JP4890282B2 - Car wash machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a car wash machine in which a vehicle body surface of a vehicle to be cleaned such as an automobile is cleaned and brought into contact with the vehicle body surface while being cleaned, thereby cleaning the vehicle body surface.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a car wash machine having a cleaning brush in which a disc-shaped cleaning body is attached to a rotation support shaft so as to be inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the rotation support shaft is well known (see Patent Document 1 below).
JP-A-8-282451

  By the way, in such a conventional car washer, a cleaning body is configured by densely laminating a plurality of cleaning body materials made of a plurality of flat sheets, and a plurality of the cleaning bodies are arranged with respect to the rotation support shaft. Since there is a gap in the direction, there is a problem in that the contact surface pressure of the cleaning bodies against the vehicle body surface may increase and decrease, and the cleaning effect may be reduced. Since the flat cleaning body material is closely adhered, there is another problem that it is difficult to give a volume feeling to the cleaning brush and the appearance is not good.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a new car wash machine that can solve the above-described problems.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a car wash comprising a cleaning brush in which a disc-shaped cleaning body is attached to a rotation support shaft provided on a frame so as to be inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the rotation support shaft. In the machine
The cleaning body includes a cleaning body material having a folded structure and another flat cleaning body material that is stacked on both outer surfaces of the cleaning body material. .

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to improve the cleaning effect and to prevent the vehicle to be cleaned and the cleaning body from being damaged. In addition, the washing brush can have a sense of volume, the appearance of the washing brush can be improved, and the commercial value of the car wash machine can be improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below based on the embodiments of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

  1 is an overall side view of the car wash machine of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the car wash machine along line 2-2 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a rear view of the car wash machine along line 3-3 in FIG. 4 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion surrounded by an imaginary line 4 shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion enclosed by an imaginary line 5 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a front view of the first cleaning body, FIG. 8 is a front view of the second cleaning body, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 in FIG. 10, FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory view showing a cornering process of the cleaning body material, and FIG. 13 is a view showing a cleaning process of an automobile with a top brush. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the state of the top brush when cleaning the upper surface of the vehicle body, FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the state when cleaning the side surface of the vehicle body with the side brush, and FIG. ) Is a diagram showing the inclination angle of the cleaning body with respect to the traveling direction of the.

  1 to 3, a car wash machine main body 1 of a car wash machine includes a portal-type travel frame 2 as a frame that can straddle an automobile V as a vehicle to be cleaned. The travel frame 2 includes travel motors 3 and 3. The pair of left and right driving wheels 4 and 4 and the pair of left and right driven wheels 5 and 5 are driven to reciprocate on the pair of left and right traveling rails 6 and 6. A rotary encoder 51 for detecting the travel position of the car wash machine body 1 is provided on the output shaft of one travel motor 3.

  An elevating drive shaft 7 extending in the left-right direction is rotatably supported on the upper part of the traveling frame 2, and a rotary encoder 28 for detecting an elevating position of a top brush 13 described later is provided at one end of the elevating drive shaft 7. It has been.

  A pair of left and right guide rails 8, 8 extending in the vertical direction are integrally provided on the left and right sides of the traveling frame 2. The guide rails 8 and 8 are formed in a U-shaped cross section. The guide rails 8 and 8 include two rollers 9 and 9 guided by the inner walls of the guide rails 8 and 8 and the guide rails. A pair of left and right carts 11A and 11B having one roller 10 guided by inner walls of 8, 8 are provided so as to be able to move up and down, respectively.

  Both ends of a top brush support shaft 12 of the top brush 13 are fixed to the pair of carriages 11A and 11B, and a top brush 13 described later is rotatably supported on the top brush support shaft 12. The top brush 13 is guided to the pair of left and right guide rails 8 and 8 together with the pair of carriages 11A and 11B.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an elevating motor 14 is provided on one side upper part of the traveling frame 2. An endless chain 17 is wound around a sprocket 15 fixed to the output shaft of the lifting motor 14 and a sprocket 16 fixed to the lifting drive shaft 7. Sprockets 18 and 18 are fixed to both ends of the elevating drive shaft 7, while other sprockets 19 and 19 corresponding to the sprockets 18 and 18 are rotatable at the left and right lower portions of the traveling frame 2. Chains 20 and 20 are respectively wound around these sprockets 18, 18, 19 and 19, and both ends of these chains 20 and 20 are respectively located above and below the carriages 11A and 11B. It is connected.

