JPH0247379B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a car wash machine, and particularly aims to provide a car wash machine suitable for washing buses, panel vans, trucks, and the like.

Unlike passenger cars, buses, trucks, etc. have rear mirrors and under mirrors that protrude from both sides of the front of the vehicle, that is, from the longitudinal and width directions of the front end of the vehicle.These protrusions become obstacles, making it difficult to automate car washing. Ta.

For example, as a technique for avoiding protruding objects on vehicles,
There is a technique disclosed in No. 48-12128. This device allows the car wash brush to be tilted in the longitudinal direction, detects a protrusion by detecting the tilt angle, and controls the brush to avoid the protrusion.

However, the back mirrors and under mirrors of buses and trucks have a complicated shape, with the mirror attached to a support pipe, and when the car wash brush comes into contact with it, the car wash brush and mirror get caught before the brush can tilt. There is a risk of causing a serious accident. Furthermore, although the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-12128 can detect protrusions in the longitudinal direction, it is impossible to detect protrusions in the width direction. However, it is impossible.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and the position in the longitudinal direction and the width direction where the car wash brush will not come into contact with a protruding object is predicted in advance, and the position of the car wash brush is detected. The car washing brush is controlled to prevent the car washing brush from colliding with the protrusion while washing the car.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view, and FIG. 2 is a front view. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a gate-shaped frame, and this frame 1 is configured to be able to move by itself in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle by a drive device 15, straddling the vehicle to be washed. This frame 1
There is no difference in the configuration from the conventional one. A pair of rails 2 are provided in the width direction at the center of the head of the frame 1, and a pair of car wash brushes 3, 3 are attached to the rails 2.
hangs down so that it can run in the width direction (traverse).

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of this car wash brush 3. 3
Reference numeral 0 denotes a frame-like frame, which is placed on the rail 2 via wheels 31, on which the vehicle travels. A brush main body 32 is suspended substantially in the center of the frame 30 so as to be tiltable by a shaft 33 in the traveling direction of the portal frame, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. 35 is a geared motor directly connected to the upper end of the brush shaft 34, and 36 is a spring for suppressing the tilting of the brush body 32.

Weights 4, 4 hanging down from the vertical portion of each gate-shaped frame 1 are connected via wires to the central portions of the brushes 3, 3 in the width direction. It is receiving a force directed towards the center. On the other hand, the outer sides of the brushes 3, 3 in the width direction are connected via wires to air cylinders 5, 5 provided in the vertical part of the portal frame 1, and by operating the air cylinders 5, 5, the heavy The brushes 3, 3 can be moved outward in the width direction by overcoming the weight of the weights 4, 4.

The above-mentioned weight 4 and air cylinder 5 allow the brush 3 to move horizontally on the rail 2.

On the rail 2, a limit switch, which is a width direction position detector of the brush 3, is installed for each brush 3.
There are three locations for each. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, there are limit switches 20, 20 that detect when the brush 3 is in the retracted position at both ends, limit switches 22, 22 that detect the unloading position where the brush 3 is near the center, and limit switches 22, 22 that detect when the brush 3 is in the retracted position at both ends. a limit switch 21 that detects an intermediate position between the storage position and the delivery position;
21 is provided. A striker 37 for operating these limit switches 20, 21, 22 is provided on the frame 30.

In the vicinity of the shaft 33, limit switches 40 and 41, which are tilt detectors for the car wash brush 3, are provided. The limit switch 40 operates when the brush body 32 touches the front of the vehicle and tilts.
The limit switch 41 operates when the vehicle is tilted against the rear surface of the vehicle. That is, limit switch 40,
Reference numeral 41 is a contact detector that detects contact of the car wash brush 3 with the vehicle.

Note that the position of the limit switches 20, 20, 20, that is, the stored position is outside the maximum width of the vehicle to be cleaned, including the rear mirror and fender mirror, and when in this position, the brush main body 3
2 does not contact the vehicle. That is, the limit switches 20, 20 function as retracted position detectors. Further, the positions of the limit switches 21, 21, ie, the intermediate position, are such that the brush main body 32 does not come into contact with the rear view mirror or the under mirror that protrudes from both sides of the front side of the vehicle to be cleaned, but enters inside thereof. That is, the limit position on the center side in the width direction is detected. Generally, the width of buses etc. is determined, so the difference in the position of the rear view mirror and under mirror depending on the vehicle type is at most 100 mm, and in this way it is possible to set the position so that it does not come into contact with the rear view mirror or under mirror. .

