Platform screen door cleaning device and platform screen door cleaning method

Abstract

To provide an art which can clean a platform screen door safely and efficiently in a short time without needing substantial manpower.SOLUTION: A platform screen door cleaning device includes: a dolly 2 which travels on a platform; and washing brushes which move with the dolly 2 and cleans a platform screen door 100 erected on the platform of a station. The platform screen door cleaning device includes: arms; and cameras 58 attached to the arms. The dolly 2 includes a frame for supporting the washing brushes. In a state that the arms are disposed extending to the platform screen door 100 side with respect to the frame and the cameras 58 are provided at the platform screen door 100 side with respect to the frame in the arms, images of the platform screen door 100 are captured by the cameras 58.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a platform door cleaning device for cleaning a platform door installed on a platform of a station, and a platform door cleaning method using the same.

Background Art

[0002] On the platform of a station, platform doors for preventing passengers waiting for a train from falling onto the track are installed in a vertically standing state. These platform doors are installed along the longitudinal direction of the platform (the direction in which the rails are laid) at a position 20 to 30 cm inside the platform edge, and include an opening / closing door that slides to open and close outside the door portion of the train, and a vertical wall that functions as a pocket for storing the opened opening / closing door.

[0003] By the way, since the opening / closing door that constitutes the platform door is made of a transparent glass plate or resin plate, after a predetermined period (for example, about half a year) has passed, dirt accumulates on the surface and it becomes cloudy, so it is necessary to regularly clean this dirty surface. The cleaning of this opening / closing door needs to be performed during a limited time period when the train is not running in consideration of safety. In the cleaning of this platform door, the surface on the platform side of the opening / closing door can be easily cleaned by an operator from the platform side, but on the opposite side, the track side, the operator cannot enter, so it is difficult to clean the surface on the track side of the opening / closing door.

[0004] Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a cleaning device that can safely clean the surface on the track side of the opening / closing door of the platform door. This cleaning device includes a slide portion that can slide horizontally along the upper edge portion of the platform door, a cleaning portion that cleans the surface of the opening / closing door of the platform door while moving horizontally together with the slide portion, and a fixing portion that fixes the cleaning portion. The cleaning of the surface on the track side (restricted access area side) of the opening / closing door of the platform door by such a cleaning device is performed as follows.

[0005] That is, an operator horizontally attaches the slide part of the cleaning device to the upper edge of the opening / closing door, rotates this slide part, and moves it together with the cleaning part from a horizontal posture to a vertical posture, and horizontally slides the slide part along the surface of the opening / closing door together with the cleaning part, so that the operator can safely clean the surface on the track side of the opening / closing door without entering the track side (restricted access area side).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] However, the cleaning by the cleaning device proposed in Patent Document 1 relies on the manual work of the operator, so there is a problem that the work efficiency is poor and a lot of time and labor are required. In addition, this cleaning device is only for cleaning the opening / closing door of the home door, and the cleaning of the vertical wall of the home door relies solely on the manual work of the operator, so a lot of labor, time, and manpower are required for cleaning the entire home door. And since the cleaning of the corner part (the boundary between the opening / closing door and the vertical wall of the home door) also relies on the manual work of the operator, there is a similar problem.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide a home door cleaning device and a home door cleaning method that can clean the home door efficiently, safely, and in a short time without requiring a lot of manpower.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] To achieve the above object, a first invention is a platform door cleaning device for cleaning a platform door standing on a platform of a station, which is configured by installing a cleaning brush rotatably supported by a vertical brush shaft on a self-propelled carriage, a drive source for rotationally driving the cleaning brush, and a control means for controlling the drive of the drive source. This is the first feature.

[0010] A second invention is characterized in that, in addition to the first feature, the cleaning brush is detachably installed with respect to the carriage. This is the second feature.

[0011] A third invention is characterized in that, in addition to the first or second feature, the cleaning brush includes a first cleaning brush for cleaning the inner side of the platform door and a movable second cleaning brush that is movable in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the carriage and cleans the outer side of the platform door. This is the third feature.

[0012] A fourth invention is characterized in that, in addition to any one of the first to third features, the cleaning brush is swingable in the horizontal direction within a predetermined angle range or / and is supported so as to be able to contact and separate from the inner surface of the platform door, and an urging means for urging the cleaning brush to a neutral position in the swinging direction and a contact and separation mechanism for contacting and separating the cleaning brush with respect to the platform door are provided. This is the fourth feature.

[0013] A fifth invention is characterized in that, in addition to any one of the first to fourth features, the traveling carriage is provided with a safety bar and a contact detection means for detecting a person's contact with the safety bar, and when the contact detection means detects a person's contact with the safety bar, the control means is configured to stop the self-running of the carriage and the rotation of the cleaning brush. This is the fifth feature.

[0014] A sixth invention is characterized in that, in addition to any one of the first to fifth features, the carriage is provided with an operation lever, and the control means performs the traveling / stopping of the carriage or / and the rotation / stopping of the cleaning brush by an ON / OFF operation of the operation lever. This is the sixth feature.

[0015] The seventh invention is a home door cleaning method using the home door cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that while the carriage is running along the inside of the home door on the platform of the station, the cleaning brush is rotated to clean the home door with the cleaning brush.

[0016] The eighth invention, in addition to the seventh feature, after opening the opening / closing door of the home door and arranging the second cleaning brush outside the home door, closing the opening / closing door and pressing the first cleaning brush and the second cleaning brush against the inner and outer surfaces of the home door with a predetermined surface pressure respectively, while moving the carriage along the home door on the platform, rotating the first cleaning brush and the second cleaning brush respectively to simultaneously clean the inner and outer surfaces of the home door, which is the eighth feature.

[0017] The ninth invention, in addition to the seventh or eighth feature, is characterized in that the control means adjusts the surface pressure of the cleaning brush against the cleaning surface of the home door according to the supply current to the drive source.

[0018] The tenth invention, in addition to any one of the seventh to ninth features, is characterized in that when the sensor detects the corner part of the home door, the control means slows down the running speed of the carriage, or automatically stops the self-running of the carriage and the rotation of the cleaning brush.

