JPH10119733A - Car wash equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] When the number of vehicles that can be washed per hour is increased by setting the distance between rollers to the minimum necessary distance in accordance with the length of the car, and the car is to be washed continuously, the preceding car After a sufficient distance between the following vehicle and the following vehicle, the following vehicle is transported by rollers and enters the car washing apparatus. In a car washing apparatus for automatically washing a car by moving the car by a moving device, means for detecting a vehicle length from a specific portion of the entering car to a rear end provided in a vicinity of an entrance of the car washing apparatus, and a car washing apparatus for the car Control means for permitting entry of the following vehicle by the entry permission means according to the vehicle length of the vehicle detected by the vehicle length detection means when continuously cleaning the following vehicle and means for permitting entry into the vehicle. Have a means.
The moving device is provided with a plurality of rollers for pressing the wheels of the automobile at a predetermined interval, the vehicle length detecting means detects the distance between the rollers for pressing the front wheels of the automobile and the rear end of the automobile, and the entry control means is for entering the following automobile. Is permitted by delaying from the normal time by an amount corresponding to the predetermined interval of the rollers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a car washing apparatus body provided with a car washing processing apparatus for performing processing such as washing and drying of an automobile,
The present invention relates to a car washing device that includes a moving device that moves an automobile, and that automatically performs washing when the automobile is moved by the moving device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a car washing machine of this kind, as an automobile moving device, for example, an endless chain is stretched from the entrance to the exit of the car washing device, and a roller for pressing a wheel of the automobile is fixed to the chain. The car is moved by rotating the chain and pushing the wheels of the car with rollers. At this time, the car stops the engine,
With the gears in neutral and the side brake released, the vehicle travels in the car wash device body according to the guidance of the rollers. Then, with the movement of the car, the washing water is sprayed from a water spray nozzle provided in the car wash apparatus main body, the car body is washed with a washing brush, and finally the high pressure air is blown from the top nozzle to perform a drying process. . After completion of the drying process, the vehicle is released from the moving device by releasing the pressing of the wheels by the rollers.

In such a car washing apparatus, the distance between the rollers pressing the wheels is set longer than the wheel base of the vehicle so that the roller following the roller pressing the front wheels does not obstruct the rear wheels of the vehicle. However,
If the distance between the rollers is too wide, it takes time to transport the next vehicle, and the number of vehicles that can be washed per hour in the car washing apparatus is reduced. In consideration of these points, the distance between the rollers is set to a minimum necessary distance according to the length of the vehicle.

[0004]

In such a car washing apparatus, when washing a plurality of automobiles continuously, if the car length is longer than expected, the interval between rollers is short. When the distance between the car body of the preceding car and the car body of the car to be subsequently washed becomes shorter, and the car with the longer car ahead tries to exit the car washing device by releasing the pressing of the wheels by the rollers, If it is late, there is a possibility that the following vehicle, which is conveyed by being pressed by the wheels by the rollers, may collide.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), a brush B which is held by a rotating arm and cleans the automobile is urged toward the moving automobile A1 to clean the side of the automobile A1. As shown in FIG. 8 (b), the vehicle wraps around the rear surface of the vehicle A1 according to the bias toward the vehicle A1 and cleans the rear surface. Then, as shown in FIG.
When the brush B is released from the urging for cleaning the side surface of the vehicle A2, the brush B may hit the front surface of the vehicle A2 that subsequently moves, and may not return to the position where the side surface of the vehicle A2 is cleaned. .

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides a car washing apparatus main body in which a car washing processing apparatus for performing processing such as washing and drying of an automobile is provided, and a moving apparatus for moving the automobile. A car wash device that is provided near an entrance of a car wash device and detects a vehicle length from a specific portion of an entering car body to a rear end of the car body in a car wash device that automatically cleans the car as the car is moved by a moving device. Detecting means, entry permitting means for permitting entry of the car into the car washer, and when the following car is continuously washed, the entry permitting is performed according to the length of the car body detected by the car length detecting means. Means for controlling the vehicle to permit the following vehicle to enter.

According to the present invention, in the car washing apparatus, the moving device is provided with a plurality of rollers for pressing a wheel of an automobile at a predetermined interval, and the vehicle length detecting means includes a roller for pressing a front wheel of the automobile. It is assumed that the distance of the rear end of the vehicle is detected, and the entry control means permits the entry of the succeeding vehicle with a delay corresponding to a predetermined interval of the rollers from normal.

