JP6779077B2 - Vehicle shape detection method and device in car wash machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle shape detecting method and an apparatus for detecting the shape of an automobile to be washed.

A light emitting unit in which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged vertically and a light receiving unit in which a plurality of light receiving elements facing the light emitting elements of the light emitting unit are arranged vertically are attached to a main body frame formed in a portal shape with an automobile interposed therebetween. , A car wash machine equipped with a vehicle-shaped sensor is known, which detects the presence or absence of a vehicle body based on the light receiving level of the light receiving element accompanying the light emission of the light emitting element.

In such a car wash machine, since washing is performed with watering, water droplets may adhere to the front surface of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the vehicle-shaped sensor, and these water droplets have a great influence on the result of vehicle body detection. That is, when water droplets adhere to the surface of the light emitting part or the light receiving part, the light receiving level at the light receiving element due to the light emission of the light emitting element becomes low, and even though there is no car body, the vehicle shape data of "with car body" is obtained. It will be created. Moreover, since the attached water droplets are not removed unless they are cleaned, the vehicle shape data of the light emitting element or the light receiving element to which the water droplets are attached always remains "with the vehicle body", and the end of the vehicle is not detected and the vehicle stops abnormally. It becomes.

In consideration of the influence of water droplets on the vehicle shape data, in Patent Document 1, the threshold value for determining the vehicle body detection is changed according to the content of the vehicle wash to be executed. That is, when executing a car wash course involving high-pressure spray washing, the threshold value is reduced.

However, in Patent Document 1, when a car wash course accompanied by high-pressure spray washing is executed, the threshold value is consistently reduced during the course execution, so that thin equipment such as an antenna can be easily seen through and the car wash course cannot be removed. It had occurred.

Japanese Patent No. 4035379

Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is a vehicle shape detecting means for transmitting and receiving an optical signal between a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit and detecting the presence or absence of a vehicle body based on the light receiving level at the light receiving unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable of detecting a vehicle body without affecting vehicle shape data even when water droplets, dust, dirt, etc. are attached to the light receiving portion.

In order to solve such a problem, the present invention uses a vehicle shape detecting means for capturing the shape of an automobile as vehicle shape data and a vehicle shape data captured from the vehicle shape detecting means as the vehicle and the main body frame move relative to each other. In a car wash machine provided with a car wash processing device that acts on the vehicle body surface based on the above, and a car end detector that detects the end portion of the automobile, the vehicle shape detecting means includes a light emitting unit in which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged one above the other. It is provided with a sensor unit including a light receiving unit in which a plurality of light receiving elements facing the light emitting element of the light emitting unit are arranged vertically, and a detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a vehicle body based on the light receiving level of the light receiving element accompanying the light emission of the light emitting element. We propose a device and a method for changing the threshold value of the light receiving level for determining the presence or absence of a vehicle body before and after detecting the end of an automobile with a vehicle end detector.

According to the present invention, the threshold value for detecting the vehicle body is increased so that the equipment of the vehicle body does not penetrate until the end portion of the vehicle body is detected, and is decreased after the end portion of the vehicle body is detected. Therefore, even if water droplets or dirt adhere to the vehicle shape detection means, the vehicle equipment (windows, antennas, etc.) does not penetrate while the vehicle body is being detected, and the vehicle body is near the end of the vehicle body. The end position of the can be determined.

That is, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7C, while the vehicle entry sensor detects the vehicle body, a first threshold value for preventing the equipment from coming off is set, and the vehicle entry sensor sets the first threshold value. When the vehicle body is not detected, a second threshold value for preventing the influence of water droplets or steam adhesion can be set, and the vehicle body detection that solves the above problems can be performed.

It is a side view of the main body frame 1. It is a block diagram which shows the control system. It is a block diagram of a vehicle shape sensor 10 and a vehicle shape detection unit 24. It is a flowchart explaining the threshold value setting process. It is a flowchart explaining the vehicle shape data creation process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation of the main body frame 1. It is explanatory drawing which shows the vehicle shape data for every threshold value. It is explanatory drawing which shows the threshold value for every car wash content.

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a car wash machine in a car wash place.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a main body frame, which is formed in a gate shape and reciprocates on rails 2 and 2 so as to straddle the automobile A. As shown in FIG. 1, the main body frame 1 normally stops at the rear end of the traveling range given by the rails 2 and 2, and starts car washing from this position. The main body frame 1 is equipped with a car wash processing device such as a brush device 3, 4, 4, a watering nozzle 5a, 5b, 5c, a blower nozzle 6, 7, 7 and a blower unit, a water supply unit (not shown), and travels. Along with this, water, detergent, wax, etc. are sprayed for brushing, and air is blown from the blower nozzle for drying.

