JP7615906B2 - Car Wash Equipment - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a car wash device.

Patent Document 1 describes a car wash system that allows customers of car washes to know how crowded the car wash is without having to go to the car wash. That is, a photographing means photographs the conditions of car washes located in various locations, an image analyzing means analyzes the photographed images to determine the number of vehicles present in the car wash, and a control means transmits vehicle count data to a management center every time there is a change in the number of vehicles. The management center publishes the vehicle count data for each car wash on the Internet and automatically updates the published data every time vehicle count data is transmitted.

JP 2003-122840 A

Patent Document 1 does not describe what circumstances, if any, would cause an autonomous vehicle to enter or leave the car wash when the vehicle arrives at the car wash. For this reason, the technology described in Patent Document 1 leaves room for improvement with regard to the smooth entry and exit of autonomous vehicles that arrive at the car wash into and out of the car wash.

This disclosure has been made in consideration of the above facts, and aims to provide a car wash device that allows autonomous vehicles that arrive at a car wash to smoothly exit the car wash area.

The car wash device of the first aspect includes a car wash device main body that washes a vehicle located at a car wash position; a communication unit that communicates with an autonomous vehicle having an on-board communication unit and an autonomous driving unit; a control unit that, when at least a first condition corresponding to the car wash process for a first autonomous vehicle located at the car wash position has been completed and the first autonomous vehicle is able to leave the car wash position, sends an exit instruction to the first autonomous vehicle by the autonomous driving unit of the first autonomous vehicle to cause the first autonomous vehicle to leave the car wash position; and a first distance detection unit that detects the distance between the first autonomous vehicle located at the car wash position and another vehicle present in the direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash position , and the first condition is that the distance between the first autonomous vehicle and another vehicle present in the direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash position is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

In the first aspect, at least when a first condition corresponding to the completion of the car wash process for the first autonomous vehicle located at the car wash position and the first autonomous vehicle being able to leave the car wash position is satisfied, an exit instruction is sent to the first autonomous vehicle. As a result, the first autonomous vehicle is taken out of the car wash position by the autonomous driving unit of the first autonomous vehicle. In addition, the first condition is that the distance between the first autonomous vehicle and another vehicle present in the direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash position is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Therefore, according to the first aspect, it is possible for autonomous vehicles that have come to the car wash to smoothly leave the car wash position , and it is possible to increase the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash device.

The present disclosure has the effect of enabling autonomous vehicles that arrive at a car wash to smoothly exit the car wash area.

1 is a block diagram showing the schematic configurations of a car wash apparatus and an in-vehicle system according to a first embodiment; 1 is a perspective view of a car wash site in which a car wash device is installed. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the entrance position, the car wash position, and the exit position. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a car wash apparatus control unit. 4 is a flowchart showing a warehouse entry/exit control process according to the first embodiment; 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transition of vehicle movement in the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the schematic configurations of a car wash apparatus and an in-vehicle system according to a second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing a warehouse entry/exit control process according to the second embodiment; FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transition of vehicle movement in the second embodiment.

An example of an embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment
1 shows a car wash apparatus 10 and an in-vehicle system 50 installed at a car wash. As described below, the in-vehicle system 50 includes an autonomous driving ECU 72, which is an example of an autonomous driving unit, and a vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle system 50 functions as an autonomous driving vehicle in the present disclosure. Hereinafter, the autonomous driving vehicle will be simply referred to as a "vehicle."

The car wash device 10 includes a car wash device main body 12, a car wash device control unit 14, a communication unit 26, and a vehicle detection unit 28, and the car wash device main body 12, the car wash device control unit 14, the communication unit 26, and the vehicle detection unit 28 are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via an internal bus 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, the car wash device main body 12 is gate-shaped when viewed from the front, and is guided by a pair of rails 32 laid on the floor surface, and is capable of reciprocating along the rails 32 between a first position 36 (see FIG. 3) and a second position 38 (see FIG. 3). The car wash device main body 12 is provided with a brush device including multiple types of brushes that brush different parts of the exterior surface of the vehicle, a drying device that sprays air to dry the surface of the vehicle body, and a spray device that sprays water or the like onto the vehicle body.

