JPH0399962A - Car washing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a car wash machine of a type in which a vehicle is introduced into a car wash unit formed in a tunnel shape surrounding a washing vehicle, and the car is washed while moving the vehicle. In particular, the present invention relates to a car washing device that can wash the side surface of a tire that moves while rotating.

[Prior art and its problems] Conventionally, there are two types of car wash devices.

One type is a vehicle-fixed type in which the washing vehicle is fixed and the car washing machine itself, which surrounds the vehicle in a gate shape, moves back and forth to wash the car.

The other type is a fixed type of car wash machine in which each unit is arranged in the order of the car wash process within a tunnel-shaped frame, and the washing vehicle moves inside the frame to wash the car.

The latter type of fixed car wash machine washes the car by simply passing it along the vehicle path inside the tunnel, so the car wash process is short, and furthermore, it is possible to wash the car continuously at an appropriate distance from the car in front. Therefore, the car wash processing efficiency per unit time is high. Additionally, it has the feature of being able to wash tires, which is not the case with fixed-vehicle type devices, and as the demand for car washes has increased in recent years, interest in this fixed-type car wash device has increased.

Incidentally, in the conventional car wash machine fixed type device, the tire cleaning section has a structure as shown in FIG. In other words, a tire brush that is installed horizontally so as to sandwich the vehicle from both sides is provided with a brush opening guide on the front stroke side of the tire brush to open the brush at an interval that matches the tire tread (pressure between left and right wheels i4), and the guide The length was extended to a position where it could come into contact with the tires of large vehicle B. In other words, the tire brush is in the standby position (interval 11
) to the interval 12 corresponding to the tire tread of small vehicle A.
To open the brush opening guide, move the tire of vehicle A to the brush opening guide.
Likewise, in order to open up to a distance l, which corresponds to the tire tread of large vehicle B, the tires of vehicle B must contact at point b. Therefore, the brush opening guide must be long enough to cover the point of contact with a large vehicle.

Therefore, when washing a large vehicle, its front wheels come into contact with the tire brush over a distance ML while experiencing resistance to opening it. The tire brush is always urged in a direction that pinches the vehicle with a pressure sufficient to clean the wheels, and unexpected resistance is applied to the front wheels that receive this force. This means that a force is applied in a direction that changes the angle of the front wheels, and even with the tire advance guide provided on the conveyor, the front wheels begin to change the direction of travel. Therefore, it is preferable that the length of the brush opening guide be short, both from the viewpoint of preventing accidents of wheels coming off the cleaning vehicle and also from the viewpoint of preventing damage to the tires.

Therefore, if you try to shorten Ll by shortening the length of the brush opening guide, the angle θ formed with the center line of the tire brush
must be made larger. However, if this angle θ exceeds a predetermined angle, the contact resistance between the brush opening guide and the vehicle tire will increase, and the tire will not move smoothly along the guide and will ride on the guide. You can't make it bigger.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made to address the above-mentioned problems, and detects the length or width of a cleaning vehicle to determine whether it is a small vehicle or a large vehicle, and to detect the length or width of the vehicle being cleaned. The purpose of this invention is to control the gap between the tire brushes so that they are opened to a predetermined position in advance, shorten the dimensions of the tire brush opening guide, and bring the balance between the dimensions of the left and right tire brush opening guides closer together.

[Means for Achieving the Object] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a cleaning section, a wax application section,
In a type of car wash machine that has a drying section and moves the vehicle along the vehicle aisle to wash, wax, and dry the vehicle,
a pair of tire brushes provided at tire passing positions in the vehicle passageway with their rotational axes parallel to the passage; and full-scale detection means located on the vehicle entry side from the tire brushes for detecting the vehicle length or vehicle width of the cleaning vehicle. and brush spacing variable means provided to the full-scale detection means for adjusting the spacing between the tire brushes, thereby shortening the opening guide dimension of the tire brushes, saving space in the tire cleaning part, and improving safety. This realizes a compact car wash device.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is an explanatory plan view of the same. Reference numeral 1 denotes the main body of the car washing device, which includes a first wash block 1-a, a second wash block 1-a, and a second wash block 1-a in order from the washing vehicle entrance side.
Wash block 1-b, first wax block 1-
C5 2nd wax block 1-d, drive block 1-
It is composed of blocks e, and as a whole forms a tunnel-shaped frame 1 with a washing vehicle passage R in the center. In the following, the units constituting each block will be explained in order from the first wash block.9 In the first wash block and the second wash block, 26 is a full-scale detection means provided on both sides of the entrance of the cleaning vehicle. It consists of a photoelectric switch equipped with a transmitter and a receiver, and detects the entry of a vehicle by detecting that the beam signal is interrupted by the vehicle body as the cleaning vehicle approaches. In response to this, the control device 27 counts the cut-off time and determines whether the cleaning vehicle falls under the large vehicle class based on the cut-off time.
Determine whether the vehicle falls under the small vehicle class. 2 is a high pressure spray top nozzle, and 3 is a high pressure spray side nozzle. These nozzles spray water at high pressure onto the top and sides of incoming vehicles. Next, 4 is a right rear brush, 5 is a left front brush, 6 is a left rear brush, 7 is a right front brush, and 8.9 is a rocker brush that is responsible for cleaning the lower side of the vehicle. These brushes operate in sequence in synchronization with the movement timing of the vehicle.
Clean the front, sides, rear, and lower sides.