Here, the automobile A to be washed enters from the front of the car wash area which is the traveling range of the main body frame 1, stops at a position in front of the main body frame 1, receives the car wash, and then exits from the rear of the car wash area. In other words, the car travels forward and enters, and after the car is washed, it also travels forward and exits, enabling car wash passengers to pass through the car after being washed while in the car, so-called drive-through. ..

The brush device is located on the front side of the main body frame 1 and moves up and down along the upper surface of the vehicle body to brush the upper surface thereof. It consists of a pair of left and right side brush devices 4 and 4 that brush the front and rear surfaces and side surfaces of the vehicle body. The brush devices 3, 4, and 4 are located on the front side of the main body 1 from the blower nozzles 6, 7, and 7 together with the watering nozzles 5a, 5b, and 5c, and form a cleaning portion W.

The sprinkler nozzles 5a, 5b, and 5c remove the low-pressure nozzles 5a, 5b, which spray the washing water and the diluted water of the liquid agent such as detergent and wax at normal pressure before and after brushing with the brush device, and the sand, mud, etc. of the car body. It consists of a high-pressure nozzle 5c that sprays washing water or diluted liquid agent water at high pressure. The high-pressure nozzle 5c removes sand, mud, etc. from the vehicle body prior to brushing, and rubs the sand, mud, etc. with a brush to spray-clean the vehicle body so as not to cause car wash scratches, and is in front of the brush devices 3, 4, and 4. It is located behind the vehicle shape detection device 10 described later. These watering nozzles 5a, 5b, and 5c receive water from a known water supply device (not shown) installed separately from the main body 1, and a known hot water boiler (not shown) is connected to the water supply device. In cold seasons such as winter, hot water is supplied as washing water.

The blower nozzles are located behind each of the brush devices 3, 4 and 4, and move up and down along the upper surface of the vehicle body to blow air on the upper surface to dry the upper surface blower nozzle 6 and further behind the main body 1 from the upper surface blower nozzle 6. It is composed of a pair of left and right side blower nozzles 7.7 that are located and blow air to the side surface of the vehicle body to dry, and a drying portion D is formed on the rear side of the main body 1.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a traveling encoder, which is attached to the output shaft of the traveling motor 9, outputs a pulse signal every time the main body frame 1 travels a unit distance, and detects the moving distance of the main body frame 1 by counting the pulse signal. Reference numeral 10 denotes a vehicle-shaped sensor, which is provided in front of the brush device of the main body frame 1 and has a light emitting unit 10a in which a plurality of light emitting elements L1 to Ln are arranged vertically and a light receiving unit 10a in which a plurality of light receiving elements R1 to Rn are arranged vertically. The unit 10b is opposed to each other with the automobile sandwiched in the width direction, and an optical signal (infrared light) is exchanged between the plurality of light emitting elements and the plurality of light receiving elements, depending on the light receiving level of the light receiving element. The presence or absence of the vehicle body is detected, and the position of the upper surface of the vehicle body is detected.

Reference numeral 11 denotes an entry sensor provided below the vehicle shape sensor 10 for detecting the entry of an automobile, and 12 is an exit sensor attached to the rear surface of the main body frame 1 for detecting the exit of the automobile. Each of the sensors 11 and 12 is mounted at a height at which the end of the automobile can be detected, and the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are opposed to each other in the vehicle width direction to form a set of optical axes, and the optical axes are transparent. It consists of a beam sensor that outputs the presence or absence of the vehicle body by light / shading. The sensors 11 and 12 can be replaced by vehicle body detection sensors using infrared rays or ultrasonic waves other than the beam sensor.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a car wash reception device installed at the entrance of the car wash area, and the reception operation panel 14 provided on the front side is used to perform operations such as selection of car wash contents and settlement of car wash charges. Reference numeral 15 denotes a gate device that opens and closes the entrance of the car wash area, and prohibits / permits the entry of automobiles. Reference numeral 16 denotes a guidance indicator installed behind the exit of the car wash area, which guides the entry of the car at the time of reception of the car wash, displays the progress of the car wash operation during the car wash, and guides the exit of the car at the end of the car wash. .. The reception operation panel 14 is provided with various input keys such as a car wash course key, a car wash start key, and a car wash stop key, so that a car wash form can be set according to the customer's wishes.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of an embodiment.
Reference numeral 20 is a car wash control unit, 21 is a reception control unit, and 22 is a car wash drive unit.
The car wash control unit 20 follows a pre-programmed sequence based on signals from the traveling encoder 8, the vehicle shape sensor 10, the vehicle entry sensor 11, and the vehicle exit sensor 12, and the traveling motor 9 and the brushes 3, 4, and 4 of the main body frame 1. , Controls the operation of the watering nozzles 5a, 5b, 5c and the blower nozzles 6, 7, 7. The reception control unit 21 outputs the car wash received by the reception operation panel 14 of the car wash reception device 13 to the car wash control unit 20, opens and closes the gate device 15, and switches the display of the guidance display 16. The car wash drive unit 22 drives each car wash processing device in response to a signal from the car wash control unit 20.