The space between the pair of rails 32 is a car wash position 34 where a vehicle to be washed is parked, and the car wash device main body 12 performs a car wash process including a car wash process and a movement process. The car wash process is a process in which the car wash device main body 12 moves between a first position 36 and a second position 38, which are set to sandwich the car wash position 34, to wash a vehicle parked at the car wash position 34. The car wash device main body 12 moves, for example, one and a half round trips between the first position 36 and the second position 38 from the start to the end of the car wash process. The movement process is a process in which the car wash device main body 12 moves from the second position 38 to the first position 36 after the car wash process is completed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the area behind the car wash position 34 (the entrance side) is designated as an entrance position 40 where vehicles waiting to enter the car wash position 34 are stopped. The area in front of the car wash position 34 (the exit side) is designated as an exit position 42 where vehicles leaving the car wash position 34 are stopped or pass. The vehicle detection unit 28 detects whether or not a vehicle is present at each of the entrance position 40, the car wash position 34, and the exit position 42. For example, a camera, a radar, or the like can be used to detect a vehicle by the vehicle detection unit 28. The vehicle detection unit 28 is an example of a first vehicle detection unit and a second vehicle detection unit.

The car wash device control unit 14 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 16, memory 18 such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and a non-volatile storage unit 20 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive).

The memory unit 20 stores an entry/exit control program 24. The car wash apparatus control unit 14 functions as a control unit 46 shown in FIG. 4 by reading the entry/exit control program 24 from the memory unit 20 and expanding it in the memory 18, and executing the entry/exit control program 24 expanded in the memory 18 by the CPU 16. The control unit 46 controls the operation of the car wash apparatus main body 12 and is capable of communicating with the in-vehicle system 50 via the communication unit 26.

Next, the in-vehicle system 50 will be described. Note that FIG. 1 shows only a portion of the in-vehicle system 50. In the following, the vehicle in which the in-vehicle system 50 is installed will be referred to as the host vehicle as necessary.

The in-vehicle system 50 includes a system bus 52 to which are connected a group of surrounding condition acquisition devices 54, a group of vehicle driving state detection sensors 64, an autonomous driving ECU 72 that performs autonomous driving of the vehicle, and a user interface unit 74. The group of surrounding condition acquisition devices 54 includes, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) device 56, an in-vehicle communication device 58, a radar device 60, and a camera 62 as devices that acquire information indicating the state of the environment around the vehicle.

The GPS device 56 receives GPS signals from multiple GPS satellites to determine the position of the vehicle. The in-vehicle communication device 58 is a communication device that performs at least one of vehicle-to-vehicle communication with other vehicles and road-to-vehicle communication with a roadside device. The in-vehicle system 50 is capable of communicating with the car wash apparatus 10 via the in-vehicle communication device 58. The in-vehicle communication device 58 is an example of an in-vehicle communication unit in this disclosure.

The radar device 60 detects objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles around the vehicle, and obtains the relative position and relative speed of the detected objects and the vehicle. Based on the changes in the relative position and relative speed of each object included in the most recent detection results, the radar device 60 excludes noise, roadside objects such as guardrails, etc. from the monitoring targets, and tracks and monitors specific objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles as monitoring targets. The radar device 60 then outputs information such as the relative position and relative speed of each monitoring target object. The camera 62 captures the surroundings of the vehicle with multiple cameras and outputs the captured images.

The vehicle driving state detection sensor group 64 also includes a steering angle sensor 66 that detects the steering angle of the vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 68 that detects the driving speed of the vehicle, and an acceleration sensor 70 that detects the acceleration applied to the vehicle, as multiple sensors that acquire the driving state of the vehicle.