[0019] The eleventh invention, in addition to any one of the seventh to tenth features, is characterized in that the home door cleaning device is disassembled into a plurality of parts and transported to the platform by the elevator in the home, and then the home door cleaning device is assembled and run at a speed faster than the speed during cleaning to the home door.

Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the first and seventh inventions, since the opening / closing door of the platform door and the vertical wall are cleaned by the rotation of the cleaning brush that moves along with the carriage that self-runs on the platform along the platform door, the entire platform door can be efficiently and safely cleaned in a short time without requiring a lot of manpower.

[0021] According to the second invention, after cleaning the platform door with the cleaning brush, the cleaning brush is replaced with a drying brush for wiping, and the carriage is made to self-run along the platform door while rotating the drying brush, so that the cleaning agent remaining on the cleaned surface of the platform door after cleaning can be wiped off by the drying brush to dry the cleaned surface.

[0022] According to the third and eighth inventions, since the inside of the platform door can be cleaned by the first cleaning brush and the outside of the platform door can be cleaned by the second cleaning brush, the inside and outside of the platform door can be cleaned simultaneously, and the entire platform door can be cleaned more efficiently, in a short time, and safely.

[0023] According to the fourth invention, since the cleaning brush is supported so as to be swingable in the horizontal direction within a predetermined angle range and to be able to contact and separate from the inner surface of the platform door, when an excessive load acts on the cleaning brush when the cleaning brush crosses the step of the platform door (the corner part which is the boundary between the opening / closing door and the vertical wall), the excessive load acting on the cleaning brush is alleviated by the cleaning brush swinging in the horizontal direction or moving relative to the platform door. For this reason, the occurrence of problems such as damage due to the overload of the cleaning brush is prevented.

[0024] According to the fifth invention, when a person or an object contacts the safety bar installed on the carriage during the cleaning operation, this is detected by the sensor and the self-running of the carriage and the rotation of the cleaning brush stop, so that the safety of people is ensured.

[0025] According to the sixth invention, the operator can easily perform the running / stopping of the carriage by operating the ON / OFF of the operation lever provided on the carriage, and high proficiency is not required for the cleaning operation.

[0026] According to the ninth invention, since the surface pressure of the cleaning brush against the cleaning surface of the home door is optimally adjusted according to the supply current to the drive source, the cleaning surface of the home door is effectively cleaned by the cleaning brush.

[0027] According to the tenth invention, when the sensor detects the corner portion of the home door, the control means slows down the traveling speed of the carriage or automatically stops the self-running of the carriage and the rotation of the cleaning brush, so that the load received by the cleaning brush from the corner portion of the home door can be greatly reduced and damage to the cleaning brush can be prevented.

[0028] According to the eleventh invention, when the home door cleaning device is transported to the platform of the station, it can be disassembled into a plurality of parts and easily transported to the platform, which is the cleaning site, using the home elevator. Then, the home door cleaning device is assembled from the plurality of parts transported to the platform, and the home door cleaning device can be made to travel (self-run) to the home door in a short time at a speed higher than the speed during cleaning and used for cleaning the home door.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0030] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] [Home Door] First, the home door 100 to be cleaned by the home door cleaning device 1 (see FIGS. 3 to 7) according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0032] FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of the home showing the state where the opening / closing door of the home door is closed, and FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the home showing the state where the opening / closing door of the home door is open. As shown in these figures, the home door 100 is installed in a state of standing vertically on the home platform.

[0033] The above-mentioned home door 100 is for preventing passengers waiting for the train 200 (see FIG. 2) from falling onto the track. It is installed in a state of standing vertically along the longitudinal direction of the home (the laying direction of the rails) at a position 20 to 30 cm inside the home end, and includes a pair of opening / closing doors 100A that slide and open / close outside the door portion of the train 200, and a vertical wall 100B that functions as a pocket for storing each opened opening / closing door 100A.

[0034] The above-mentioned opening / closing door 100A is a pair of rectangular plate-like members that open and close a rectangular space S (the space for passengers to ascend and descend) (see Fig. 2) between two adjacent vertical walls 100B, and is composed of a transparent glass plate or resin plate. Each pair of these opening / closing doors 100A slides in a direction approaching each other to close the space S (see Fig. 1), and slides in a direction separating from each other to open (release) the space S as shown in Fig. 2. However, before the train 200 (see Fig. 2) arrives at the platform and until the door of the train 200 that has arrived at the platform opens, as shown in Fig. 1, the space S is closed to prevent passengers from falling onto the track. Then, as shown in Fig. 2, each opening / closing door 100A slides to open the space S before the train 200 arrives at the platform and the door of the train 200 opens. After that, when the door of the train 200 opens, it enables passengers to board and alight from the train 200. When the boarding and alighting of passengers from the train 200 are completed in this way, the door of the train 200 is closed, and then each opening / closing door 100A slides to close the space S again, and then the train 200 departs.

[0035] By the way, since dirt accumulates on the surfaces of the plurality of opening / closing doors 100A and the vertical walls 100B that constitute the platform door 100 after a predetermined period (for example, about half a year), it is necessary to regularly clean the surfaces of these opening / closing doors 100A and vertical walls 100B respectively. However, these cleanings are performed efficiently and safely by the platform door cleaning device according to the present invention.

[0036] <Embodiment 1> [Platform Door Cleaning Device] Next, the details of the configuration of the platform door cleaning device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figs. 3 to 11.

[0037] FIG. 3 is a front view of the home door cleaning device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the home door cleaning device, FIG. 5 is a side view of the home door cleaning device (view in the direction of arrow 5 in FIG. 3), FIG. 6 is a side view of the home door cleaning device (view in the direction of arrow 6 in FIG. 3), FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed view of part 7 in FIG. 5, FIGS. 8(a) and (b) are enlarged detailed views of part 8 in FIG. 5, FIG. 9 is an enlarged detailed view of part 9 in FIG. 6, FIG. 10 is an enlarged detailed view of part 10 in FIG. 3, and FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the home door cleaning device.