The car wash control unit 20 drives a travel detection unit 23 that detects the travel position of the main body frame 1 from the pulse signal of the travel encoder 8 and a vehicle shape sensor 10 triggered by the pulse signal of the travel encoder 8 to drive the height of the automobile. A vehicle shape detection unit 24 that detects a position, a vehicle shape data creation unit 25 that creates vehicle shape data from the detection results of the travel detection unit 23 and the vehicle shape detection unit 24, and a data storage unit 26 that stores various data. It is provided with an operation control unit 27 that controls a car wash processing device according to vehicle shape data.

As a result, the car wash control unit 20 receives the pulse signal from the travel encoder 8, the travel detection unit 23 detects the travel position of the main body frame 1, and the vehicle shape detection unit 24 detects the upper surface position of the vehicle body. The vehicle shape data creation unit 25 creates vehicle shape data by associating the traveling position of the main body frame 1 with the upper surface position of the vehicle body, stores the vehicle shape data in the data storage unit 26, and the motion control unit 27 brushes based on the vehicle shape data. Control car wash processing equipment such as.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a vehicle shape detection unit 24.
The vehicle shape detection unit 24 is acquired by a light emitting drive unit 28 that drives the light emitting unit 10a of the vehicle shape sensor 10, a light receiving drive unit 29 that drives the light receiving unit 10b of the vehicle shape sensor 10, and a light receiving element of the light receiving unit 9b. To determine the vehicle body detection based on the light receiving level, the light receiving detection unit 30 that detects the light receiving level, and the vehicle body determining unit 31 that determines whether or not the vehicle body is detected at the height position of the element based on the light receiving level. It is provided with a threshold value setting unit 32 for setting the threshold value of.

Here, the threshold value is a numerical value to be compared with the increase in the amount of light received by the corresponding light receiving element due to the light emitting element, and if the amount of light received increases by more than the threshold value due to light emission, the light is transmitted (transmission). It is judged that there is no car body), and if the increase does not reach the threshold value, it is judged that there is shading (with car body). Therefore, the larger the threshold value, the easier it is to determine (with the vehicle body), and the smaller the threshold value, the easier it is to determine (without the vehicle body).

For this threshold value, the difference light-receiving level between the light-receiving level before the light-emitting element is made to emit light and the light-receiving level after making the light-emitting element emit light in the absence of a vehicle is acquired, and the car wash content and the car wash status are obtained for this difference light-receiving level. It is set in consideration. By acquiring the light receiving level in the absence of a vehicle before washing the car, the optimum threshold value is set for each element after grasping the device difference of each element and the performance difference due to dirt adhesion.

In the vehicle shape detection unit 24, the light emitting drive unit 28 sequentially outputs an optical signal so as to scan from the upper light emitting element L1 to the lower light emitting element Ln, and in synchronization with this, the light receiving drive unit 29 corresponds to the light emitting element. The light receiving elements R1 to Rn receive the optical signal, the light receiving detection unit 30 acquires the light receiving level (light receiving amount) of the optical signal, and the vehicle body determination unit 31 sets the threshold value set by the threshold value setting unit 32. The presence or absence of the vehicle body is detected by comparison.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.
When the car wash content is received by the reception operation panel 14 of the car wash reception device 13 and the car wash start input is received, the reception control unit 21 opens the gate device 15, and the guidance display 16 displays the guidance for entering the car and the reception operation. The car wash content received on the panel 14 is transmitted to the car wash control unit 20.