The autonomous driving ECU 72 is connected to a throttle ACT (actuator) 76 that changes the throttle opening of the vehicle, a brake ACT 78 that changes the braking force generated by the vehicle's braking device, and a steering ACT 80 that changes the steering amount by the vehicle's steering device. When the autonomous driving mode is selected as the driving mode of the vehicle, the autonomous driving ECU 72 performs autonomous driving processing to drive the vehicle automatically without driving operations by the vehicle occupants. The autonomous driving processing is a process that determines the situation of the vehicle and its surroundings based on information obtained from the surrounding situation acquisition device group 54 and the vehicle driving state detection sensor group 64, and controls the throttle ACT 76, brake ACT 78, and steering ACT 80.

The user interface unit 74 includes various switches and displays provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle. The user interface unit 74 can be linked to a mobile device such as a smartphone carried by a user (a passenger of the vehicle) to allow the mobile device to function as an operation unit for the car wash device 10.

Next, as an operation of the first embodiment, the entry/exit control process according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5. In step 100, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle waiting to enter the car wash device 10 is located at the entry position 40. If the determination in step 100 is negative, step 100 is repeated until the determination is positive. When the vehicle enters the entry position 40, the determination in step 100 is positive and the process proceeds to step 102.

In step 102, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle is present at the car wash location 34. Note that step 102 is an example of the second condition. If the determination in step 102 is positive, the process proceeds to step 104. In step 104, the control unit 46 transmits an entry prohibition instruction to the vehicle located at the entry location 40. This prohibits the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the entry location 40 from performing automatic driving to enter the vehicle located at the entry location 40 into the car wash location 34.

When the vehicle leaves the car wash position 34, the determination in step 102 is negative and the process proceeds to step 106. In step 106, the control unit 46 transmits an entry instruction to the vehicle located at the entry position 40. As a result, the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the entry position 40 performs automatic driving to bring the vehicle located at the entry position 40 into the car wash position 34.

In the next step 108, the control unit 46 determines whether or not the vehicle located at the entrance position 40 has been completely entered into the car wash position 34. If the determination in step 108 is negative, step 108 is repeated until the determination is positive. Then, when the vehicle has been completely entered into the car wash position 34, the determination in step 108 is positive, and the process proceeds to step 110.

In step 110, the control unit 46 starts the car wash process by the car wash device main body 12. In step 112, the control unit 46 determines whether the car wash process of the car wash device main body 12 has ended. If the determination in step 112 is negative, step 112 is repeated until the determination is positive. When the car wash device main body 12 moves, for example, one and a half round trips between the first position 36 and the second position 38 between the start and end of the car wash process and reaches the second position 38, the determination in step 112 is positive and the process proceeds to step 114.

In step 114, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle is present at the exit position 42. If the determination in step 114 is positive, the process proceeds to step 116. Note that step 114 is an example of the first condition. In step 116, the control unit 46 transmits an exit prohibition instruction to the vehicle located at the car wash position 34. This prohibits the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 from performing automatic driving to exit the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 to the exit position 42.

In addition, if there is no vehicle at the exit position 42, or if the vehicle that was located at the exit position 42 has left the exit position 42, the determination in step 114 is negative and the process proceeds to step 118. In step 118, the control unit 46 transmits an exit instruction to the vehicle located at the car wash position 34. As a result, the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 performs automatic driving to exit the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 to the exit position 42.

The entry/exit control process according to the first embodiment described above will be further described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6(A) shows a state in which the car wash process of the car wash device main body 12 for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 has been completed, a third vehicle 88 is at the exit position 42, and a second vehicle 86 is at the entry position 40. When the car wash process is completed, the car wash device main body 12 is located at the second position 38, and a movement process is started to move from the second position 38 to the first position 36.