[0038] The home door cleaning device 1 according to the present embodiment is for cleaning the home door 100 erected on the platform of the station shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, on a self-propelled cart 2, a first cleaning brush 3 and a second cleaning brush 4 rotatably supported by vertical brush shafts 3A and 4A respectively, electric motors 5 and 6 as drive sources for rotating these first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 respectively, an electronic control unit (hereinafter abbreviated as ECU (Electronic Control Unit)) 7 as control means for controlling the drive of these electric motors 5 and 6, and an injection means 8 for injecting a cleaning agent (cleaning liquid or coating liquid) onto the cleaning surface of the home door 100 while rotating the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 respectively to clean the home door 100 as described later, a battery 9 as a power source for supplying power to the electric motors 5 and 6 respectively, etc. are installed and configured.

[0039] (Cart) The self-propelled cart 2 includes a rectangular frame-shaped frame 2A. Rotatable casters 10 are respectively attached to the front, rear, left, and right corners at the lower part of this frame 2A so as to be steerable. The cart 2, that is, the home door cleaning device 1, is supported by the four casters 10 so as to be able to travel along the platform of the station. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the traveling direction of the cart 2 is defined as the "front-rear" direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 4), and the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the cart 2 (the up-down direction in FIG. 4) is defined as the "left-right" direction.

[0040] Also, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of left and right drive wheels 11 are rotatably supported at the center in the front-rear direction at the lower part of the frame 2A. These drive wheels 11 are independently rotationally driven by a pair of traveling motors 12 shown in FIG. 11. Here, as shown in FIG. 11, each traveling motor 12 is electrically connected to the battery 9 via the ECU 7, and the energization from the battery 9 to the left and right traveling motors 12 is individually controlled by the ECU 7. For this reason, the rotational directions and rotational speeds of the left and right drive wheels 11 are independently controlled. For example, when the left and right drive wheels 11 are rotated forward or backward at the same speed, the carriage 2 (home door cleaning device 1) can be moved straight forward or backward. By rotating the left and right drive wheels 11 with a speed difference, the carriage 2 (home door cleaning device 1) can be moved forward or backward while turning in a desired direction.

[0041] (First cleaning brush) The first cleaning brush 3 is for cleaning the inner surface (home side surface) of the home door 100 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), and is detachably installed on the carriage 2. The first cleaning brush 3 is composed of a vertical brush shaft 3A rotatably supported inside (home side) the home door 100 at the front end of the frame 2A of the carriage 2, and a brush body 3B attached to the brush shaft 3A. Here, the brush body 3B is integrally formed in a cylindrical shape by a number of strip-shaped cloth pieces or brush hairs, and when this rotates, it spreads radially outward by centrifugal force and cleans the inner surface of the home door 100 as described later.

[0042] Incidentally, the first cleaning brush 3 is rotationally driven by an electric motor 5 which is a drive source. This electric motor 5 is fixed to the upper part of the brush arm 18. As shown in detail in Fig. 7, a sprocket 13 is attached to an output shaft 5a extending vertically downward from the electric motor 5. Also, the brush shaft 3A is rotatably supported at its upper end by upper and lower pillow blocks 14 and 15, and a sprocket 16 is attached between the upper and lower pillow blocks 14 and 15 of the brush shaft 3A. An endless chain 17 is wound around this sprocket 16 and the sprocket 13 attached to the output shaft 5a of the electric motor 5. The two sprockets 13, 16 and the chain 17 constitute a chain transmission mechanism as a power transmission mechanism.

[0043] Therefore, the rotation of the output shaft 5a of the electric motor 5 is transmitted to the brush shaft 3A via the chain transmission mechanism, whereby the first cleaning brush 3 is rotationally driven at a predetermined speed and used for cleaning the inner surface of the home door 100 (the opening / closing door 100A and the vertical wall 100B). Here, as shown in Fig. 11, the electric motor 5 is electrically connected to the battery 9 via the ECU 7, and the ECU 7 controls the power supply (supply current) from the battery 9 to the electric motor 5, whereby the rotation speed of the first cleaning brush 3 is controlled. Incidentally, this first cleaning brush 3 can clean the upper surface and the inner surface of the vertical wall 100B (see Figs. 1 and 2), and the length of the cloth piece or the brush hair constituting the brush body 3B is longer at the upper part than at the lower part.

[0044] Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the first cleaning brush 3 is swingable within a predetermined angular range in the horizontal direction about the rotation axis 19 by the brush arm 18, and is supported so as to be able to approach and separate from the inner surface of the home door 100. Here, a swing axis 20 extends leftward from the brush arm 18, and neutral springs 21 and 22 that constitute biasing means for biasing the first cleaning brush 3 to the neutral position in the swing direction are arranged on both the front and rear sides of the swing axis 20. Therefore, when no load (external force) acts on the first cleaning brush 3, it is held at the neutral position in the swing direction shown in FIG. 4 by the neutral springs 21 and 22. And as shown in FIG. 4, a swing safety switch 23 for detecting the swing of the first cleaning brush 3 is provided in the vicinity of the neutral springs 21 and 22. Note that this swing safety switch 23 is electrically connected to the ECU 7 as shown in FIG. 11.

[0045] Also, as shown in detail in FIG. 8, a telescopic cylinder 24 that constitutes an approach / separation mechanism for the first cleaning brush 3 is interposed between the end of the brush arm 18 and the frame 2A of the carriage 2. By the telescopic cylinder 24 being displaced within the range of the illustrated stroke x between the compressed state shown in FIG. 8(a) and the extended state shown in FIG. 8(b), the first cleaning brush 3 is supported so as to be able to approach and separate from the inner surface of the home door 100 as described above. Note that the telescopic cylinder 24 is electrically connected to the ECU 7 as shown in FIG. 11.

