JP3662393B2 - Car wash machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a car wash machine that includes a car wash processing device that performs a car wash operation on an automobile in a car wash body formed in a gate shape, and performs car washing by relatively moving the car wash machine body and the automobile.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In this type of car wash machine, in order to control the car wash processing device, vehicle body detection means for detecting the car shape of the car is provided at the front part of the car wash machine body where the car first reaches the car wash machine body. As the vehicle body detection means, a photoelectric switch composed of a plurality of pairs of light projectors and light receivers in the vertical direction is used so as to face the left and right inner surfaces of the car wash machine body formed in a gate shape.
[0003]
Further, in this type of car wash machine, the left and right inner side surfaces of the car wash machine body contact and switch to the car body so that the inner side surface of the car wash machine body formed in a gate shape and the side surface of the car do not come into contact with each other. A rod-shaped vehicle width sensor is provided.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In such a car wash machine, there is a possibility that washing water used for car washing scatters and adheres to the surface of the photoelectric switch, and the vehicle body detection of the automobile by the photoelectric switch may not be performed normally. Further, since this photoelectric switch is provided at the front part of the car wash machine body in order to detect the car shape of the car prior to the control of the car wash processor, it is easily affected by external light inserted into the car wash machine.
[0005]
In addition, since the contact-type vehicle width sensor provided for avoiding contact between the inner side surface of the car wash machine main body and the side surface of the automobile is rod-shaped, the position where the vehicle width sensor is provided on the side surface of the automobile. However, other side surfaces cannot be detected, and projections or the like protruding from the side surface of the automobile may not be detected.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve such problems, the present invention provides a car wash machine in which a car wash machine body formed in a gate shape and an automobile move relative to each other to perform car wash. a photoelectric switch for detecting a vehicle that is equipped, opening and closing plate for opening and closing the front of said photoelectric switch, the closing plate position detecting means for detecting the position of the closing plate, a closing drive means for driving said shutter plate And a control means for controlling the opening / closing drive means to open the opening / closing plate when detecting the vehicle shape during car wash and to close the opening / closing plate when detecting a non-car shape, wherein the opening / closing plate is more than the photoelectric switch. It opens and closes with the front side of the main body as an axis, covers the front surface of the photoelectric switch in the closed position, and in the open position, is positioned substantially perpendicular to the direction of relative movement between the car wash machine body and the automobile, More difference to the photoelectric switch It is obtained so as to block the external light writing.
[0007]
Further, the present invention is such that in this car wash machine, the car wash is stopped when the open / close plate position detecting means detects that the open / close plate in the open position is rotated by contact with the automobile during the car wash. .
[0011]
In car washing by this type of car wash machine, the vehicle shape and the side position of the automobile are usually detected in the first step. According to the present invention, the opening / closing plate that covers the photoelectric switch is opened for detecting the vehicle shape in the first step, and the opening / closing plate is in contact with the side surface of the automobile by detecting the rotational position of the opened opening / closing plate. And the opening / closing plate can be used as a vehicle width sensor. Then, after the first recovery process in which the detection of the vehicle shape and the position of the side surface of the vehicle has been completed, the open / close plate is closed to cover the photoelectric switch, and the washing water used for the car wash is scattered, so that the surface of the photoelectric switch Can be prevented from adhering to. When detecting the vehicle shape during car wash, the opening / closing plate is positioned at a right angle with respect to the relative movement direction of the car wash machine and the vehicle with the front side of the car wash machine as the axis, and external light is inserted from the front side of the car wash machine The photoelectric switch can be prevented from being affected by external light.
[0012]
In addition, when the opening / closing plate opened during the car wash rotates in contact with the car, the car wash is stopped to detect that there is not enough space between the car side and the car wash machine inner face. Thus, contact between the vehicle body and the car wash machine body can be prevented.
[0016]
【Example】
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a car wash body formed in a gate shape so as to straddle an automobile body, and wheels 2 and 2 are driven to rotate by motors 4 and 4 capable of rotating forward and backward, along rails 3 and 3. Travel back and forth.