When the third vehicle 88 leaves the exit position 42 from this state, the determination in step 114 is negative, and as shown in FIG. 6B, an exit instruction is sent to the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 (step 118). As a result, the first vehicle 84 starts moving by automatic driving from the car wash position 34 to the exit position 42.

As shown in FIG. 6(C), when the first vehicle 84 moves to the leaving position 42 by automatic driving, the determination in step 102 is negative, and an entry instruction is sent to the second vehicle 86 located at the entry position 40 (step 106). As a result, the second vehicle 86 starts moving by automatic driving from the entry position 40 to the car wash position 34. Then, as shown in FIG. 6(D), the second vehicle 86 moves to the car wash position 34 by automatic driving.

In this way, in the first embodiment, when the car wash process for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 is completed and the first condition corresponding to the first vehicle 84 being able to leave the car wash position 34 is met, an exit instruction is sent to the first vehicle 84. This allows the first vehicle 84, which has come to the car wash and completed the car wash process, to be able to leave smoothly.

In addition, in the first embodiment, when the car wash process for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 is completed and the first condition corresponding to the first vehicle 84 being able to leave the car wash position 34 is not met, an exit prohibition instruction is sent to the first vehicle 84. This allows the first vehicle 84, which has come to the car wash and completed the car wash process, to leave smoothly while being prevented from coming into contact with the third vehicle 88 located at the exit position 42.

In addition, in the first embodiment, when the car wash process for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 is completed and the second vehicle 86 waiting outside the car wash position 34 is able to enter the car wash position 34, a warehousing instruction is sent to the second vehicle 86 when a second condition is met, which corresponds to the second vehicle 86 being able to enter the car wash position 34. This allows the second vehicle 86 that has come to the car wash to smoothly enter the car wash device 10.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, when the car wash process for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 is completed and the second vehicle 86 waiting outside the car wash position 34 to be washed does not satisfy a second condition corresponding to being able to enter the car wash position 34, an entry prohibition instruction is sent to the second vehicle 86. This allows the second vehicle 86 that has come to the car wash to smoothly enter the car wash device 10 while being prevented from coming into contact with the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34.

In the first embodiment, a vehicle detection unit 28 is provided to detect the presence or absence of a third vehicle 88 in the direction in which the vehicle leaves the car wash position 34, and the first condition is that the third vehicle 88 is not present in the direction in which the first vehicle 84 leaves the car wash position 34. This improves safety when the first vehicle 84 leaves the car wash after visiting the car wash and completing the car wash process.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, a vehicle detection unit 28 is provided that detects the presence or absence of a first vehicle 84 at the car wash position 34, and the second condition is that the first vehicle 84 is not present at the car wash position 34. This makes it possible to improve safety when a second vehicle 86 that has come to the car wash enters the car wash.

In the first embodiment, the car wash device main body 12 performs a car wash process including a car wash process in which the car located at the car wash position 34 is washed while moving between the first position 36 and the second position 38 set to sandwich the car wash position 34, and a moving process in which the car moves from the second position 38 to the first position 36 after the car wash process is completed. The control unit 46 then causes the vehicle to leave the car wash position 34 and enter the car wash position 34 during the moving process. As a result, in parallel with the moving process in which the car wash device main body 12 moves from the second position 38 to the first position 36, the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 leaves and the second vehicle 86 located at the entry position 40 enters. Therefore, the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash device 10 can be increased.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Note that the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 7, the car wash apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment is provided with a distance detection unit 82 consisting of a radar device instead of the vehicle detection unit 28. The distance detection unit 82 detects each vehicle present at the entrance position 40, the car wash position 34, the exit position 42, etc. within the car wash, and obtains the relative position and relative speed of each detected vehicle, as well as detecting the distance between each vehicle.

In detail, the distance detection unit 82 detects the distance L1 (see FIG. 9) between the first vehicle 84 located near the car wash position 34 and the second vehicle 86 located near the entrance position 40. The distance detection unit 82 also detects the distance L2 (see FIG. 9) between the first vehicle 84 located near the car wash position 34 and the third vehicle 88 located near the exit position 42. The distance detection unit 82 is an example of the first distance detection unit and the second distance detection unit.