On the other hand, the gate-shaped frame 1 is also provided with a position detecting device, which is shown in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 4, the upper side, that is, the front direction of the vehicle X is defined as the tip side.

The limit switch 10 is actuated by a striker 10a, and is actuated when the car wash brush 3 reaches a rear position on the rear end side of the back mirror or under mirror Y of the vehicle X. That is, the limit switch 10 and the striker 10a serve as a detector for detecting the limit position on the longitudinal center side for preventing the car wash brush 3 from coming into contact with the mirror Y. Further, the limit switch 11 and its striker 11a detect when the portal frame 1 is at the leading edge. Furthermore, limit switch 1
2 and its striker 12a are provided, and in order to prevent the gate-shaped frame 1 from running out of control, the position is detected when the gate-shaped frame 1 comes a sufficient distance behind the vehicle. The car wash brush 3 is mirror Y.
The retracted position on the front end side in the longitudinal direction where it does not come into contact with the striker 11a is set on the rear end side of the striker 11a, and in this embodiment, the arrival of the gate-shaped frame 1 at this position is determined using a timer as described later. It's on.

Position signals from each of the limit switches described above are input to a control device 50 as shown in FIG.
A control device 50 controls the air cylinder 5 via a servo valve, and also controls the motor 35 of the brush body 32.
and controls the driving device 15 of the gate-shaped frame 1, and controls its operation so that the brush main body 32 cleans while avoiding the rear view mirror or under mirror of the vehicle X.

This operation will be explained with reference to FIG.

In the figure, the arrow indicates the direction of movement of the brush 3, the large circle indicates the state in which the brush is rotating, and the small circle indicates the state in which the rotation is stopped. Also, the left half of Figure 6 is the forward motion,
The right half shows the backward movement, and only one side of the brush 3 is shown. Also, the rotational directions of the car wash brushes 3, 3 are symmetrical, but in the following explanation, in the forward motion in the figure, only the rotational direction of the left brush, and in the backward motion, only the rotational direction of the right brush. explain.

Initially, the portal frame 1 is in the most advanced position,
The car wash brushes 3, 3 are stored in the storage position by cylinders 5, 5. Vehicle to be washed X is frame 1
When the start button 51 is pressed, a signal is output from the control device 50 to the air cylinders 5, 5, the cylinders 5, 5 are deenergized, and the brushes 3,
3 is brought to the center by the weight 4 and stopped at the delivery position (A).

At this time, limit switches 20, 20 are activated,
A signal is sent to the control device 50, from which a forward command is issued to the drive device 15 of the portal frame 1, and at the same time a rotation command is issued to the brush motor 36 to start rotating clockwise (b).

When the brush 3 hits the front of the vehicle and tilts, the limit switch 40 is activated, and the control device 50 issues a command to stop the frame 1 from running, causing it to stop. At the same time, a reverse rotation command is issued to the motor 36, the brush 3 changes to the left rotation, the cylinder 5 is further energized, and the brush 3 moves sideways in the storage direction to clean the front of the vehicle X.
(c).

When the brush 3 reaches the intermediate position, the limit switches 21, 21 are activated, and the control device 50 outputs a command to stop the rotation of the brush 3 and a command to move the frame 1 backward. This retreat of frame 1 is counted for a predetermined period of time within the control device 50, and the frame 1 continues to retreat during that time. This time corresponds to the length of the mirror Y extending forward. By this time counting, it is possible to detect that the gate-shaped frame has arrived at the retracted position on the front end side in the longitudinal direction. After retracting, the cylinder 5 is further energized, and the brush 3 moves laterally to the retracted position, that is, the retracted position in the width direction (d).

The limit switch 20 is turned ON in the retracted position, a command to move the portal frame 1 forward is output from the control device 50, and the frame 1 moves forward until the limit switch 10 is turned ON, that is, until it reaches the longitudinal limit position (E). .

