detect a rear window portion of the vehicle;
A car wash machine comprising a control unit that controls forcibly raising an upper brush in a stepwise manner in a rear window portion of the car when the upper brush washes the upper surface of the car while moving the car wash main body in reverse. .