Mana 14 is a side nozzle for spraying a cleaning agent, and before the brush comes into contact with the vehicle body, the foam cleaning agent is mainly sprayed on the side surface of the brush. 15 is a cleaning agent spouting top nozzle that sprays cleaning agent onto the top surface of the vehicle, and 10 is a wash top brush that is responsible for cleaning the top surface of the vehicle.

Next, the first wax block will be explained.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a rinse nozzle that sprays water over the entire surface of the vehicle, with one side of the spray directed slightly toward the second wash block, and is responsible for removing (rinsing) the cleaning agent adhering to the vehicle after it has been washed. After rinsing, the vehicle is sprayed with liquid wax on its sides from the side wax nozzle 17. 11 is a left side brush that slides on the left side of the vehicle to evenly apply wax, 12 is a right side brush that applies wax evenly to the right side of the vehicle, and 18 is a top wax nozzle that sprays wax on the top of the vehicle. , 13 is a top wax brush that uniformly applies the wax to the upper surface.

Next, the second wax block will be explained.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a tire brush that cleans the tires by sprinkling clean water on them while rotating and touching the tires. 20 is a lower cleaning unit located between the left and right tire brushes, which sprays high-pressure cleaning water onto the bottom of the vehicle at the same time as cleaning the tires. 21 is a water spray nozzle which sprays water onto the entire surface of the vehicle after the wax has been applied to further uniformly fix the wax.

Next, the drive lock will be explained. Reference numeral 22 denotes a top blower nozzle that spouts drying air, and is equipped with vehicle shape detection means such as a photoelectric sensor, and moves up and down along the top surface shape while maintaining an appropriate distance from the vehicle, and mainly dries the top surface of the vehicle. A side blow nozzle 23 blows drying air from both sides of the vehicle to be transported, thereby drying the vehicle side.

24 is a conveyor laid along the vehicle path from the main body entrance to the exit, and includes a tire path 28, a tire pressing roller that moves along the path, a tire advancing guide in the form of a rail that is one step higher than the tire path, and a motor 55. It consists of a tire pressure roller that presses the tires of the cleaning vehicle and transports the entire vehicle.

A rotary encoder is attached to the drive rotation shaft of the motor 55, which outputs a pulse every time it rotates by a predetermined angle, giving the vehicle position of the cleaning vehicle as well as the operation timing for sequence control. Further, 53□ to 535 are vehicle detection means consisting of photoelectric switches similar to the above-mentioned full-scale detection means 26, and are located at the boundaries of each block to confirm the passage of a cleaning vehicle.

Next, the structure of a tire brush according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the tire brush portion viewed from above. The right tire brush 19-a, which is responsible for cleaning the right tire, has its rotating shaft supported by a bearing bracket 30, and is further connected to a fixed bracket 33 by a movable arm 31, 32.

Reference numeral 49 denotes a right tire brush opening guide, the surface of which is treated with fluororesin, contacts the right tire moving along the tire path 28, and acts to bring the right tire brush into smooth contact with the side surface of the tire.

On the other hand, 56 is a rear wheel guide that comes into contact with the rear wheel until the rear end of the vehicle passes to prevent the brush mechanism from suddenly moving toward the vehicle body when the rear wheel separates from the brush as the vehicle moves. is treated with fluororesin. A spring 37 is attached between a fulcrum 34 provided near the attachment portion of the movable arm 31 of the bearing bracket 30 and a fulcrum 35 provided on the movable arm 31, and is attached to the fulcrum 35 provided on the movable arm 31.
32 and the tire brush 19-a apply an urging force in a direction in which they approach perpendicularly. 38 is an air cylinder, which is connected to the fulcrum 3.
4 and a fulcrum 36 provided on the movable arm 32. The air cylinder 38 has a single-stage expansion and contraction operation, and by expanding and contracting, the angle between the bearing bracket 30 and the movable arms 31 and 32 is fixed in two stages. That is, when the air cylinder extends, the tire brush protrudes into the tire passage 28 @ as shown by the solid line in the figure, and when it shortens, it becomes retracted out of the tire passage 28 as shown by the chain line. . These movable arms 31, 32, spring 37, air cylinder 38
corresponds to the brush interval variable means recited in the claims.