[0046] (Second cleaning brush) The second cleaning brush 4 is for cleaning the outer surface (the side facing the track) of the home door 100 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), and is detachably installed on the carriage 2. This second cleaning brush 4 is rotatably arranged at the rear end of the frame 2A of the carriage 2, and is composed of a vertical brush shaft 4A and a brush body 4B attached to the brush shaft 4A. Here, similar to the brush body 3B of the first cleaning brush 3, the brush body 4B is integrally formed in a cylindrical shape by a large number of strip-shaped cloth pieces or brush hairs, and when it rotates, it spreads outward in the radial direction by centrifugal force to clean the outer surface of the home door 100 as described below. Note that this second cleaning brush 4 can clean the upper surface and the outer surface of the vertical wall 100B (see FIGS. 1 and 2) of the home door 100, and the length of the cloth pieces or brush hairs constituting the brush body 4B is longer in the upper part than in the lower part.

[0047] This second cleaning brush 4 is rotationally driven by an electric motor 6 which is a drive source. The electric motor 6 is fixedly installed on the upper part of the link 30A of the long brush arm 30. As shown in detail in FIG. 9, a sprocket 25 is attached to the output shaft 6a extending vertically downward from the electric motor 6. Also, the upper end of the brush shaft 4A is rotatably supported by upper and lower pillow blocks 26, 27, and a sprocket 28 is attached between the upper and lower pillow blocks 26, 27 of the brush shaft 4A. An endless chain 29 is wound around this sprocket 28 and the sprocket 25 attached to the output shaft 6a of the electric motor 6, and the two sprockets 25, 28 and the chain 29 constitute a chain transmission mechanism which is a power transmission mechanism.

[0048] Therefore, the rotation of the output shaft 6a of the electric motor 6 is transmitted to the brush shaft 4A via the chain transmission mechanism, whereby the second cleaning brush 4 is rotationally driven at a predetermined speed and used for cleaning the outer surface of the home door 100 (the opening / closing door 100A and the vertical wall 100B). Here, as shown in FIG. 11, the electric motor 6 is electrically connected to the battery 9 via the ECU 7, and the ECU 7 controls the supply power (supply current) from the battery 9 to the electric motor 6, thereby controlling the rotational speed of the second cleaning brush 4.

[0049] By the way, as shown in FIG. 4, the second cleaning brush 4 is a movable type that can move in the left-right direction and can move from the initial position shown by the dashed line to the solid line position outside the home door 100. That is, the second cleaning brush 4 is movably supported in the left-right direction by a long brush arm 30 that can be bent in a U shape. Here, the long brush arm 30 is composed of two links 30A and 30B pivotally attached by a shaft 31, and the second cleaning brush 4 is rotatably supported at the tip of one link 30A. And a sprocket 33 is attached to a shaft 32 connected to the end of the other link 30B (see FIG. 4).

[0050] And a swing shaft 34 extends leftward from one link 30A of the long brush arm 30, and neutral springs 35 and 36 that constitute biasing means for biasing the second cleaning brush 4 to the neutral position in the swing direction are arranged on both the front and rear sides of the swing shaft 34. Therefore, the second cleaning brush 4 is held in the neutral position in the swing direction by the neutral springs 35 and 36 when no load (external force) acts on it. And as shown in FIG. 4, a swing safety switch 37 for detecting the swing of the second cleaning brush 4 is provided near the neutral springs 35 and 36. Note that this swing safety switch 37 is electrically connected to the ECU 7 as shown in FIG. 11.

[0051] The above-mentioned long brush arm 30 is bent (opened and closed) by an opening / closing motor 38 shown in FIG. 6. A sprocket 39 is attached to the upper end of the output shaft 38a that stands vertically of the opening / closing motor 38. An endless chain 41 is wound between this sprocket 39 and a sprocket 40 attached to one end of the link 30B. These sprockets 39, 40 and the chain 41 constitute a chain transmission mechanism which is a power transmission mechanism. Here, as shown in FIG. 11, the opening / closing motor 38 is electrically connected to the battery 9 via the ECU 7. When the forward and reverse rotations and the rotation amount of the opening / closing motor 38 are controlled by the ECU 7, the rotation of the opening / closing motor 38 is transmitted to the link 30B of the long brush arm 30 via the chain transmission mechanism. Then, the long brush arm 30 is displaced from the initial position shown by the dashed line in FIG. 4 to the cleaning position shown by the solid line, and the second cleaning brush 4 which was in the initial position shown by the dashed line in FIG. 4 before cleaning moves to the cleaning position shown by the solid line to the right, and the second cleaning brush 4 abuts on the upper surface and the outer surface of the home door 100 and is used for cleaning these upper surface and outer surface. As shown in FIG. 4, a closing confirmation switch 42 is provided near the opening / closing motor 38, and this closing confirmation switch 42 is electrically connected to the ECU 7 as shown in FIG. 11.

[0052] (Injection means) When the above-mentioned injection means 8 rotates the first and second cleaning brushes 3, 4 respectively to simultaneously clean the inner surface and the outer surface which are the cleaning surfaces of the home door 100, it injects a cleaning agent onto the cleaning surfaces of the home door 100. Here, as the cleaning agent, there are a cleaning liquid and a coating liquid, and these cleaning liquid and coating liquid are stored in a tank 43 (refer to FIGS. 5 and 6) in a separated state respectively.

[0053] And the injection means 8 includes a tank 43, two pairs of cleaning liquid injection pipes 44 and 45 for injecting the cleaning liquid, two pairs of coating liquid injection pipes 46 and 47 with short lengths for injecting the coating liquid, a cleaning liquid pump 48 for pumping the cleaning liquid stored in the tank 43 to the two pairs of cleaning liquid injection pipes 44 and 45, and a coating liquid pump 49 for pumping the coating liquid stored separately from the cleaning liquid in the tank 43 to the two pairs of coating liquid injection pipes 46 and 47. The cleaning liquid pump 48 and the coating liquid pump 49 are electric pumps driven by an electric motor (not shown).