  When the elevating motor 14 is driven, the pair of left and right carts 11A and 11B are guided and guided up and down by the guide rails 8 and 8.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rotation support shaft 21 made of a pipe of the top brush 13 (detailed later) is rotatably supported by the top brush support shaft 12 via a bearing. The sprocket 22 is integrally provided at one end close to the one carriage 11B. One carriage 11 </ b> B is provided with a brush rotation motor 23. An endless chain 25 is wound around the sprocket 24 provided on the output shaft of the brush rotation motor 23 and the sprocket 22. And according to the drive of the brush rotation motor 23, the rotation support shaft 21 of the top brush 13 is rotationally driven.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a lower limit detection switch 26 for detecting that the carriage 11A is at the lower limit position and a carriage 11A at the upper limit position are provided at the lower and upper portions of the guide rail 8 for guiding the other carriage 11A. An upper limit detection switch 27 is provided for detecting the presence.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a guide rail 31 extending in the left-right direction of the traveling frame 2 is supported on the upper portion of the traveling frame 2 on the rear side in the forward direction. Rails 31A and 31B are fixed. A pair of left and right carts 32L and 32R are supported on the guide rail 31 so as to be able to reciprocate, and a drive wheel 33 and a free wheel 34 that roll on the mountain-shaped rail 31A are rotatable above the carts 32L and 32R. A pair of idle wheels 35, 35 that roll on the mountain-shaped rail 31B are rotatably supported at the lower portions of the carriages 32L, 32R. Torque motors 36L and 36R are supported on the carriages 32L and 32R, respectively, and the drive wheels 33 and 33 are connected to output shafts of the torque motors 36L and 36R, respectively.

  Thus, if the torque motors 36L and 36R are driven, the carriages 32L and 32R can reciprocate along the guide rails 31, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, support shafts 37 extending in the lateral direction are fixed to intermediate portions of the carriages 32 </ b> L and 32 </ b> R, and brush support cylinders 38 are respectively attached to these support shafts 37 through bearings. It is supported so as to be swingable in the left-right direction. The brush support cylinder 38 extends in the vertical direction, and a rotary shaft 39 extending in the vertical direction is rotatably supported on the brush support cylinder 38, and a side brush 40 described in detail later is provided on the rotary shaft 39.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a motor base 41 is fixed to the upper portion of each brush support cylinder 38, and a rotation motor 42 is provided on the motor base 41. An endless chain 45 is stretched between a sprocket 43 provided on the output shaft of the rotary motor 42 and a sprocket 44 provided on the upper end of the rotary shaft 39.

  Thus, the side brush 40 described later can be rotated by driving the rotary motor 42.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the carriages 32 </ b> L and 32 </ b> R are provided with stoppers 46 and 47 on both sides of the brush support cylinder 38 above the support shaft 37. Each brush support cylinder 38 can swing between the stoppers 46 and 47. When the brush support cylinder 38 hits the stopper 46, the side brush 40 is in the vertical position (position in FIG. 3), and the brush When the support cylinder 38 hits the stopper 47, the side brush 40 is in an inclined position.

  Close switches 48L and 48R that detect that the carriages 36L and 36R are in the closed positions (positions in FIG. 3) are provided at the center of the guide rail 31, and the carriages are provided on the left and right sides of the guide rail 31. Open switches 49L and 49R are provided for detecting that 36L and 36R are in open positions, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a start position cam 52 is provided on the installation surface of the car wash machine, while the traveling frame 2 detects that the car wash machine body 1 is in the start position by hitting the start position cam 52. A start position detecting switch 53 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, vehicle upper surface position detecting means 54 for detecting the upper surface position of the automobile V (see FIG. 15) is provided in front of the top brush 13 of the traveling frame 2. The vehicle upper surface position detecting means 54 includes a first photoelectric sensor group 54A, 54B, 54C,... 54N and a second photoelectric sensor group 54A ′ arranged in the vertical direction on both the left and right sides of the traveling frame 2, respectively. , 54B ′, 54C ′,... 54N ′, and the first photoelectric sensor group 54A, 54B, 54C,... 54N group are projectors, and the second photoelectric sensor group 54A ′. , 54B ′, 54C ′,... 54N ′ are light receivers.