Next, referring to FIG. 8, the entry/exit control process according to the second embodiment will be described. Note that the entry/exit control process according to the second embodiment is executed in parallel for each vehicle present in the car wash.

In step 130, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle waiting to enter the car wash device 10 is present at the entrance location 40. If the determination in step 130 is negative, step 130 is repeated until the determination is positive. When a vehicle enters the entrance location 40, the determination in step 130 is positive and the process proceeds to step 132.

In step 132, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle is present at the car wash position 34. If the determination in step 132 is negative, the process proceeds to step 138. If the determination in step 132 is positive, the process proceeds to step 134. In step 134, the control unit 46 determines whether or not the distance L1 between the vehicle located at the entrance position 40 and a vehicle located closer to the car wash position 34 than the vehicle is less than a predetermined value L. Note that step 134 is an example of the second condition, and the predetermined value L is set to a value equal to or greater than the distance between the entrance position 40 and the car wash position 34.

If the determination in step 134 is positive, the process proceeds to step 136, where the control unit 46 transmits an entry prohibition instruction to the vehicle located at the entry location 40. This prohibits the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the entry location 40 from performing automatic driving to enter the vehicle located at the entry location 40 into the car wash location 34.

Furthermore, when the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 starts moving to the exit position 42 and the distance L1 becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined value L, the determination in step 134 is negative and the process proceeds to step 138. In step 138, the control unit 46 transmits an entry instruction to the vehicle located at the entrance position 40. As a result, the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the entrance position 40 performs automatic driving to enter the vehicle located at the entrance position 40 into the car wash position 34 while maintaining the distance L1 equal to or greater than the predetermined value L.

When the entrance of the vehicle into the car wash position 34 is complete, in step 140, the control unit 46 starts the car wash process by the car wash device main body 12. In step 142, the control unit 46 determines whether the car wash process of the car wash device main body 12 has been completed. If the determination in step 142 is negative, step 142 is repeated until the determination is positive. When the car wash device main body 12 moves, for example, one and a half round trips between the first position 36 and the second position 38 between the start and end of the car wash process and reaches the second position 38, the determination in step 142 is positive and the process proceeds to step 144.

In step 144, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle is present at the exit position 42. If the determination in step 144 is negative, the process proceeds to step 150. If the determination in step 144 is positive, the process proceeds to step 146. In step 146, the control unit 46 determines whether or not the distance L2 between the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 and a vehicle located closer to the exit position 42 than the vehicle is less than a predetermined value L. Note that step 146 is an example of the first condition, and the predetermined value L is set to a value equal to or greater than the distance between the car wash position 34 and the exit position 42.

If the determination in step 146 is positive, the process proceeds to step 148, where the control unit 46 transmits a departure prohibition instruction to the vehicle located at the car wash position 34. This prohibits the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 from performing automatic driving to exit the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 to the exit position 42.

Furthermore, when the vehicle located at the exit position 42 starts moving in the direction of leaving and the distance L2 becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined value L, the determination in step 146 is negative and the process proceeds to step 150. In step 150, the control unit 46 transmits an exit instruction to the vehicle located at the car wash position 34. As a result, the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 performs automatic driving to exit the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 to the exit position 42 while maintaining the distance L2 equal to or greater than the predetermined value L.

The entry/exit control process according to the second embodiment described above will be further described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9(A) shows a state in which the car wash process of the car wash device main body 12 for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 has been completed, a third vehicle 88 is at the exit position 42, and a second vehicle 86 is at the entry position 40. When the car wash process is completed, the car wash device main body 12 is located at the second position 38, and a movement process is started to move from the second position 38 to the first position 36.