[0054] Although not shown in the figure, a single hose extends from the tank 43, and four hoses branch off from this hose. Each of the branched hoses is connected to a pair of cleaning liquid injection pipes 44 and 45 and a pair of coating liquid injection pipes respectively. And a flow path switching solenoid valve 50 (see FIG. 11) is provided at the branch point of the single hose extending from the tank 43. The cleaning liquid sent out from the tank 43 when the cleaning liquid pump 48 is driven has its flow path switched by the flow path switching solenoid valve 50 and is supplied to the pair of cleaning liquid injection pipes 44 and 45. Also, the coating liquid sent out from the tank 43 when the coating liquid pump 49 is driven has its flow path switched by the flow path switching solenoid valve 50 and is supplied to the pair of coating liquid injection pipes 46 and 47. Here, as shown in FIG. 11, the cleaning liquid pump 48, the coating liquid pump 49, and the flow path switching solenoid valve 50 are electrically connected to the ECU 7.

[0055] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, each pair of cleaning liquid injection pipes 44 and each pair of coating liquid injection pipes 46 of one set are respectively erected in a state of standing vertically before and after the first cleaning brush 3. And, a plurality (five in the illustrated example) of circular hole-shaped injection ports 44a are respectively opened at equal intervals in the vertical direction toward the inner surface of the home door 100 in each cleaning liquid injection pipe 44, and one vertically elongated rectangular injection port 46a (see FIG. 3) is opened in each coating liquid injection pipe 46. Further, a pair of cleaning liquid injection pipes 45 of the other set and each pair of coating liquid injection pipes 47 are respectively erected in a state of standing vertically before and after the second cleaning brush 4. And, a plurality (five in the illustrated example) of circular hole-shaped injection ports 45a are respectively opened at equal intervals in the vertical direction toward the outer surface of the home door 100 in each cleaning liquid injection pipe 45, and one vertically elongated rectangular injection port 47a (see FIG. 3) is opened in each coating liquid injection pipe 47.

[0056] (ECU) The ECU 7 controls the driving of a pair of traveling motors 12 (see FIG. 11) that independently rotate and drive a pair of left and right driving wheels 11 (see FIG. 3), electric motors 5 and 6 that are driving sources of the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4, a telescopic cylinder 24 that is a contacting and separating means, an opening and closing motor 38 for swinging the long brush arm 30, a cleaning liquid pump 48 for pumping the cleaning liquid to each pair of cleaning liquid injection pipes 44 and 45, a coating liquid pump 49 for pumping the coating liquid to each pair of coating liquid injection pipes 46 and 47, and a flow path switching solenoid valve 50 (see FIG. 11). Specifically, in addition to an ON / OFF switch 53, a safety bar switch 55, a distance sensor 56, etc. provided on an operation lever 52 described later, it receives signals from swing safety switches 23 and 37, a closing confirmation switch 42, a camera 58, etc., and controls the supply current from the battery 9 to the traveling motor 12, electric motors 5 and 6, telescopic cylinder 24, opening and closing motor 38, cleaning liquid pump 48, coating liquid pump 49, and flow path switching control valve 50.

[0057] Here, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, round bar-shaped handles 51 extending in the left-right direction are respectively attached to the intermediate height positions in the front and rear of the frame 2A of the carriage 2, and operating levers 52 that can be rotated vertically are respectively provided on each handle 51. Here, ON / OFF switches 53 (see FIG. 11) that are turned ON / OFF by rotating these operating levers 52 are respectively provided on each operating lever 52, and these ON / OFF switches 53 are electrically connected to the ECU 7 as shown in FIG. 11.

[0058] Incidentally, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, safety bars 54 standing vertically are respectively attached to four locations in the front, rear, left, and right of the frame 2A of the carriage 2, and safety bar switches 55 that detect when a person or an unexpected object comes into contact with the safety bar 54 are respectively provided on each safety bar 54. In addition, distance sensors 56 for detecting the distance to the home door 100 during cleaning are respectively installed at the lower parts on the right sides (the sides facing the home door 100 during cleaning) in the front and rear of the frame 2A of the carriage 2. And each safety bar switch 55 and each distance sensor 56 are electrically connected to the ECU 7 as shown in FIG. 11.

[0059] Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, arms 57 that stand vertically and then are bent at a right angle and horizontally extend obliquely forward and obliquely backward to the right (downward in FIG. 4) are respectively provided at the leftward portions closer to the left than the center in the left-right direction at the front and rear of the upper end of the frame 2A of the carriage 2, and cameras 58 are respectively attached to the tips of each arm 57. Here, each camera 58 images the end of the home door 100 and the boundary between the opening / closing door 100A of the home door 100 and the vertical wall 100B, etc., and these cameras 58 are electrically connected to the ECU 7 as shown in FIG. 11.

[0060] Here, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the ECU 7 is provided with an operation unit 59 having a plurality of switches for manual operation. This operation unit 59 is provided with various operation keys that can be arbitrarily operated and input by an operator. Examples of the various operation keys include a power ON / OFF key, a cleaning start / stop key, a movement start / stop key for the home door cleaning device 1, a key for setting the movement direction, a key for setting automatic / semi-automatic, and a key for driving / stopping the brush arm 18 and the long brush arm 30.

[0061] In addition, the ECU 7 is detachably provided with a remote controller 60 (see FIG. 11) for remotely controlling the travel of the home door cleaning device 1. This remote controller 60 is provided with an operation input unit for moving the home door cleaning device 1 forward / backward and changing its direction by individually driving and controlling a pair of left and right travel motors 12 (see FIG. 11). An operator can operate the remote controller 60 while walking beside the home door cleaning device 1 to move the home door cleaning device 1 to a target position. Note that this remote controller 60 may be either a wired type or a wireless type.

[0062] [Home Door Cleaning Method] Next, a home door cleaning method according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention using the home door cleaning device 1 configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14.

[0063] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the home door cleaning method according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention in the order of its steps, FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the cleaning operation in the home door cleaning method in the order of its steps, and FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view showing the movement locus of the cleaning brush in the home door cleaning method.