Next, the configuration of the left tire brush portion on the opposite side will be explained. The left tire brush 19-b, which is in charge of cleaning the left tire, has its rotating shaft supported by a bearing bracket 39, and is further connected to a fixed bracket 42 by a movable arm 40.41. 50 is the left tire brush opening guide, and like the right side, the surface is treated with fluororesin, and it comes into contact with the moving left tire and allows the left tire brush to come into smooth contact with the side of the tire. act. 57 is a rear wheel guide that contacts the left rear wheel until the rear end of the vehicle passes through the brush mechanism portion, as described above. 47 is a spring, which is a fulcrum 43 provided near the movable arm 40 accommodating part of the bearing bracket 39.
and a fulcrum 44 provided on the arm portion of the movable arm 4G.
The tire brush 19-b is attached between the movable arm 40.41 and the tire brush 19-b, and applies an urging force in a direction in which the movable arm 40.41 and the tire brush 19-b approach vertically. 48 is a two-stage air cylinder, bearing bracket 3
It is attached between a fulcrum 45 and a fulcrum 46 provided near the attachment portion of the movable arm 41 of No.9. These movable arms 4
0.41, the spring 47, and the air cylinder 48 correspond to the brush interval variable means described in the claims. The air cylinder 48 has a two-stage expansion and contraction structure.
The angle between the bearing bracket 39 and the movable arm 40, 41 is fixed in three stages by expanding and contracting. That is, when the air cylinder is in the most shortened state, the left tire brush 19-b is in the state where it is most protruded toward the vehicle path, as shown by the solid line in the figure, and when it is extended by -step, it is in the intermediate state where it is -step down. , and if it is extended two more steps, it will be in the retracted state farthest from the vehicle aisle side. Next, the configuration of the tire brush drive system will be explained based on FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the movable arm 32 of the right tire brush. A motor 51 is installed near the brush bearing of the bearing bracket 30 via a motor erecting member 52 at an appropriate height (here, 60 cm above the ground in consideration of explosion protection at gas stations, etc.). The motor 51 is connected to the tire brush 19-a by a chain 53 inserted into a bearing bracket and a motor upright member, and is driven or stopped under the control of the control device 27 to switch the drive of the tire brush.

A tire cleaning spray nozzle 54 sprays fresh water toward the tire brush 19-a and the side surface of the tire as the tire brush is driven. The tire cleaning spray nozzle is also provided at the left tire brush portion on the opposite side, and sprays clean water uniformly onto the tire brush and the tire side surface during tire cleaning. Clean water is normally sprayed from this nozzle, but tire wax can also be sprayed if necessary.

Next, the operation of one embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 shows the operation from device operation to detection of the vehicle length of the cleaning vehicle by the full-scale detection means 26, and FIG. 6 shows the tire cleaning operation.

When the cleaning vehicle is placed on standby at the entrance of the main body of the apparatus and a start switch (not shown) is pressed, the cleaning operation begins.

First, the conveyor is driven (1) to start conveying the vehicle into the main body of the apparatus, and then a counter C giving the length of the cleaning vehicle is cleared to 0 (2). When the front end of the vehicle turns off the photoelectric switch (normally kept ON) as a full-scale detection means during conveyance (3), a pulse from an encoder provided on the conveyor is input and counter C is incremented by 1 (4).

Thereafter, counting is continued until the rear end of the vehicle passes the full-scale detection means 27 and the photoelectric switch is turned on (5), and the length of the cleaning vehicle is detected as a count value. Next, the tire cleaning operation will be explained with reference to FIG. When the front end of the vehicle reaches block 1-c during the wax application process, which is the previous process, and the vehicle detection means 53-2 detects this (11), it determines whether or not tire cleaning is selected in the preset before the start of cleaning. Judge (12). When cleaning the tires, the count C detected in the vehicle length detection operation shown in FIG. 5 is compared with a predetermined value stored in advance (13). This law determines the classification of large vehicles (so-called light vehicles or larger) and small vehicles.The classification criteria is that vehicles with a total length of 3.2 meters or more are classified as large vehicles, and vehicles shorter than that are classified as small vehicles. do. Therefore, the pulse count value corresponding to the distance of 3.2 m is stored in L, and by comparing C and L in step (13), it is determined whether the vehicle being cleaned is a small car or a large car. Become. If C is smaller than 2, the vehicle is determined to be a small car and proceeds to the small car course.

