JP3530298B2 - Vehicle position detector for car washer - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a floor which straddles a stationary vehicle which is formed in a gate shape for removing dirt adhering to a vehicle body surface of a vehicle, for example, a passenger vehicle. The present invention relates to detection of a vehicle position of a car washer that reciprocates on a traveling rail laid on a surface. 2. Description of the Related Art In a car washing machine of this type, a light emitter and a light receiver are opposed to each other with a vehicle interposed therebetween in order to detect the shape of the upper surface of the vehicle and to control the elevation of a top brush. Are arranged in a vertical direction of a car washer. [0003] However, this type of car washer is often installed at a gas station, and a non-explosion-proof photoelectric device is provided to prevent ignition of volatile fuel at the gas station. Electrical components such as sensors were installed at a height of 60 cm or more above the ground. However, if the photoelectric sensor was installed at a height of 60 cm or more above the ground, it was not possible to accurately detect the position and the like of the front and rear ends (for example, bumpers) of the vehicle. Further, in order to install an electric component such as a photoelectric sensor as an explosion-proof structure at a height of 60 cm or less above the ground, the structure becomes complicated and expensive. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive vehicle position detecting device capable of detecting the front and rear end positions of a vehicle with a non-explosion-proof structure. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a car washing machine that reciprocates on a traveling rail laid on a floor so as to straddle a stopped vehicle that is formed in a gate shape. so
A photoelectric sensor comprising a light transmitter and a light receiver provided at a position higher than the height at which the explosion-proof structure is not required, and a photoelectric sensor provided at a position lower than the photoelectric sensor on the other side of the main body opposed to the photoelectric sensor with the vehicle interposed therebetween. The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem by comprising a reflector and reflecting light from the light emitter of the photoelectric sensor by the reflector and receiving the light by the light receiver of the photoelectric sensor. According to the present invention, the light of the projector installed above the height at which the explosion-proof structure is not required (at least 60 cm above the ground) is
Explosion-proof structure reflected by a reflector below (60 cm below ground level)
It can be used safely even in dangerous places such as gas stations by receiving light with a light receiver installed at a height above the height where construction is not required ( at least 60 cm above the ground). Position detection can be performed. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention. The car washer 1 reciprocates on a pair of running rails 2 laid on the floor by a running mechanism so as to straddle a vehicle 4 via running wheels 3. The running rail 2 has an apex angle of approximately 90
It is an angle wood. Inside the car washer 1, the car washer 1 is driven to rotate around a horizontal axis and according to the shape of the vehicle 4.
A top cleaning brush 5 that moves up and down relative to the
A pair of side cleaning brushes 6 and the like, which are driven to rotate around a vertical axis and move laterally relative to the car washer 1 according to the shape of the vehicle 4, are provided. A top drying nozzle 7 that blows high-pressure drying air toward the upper part of the vehicle 4 and moves up and down relative to the car washer 1 according to the shape of the vehicle 4. A pair of side drying nozzles 8 fixed to the car washer 1 that blows air is provided. 9 is a top spray nozzle fixed to the car washer 1 that sprays high-pressure water for washing toward the upper part of the vehicle, and 10 is a pair of fixed nozzles that are fixed to the car wash machine 1 that sprays high-pressure water for spraying toward both side surfaces of the vehicle 1. Side watering nozzle. Reference numeral 11 denotes a rotary encoder for detecting a traveling position of the car washer, which is connected to an output shaft of a traveling motor 12,
A pulse signal is output every unit angle rotation while detecting the rotation direction of the traveling motor 12 to enable detection of the traveling position of the car washer 1. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a control system according to the embodiment. 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes a microcomputer which performs arithmetic processing.
14. Memory 1 for storing programs and various data
5 and input / output interfaces 16 and 17. The rotary encoder 11 is connected to the input interface 16 and the output interface 17
A traveling motor 12 belonging to a traveling mechanism, a top cleaning brush 5 belonging to a cleaning mechanism, a side cleaning brush 6, a top watering nozzle 9 belonging to a watering mechanism, a side watering nozzle 10,
The top drying nozzle 7 and the side drying nozzle 8 belonging to the drying mechanism are connected. At the front side of the car washer 1, a vehicle position detecting means 18 is provided.
Is provided. The vehicle position detecting means 18 includes a plurality of photoelectric sensors 1 provided at predetermined intervals in the up-down direction.
, A plurality of photoelectric sensors 20a, 20b,... Provided at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction at the same intervals as the projectors 19a, 19b,. The light emitters 21 and the light receivers 22 of the photoelectric sensor and the reflector 23 for reflecting the light from the light emitters 21 and projecting the light to the light receivers 18 are provided at appropriate positions as described above, and the light emitters 19a, 19b,.