[0064] First, prior to cleaning the home door 100, the home door cleaning device 1 is transported to the station platform by an elevator (not shown) for passengers (used by passengers getting on and off) installed at the home. (Step S1 in FIG. 12). In this case, when the elevator is small, for example, the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 are removed from the cart 2 to disassemble and transport the home door cleaning device 1. Here, since the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 are detachably installed with respect to the cart 2 as described above, they can be easily removed from the cart 2.

[0065] When the home door cleaning device 1 is transported to the station platform as described above, "Power ON" is selected at the operation unit 59 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) installed in the home door cleaning device 1 (Step S2). For example, when the home door cleaning device 1 is transported to the home with the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 removed, the removed first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 are attached to the cart 2 to assemble the home door cleaning device 1. In this way, by disassembling the home door cleaning device 1, even when the elevator is small, the home door cleaning device 1 can be easily transported to the home using this small elevator.

[0066] Next, "Move" is selected at the operation unit 59 (Step S3). Then, the pair of left and right traveling motors 12 (see FIG. 11) of the home door cleaning device 1 are activated, and the pair of left and right drive wheels 11 are rotationally driven by these traveling motors 12, causing the home door cleaning device 1 to travel on the platform. In this case, the traveling speed of the home door cleaning device 1 can be set faster than the speed during cleaning.

[0067] At the same time, the "moving direction" is selected at the operation unit 59 (step S4). Note that this selection of the "moving direction" can also be performed by the remote controller 60 (see FIG. 11). Then, a speed difference occurs in the rotation of the pair of left and right traveling motors 12, and the moving direction of the home door cleaning device 1 is set, and the home door cleaning device 1 travels automatically toward the home door 100 that is the cleaning target. Then, when the home door cleaning device 1 moves to the home door 100, the operator opens the opening / closing door 100A of the home door 100 by operating a button (step S5).

[0068] Next, the operator selects "cleaning preparation" at the operation unit 59 (step S6), and then selects "long brush arm" (step S7). Then, the opening / closing motor 38 (see FIGS. 4 and 6) is activated, and its rotation is transmitted to the link 30B of the long brush arm 30 via the chain transmission mechanism. Therefore, the long brush arm 30 extends from the initial state shown by the dashed line in FIG. 4 to the cleaning state shown by the solid line, and the second cleaning brush 4 rotatably supported by the long brush arm 30 passes through the opened opening / closing door 100A of the home door 100 and moves to the outside (track side) of the home door 100. That is, the second cleaning brush 4 moves from the initial position shown in FIG. 4 to the cleaning position shown by the solid line. Then, after that, the operator closes the opening / closing door 100A of the home door 100 by operating a button (step S8). After that, the operator selects "brush arm" (step S9). Then, the brush arm 18 (see FIG. 4) approaches the home door 100, and the first cleaning brush 3 rotatably supported by the brush arm 18 is pressed against the inner surface of the home door 100 with a predetermined pressure and comes into contact therewith.

[0069] After that, the home door cleaning device 1 is moved to the cleaning start position of the home door 100 (step S10), and the cleaning start position is recognized (step S11). In recognizing this cleaning start position, the distance between the home door cleaning device 1 and the home door 100 is recognized by the distance sensor 56 installed in the home door cleaning device 1, and the cleaning start position is recognized by the image captured by the camera 58. Here, as shown in FIG. 14, for example, the boundary portion between the opening / closing door 100A and the vertical wall 100B of the home door 100 is recognized by image recognition by the camera 58.

[0070] When the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 are at the cleaning start position by the above image recognition, "OK" is displayed on the operation unit 59 (step S12). From this state, the operator selects "Cleaning" or "Coating" on the operation unit 59 (step S13), and selects "Semi-automatic" or "Fully automatic" as the cleaning mode (step S14). Then, afterwards, the operator selects "Start cleaning" on the operation unit 59 (step S15).

[0071] Thereafter, it is determined whether "Semi-automatic" or "Fully automatic" is selected as the cleaning mode in step S14 (step S16). When "Semi-automatic" is selected, the operator grasps the handle 51 and rotates the operation lever 52 from the solid line position to the chain line position in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 10 (counterclockwise) to turn it on (step S17). Then, the ON / OFF switch 53 (see FIG. 11) provided on the operation lever 52 is turned on, and when this ON signal is transmitted to the ECU 7, the ECU 7 executes the cleaning operation (step S18).

[0072] On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S16, when "Fully automatic" is selected in step S14, the cleaning operation is executed without performing the ON operation of the operation lever 52 (step S17) (step S18).

[0073] Here, the flow of the cleaning operation in step S18 will be described below with reference to FIG. 13.

[0074] When the cleaning operation is started, the long brush arm 30 is retracted, the second cleaning brush 4 is brought into contact with the outer surface on the track side of the home door 100 with a predetermined pressure, the traveling motor 12 is driven to make the cleaning device 1 travel at a low speed, and the electric motors 5 and 6 are driven to rotationally drive the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 respectively, while the cleaning liquid pump 48 is driven to supply the cleaning liquid from the tank 43 to each pair of cleaning liquid injection pipes 44 and 45 (step S18-1). In this case, the distance between the home door cleaning device 1 and the home door 100 is detected by the distance sensor 56 installed in the home door cleaning device 1, and the home door cleaning device 1 travels automatically at a low speed while keeping the distance between the two constant.

[0075] Then, while the cleaning liquid is being sprayed from the plurality of spray ports 44a and 45a (see FIG. 3) that open into each pair of cleaning liquid injection pipes 44 and 45 respectively onto the inner and outer surfaces of the home door 100, the inner and outer surfaces and the upper surface of the home door 100 (the opening / closing door 100A and the vertical wall 100B) are simultaneously cleaned by the rotating first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4, and the dirt is removed. Here, the movement locus of the first cleaning brush 3 during the cleaning operation is shown by a chain line in FIG. 14. The first cleaning brush 3 can swing horizontally within a predetermined angle range as described above, and can be moved closer to and away from the home door 100 by the stroke x shown in FIG. 8 by the telescopic cylinder 24. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, the first cleaning brush 3 is displaced by a step difference at the corner portion (corner part) between the opening / closing door 100A and the vertical wall 100B of the home door 100 and moves along a locus as shown in the figure. For this reason, the first cleaning brush 3 can easily overcome the step, and no overload acts on it to cause an overcurrent in the electric motor 5, preventing damage to these first cleaning brush 3 and electric motor 5. Alternatively, since the load acting on the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 can be detected by the supply current to the electric motors 5 and 6 that rotationally drive these cleaning brushes 3 and 4, the surface pressure of the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 against the cleaning surface of the home door 100 can be optimally adjusted by controlling the supply current to the electric motors 5 and 6. As a result, the cleaning surface of the home door 100 can be effectively cleaned by the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4.