  In FIG. 2, a two-dot chain line L indicates an optical axis between the first photoelectric sensor 54A and the second photoelectric sensor 54A ′.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a control panel 55 for controlling the operation of the car wash machine is provided on the front surface of the traveling frame 2, and a car wash device provided on the traveling frame 2 is provided in the control panel 55. A control device 56 for controlling is provided.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 57 is a top nozzle for blowing dry air on the upper surface of the vehicle V, and reference numerals 58 and 58 are a pair of side nozzles for blowing dry air on both sides of the vehicle V.

  Although not shown, the traveling frame 2 is provided with a conventionally known washing water injection device that injects washing water to the automobile V.

  Next, the structure of the top brush 13 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4 and FIGS.

  The top brush 13 includes a top brush support shaft 12 fixed to the left and right carts 11L and 11R, a rotation support shaft 21 made of a pipe that is rotatably supported by the support shaft 12 via a bearing, and the rotation support shaft. 21 and a plurality of cleaning body units 60 fixed with rivets R. Each cleaning body unit 60 includes a first cleaning body 61A and a second cleaning body 61B, and an attachment portion 62. And the presser plate 63 to be fixed to the rotation support shaft 21.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the first cleaning body 61 </ b> A is formed in a disk shape from a nonwoven fabric, and alternately has a plurality of mountain folds and valley folds in the radial direction, and is formed in a wave shape in the circumferential direction. As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of (5) cleaning body materials 64 are stacked and stitched concentrically at positions N2, N3, and N4.

  Explaining how to make the first cleaning body 61A, as shown in FIG. 6, both ends N1 and N1 of a rectangular cleaning body material 64 made of nonwoven fabric are stitched into a ring shape. Next, the ring-shaped cleaning body material 64 is mountain-folded and valley-folded at a plurality of positions shown in FIG. 6 to form a disk shape as shown in FIG. Next, it is made by cutting into a circular C with a big type (Thomson type) and drilling a plurality of bolt holes H1.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the second cleaning body 61 </ b> B includes the cleaning body material 64 configured as described above and another cleaning body material 65.

  Explaining how to make the second cleaning body 61B, a plurality (5 sheets) of the above-mentioned cleaning body materials 64 are stacked, and a plurality of other cleaning body materials 65 (2) are provided on one side as shown in FIG. Sheet) and they are stitched concentrically at the positions N2, N3 and N4 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the other cleaning material 65 is a flat non-woven fabric (Thomson type) and is cut into a circular shape so as to have the same outer dimensions as the circular C of the cleaning material 64. Next, it is made by drilling a plurality of bolt holes H1 at intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery of the mounting hole H2.

  Next, how to make the cleaning body unit 60 composed of the first cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61B manufactured as described above will be described.

  One first cleaning body 61A and two second cleaning bodies 61B are prepared. As shown in FIG. 4, the other cleaning body material 65 of the second cleaning body 61B has a plate-like shape on both sides. Thus, the first cleaning body 61A is sandwiched between the second cleaning bodies 61B, and the first cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning bodies 61B and 61B are connected to the flange portion 62F of the mounting portion 62 and the presser plate 63. And are fixed with a plurality of bolts and nuts 66.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning unit 60 including the first cleaning body 61 </ b> A and the second cleaning body 61 </ b> B is a right angle orthogonal to the rotation axis of the rotation support shaft 21 while being attached to the rotation support shaft 21. It is inclined with respect to the surface by an inclination angle β (about 20 degrees).

  Next, the structure of the side brush 40 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The side brush 40 is configured such that a lower side brush 40A, a middle side brush 40B, and an upper side brush 40 are fixed in series on a rotation support shaft 67 made of a pipe fixed to the rotation shaft 39.

  The lower side brush 40A, the middle side brush 40B, and the upper side brush 40C each have a separate cleaning body unit, and the lower side brush 40A is attached to the rotary support shaft 67 as shown in FIG. The cleaning unit 60A and the sponge disc 68, which have the same structure as the unit 60 and have different external dimensions (slightly smaller in diameter than the cleaning unit 60), are alternately mounted. The sponge disc 68 has a mounting hole 69 slightly obliquely smaller than the outer dimension of the boss portion 62A of the mounting portion 62 at the center, and is attached to the boss portion 62A by the frictional force due to the elasticity of the mounting hole 62. It has been.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the middle side brush 40B has a plurality of foam cleaning bodies 60C radially attached to the rotation support shaft 67 and made of foam (sponge) and divided by cutting the outer periphery. Configured. The middle side brush 40B is composed of an upper brush 40Bu, an intermediate brush 40Bn, and a lower brush 40Bl. The upper brush 40Bu and the lower brush 40Bl are attached in a semicircular shape and their phases are shifted by 180 degrees.