[0008]

When the distance between the rollers is minimized according to the length of the vehicle to increase the number of vehicles that can be washed per hour, and when an extremely long vehicle is to be washed, the following vehicle is used. Delaying entry into the car wash, passing rollers without transporting the car,
With sufficient clearance between the car body of the preceding car and the car body of the following car, the car can be transported by rollers to enter the car washer, and is safe, efficient, and has a high washing effect. Can be provided.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a car washing apparatus main body, and reference numeral 2 denotes a conveyor as a moving device for moving an automobile. The car washer body 1 has water spray nozzles 3, 3, 3, 3 for spraying fresh water, detergent water, and wax water, front and side brushes 4, 4 for cleaning the front and side surfaces of the vehicle, and cleaning the side and rear surfaces of the vehicle. Rear side brushes 5,5, rocker brushes 6,6 for cleaning the lower side of the vehicle, top brush 7 for cleaning the upper surface of the vehicle, side nozzles 8,8 for drying the side of the vehicle, and drying the upper surface of the vehicle A car wash processing device such as a top nozzle 9 is provided.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a photoelectric switch for detecting the shape of the vehicle body, which comprises a pair of right and left light emitters and light receivers arranged at appropriate heights at the entrance of the car washing apparatus main body 1, and is irradiated from the light emitter to the light receiver. The vehicle light is blocked by the vehicle body to detect the vehicle body.

The conveyor 2 includes the wheels T of the automobile A to be cleaned.
Rollers 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11
e, an endless chain 12 for holding 11f at appropriate intervals
With the sprockets 1 disposed before and after the car wash device body 1.
Drive motor 15 provided in a drive unit 14 disposed behind the car wash device main body 1,
Is driven to rotate. Reference numeral 16 denotes a rotary encoder connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 15,
A pulse is output every 5 unit angle rotations, and the moving distance of the conveyor 2 is detected. Reference numerals 20 and 20 denote wheel guides disposed along the conveyor 2, and guide the wheels T of the automobile A so that the automobile A to be moved travels straight.

The rollers 11a, 11b,...
The interval is longer than the wheelbase of the car, and
In order not to become too long, it is arranged at a minimum necessary distance according to the length of the car. As a result, the roller following the roller that presses the front wheel of the vehicle does not hinder the rear wheel of the vehicle, and it takes time to transport the next vehicle, and the number of washable vehicles per hour in the car wash device is reduced. It does not mean that it will end up.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a stop plate which is a means for permitting a car to enter the body of the car washer. The stop plate normally protrudes from the ground and functions as a tire stopper. 1 to be able to enter. Reference numeral 18 denotes a vehicle detection sensor provided adjacent to the stop plate 17, which is switched by being stepped on the wheel T of the vehicle A to be cleaned and detects the presence or absence of the vehicle A to be cleaned. 19
Is a slide plate that moves in the left-right direction of the vehicle A to enter, and assists the vehicle body by moving the vehicle body in the left-right direction so that the wheels T of the vehicle A can easily enter between the wheel guides 20.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a roller detection switch, which is provided in the vicinity of the sprocket 13 on the entrance side of the car washing apparatus, detects the moving rollers 11a, 11b,..., 11f and performs switching, and switches the positions of the rollers 11a, 11b,. Is detected.

The photoelectric switch 10, the rotary encoder 16, and the roller detection switch 26 interact with each other,
The vehicle length detecting means of the present invention detects the vehicle length from a specific portion of the vehicle body to the rear end of the vehicle body.

Numeral 27 is a voice unit for the driver of the car, "Please wait,""The car moves."
And the like, is generated from a speaker to notify that the vehicle is not allowed to enter or that the vehicle is being conveyed. Numeral 28 indicates an electric light indicator for a driver of a car.
Display a message such as "Turn off the engine and shift the gear to neutral,""Pleasewait,""Car wash will begin," etc. It informs that it is conveyed and the car wash is started.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 21 denotes a microcomputer constituting control means of the present invention, which comprises a CPU 22 for performing arithmetic processing, a memory 23 for storing programs and various data, and an input / output interface 24. The input / output interface 24 includes a rotary for detecting a conveyor position. Encoder 16, photoelectric switch 10, watering nozzle 3, 3, 3,
3, front side brushes 4, 4, rear side brushes 5, 5, rocker brushes 6, 6, top brush 7, side nozzles 8, 8, top nozzle 9, roller detection switch 26, audio unit 27, lightning indicator 28 are connected.

An inverter 25 for changing the moving speed of the conveyor is connected to the input / output interface 24.
The frequency of the power supply supplied to the conveyor driving motor 15 is changed to change the number of rotations of the motor, and the moving speed of the conveyor is appropriately changed.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described. After the payment of the fee and the selection of the car washing course are performed by the reception device (not shown), the car A enters the entrance of the car washing device main body 1 as shown in FIGS. I do. The wheel guides 20, 20 are open in the shape of a letter “C” at the entrance, and when the wheel T of the vehicle A is off the center of the wheel guides 20, 20, the left and right sides of the vehicle received by the contact between the wheel T and the wheel guide 20. The force in the direction is absorbed by the sliding plate 19 moving in the left-right direction, so that the wheel T fits between the wheel guides 20. The stop plate 17 is erected while the car washer is on standby, and the vehicle A is stopped at the standby position by the stop plate. Whether or not the vehicle has entered the standby position is recognized by switching when the vehicle detection switch 18 is depressed by the wheel T.