[0017]
Reference numeral 5 denotes a rotary encoder for detecting the car wash machine travel position, which is connected to the output shaft of the motor 4 and outputs a pulse signal for each unit angle rotation while detecting the rotation direction of the motor 4, thereby driving the car wash machine main body 1 travel position. Is given.
[0018]
Reference numeral 6 denotes a position sensor for detecting the position of the car wash machine, which is provided at the lower part of the car wash machine body 1 and senses and switches the dog 7 which is a projection fixed to the rail 3 laying surface. Is given. The dog 7 gives the running start position of the car wash machine body.
[0019]
8 is an upper surface cleaning brush that moves up and down along the upper surface of the vehicle body, 9 and 9 are side surface cleaning brushes that open and close along the side surface of the vehicle body, 10, 11 and 11 are watering nozzles, 12 are upper surface drying nozzles, and 13 and 13 are side surface drying nozzles. Thus, a car wash processing device that performs processing such as washing and drying of the vehicle body as the car wash machine body 1 reciprocates is configured.
[0020]
The light projectors 14a, 15a, 16a, 17a and the light receivers 14b, 15b, 16b, 17b are photoelectric switches that detect the height of the vehicle body to be washed by the car wash machine. The automobile body is detected when the automobile body blocks light emitted from the projector and received by the light receiver. 14a and 14b detect the lower part of the vehicle, 15a and 15b detect the roof position of the ordinary car, 16a and 16b detect the roof position of the wagon car, and 17a and 17b detect the height of the car that cannot be washed by the car washer.
[0021]
Opening and closing plates 18 and 18 are made of a flexible material such as soft plastic, and are provided on both left and right inner surfaces of the car wash machine body 1 so as to be rotatable about the front side of the car wash machine body 1 and closed. When it is opened so as to cover the light projectors 14a, 15a, 16a, 17a and the light receivers 14b, 15b, 16b, 17b, it is positioned substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction of the car wash machine body 1. The opening / closing plates 18, 18 are formed so as not to transmit light, and the opened opening / closing plates 18, 18 block light that enters from the front side of the car wash machine body 1.
[0022]
3 and 4 are explanatory views showing the configuration of the opening / closing plate. The opening / closing plate 18 is pivotally supported by the rotation shaft 19 on the inner surface of the car wash machine body 1. The rotation shaft 19 is provided at a position on the opening / closing plate 18 on the front side of the car wash machine body 1. 20 is an air cylinder as means for closing the opening / closing plate 18, 21 is a spring as means for opening the opening / closing plate 18, and the opening / closing plate 18 normally operates the air cylinder 20 as shown in FIG. By contracting the rod, it is closed so as to cover the photoelectric switch such as the projector 17 a against the bias of the spring 21, and the vehicle shape is detected by the photoelectric switch such as the projector 17 a and the side surface of the automobile by the opening / closing plate 18. 3 (b), the operation of the air cylinder 20 is released, and the spring 21 is urged to open at a substantially right angle with respect to the traveling direction of the car wash machine body 1 as shown in FIG.
[0023]
Reference numerals 22 and 23 are proximity switches provided in the car wash machine main body 1, and 24 is a magnet fixed to the opening / closing plate 18, and the magnet 24 that moves as the opening / closing plate 18 rotates switches the proximity switches 22 and 23. Thus, the rotational position of the opening / closing plate 18 is detected to constitute an opening / closing plate position detecting means. The proximity switch 22 detects a position where the opening / closing plate 18 is closed, and the proximity switch 23 detects that the opening / closing plate 18 is opened.
[0024]
3 and 4, the left opening / closing plate as viewed from the front of the car wash machine body has been described, but the right opening / closing plate is configured similarly.
[0025]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the control means of the embodiment. A microcomputer 25 includes a CPU 26 that performs arithmetic processing, a memory 27 that stores programs and various data, and input / output interfaces 28 and 28. The input / output interfaces 28 and 28 include a rotary encoder 5 for detecting a traveling position, a position Sensor 6, side cleaning brushes 9, 9, sprinkling nozzles 10, 11, 11, top drying nozzle 12, side drying nozzles 13, 13, vehicle height measuring photoelectric switches 14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, 17a, 17b, air cylinders 20, 20, and proximity switches 22, 22, 23, 23 are connected.