From this state, the third vehicle 88 starts moving from the exit position 42 in the direction of leaving, and when the distance L2 between the third vehicle 88 and the first vehicle 84 becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined value L, the judgment in step 146 of the entry/exit control process for the first vehicle 84 is negative. Then, an exit instruction is sent to the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 (step 150). As a result, the first vehicle 84 starts moving by automatic driving from the car wash position 34 to the exit position 42 while maintaining the distance L2 from the third vehicle 88 equal to or greater than the predetermined value L.

In addition, when the distance L1 between the first vehicle 84 and the second vehicle 86 becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined value L as a result of the movement of the first vehicle 84, the determination in step 134 of the entry/exit control process for the second vehicle 86 is negative. Then, a loading instruction is sent to the second vehicle 86 located at the loading position 40 (step 138). As a result, the second vehicle 86 also starts moving by automatic driving from the loading position 40 to the car wash position 34 while maintaining the distance L1 from the first vehicle 84 equal to or greater than the predetermined value L.

In this way, in the second embodiment, the third vehicle 88, the first vehicle 84, and the second vehicle 86 move in parallel by automatic driving. Then, after passing through the states shown in Figures 9(B) and (C), as shown in Figure 9(D), the first vehicle 84 moves to the leaving position 42 and the second vehicle 86 moves to the car wash position 34.

As described above, in the second embodiment, a distance detection unit 82 is provided that detects the distance between a first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 and a third vehicle 88 that is present in the direction in which the first vehicle 84 leaves the car wash position 34. The first condition is that the distance L2 between the first vehicle 84 and the third vehicle 88 that is present in the direction in which the first vehicle 84 leaves the car wash position 34 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value L. This makes it possible to increase the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash device 10.

In the second embodiment, a distance detection unit 82 is provided that detects the distance between the second vehicle 86 and the first vehicle 84 leaving the car wash position 34. The second condition is that the distance L1 between the second vehicle 86 and the first vehicle 84 leaving the car wash position 34 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value L. This makes it possible to increase the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash device 10.

In the above, a mode has been described in which, when the washing process for the first vehicle 84 located at the washing position 34 is completed and the first condition is satisfied, a departure instruction is sent to the first vehicle 84. Also, a mode has been described in which, when the washing process for the first vehicle 84 located at the washing position 34 is completed and the second condition is satisfied, a parking instruction is sent to the second vehicle 86 waiting to be washed outside the washing position 34, but the present disclosure is not limited to this.

For example, after the washing process for the first vehicle 84 located at the washing position 34 is completed and the washing process for the first vehicle 84 is also completed, if a first condition is satisfied, a departure instruction may be sent to the first vehicle 84. Also, for example, after the washing process for the first vehicle 84 located at the washing position 34 is completed and the washing process for the first vehicle 84 is also completed, if a second condition is satisfied, a loading instruction may be sent to the second vehicle 86 waiting to be washed outside the washing position 34.

The following notes are further provided with respect to the above embodiment.

(Appendix 1)
a car wash device main body for washing a vehicle positioned at a car wash position;
A communication unit that communicates with an autonomous driving vehicle having an in-vehicle communication unit and an autonomous driving unit;
a control unit that transmits, to the second autonomous vehicle, an entry instruction to cause the autonomous driving unit of the second autonomous vehicle to enter the car wash position when at least a second condition corresponding to a car wash process for a vehicle located at the car wash position being completed and a second autonomous vehicle waiting outside the car wash position being able to enter the car wash position is satisfied, the autonomous driving unit of the second autonomous vehicle;
23. A car wash apparatus comprising:
According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 1, it is possible for an autonomous vehicle that arrives at a car wash to smoothly enter the car wash position.