When the car wash control unit 20 receives the car wash signal from the reception control unit 21, it detects that the vehicle has stopped at the car wash position and starts the car wash according to the received car wash content. As means for detecting that the automobile has stopped at the car wash position, a tire switch for detecting the entry of tires, a stop detection switch protruding in front of the main body frame 1, and the like are known, although not particularly shown.

When the car wash starts, the main body frame 1 starts going forward, and the threshold value setting is executed before the vehicle body sensor 10 detects the vehicle body.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the threshold value setting.
The threshold value is set by driving only the scanning drive unit 29 of the light receiving unit 10b (1), capturing the light receiving level ra of the light receiving element R before causing the light emitting element L to emit light (2), and then scanning the light emitting unit 10a. The scanning drive unit 29 of the drive unit 28 and the light receiving unit 10b is driven synchronously (3), and the light receiving level rb of the light receiving element R when the light emitting element L is made to emit light is taken in (4). Then, the differential light receiving level rc between the light receiving level ra captured in the process (2) and the light receiving level rb captured in the process (4) is calculated (5), and the first ratio is calculated using this differential light receiving level rc as a reference value. The first threshold value SL multiplied by is set (6), the second threshold value SH multiplied by the second ratio is set (7), and the data storage unit 26 is set as the discrimination threshold value of the light receiving element R1. Remember (8). After that, the operations from (1) to (8) are repeated, and two discrimination thresholds SL1 to SLn and SH1 to SHn are set for each of the light receiving elements R1 to Rn (9).

When the threshold value is set, the vehicle shape data is created by the vehicle shape sensor 10 as the main body frame 1 goes back and forth.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of vehicle shape data creation.
When the pulse signal from the traveling encoder 8 is received as the main body frame 1 travels (10), the light receiving level ra1 of the light receiving element R1 before the light emitting element L1 emits light and the light receiving element when the light emitting element L1 emits light. The light receiving level rb1 of R1 is taken in, the differential light receiving level rc1 thereof is calculated, and the difference is compared with the first threshold value SL1 set in the threshold value setting. As a result, if the differential light receiving level rc1 is higher than the first threshold value SL1, it is determined to be translucent (without vehicle body), and if it is lower than the first threshold value SL1, it is determined to be light-shielded (with vehicle body), and the vehicle body is detected. (11).

This process is continuously performed up to the light emitting element Ln-light receiving element Rn, and binary image data for one scan is created with "0" for no vehicle body and "1" for with vehicle body (12). Then, such binary image data for one scan is created every time the traveling encoder 8 outputs a pulse signal, and is executed until the main body frame 1 goes back and forth. The horizontal axis is the movement pitch of the main body frame 1. Binary image data is created by applying binarized vehicle shape data of "0" for translucency and "1" for shading on a matrix screen with the vertical axis as the arrangement pitch of the optical axis.

When the main body frame 1 goes back and forth and the vehicle entry sensor 11 turns to non-detection of the vehicle body (13), the vehicle shape is detected by switching from the first threshold value SL up to that point to the second threshold value SH (14). ). Even if the vehicle body is not detected by the vehicle entry sensor 11, the vehicle shape detection is continued because the rear tire, rear mirror, etc. are attached behind the vehicle body end detected by the height of the vehicle entry sensor 11. Because there is a possibility.

After that, binary image data is created in the same manner as in the processing (12) according to the forward movement of the main body frame 1 (15), and when a predetermined number of binary image data without a vehicle body are continuous (16), the vehicle shape is detected. Is finished, and the position of the rear end of the vehicle body is fixed. After that, when the car wash processing device (side brush device 4 in one outbound) used by the main body frame 1 during the process reaches the rear end position of the vehicle body and finishes the washing, one outbound is completed.

FIG. 6 shows the operation of the main body frame 1 when the vehicle shape data is created.
While the main body frame 1 is in the car wash standby position P1 and the car is stopped at a predetermined car wash position, the car wash is started and the main body frame 1 travels to the position P2 where the vehicle body is not detected by the vehicle entry switch 11. The vehicle body is detected at the first threshold value SL, and the vehicle body is detected at the second threshold value SH while the main body frame 1 travels to the position P3 where the vehicle body sensor 10 does not detect the vehicle body.

As described above, in the present invention, when the vehicle body is detected (P1 to P2), the first threshold value SL is used for the purpose of preventing the equipment from coming off, and after the vehicle body end (P2 to P3). It is characterized in that the second threshold value SH is used for the purpose of reducing the influence of water droplets and steam adhesion at the time of detection.