By the steps (d) and (e) described above, the brush 3 moves to avoid the mirror Y.

In response to the signal from the limit switch 10, the control device 50 outputs a signal to de-energize the cylinder 5 and a command to rotate the brush 3, and the brush 3 is pressed against the side of the vehicle X by the weight of the weight 4 while rotating. This pressure cleans the side of the vehicle X (f).

When the brush 3 reaches the rear end of the vehicle X, it goes around the rear surface of the vehicle due to the weight 4 and moves sideways toward the center.
When you reach the limit switch 21 position, brush 3
When the limit switch 22 reaches the position of the limit switch 22, the forward movement of the frame 1 is stopped, and the frame 1 moves backward (G).

Regarding the backward movement, the brush 3 on the right side of the drawing will be explained.

By operating the limit switch 22, the frame 1
starts moving backwards and turning right (ch).

When the brush 3 hits the rear surface of the vehicle and tilts, the limit switch 41 is turned on and the control device 50 outputs a frame 1 backward movement stop signal. At the same time, the rotation of the brush 3 changes to counterclockwise rotation, the cylinder 5 is energized, and the brush 3 moves sideways toward the storage position to clean the rear surface of the vehicle.

When the brush 3 reaches the retracted position, the limit switch 20 is activated, a reverse command is output from the control device 50, a cylinder deenergization command is issued after a predetermined time, and the brush 3 is pressed against the side of the vehicle X by the weight 4. Side cleaning is performed (nu, ru).

When the side surface cleaning progresses and the limit switch 10 of the gate frame 1 reaches the position of the striker 10a, an ON signal is output, and the travel of the gate frame 1 and the rotation of the brush 3 are stopped. At the same time, the cylinder 5 is energized and the brush 3 moves sideways to the retracted position (2).

Then, limit switch 20 is turned ON, frame 1 moves backward again, and limit switch 11 is turned on.
Turn it ON and stop backward movement of frame 1 (wa).

This completes the series of operations.

Various configurations are possible for the control device 50 described above, and for example, an arithmetic processing device such as a microcomputer or the like or a logic circuit may be used. Furthermore, it is also possible to use a relay sequence circuit.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the control device 50 is configured by a relay circuit.

In the figure, x indicates a relay and its contacts, T indicates a timer and its contacts, and MS indicates a magnetic switch and its contacts. Also, KR is a keep relay, and F
indicates its main coil, and R indicates its reset coil.

The operation of this circuit will be explained.

With the vehicle to be washed X stopped just before frame 1, limit switch 11 is turned on, and relay KR1F remains turned on. Contact KR1F is also turned on.

When the start button 51 is pressed, relay x8, contact x
8 and x8 are turned on, and at the same time they are self-holding, the magnetic switch MS1 is turned on to start the car wash pump and water fountain, and the solenoid valves SVA and SVB of cylinders 5 and 5 are opened.

In this embodiment, the cylinder 5 is configured to supply air to the valve SVA and oil to the valve SVB as shown in FIG. It is configured to move up to

Therefore, when the valve SVA is opened to bleed out the air, the brush 3 that was in the storage position is moved sideways by the weight 4 to the delivery position.

As a result, limit switch 22 is turned on, and relay x2 and contact x2 are turned on. Relay x2 is self-holding and at the same time magnetic switch
MS3F turns ON and frame 1 moves forward.
When this switch MS3F is turned ON, timer T3 is activated at the same time, and contact T3 is activated due to time-up.
When the magnetic switch MS4F turns ON, the brush 3 starts rotating in the normal direction (in Fig. 2, the brush 3 on the left rotates clockwise and the brush 3 on the right rotates counterclockwise).

When the frame 1 moves forward and the brush 3 contacts the front of the vehicle X and tilts, the limit switch 40 is activated.
It turns on, relay x4 and its contact x4 turn on, and at the same time relay x10 turns on. When the relay x10 is turned on, its b contact x10 is turned off, so the switch MS3F is turned off and the forward movement of the frame 1 is stopped. And this contact MS3
Timer T3, which was activated by F, is canceled.