Here, the automobile A stops the engine, sets the gears to neutral, and releases the side brake. Guidance on the operation is provided by the display of the electric light indicator 28. The car wash apparatus starts a car wash operation after appropriately taking a time necessary for the operation. The car wash device tilts the stop plate 17, drives the conveyor driving motor 15 to rotate the chain 12, and pushes the wheel T of the automobile A by the roller 11a held by the chain 12. Car A rolls wheel T with roller 1
1a to move the wheel guides 20 and 2
The vehicle is guided in 0 and travels in the car wash apparatus main body.

The car washing apparatus performs the car washing operation by sequentially applying each car washing processing device provided in the car washing apparatus main body 1 to the body of the car A as the car A moves. The moving position of the car A is detected from the pulse output of the rotary encoder 16 that detects the moving distance of the conveyor 2. First, the car wash device detects the shape of the car A by the photoelectric switch 10 provided at the entrance of the car wash device body 1. This vehicle shape detection is based on the presence / absence of light received by a plurality of photoelectric switches 10 provided in the height direction and the pulse output of the rotary encoder 16 for detecting the moving distance of the conveyor 2. This is done by storing the height in the memory 38.
The roller 11a pressing the wheel T of the automobile A is detected by the roller detection switch 26, and the distance from the roller detection switch 26 to the position of the photoelectric switch 10 is detected by the pulse output of the rotary encoder 16. , Roller 1 that pushes front wheel T of car A
The length from 1a to the rear end of the vehicle A can be detected.

Next, the car washing device injects washing water or the like from the watering nozzles 3, 3, 3, 3 according to the detected vehicle shape data, and the front side brushes 4, 4, the rear side brushes 5, 5, Rocker brush 6,6, Top brush 7
Are sequentially applied to the body of the automobile A to perform car washing. When a car is continuously washed, it is necessary to leave a certain distance between the car and a car to be subsequently washed so that each brush can sufficiently act on the car body. The car starts with the front wheel pushed at first, but the roller 1 pushing the front wheel
When 1a reaches the end of the conveyor 2 and starts to return to the entrance side,
The roller 11a is disengaged from the front wheel, the vehicle is stopped once, and the next roller 11f pushes the rear wheel in accordance with the driving of the conveyor 2 to resume running.

As a final step of washing the car, the body of the car A is dried. The car washing apparatus performs drying by blowing high-pressure air toward the vehicle body A from the side nozzles 8 and 8 and the top nozzle 9. The top nozzle 9 is controlled to move up and down along the upper surface of the vehicle body. Roller 11f pushing wheel T
However, when the end of the conveyor 2 is reached, the car washing device raises the top nozzle 9 to the upper limit position. The vehicle A having released the pressing of the wheel T by the roller 11f runs by driving the engine and exits from the car wash device. It takes time for the driver to start driving by driving the car engine, and when the car is continuously washed, the next car is also washed during this time.
To prevent a rear-end collision, it is necessary to leave a certain distance between the car currently being washed and the car that is subsequently washed.

As shown in FIG. 4, when performing car washing continuously, the car washing apparatus performs car washing at intervals of a distance L or more.
This distance L is determined according to the length of the vehicle so that each brush can sufficiently operate between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle, and so that the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle do not collide. Set to a minimum. As shown in FIG. 4, when the distance L1 between the roller that pushes the front wheel of the preceding vehicle and the rear end of the vehicle is shorter than the distance L, the car wash device conveys the next vehicle. The distance L1 between the roller that presses the front wheel of the vehicle and the rear end of the vehicle is determined by a rotary encoder that detects that the roller detected by the roller detection switch 26 reaches the position of the vehicle type detection photoelectric switch 10 at the front of the car washer. The output pulse of the vehicle type is detected by counting the 16 output pulses, from which the photoelectric switch 10 for detecting the vehicle shape is detected.
Can be detected by counting the number of output pulses of the rotary encoder 16 until the end of the vehicle is detected.

As shown in FIG. 5, the distance L2 between the roller pressing the front wheel of the preceding vehicle and the rear end of the vehicle is equal to the distance L.
If it is longer, the car wash apparatus determines that the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle may collide, and does not permit the next vehicle to enter. As shown in FIG. 6A, the car wash apparatus raises the stop plate 17 to stop the vehicle at the standby position, and keeps the stop plate 17 raised even if the roller 11a is detected by the roller detection switch 26. As shown in FIG. 1, since the wheels pressed by the stop plate and the wheels pressed by the rollers are different, as shown in FIG. 6B, the automobile A has one wheel T pressed by the stop plate 17 as shown in FIG. As it is, the roller 11a passes under the wheel T on the opposite side, and the car A is not transported.