In the case of the small car course, cleaning is performed with the tire brush in its standard position, so the air cylinders 38 and 48 do not expand or contract, and fresh water for cleaning is jetted from the tire cleaning spray nozzle 54 (14). Next, right tire brush 19-
a, the left tire brush 19-b is rotated to start tire cleaning (15), and continues until the vehicle exits the block 1-d. When the vehicle completely moves to the adjacent drive lock 1-e and the vehicle detection means 53-4 detects that the rear end of the vehicle has passed (16), cleaning water and brush 19-a,
The drive of the tire 19-b is stopped (17), and the tire cleaning operation is completed. If the count C is greater than L in step (13), the cleaning vehicle is regarded as a large vehicle and proceeds to the large vehicle course. In the case of a large vehicle, the interval between the tire brushes must be wider than the interval at the standard position, and the movable arm 40, 41 of the left tire brush must be tilted one step more diagonally than the standard position. Therefore, in the case of a large car course, first extend the left air cylinder 48 one step 18) to widen the spacing between the tire brushes to a spacing suitable for the tire tread of the large car. After that, just like in the small car course, clean water will be sprayed out.
9), rotate the brushes 19-a and 19-b (20
), cleaning the tires until the vehicle exits the block 1-d. When the vehicle detection means 53-4 detects that the rear end of the vehicle has passed (21), clean water for cleaning and the brush 19-a,
19-b is stopped (22), the left air cylinder 48 is shortened by one step 23), and the tire cleaning operation is completed. At this time, the left air cylinder is finally shortened by one step and the process ends, so the left tire brush 19-b returns to the standard state before washing the large vehicle and ends.

If no tire cleaning is selected in the preset before starting cleaning, proceed to the no cleaning course in step (12).In this course, both the left and right tire brushes must be opened to a position away from the tire path to avoid contact with the tires. There is. Therefore, the right air cylinder 38 is shortened by one stage (24) to store the right tire cleaning brush, and the left air cylinder 48 is extended by two stages (25) to also store the left tire cleaning brush, so that the cleaning vehicle can brush both left and right tires. Wait for the part to pass.

After confirming that the vehicle has left block 1-d (2
6), extend the right air cylinder by one step 27), then shorten the left air cylinder by two steps (28) and return the brush to the standard position to complete the no-cleaning course.

As described above, the present invention determines the roadway of the cleaning vehicle being transported and moved by the conveyor based on the vehicle length detected by the vehicle size detection means provided at the entrance of the device, and opens the interval between the left and right tire brushes in advance in accordance with the vehicle length. I did it like that. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, even if the length of the tire brush opening guide 50 is shortened,
It can be applied to tire treads of small and large vehicles.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is determined whether the vehicle is a small vehicle or a large vehicle based on the vehicle length, but the means for full-scale detection is not limited to this. For example, a large vehicle is waiting at the entrance of the device. When the vehicle is loaded, a push switch may be provided on the tire path surface to sense the weight of the vehicle on the tire, and the roadway may be determined directly from the width of the vehicle.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured as described above, the tire brush opening guide can be reliably opened to a width suitable for the roadway even if the length of the tire brush opening guide is not secured to cover everything from small to large vehicles. This allows the length balance of the left and right tire brush opening guides to be approximated to the appropriate length.

Therefore, the tire brush opening guide does not come into contact with the moving wheel more than necessary, the resistance applied to both the left and right tires is balanced, and the force applied in the direction of changing the direction of the front wheel is significantly reduced. Therefore, it is possible to prevent accidents such as derailment that would lead to a collision between the vehicle and the unit in the device, and damage to the tires.

In addition, when the rear wheel separates from the tire brush as the vehicle moves during washing of a large vehicle, the tire brush simply moves slightly toward the center of the vehicle until it is held by an air cylinder, and the tire brush is held in place by an air cylinder. It does not suddenly return to the position corresponding to the tire portion of a small car due to the urging force of the tire.

Therefore, it is effective to prevent damage accidents such as the tire brush mechanism hitting the vehicle body.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of the same as above. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the tire brush portion. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the tire brush drive system. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the vehicle length detection operation in the full-scale detection means. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the tire cleaning operation. FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional tire brush configuration. 1- is a tunnel type frame which is the main body of the device, R is a vehicle passageway, 19-a is a right tire brush, 19-b is a left tire brush, 26 is a full-scale detection means, 31, 32, 40. 41 are movable arms of the tire brush. , 37.47 is a spring, 3
8.48 is the air cylinder, 49.50 is the tire brush opening guide, 56.57 is the rear wheel guide, and 30.39 is the bearing bracket. Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 6 Flash 4ffl Figure 5 Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] A cleaning section,
In a car wash machine of the type that is equipped with a wax application section and a drying section and that moves the vehicle along a vehicle path to wash, wax, and dry the vehicle, the rotation axis of the machine is placed at the tire passing position in the vehicle path. a pair of tire brushes provided in parallel; a vehicle class detection means located on the vehicle entrance side from the tire brushes for detecting the vehicle length or vehicle width of the vehicle being cleaned; A car wash device comprising a brush interval variable means for adjusting the interval.