During car washing, it is expected that the light receiving level will be attenuated by the generated water droplets and steam, and the degree of this attenuation will vary depending on the position and structure of each part in the main frame, but according to the applicant's test, it is normal. It has been confirmed that the damping is about 40% when the car is washed and about 80% due to the adhesion of water droplets and steam.

Therefore, when the vehicle body is detected at a threshold value of 30% of the reference value, as shown in FIG. 7A, the portion where water droplets or steam adheres to the vehicle shape sensor 10 is shielded from light (with the vehicle body). Therefore, the rear end of the automobile cannot be determined, and an error that the car wash stops as an abnormal car shape occurs.

On the other hand, when the vehicle body is detected at a threshold value of 10% of the reference value in anticipation of the generation of water droplets and steam during car washing, as shown in FIG. 7B, the attenuation due to water droplets and steam is small. In that case, since it is judged that there is no vehicle body with a small amount of light received, light is transmitted through equipment (antenna, etc.) that is not thick, and it cannot be recognized as a vehicle body.

Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7C, a first threshold value SL set to 30% of the reference value is set as a threshold value for preventing the equipment from coming off, and water droplets or steam are set. As a threshold value for preventing the influence of the adhesion of, a second threshold value SH set to 10% of the reference value is set, and while the vehicle entry sensor 11 detects the vehicle body, the first threshold value is used. When the vehicle body is determined and the vehicle entry sensor 11 does not detect the vehicle body, the vehicle body is determined at the second threshold value so that the equipment and the rear end of the vehicle body can be reliably detected.

The attenuation of the light receiving level also depends on the car wash course to be performed and the car wash conditions. For example, in a car wash course using a high-pressure spray 5c, 70% attenuation is expected due to the influence of scattered water, and 80% attenuation is expected under car wash conditions where there is a risk of steam generation such as in cold weather.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when the car wash course using the high pressure spray is executed, the first threshold value is set to 20% of the reference value and the second threshold value is set to 10% of the reference value. Further, in cold weather when steam is expected to be generated, the first threshold value is set to about 15% of the reference value, and the second threshold value is set to 10% of the reference value. If the car is washed using a high-pressure spray and steam is expected to be generated, it is determined that it is practically impossible to detect the car shape while washing the car, and only the car shape detection step is executed first. In this case, since the washing water is not used, the threshold value may be set to about 40% of the basic data. These threshold values are calculated and set for each element and stored in the data storage unit 26.

Although this embodiment is configured as described above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, in the embodiment, an example applied to a drive-through type gate type car wash machine is shown, but the car wash machine does not have to be drive-through, and a continuous car wash machine that transports a car by a conveyor or a brush is not used. It can also be applied to brushless car wash machines that wash cars with only high-pressure spray. In addition, a plurality of patterns of optical axis configurations can be considered, and it is applicable not only to the horizontal optical axis of the light emitting element and the light receiving element horizontally opposed to each other, but also to the inclined optical axis shifted by n (n = 2 or more) from the light emitting element. The ratio to be multiplied by the reference value may be changed according to the degree of inclination. Further, it can be used in the same manner when the vehicle shape is detected as the main body frame goes back.

1 Main body frame 3 Top surface brush 10 Car shape sensor 10a Light emitting part 10b Light receiving part 11 Car entry sensor 12 Exit sensor 20 Car wash control unit 24 Car shape detection part L1 to Ln Light emitting element R1 to Rn Light receiving element

Claims (2)

A vehicle shape detecting means that captures the shape of the automobile as vehicle shape data as the vehicle and the main body frame move relative to each other, a car wash processing device that acts on the vehicle body surface based on the vehicle shape data captured from the vehicle shape detecting means, and an automobile. In a car wash machine equipped with a car end detector that detects the end of the car
The vehicle shape detecting means includes a sensor unit including a light emitting unit in which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged vertically, a light receiving unit in which a plurality of light receiving elements facing the light emitting element of the light emitting unit are arranged vertically, and a light emitting element. Equipped with a detector that detects the presence or absence of the vehicle body based on the light receiving level of the light receiving element that accompanies light emission
The threshold value of the light receiving level for determining the presence or absence of the vehicle body can be changed before and after the end of the vehicle is detected by the vehicle end detector, and the threshold value when the end of the vehicle is detected is large. A car wash machine characterized by a smaller threshold when the end of the car is not detected . The vehicle shape detecting means is executed even when the end of the automobile is not detected by the vehicle end detector provided below the sensor unit.
The car wash machine according to claim 1.

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