On the other hand, timer T4 is activated by ON of relay x4 and its contact x4, and contact T4 is activated due to time-up.
4 turns ON, and relay x11 and timer T5 operate. And the b contact x11 of relay x11 is
The switch MS4F turns OFF and the rotation of the brush 3 stops.

At the same time, contact x11 turns ON and timer T3 starts.
It turns ON, and the magnet switch MS4R is activated due to time-up, and the brush 3 starts rotating in the reverse direction.

On the other hand, due to time-up of timer T5, contact T
5 turns OFF, valve SVA switches, and cylinder 5
Air is supplied to the brush 3, and the brush 3 moves sideways in the direction of the storage position.

Due to this traverse, the limit switch 21 at the intermediate position is turned on, and relay x9 and timer T6 are turned on.
becomes. When the b contact X9 is turned OFF, the solenoid valve SVB is released and the brush 3 stops moving horizontally. Switch MS4R is also turned OFF, and the rotation of brush 3 is stopped.

When contact x9 turns on, timer T7 turns on, and this time-up turns on the magnetic switch.
MS3R is activated and Frame 1 begins to move backwards.

Due to the time-up of the timer T6 mentioned above, the timer T7 is canceled and the switch MS3R is also turned off.
, and the backward movement of the frame stops.

Contact T6 is closed due to time-up of timer T6.
ON, valve SVB is activated, brush 3 moves back toward the retracted position, and limit switch 20 is activated.
It turns on, and relay x3 turns on. As a result, relay x2 is turned OFF and relay x12 is turned ON, and by turning on contact x12, magnetic switch MS3F is activated, and the frame starts moving forward again.

Frame 1 moves forward and limit switch 10
When it turns ON, relay x14 turns ON, and that b
Contact x14 is turned OFF, relay x11 and timer T5 are turned OFF, and thereby relay x9 and timer T6 are also turned OFF.

Solenoid valve RVA by contact x14 of relay x14
is activated, the brush 3 begins to move toward the center due to the weight, contacts the side surface of the vehicle X, and cleans the side surface under the pressure of the weight. At the same time as the valve SVA operates, the magnetic switch MS4R also operates, and the brush 3 starts rotating (the left brush rotates to the left and the right brush rotates to the right).

By the above operation, mirrors etc. Y can be avoided.

When the frame 1 moves forward and the brush 3 reaches the rear end of the vehicle X, the weight causes the brush 3 to move around the rear of the vehicle, turning on the limit switch 22 and turning on the relay x2. Then, switch MS3F is turned OFF by contact x2, and the frame 1 stops running. At this time, the brush 3 continues to rotate. Also, relays x4 and x12 are turned off.

A contact x2 of relay x2 turns ON, and keep relay KR1 switches, switching to reverse. At this time, timer T7 turns on, and due to time-up, magnet switch MS3R turns on, and frame 1 starts moving backward. At this time, the brush 3 continues to rotate.

When the brush 3 contacts the rear of the vehicle and tilts, the limit switch 41 turns on and the relay x15 turns on.
It becomes ON.

When relay x15 turns on, its b contact x15
is turned OFF, switch MS3R is turned OFF, and reverse movement is stopped. At the same time, timer T4 turns on, and due to time-up, relay x11 and timer T
5 operates at the same time, and when the b contact x11 is turned off, the switch MS4R is turned off and the rotation of the brush 3 is stopped.

In addition, timer T3 is activated by turning on contact x11, and due to the time-up, switch MS4F is activated.
is activated and the brushes start rotating again (the left brush rotates to the right, the right brush rotates to the left).

When the timer T5 times up, the solenoid valve
SVA is released, air is supplied to the cylinder 5, and the brush 3 cleans the rear surface of the vehicle X while moving sideways in the storage direction. And limit switch 20
turns on, relay x3 turns on, and relay x
12 is turned on. This will cause relay x15 to
It becomes OFF, B contact x15 turns ON, timer T7 operates, and due to the time-up, magnetic switch MS3R turns ON, and reverse movement starts again. At this time, timer T2 is activated by turning on contact MS3R. Due to the time-up of the timer T7, the relay x11 and the timer T5 are released,
The solenoid valve SVA is activated, and the brush 3 is moved sideways in the exit direction by a weight at the same time as the vehicle moves backward, and is pressed against the side of the vehicle. In this state, the frame 1 moves backward and the side surfaces are cleaned.