The corresponding light receivers 20a, 20b
Is detected, and the light from the light projector 21 is detected by the light receiver 22 via the reflection plate 23. Floodlights 19a, 19b ...
The height from the floor of each of the receivers 20a,
20b are provided at the same height from the floor. The height of the reflecting plate 23 from the floor is equal to that of the projector 2.
1, the light receiver 22 is provided at a height lower than the height from the floor. For example, if the light projector 21 and the light receiver 22 are provided at a height of 60 cm or more from the floor, the reflector 23 is provided at a height of 60 cm or less from the floor. Therefore, the optical axis connecting the light projector 21 and the reflector 23 and the optical axis connecting the reflector 23 and the light receiver 22 are inclined with respect to the horizontal. By the way, the light projector 21 and the light receiver 22 are formed by using the light projectors 19a, 19b.
If it is provided with the same configuration as the light receivers 20a, 20b..., It is not desirable to provide a photoelectric sensor having no explosion-proof structure at a height of 60 cm or less in a dangerous place such as a gas station. Will be prepared. Then, it may not be possible to detect the position of the front and rear ends of a vehicle whose front and rear ends such as bumpers are 60 cm or less from the floor surface. However, as described above, the projector 2
1 and the light receiver 22 are brought closer to each other and provided at a certain height or higher from the floor surface, a reflector 23 is provided at a height lower than the height of the light projector 21 and the light receiver 22, and an optical axis connecting the light projector 21 and the reflector 23,
If the optical axis connecting the reflector 23 and the light receiver 22 is inclined with respect to the horizontal line, the front and rear end positions of the vehicle can be reliably detected. Further, in a configuration in which the reflection plate 23 is not used, by providing an explosion-proof structure for the light projector 21 and the light receiver 22, the same result as the detection using the reflection plate 23 can be obtained, but the structure is complicated and expensive. It is undesirable. Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 4A, when the car washer 1 is at the car wash start position, the vehicle 4 is stopped at a predetermined stop position. Car wash machine 1
Starts a car wash, and when the car washer 1 reaches the position shown in FIG. 4B, a photoelectric sensor for detecting the front end of the vehicle 4 uses the vehicle 4 to move between the light projector 21 and the reflector 23. The light is shielded and the front end of the vehicle 4 is detected. The car washer 1 detects the position Y1 at this time by the rotary encoder 11 and stores it in the memory 15. And the top cleaning brush 5,
When the side cleaning brush 6 or the like reaches the position Y1, the car cleaning process operates to clean the front end. Similarly, when the car wash proceeds and the car washer 1 reaches the position shown in FIG. 4C, the photoelectric sensors 19 and 2 detect the roof position of the vehicle 4.
0 detects the vehicle. The car wash machine 1 is the car wash machine 1 at this time.
The position Y2 is detected by the rotary encoder 11 and stored in the memory 15, and when the top cleaning brush 5, the side cleaning brush 6 and the like reach the position Y2, the car cleaning process is performed and the roof is cleaned. Car wash is performed in the same manner. According to the present invention, according to the present invention, an explosion-proof structure
Light from a projector installed above the height where the construction is not required (at least 60 cm above the ground) is reflected by a reflector below (at a height below 60 cm above the ground), and at least the height at which the explosion-proof structure is unnecessary ( at the height above the ground) (60 cm or more), so that it can be used safely even in dangerous places such as gas stations, and it has a non-explosion-proof structure so that the front and rear end positions of the vehicle can be accurately detected. The front and rear ends can be reliably cleaned.

[Brief description of the drawings] FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a control system according to an example of use of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the embodiment of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols] 1 Car wash machine 2 Running rail 3 Running wheels 4 vehicles 5 Top cleaning brush 6 Side cleaning brush 7 Top drying nozzle 8 Side drying nozzle 9 Top watering nozzle 10 Side watering nozzle 11 Rotary encoder 12 Traveling motor 13 Microcomputer 14 CPU 15 Memory 16 input interface 17 Output interface 18 Vehicle position detecting means 19, 21 Floodlight 20,22 Receiver 23 Reflector

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims 1] In a car wash machine which reciprocates on a traveling rail laid on the floor so as to straddle a stopped vehicle formed in a gate shape, an explosion proof is provided on one side of a main body. A photoelectric sensor comprising a light emitter and a light receiver provided at a position higher than the height at which the structure is not required, and a reflection provided at a position lower than the photoelectric sensor on the other side of the main body facing the photoelectric sensor and the vehicle. A vehicle position detecting device for a car washing machine, comprising a plate, wherein light from a light emitter of the photoelectric sensor is reflected by a reflector and received by a light receiver of the photoelectric sensor.