(Appendix 2)
a car wash device main body for washing a vehicle positioned at a car wash position;
A communication unit that communicates with an autonomous driving vehicle having an in-vehicle communication unit and an autonomous driving unit;
a control unit that transmits to the first autonomous vehicle an exit prohibition instruction that prohibits the autonomous driving unit of the first autonomous vehicle from exiting the car wash position when at least a first condition corresponding to a car wash process for a first autonomous vehicle located at the car wash position being completed and the first autonomous vehicle being able to exit the car wash position is not satisfied; and
23. A car wash apparatus comprising:
According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 2, it is possible for an autonomous vehicle that has arrived at a car wash to smoothly exit the car wash area.

(Appendix 3)
a car wash device main body for washing a vehicle positioned at a car wash position;
A communication unit that communicates with an autonomous driving vehicle having an in-vehicle communication unit and an autonomous driving unit;
a control unit that transmits to the second autonomous vehicle an entry prohibition instruction that prohibits the autonomous driving unit of the second autonomous vehicle from entering the car wash position when at least a second condition corresponding to the completion of the car wash process for a vehicle located at the car wash position and a second autonomous vehicle waiting outside the car wash position becoming able to enter the car wash position is not satisfied; and
23. A car wash apparatus comprising:
According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 3, it is possible for an autonomous vehicle that arrives at a car wash to smoothly enter the car wash position.

(Appendix 4)
a first vehicle detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a vehicle in a direction in which the vehicle leaves the car wash position;
3. The car wash apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first condition is that there is no other vehicle in a direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash position.
According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 4, it is possible to improve the safety of autonomous vehicles entering and leaving a car wash.

(Appendix 5)
A first distance detection unit detects a distance between a first autonomous vehicle located at the car wash position and another vehicle located in a direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash position,
A car wash device as described in claim 1 or appendix 2, wherein the first condition is that the distance between the first autonomous vehicle and another vehicle present in the direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash location is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.
According to the aspect of supplementary note 5, it is possible to increase the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash device.

(Appendix 6)
Further comprising a second vehicle detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a vehicle at the car wash position;
4. The car wash apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second condition is that there is no other vehicle at the car wash position.
According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 6, it is possible to improve the safety of autonomous vehicles entering and leaving a car wash.

(Appendix 7)
Further comprising a second distance detection unit that detects a distance between the second autonomous vehicle and another vehicle leaving the car wash position,
A car wash device as described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 3, wherein the second condition is that the distance between the second autonomous vehicle and another vehicle leaving the car wash location is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.
According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 7, it is possible to increase the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash device.

(Appendix 8)
the car wash device body performs a car wash process including a car wash step of washing a vehicle positioned at the car wash position while moving between a first position and a second position set to sandwich the car wash position, and a moving step of moving from the second position to the first position after the car wash step is completed;
The car wash apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit causes the vehicle to leave the car wash position and to enter the car wash position during the moving process.
According to the aspect of supplementary note 8, it is possible to increase the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash device.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Car wash device 12 Car wash device main body 14 Car wash device control unit 26 Communication unit 28 Vehicle detection unit 34 Car wash position 36 First position 38 Second position 40 Entering position 42 Exiting position 46 Control unit 50 In-vehicle system 58 In-vehicle communication device 72 Automatic driving ECU
82 Distance detection unit 84 First vehicle (first autonomous vehicle)
86 Second vehicle (second autonomous vehicle)

Claims (1)

a car wash device main body for washing a vehicle positioned at a car wash position;
A communication unit that communicates with an autonomous driving vehicle having an in-vehicle communication unit and an autonomous driving unit;
a control unit that, when at least a first condition corresponding to a car wash process for a first autonomous vehicle positioned at the car wash position is completed and the first autonomous vehicle is able to leave the car wash position, transmits an exit instruction to the first autonomous vehicle to cause the autonomous driving unit of the first autonomous vehicle to leave the car wash position;
a first distance detection unit that detects a distance between a first autonomous vehicle located at the car wash position and another vehicle that is present in a direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash position;
Including,
A car wash device, wherein the first condition is that the distance between the first autonomous vehicle and another vehicle present in the direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash location is greater than or equal to a predetermined value .