[0026]
Reference numeral 29 denotes an inverter for controlling the rotational speed of the car wash machine running motors 4 and 4, which is connected to the input / output interface 28 and changes the frequency of the power supplied to the car wash machine running motors 4 and 4 to Change the rotational speed and change the running speed of the car wash as appropriate.
[0027]
Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described. In the embodiment, a two-way car wash will be described. As shown in FIG. 6A, the car A that performs car washing stops at a predetermined position of the car washing start, and the operator operates an operation panel (not shown) provided in the car washing machine main body 1 to The car wash is started by specifying the presence or absence of protrusions and pressing the start switch.
[0028]
When the car wash is started, the car wash machine first opens the opening and closing plates 18 and 18 to start detecting the vehicle shape and detecting the side of the automobile. The opened opening and closing plates 18 and 18 block external light inserted from the front side of the car wash machine body 1. Next, as shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the car wash machine body 1 starts traveling, and the photoelectric switch as the vehicle body detection means detects the shape of the vehicle body. First, a photoelectric switch that detects the lower part of the vehicle is shielded by the vehicle body between the projector 14a and the light receiver 14b, and detects the vehicle body. The car wash machine stores the running position of the car wash machine body 1 at this time detected by the running position detecting rotary encoder 5 in the memory 50 as the front end position CS of the automobile A. Subsequently, a photoelectric switch for detecting the position of the ordinary vehicle roof is shielded between the projector 15a and the light receiver 15b by the vehicle body, and detects the vehicle body. The car wash machine stores the travel position of the car wash machine body 1 at this time given by the rotary encoder 5 in the memory 27 as the front end position RS of the roof portion of the automobile A. After that, when the photoelectric switch for detecting the position of the ordinary vehicle roof is released from the light shielding by the vehicle body between the projector 15a and the light receiver 15b, and the vehicle body is not detected, the car wash machine moves the travel position of the car wash machine body 1 at this time. Is stored in the memory 27 as the rear end position RE of the roof portion of the automobile A. Further, when the photoelectric switch for detecting the lower part of the automobile is released from the light shielding by the vehicle body between the projector 14a and the light receiver 14b and the vehicle body is not detected, the car wash machine sets the travel position of the car wash machine body 1 at this time to the car A. Is stored in the memory 27 as the rear end position CE. In this way, the position of the moving car wash machine body 1 and the detection result of the photoelectric switch for detecting the vehicle body are stored in association with each other, and the vehicle shape of the automobile A is detected.
[0029]
Simultaneously with detection of the vehicle shape by the photoelectric switch, detection of the side surface of the automobile is performed. The opening / closing plates 18 and 18 opened for detecting the vehicle shape function simultaneously as a vehicle width sensor for detecting the side surface of the automobile. As shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the opening / closing plate 18 resists the bias of the spring 21 when the vehicle body A and the opening / closing plate 18 come into contact with each other due to the reason that the vehicle A stops at an angle. Then, the proximity switch 23 that is easily rotated in the closing direction, which is also the relative movement direction of the automobile A, as indicated by the arrows in FIGS. When the switching is released and the opening / closing plate 18 is not detected, the car wash machine determines that the car may come into contact with the inner surface of the car wash machine body, and stops the car wash. Since the opening / closing plate 18 is made of a flexible material such as soft plastic, even if it comes into contact with the vehicle body of the automobile A, there is no risk of damaging the vehicle body. In addition, since the opening / closing plate 18 is formed long in the vertical direction of the car wash machine, it is possible to detect a protrusion such as a door mirror that protrudes only in a part in the vertical direction of the automobile.
[0030]
At the same time as the detection of the vehicle shape and the detection of the side surface of the vehicle, the car wash processing device such as the upper surface washing brush is controlled in accordance with the detected shape of the vehicle to perform the car wash. The car wash machine travels while spraying the detergent together with the washing water from the watering nozzle, and the car wash treatment device such as the upper surface washing brush 8 acts as shown in FIGS. 8 (a), 8 (b), and 8 (c). I do.