  Further, the upper side brush 40C is configured by attaching a plurality of cleaning body units 60B having the same structure as the cleaning body unit 60 to the rotation support shaft 67 and having different external dimensions, and these cleaning body units 60B. The angle of attachment to the rotation support shaft 67 is the same as that of the cleaning unit 60A.

  The cleaning body units 60, 60A, and 60B perform a chamfering process in order to eliminate the corners of the fibers on the cut surface of the big die, that is, the cutting angles (see FIG. 12).

  Since the cleaning body units 60, 60A, and 60B all perform the same cornering process, the cleaning unit 60 is selected and the cornering process will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  The cleaning body unit 60 is rotatably supported on a support base 71 and is driven to rotate by a motor 72 provided on the support base 71. Sandpaper 75 is laid on the upper surface of a lifting platform 74 that can be moved up and down by a plurality of cylinders 73 under the cleaning unit 60. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, when the lifting unit 74 is slowly raised from the state where the cleaning body unit 60 is not in contact with the sandpaper 75, as shown by the two-point solid line in FIGS. The abrasive surface of the sandpaper 75 is brought into contact with the outer periphery of the cleaning unit 60 that is being operated. Thereby, the corner | angular of the fiber of a cut surface, ie, a cutting | disconnection angle (refer FIG. 12), can be eliminated.

  In this embodiment, the corners of the fibers on the cut surface are not polished on the slopes, but the corners may be rounded by other corner dropping processes.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

  When a start key (not shown) provided in the car wash machine is pressed, the car wash machine body 1 travels from the start position. During this traveling, the vehicle to be cleaned, the vehicle body surface of the automobile V in this embodiment, is cleaned with the top brush 13 and the side brushes 40 and 40.

  The top brush 13 has a vehicle upper surface position determined by the vehicle upper surface position detected by the vehicle upper surface detection means 54, the traveling position of the car wash machine body 1 detected by the rotary encoder 51, and the elevation position of the top brush 13 detected by the rotary encoder 28. Up and down by controlling the elevating motor 14 so as to follow the upper surface of the vehicle at a constant distance from the vehicle.

  On the other hand, the side brushes 40 and 40 are in contact with the side surfaces of the vehicle body with a constant pressing force by controlling the torque motors 36L and 36R.

  By the way, in the cleaning process of the automobile V by the top brush 13, the outer peripheral portions of the cleaning body materials 64 and 65 are moved by the rotation of the top brush 13, as shown in FIGS. Move up and down. By this left and right movement, the tips of the cleaning body materials 64 and 65 move to the left and right in diagonal directions a and b with respect to the traveling direction of the top brush 13 as shown in FIG. The cleaning effect can be improved by the movement in the oblique directions a and b, and as a result, the cleaning time can be shortened.

  Here, considering the relationship between the inclination angle of the first cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61B, the cleaning effect, and the cleaning time, the cleaning bodies 61A and 61B are attached to the rotary support shaft 21. When the inclination angle β with respect to the right angle plane orthogonal to the rotation axis in the above state is less than 15 degrees (disclosed in Patent Document 1), the left and right sides of the first cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61 The maximum angle of movement α (α shown in FIG. 16) is small, the desired cleaning effect within a predetermined cleaning time cannot be obtained, and it is difficult to shorten the cleaning time. When the inclination angle β of the first cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61B attached to the rotation support shaft 21 exceeds 25 degrees, the cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61B are left and right. Force to contact the surface of the car body when tilted Small, intended cleaning effect in a predetermined cleaning time can not be obtained, it was found that it is difficult to the extent that it is possible to shorten the cleaning time.

  On the other hand, when the inclination angle of the cleaning body 61A and the cleaning body 61B attached to the rotation support shaft 21 is specified as 15 to 25 degrees (particularly 20 degrees) as indicated by β in FIG. While sufficiently securing the force to contact the surface of the vehicle body when the body 61A and the other cleaning body 61B are tilted to the left and right, the angle in their moving direction can be increased, and as a result, the cleaning effect can be improved, Cleaning time can be shortened.

In FIG. 16, the front ends of the cleaning material 64 and 65 move in the directions indicated by the moving directions a and b, and the moving direction changes between the ranges am to bm. Further, the maximum angle α in the moving direction when the inclination angle β is less than 15 degrees is α1, α is α2 when β is 15 degrees to 25 degrees, and α is β3 when β exceeds 25 degrees. given that,
α1 <α2 <α3.