When the distance L or more is secured, the car washing apparatus carries the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 7A, the car washing apparatus raises the stop plate 17 to stop the vehicle at the standby position, and waits for the detection of the roller 11 f by the roller detection switch 26. When the roller 11f is detected, FIG.
As shown in (b), the stop plate 17 is lowered so that the vehicle can enter. The vehicle is carried into the car washing device by pressing the wheels T by the rollers 11f.

When the vehicle is not permitted to enter, and the rollers pass through the wheels of the vehicle, vibrations appear as if the vehicle were riding on a step. Therefore, the driver of the automobile feels anxiety.
Since the embodiment has a voice unit and an electric light indicator, when the vehicle is not allowed to enter, a voice saying "Please wait" is generated from the speaker of the audio unit, and the effect is also displayed on the electric light indicator. In addition, it is possible to notify the driver that the vehicle has not been transported yet, thereby eliminating the driver's anxiety.

Also, when the vehicle is permitted to enter and transportation of the vehicle is started, if the vehicle starts moving after a while after arriving at the standby position, the driver feels surprised by sudden movement of the vehicle. Will be. At this time, the sound of "the car moves" is generated from the speaker of the voice unit, and a lightning indicator is also displayed to inform the driver that the car is being transported, and surprise the driver. I can do without.

[0029]

As described above, the present invention provides a method for cleaning automobiles,
A car washing apparatus main body in which a car washing processing apparatus for performing processing such as drying is disposed, and a moving apparatus for moving an automobile, and a car washing apparatus for automatically washing as the automobile is moved by the moving apparatus, provided near an entrance of the car washing apparatus. Vehicle length detecting means for detecting a vehicle length from a specific portion of the car body to be entered to the rear end of the car body, approach permitting means for permitting the car to enter the car washer, and successive cars. When the vehicle is washed, the vehicle has an entry control unit that controls the entry permitting unit to permit entry of a subsequent vehicle according to the vehicle length of the vehicle body detected by the vehicle length detection unit. A plurality of rollers for pressing the wheels of the vehicle are provided at predetermined intervals, and the vehicle length detecting means detects the distance between the rollers for pressing the front wheels of the vehicle and the rear end of the vehicle. The control means shall permit the subsequent vehicle to enter the vehicle with a delay from the normal time corresponding to the predetermined distance between the rollers, whereby the distance between the rollers can be reduced to a minimum necessary distance according to the length of the vehicle and the time can be reduced. When the number of cars that can be washed per car is increased, if a car with an extremely long car length is washed, the next car is not allowed to enter the car washing device by the entry permitting means, but passes through the rollers without transporting the car. A device that allows a car to be conveyed by allowing sufficient space between the preceding car and the next car, and then allowing the car to be conveyed by means of a permitting means, thereby enabling a safe, efficient, and highly efficient car wash. Can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, the fact that entry of a car is not permitted is notified by a voice unit or an electronic light indicator, so that the driver of the car at the car wash start position can be notified when the car is not carried into the car wash device. Also, by notifying the driver that entry is not permitted, the driver does not feel uneasy. Also, when the transportation is started, the driver is informed that the vehicle starts to move, so that the driver is not surprised that the vehicle has suddenly moved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car wash apparatus main body 2 Conveyor 10 Car type detection photoelectric switch 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, 11f Roller 16 Conveyor movement position detection rotary encoder 17 Stop plate 21 Microcomputer 26 Roller detection switch 27 Audio unit 28 Electronic display

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroo Maruyama 1825 Amemiya Amemiya, Shohani, Nagano MK Seiko Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A car washing apparatus comprising: a car washing apparatus main body in which a car washing processing apparatus for performing processing such as washing and drying of an automobile is arranged; and a moving apparatus for moving the automobile, wherein the car washing apparatus automatically performs washing as the automobile is moved by the moving apparatus. , A vehicle length detecting means provided near the entrance of the car washer for detecting a vehicle length from a specific portion of the car body to enter to a rear end of the car body, and an entry permitting means for permitting the car to enter the car washer. And an entry control unit for controlling the entry permitting unit to permit entry of a subsequent vehicle according to the vehicle length of the vehicle body detected by the vehicle length detection unit when continuously washing a subsequent vehicle. A car wash device characterized by having. 2. A car washing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said moving device is provided with a plurality of rollers for pressing wheels of the vehicle at predetermined intervals, and said vehicle length detecting means presses a front wheel of the vehicle. Detecting the distance between the roller and the rear end of the vehicle, wherein the entry control means permits the entry of the subsequent vehicle by delaying the entry of the succeeding vehicle by an amount corresponding to a predetermined interval of the rollers from normal. Car wash equipment.