[0031]
When the car washing machine reaches the rear of the car and the first car washing process is completed, the car washing machine closes the opening / closing plate 18 and enters the car washing process in the first recovery process. In the 1-return process, the vehicle shape has been detected in the 1-return process, and it has also been confirmed that the side surface of the automobile does not contact the inner surface of the car wash machine body. In the car washing process, washing water or the like is prevented from adhering to the photoelectric switch. Similarly to the one-step process, the car-washing processing device is acted on the automobile based on the detected vehicle shape even in the one-return process.
[0032]
In the second car wash, as in the first car wash, the car wash treatment device is operated to perform the car wash. At this time, since the vehicle shape is detected and the side position of the vehicle is confirmed, the opening / closing plate 18 is closed to prevent water from adhering to the photoelectric switch. In the second recovery step, drying is performed by the upper surface drying nozzle 12 and the side surface drying nozzles 13 and 13, and the car wash is completed.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in the first step of the car wash, in order to detect the car shape, the opening / closing plate is opened around the front side of the car wash machine main body and inserted from the front side of the car wash machine main body. External light that prevents external light and is inserted from the rear side of the car wash machine is not affected by external light because the photoelectric switch is blocked by the car wash machine because it is provided on the front side of the car wash machine. Reliable vehicle shape detection can be performed. And since the opened opening-closing plate long in the up-down direction is used for the detection of the side surface of the vehicle, the side surface can be reliably detected over the entire vertical direction of the side surface of the vehicle. In addition, since the opening / closing plate is made of a flexible material and the opening / closing plate in contact with the automobile easily rotates in the relative movement direction of the automobile, there is no risk of damaging the automobile even if the opening / closing plate contacts the automobile. Further, since the car wash is stopped when the opening / closing plate opened during the car wash comes into contact with the automobile, it is possible to prevent the side face of the automobile and the inner face of the car wash machine body from coming into contact with each other. Further, from the first recovery step in which it is not necessary to detect the vehicle shape and the side surface of the vehicle, it is possible to prevent the washing water or the like scattered from the photoelectric switch from adhering by closing the opening / closing plate.
[0034]
As described above, according to the present invention, by opening the opening / closing plate, it is possible to reliably detect the vehicle shape by preventing the external light inserted into the photoelectric switch, and by detecting the side of the automobile with the opened opening / closing plate, It is possible to prevent contact between the inner surface of the vehicle and the automobile, and by closing the opening / closing plate, the opening / closing plate can prevent the scattered washing water from adhering to the photoelectric switch that detects the vehicle body. By opening and closing, it plays a necessary role when necessary, so there is no need to separately provide a waterproof cover for the photoelectric switch, an external light blocking cover, and a vehicle width sensor.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory side view of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory front view of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an opening / closing plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an opening / closing plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a control unit according to the embodiment of this 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 the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car wash machine body 5 Rotary encoder 14a, 14b Photoelectric switch 15a, 15b Photoelectric switch 16a, 16b Photoelectric switch 17a, 17b Photoelectric switch 18 Opening / closing plate 19 Rotating shaft 20 Air cylinder 21 Spring 22, 23 Proximity switch 24 Magnet 25 Microcomputer

Claims (2)

In the car wash machine in which the car wash machine body formed in a gate shape and the car move relative to perform car wash,
A photoelectric switch for detecting a vehicle that is equipped plurality vertically to the car wash body front opening and closing plate for opening and closing the front of said photoelectric switch, the opening and closing plate position detecting means for detecting the position of the closing plate And an opening / closing driving means for driving the opening / closing plate, and a control means for controlling the opening / closing driving means to open the opening / closing plate when a vehicle shape is detected during a car wash and to close the opening / closing plate when a vehicle shape is detected.
The opening / closing plate opens and closes with the front side of the car wash machine body as an axis from the photoelectric switch, covers the front face of the photoelectric switch in the closed position, and in the open position relative to the relative movement direction of the car wash machine body and the automobile. A car wash machine characterized in that it is positioned substantially at right angles to block external light inserted into the photoelectric switch from the front side of the car wash machine body . 2. The car wash machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means stops the car wash when the opening / closing plate position detecting means detects that the opening / closing plate in the open position is rotated by contact with the automobile during the car wash. Car wash machine characterized by that.

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