  Further, the cut surfaces of the cleaning body material 64 and the other cleaning body material 65 move in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 12 as the traveling frame 2 travels. In this embodiment, the first cleaning body 61A and the second cleaning body 61 of the cloth cleaning unit 60 may be damaged at the cutting angle at which the cut surface comes into contact with the vehicle body surface. The fear can be prevented by performing the cornering process on the corner of the outer peripheral edge of the cleaning body 61B, that is, the corner of the fiber end.

  Further, since both sides of the cleaning body units 60, 60A and 60B are made into other cleaning body materials 65 having a flat plate shape without folding and the cleaning body material 64 having a folded structure is formed between them, the other cleaning body materials 65 on the outer side are formed. A space is formed between the cleaning body material 64 and the intermediate cleaning body material 64 so that the entire cleaning body unit 60, 60A, 60B can have a volume feeling, and the appearance of the cleaning body unit 60, 60A, 60B can be improved. In addition, the cleaning body material 65 can prevent the bent portion of the cleaning body material 64 from being caught by the vehicle body. Further, the cleaning body material 64 and the other cleaning body material 65 can be separated from each other by the folding structure of the cleaning body 64, that is, the top brush 13 is arranged in the horizontal direction in FIG. In FIG. 3, it can be scattered in the vertical direction, and the cleaning effect can be improved.

  In the side brushes 40, 40, the outer peripheral portion of the cleaning body material 64 and the other cleaning body material 65 moves up and down. Thereby, the same effect as the top brush 13 is produced.

  Further, as clearly shown in FIG. 5, the lower side brush 40A is provided with the cleaning body unit 60A and the sponge disk 68 alternately, so that the cleaning body material 64 and other cleaning bodies are disposed in the tire house of the automobile V. It is possible to prevent the material 65 from entering and damaging the materials 64 and 65 and the vehicle body.

  Further, since the intermediate brush 40Bn of the middle side brush 40B is made of a foam, it is possible to prevent damage to accessory devices projecting from the vertical intermediate portion of the vehicle body such as the door mirror M and the fender mirror.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the Example, A various Example is possible within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is implemented in a car wash machine that causes the car wash machine body 1 to travel with respect to the vehicle to be cleaned has been described. Can be implemented.

  In the present invention, the nonwoven fabric is used for the cleaning body material 64 and the other cleaning body material 65, but other fabrics such as a woven fabric and a knitted fabric can be used instead. Moreover, in the said Example, although the 2nd washing | cleaning body 61B is comprised by laminating | stacking the washing | cleaning body raw material 64 of bending structure, and the other washing | cleaning-body raw material 65 of flat form, this is wash | cleaned by the other washing | cleaning of flat form. The body material 65 may be overlapped. Furthermore, in the cleaning material 64, when it is a big shape and is not cut into a circle C, in the state of a rectangle in the middle of processing shown in FIG. It is good also as processing.

Overall side view of the present invention car wash machine Plan view of the car wash machine along line 2-2 in FIG. Rear view of car wash machine along line 3-3 in FIG. Enlarged detail view of the phantom line encircled portion shown in FIG. Enlarged detail view of the phantom line encircled portion shown in FIG. Cleaning body material side view Front view of the first cleaning body Front view of the second cleaning body Sectional view along line 9-9 in FIG. Front view of a chamfering machine Sectional drawing which follows the 11-11 line of FIG. Schematic illustration showing the cornering of the cleaning material The figure which shows the washing process of the car with the top brush The figure which shows the state at the time of washing the upper surface of the car body The figure which shows the state at the time of body side washing with the side brush The figure which shows the inclination-angle of a washing body with respect to the advancing direction of a top brush (side brush)

Explanation of symbols

2 ... Frame (travel frame)
13 ... Cleaning brush (top brush)
21 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Rotation support shaft 40 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Cleaning brush (side brush)
61A ... Cleaning body (first cleaning body)
61B ... Cleaning body (second cleaning body)
64 ... Cleaning body material 65 ... Other cleaning body material 67 ... Rotation support shaft

Claims (1)

In the car wash machine provided with the cleaning brush attached to the rotation support shaft provided in the frame so that the disc-shaped cleaning body is inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the rotation support shaft.
The washing body includes a washing body material having a folded structure, and other flat washing body materials stacked on both outer surfaces of the washing body material.

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