Then limit switch 10 turns OFF,
Relay x14 turns OFF and valve SVA is released,
The brush 3 moves laterally in the storage direction and stops at the storage position. Then, the magnetic switch MS4F is also turned OFF and the brush rotation stops.

While the brush 3 remains in this state, the frame 1 moves backward, the limit switch 11 operates, and the relay x1
is ON, its b contact x1 is OFF, and at the same time, keep relay KR1F is ON, switching to forward movement and stopping backward movement.

B contact x1 of relay x1 turns OFF, relay x8 turns OFF and operation stops. Magnetic switch MS1 is also released and the car wash fountain is turned off. A few seconds after the end of the drive, the timer T2 returns and the next car wash can be carried out.

As explained above, the car wash machine of the present invention includes a width direction limit position detector that detects when the car wash brush has reached a predetermined limit position on the widthwise center side where the car wash brush does not come into contact with the protruding object, and the car wash a widthwise retracted position detector for detecting that the brush has reached a predetermined retracted position on the widthwise end side where the brush does not abut the protruding object; a longitudinal retraction position detector for detecting when the gate-shaped frame has reached a retraction position on the tip side in the longitudinal direction; and a longitudinal limit position detector for detecting the arrival of the mold frame, and in response to signals from these detectors, the portal frame is moved back and forth, and the car wash brush is moved sideways so that the protrusion comes into contact with the car wash brush. Since the vehicle to be washed is washed without the vehicle being washed, an automatic car wash such as a bus having a back mirror projecting in the longitudinal direction and the width direction can be effectively realized.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a front view, Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the brush, Figure 4 is a layout diagram of the limit switch, Figure 5 is a configuration diagram of the control mechanism, Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation, and Figure 7 is an example of the control device. An example circuit diagram, FIG. 8 is a timing diagram thereof, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the cylinder. 1... Gate-shaped frame, 2... Rail, 3... Car wash brush, 4... Weight, 5... Cylinder.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A gate-shaped frame having a protrusion extending in the longitudinal direction and the width direction at the tip thereof, which can straddle a vehicle to be washed in the width direction and run along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle; a car wash brush that is suspended from the frame and can run in the width direction on the gate-shaped frame; a contact detector that detects that the car wash brush is in contact with the front and rear surfaces of the vehicle to be washed; a widthwise limit position detector that detects when the car wash brush has reached a predetermined widthwise center limit position where it does not come into contact with a protrusion; and a predetermined widthwise end where the car wash brush does not come into contact with the protrusion. a width direction retraction position detector for detecting when the car wash brush has reached a side retraction position; and a widthwise retraction position detector for detecting when the gate-shaped frame has arrived at a predetermined retraction position on the longitudinal end side where the car wash brush does not come into contact with the protrusion. a longitudinal retraction position detector for detecting; a longitudinal limit position detector for detecting when the portal frame has reached a predetermined limit position on the longitudinal center side where the car wash brush does not come into contact with the protruding object; , the gate-shaped frame is moved back and forth according to the position signals from each of the position detectors and the contact signal from the contact detector, and the car wash brush is moved sideways, so that the vehicle to be washed is moved without the protrusion coming into contact with the car wash brush. A car wash machine characterized by comprising: a control device for performing washing; 2. When the control device is inputting a contact signal from the contact detector, when the arrival signal of the car wash brush at the width direction limit position is input from the width direction limit position detector, the longitudinal direction of the car wash brush is detected by the longitudinal direction retraction position detector. The portal frame is moved until the arrival of the retracted position is detected, and then the car wash brush is moved in the width direction until the arrival of the widthwise retracted position of the car wash brush is detected by the widthwise retracted position detector, and then the car wash brush is moved by the longitudinal limit position detector. The car wash machine according to claim 1, wherein the gate-shaped frame is moved until the arrival of the longitudinal limit position is detected, and then the car wash brush is moved toward the center in the width direction and brought into contact with the side surface of the vehicle to be washed.