[0076] In the above cleaning operation, it is determined whether "semiautomatic" or "fully automatic" is selected as the cleaning mode (step S18-2). When "semiautomatic" is selected, the current values of the electric motors 5 and 6 that rotationally drive the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 are monitored (step S18-3), the deflection of the brush arm 18 and the long brush arm 30 is monitored (step S18-4), and the safety bar 54 is monitored (step S18-5). On the other hand, when "fully automatic" is selected as the cleaning mode, only the safety bar 54 is monitored (step S18-5).

[0077] Then, in step S18-6, it is determined whether the current values of the electric motors 5 and 6 monitored in step S18-3 are appropriate. For example, when the current value of the electric motor 5 is an overcurrent exceeding the appropriate value (step S18-6: No), the brush arm 18 is retracted to separate the first cleaning brush 3 from the inner surface of the home door 100 and reduce the contact pressure of the first cleaning brush 3 on the inner surface of the home door 100 (step S18-7). Also, when the current value of the electric motor 6 is an overcurrent exceeding the appropriate value (step S18-6: No), the long brush arm 30 is extended to separate the second cleaning brush 4 from the outer surface of the home door 100 and reduce the contact pressure of the second cleaning brush 4 on the outer surface of the home door 100 (step S18-7). Then, it is determined whether the cleaning operation has ended (step S18-8). If the cleaning operation has not ended (step S18-8: No), the processes of steps S18-6 to S18-8 are repeated. If the cleaning operation has ended (step S18-8: Yes), a series of processes ends (step S18-9). Note that the completion of the cleaning operation is visually determined by the operator when the cleaning mode is set to "semiautomatic", and automatically determined by the camera 58 when the operation mode is set to "fully automatic".

[0078] On the other hand, when the current values of the electric motors 5 and 6 both indicate appropriate values equal to or less than a predetermined value (step S18-6: Yes), it is determined whether or not the cleaning operation has been completed (step S18-8).

[0079] Also, in step S18-10, it is determined whether or not the swing of the brush arm 18 or the long brush arm 30 has been detected in step S18-4 (step S18-10). When the swing of at least one of these brush arms 18 and long brush arms 30 has been detected (step S18-10: Yes), the travel of the home door cleaning device 1 is stopped (step S18-11). Then, for example, when the swing of the brush arm 18 is detected, the brush arm 18 is contracted to separate the first cleaning brush 3 from the inner surface of the home door 100 and reduce the contact pressure of the first cleaning brush 3 against the inner surface of the home door 100 (step S18-12). Also, when the swing of the long brush 30 is detected, the long brush arm 30 is extended to separate the second cleaning brush 4 from the outer surface of the home door 100 and reduce the contact pressure of the second cleaning brush 4 against the outer surface of the home door 100 (step S18-12).

[0080] As described above, after reducing the surface pressure of at least one of the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 because the swing of the brush arm 18 or the long brush arm 30 has been detected, the travel of the home door cleaning device 1 is restarted (step S18-13). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the cleaning operation has been completed (step S18-14). When the cleaning operation has been completed (step S18-14: Yes), a series of processes is terminated (step S18-9). On the other hand, when the cleaning operation has not yet been completed (step S18-14: No), steps S18-10 to S18-14 are repeated.

[0081] On the other hand, when no swing of either the brush arm 18 or the long brush arm 30 is detected (step S18-10: No), the process proceeds to step S18-14, and it is determined whether or not the cleaning operation has been completed.

[0082] Also, in step S18-15, it is determined whether a person or an object has come into contact with the safety bar 54 in the monitoring of the safety bar 54 in step S18-5. As a result of this determination, if a person or an object has come into contact with the safety bar 54 (step S18-15: Yes), the home door cleaning device 1 is temporarily stopped for safety reasons (step S18-16). In this temporary stop, when it is detected by the safety bar switch 55 (see FIG. 11) provided on the safety bar 54 that a person has come into contact with the safety bar 54, the ECU 7 that has received the detection signal temporarily stops the operation of the home door cleaning device 1 (such as traveling, rotation of the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4, injection of cleaning liquid, etc.).

[0083] Then, it is determined whether safety has been confirmed thereafter (step S18-17). If safety has been confirmed (step S18-17: Yes), when an operator selects "restart" on the operation unit 59 (step S18-18), the cleaning operation of the home door 100 by the home door cleaning device 1 is resumed, and the process returns to step S18-1, and thereafter, the series of processes described above are repeated. On the other hand, if safety is not confirmed (step S18-17: No), the temporary stop of the home door cleaning device 1 is maintained (step S18-16).

[0084] On the other hand, if neither a person nor an object has come into contact with the safety bar 54 (step S18-15: No), it is determined whether the cleaning operation has ended (step S18-19). If the operation has ended (step S18-19: Yes), the series of processes end (step S18-9). On the other hand, if the cleaning operation has not yet ended (step S18-19: No), the process returns to step S18-15, and thereafter, the same processes as described above are performed.

[0085] Here, returning to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 for explanation.

[0086] When the cleaning operation described with reference to FIG. 13 is completed, the travel of the home door cleaning device 1 is stopped (step S19). The travel stop of the home door cleaning device 1 is performed by the operator grasping and operating the operation lever 52 provided on the handle 51 when the travel mode is set to "semiautomatic", and is automatically performed by a command from the ECU 7 when the cleaning mode is set to "fully automatic".

[0087] As described above, when the travel of the home door cleaning device 1 stops, it is determined whether or not dirt is confirmed on the home door 100 after cleaning (step S20). This confirmation of dirt is made by visual inspection by the operator.

[0088] As a result of the above determination, if dirt is confirmed on the home door 100 after cleaning (step S20: Yes), the cleaning operation in step S18 is executed again. In this case, if the first (first time) cleaning operation was performed while advancing the home door cleaning device 1, the cleaning operation is performed while retreating the home door cleaning device 1. In this case, the travel speed of the home door cleaning device 1 may be decreased to slowly and carefully clean the soiled portion of the home door 100. Alternatively, the soiled portion may be cleaned while advancing and retreating the home door cleaning device 1 a plurality of times.

[0089] Also, when the cleaning of the inner and outer surfaces of the home door 100 while spraying the cleaning liquid is completed, the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 that have been used so far are replaced with drying brushes (not shown) for wiping, and while spraying the coating liquid on the inner and outer surfaces of the home door 100, the drying brushes are used to wipe off the cleaning liquid remaining on the inner and outer surfaces of the home door 100, and the coating liquid may be sprayed on the inner and outer surfaces of the home door 100. That is, while the home door cleaning device 1 is self-propelled along the home door 100, two drying brushes are rotationally driven inside and outside the home door 100 by the electric motors 5 and 6, and the coating liquid pump 49 is driven to pump the coating liquid stored in the tank 43 to each pair of coating liquid injection pipes 46 and 47 respectively, and the coating liquid is sprayed from the injection ports 46a and 47a that open in these coating liquid injection pipes 46 and 47 respectively toward the inner and outer surfaces of the home door 100. Then, the adhesion of dirt to the cleaned surface of the home door 100 is suppressed by the coating liquid sprayed on the cleaned surface of the home door 100 from which the cleaning liquid has been wiped off and dried, and the cleaned surface is kept clean for a long time. Note that after the cleaning by the cleaning brushes 3 and 4 while spraying the cleaning liquid is completed, the coating liquid may be sprayed on the inner and outer surfaces of the home door 100 and the operation may be terminated as it is, or alternatively, after that, the cleaning brushes 3 and 4 may be replaced with drying brushes as described above and the drying operation may be performed.

[0090] On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S20, when no dirt is confirmed on the cleaned surface of the home door 100 (step S20: No), "Cleaning Completed" is selected on the operation unit 59 (step S21), and then "Brush Arm" of the operation unit 59 is selected (step S22). Then, the brush arm 18 contracts and the first cleaning brush 3 rotatably supported by the brush arm 18 returns to the initial position (the position before cleaning).

[0091] Then, the home door cleaning device 1 is moved to the location of the opening / closing door 100A of the home door 100. Next, the opening / closing door 100A of the home door 100 is opened by an operator's button operation (step S23), and "long brush arm" is selected at the operation unit 59 (step S24). Then, the long brush arm 30 bends, and the second cleaning brush 4 rotatably supported by the long brush arm 30 returns from the cleaning position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4 to the standby position shown by the chain line.

[0092] After that, when the operator selects "move" at the operation unit 59 (step S25) and operates the operation lever 52 provided on the handle 51 to drive the pair of traveling motors 12 of the home door cleaning device 1 to move the home door cleaning device 1 away from the home door 100, all of the series of cleaning operations for the home door 100 are completed.

[0093] As described above, in the present embodiment, the inner and outer surfaces and the upper surface of the opening / closing door 100A and the vertical wall 100B of the home door 100 are simultaneously cleaned by the rotation of the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 that move together with the carriage 2 that self-runs along the home door 100. Therefore, the entire home door 100 can be efficiently and safely cleaned in a short time without requiring a large number of hands.

[0094] And in the present embodiment, since the first cleaning brush 3 is swingable in the horizontal direction within a predetermined angle range and is supported so as to be able to approach and separate from the inner surface of the home door 100, when an excessive load acts on the first cleaning brush 3 when the first cleaning brush 3 crosses a step of the home door 100 (a corner portion that is the boundary between the opening / closing door 100A and the vertical wall 100B), the first cleaning brush 3 swings in the horizontal direction or moves with respect to the inner surface of the home door 100, whereby the excessive load acting on the first cleaning brush 3 is alleviated. For this reason, problems such as damage due to an overload of the first cleaning brush 3 or the electric motor 5 that rotationally drives the first cleaning brush 3 are prevented.

[0095] Further, after cleaning the home door 100 with the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4, the cleaning brushes 3 and 4 are replaced with drying brushes for wiping, and the cart 2 is self-propelled along the home door 100 while rotating the drying brushes, so that the cleaning liquid remaining on the cleaned surface of the home door 100 can be wiped off by the drying brushes to dry the cleaned surface.

[0096] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when a person or an object comes into contact with the safety bar 54 installed on the cart 2 during the cleaning operation, this is detected by the safety bar switch 55, and the self-propulsion of the cart 2 and the rotation of the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 stop, thus ensuring the safety of people.

[0097] In addition, in the present embodiment, when the "semiautomatic" is set as the driving mode, the operator can easily drive / stop the cart 2 (home door cleaning device 1) by operating the ON / OFF of the operation lever 52 provided on the cart 2, and no high proficiency is required for the cleaning operation. Note that even when the cart 2 is stopped, the rotation of the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4 may be continued.

[0098] In the present embodiment, as the first and second cleaning brushes 3 and 4, cylindrical ones each composed of brush shafts 3A and 4A and brush bodies 3B and 4B respectively attached to these brush shafts 3A and 4A are used, but instead, a rotary brush configured by vertically arranging a belt conveyor may be used.

[0099] Also, in the present embodiment, two types of cleaning agents, a cleaning liquid and a coating liquid, are used, but rinse water may be used in addition to these cleaning liquids and coating liquids.

[0100] <Embodiment 2> [Home Door Cleaning Device] Next, the details of the configuration of the home door cleaning device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 15 to 18.

[0101] FIG. 15 is a front view of the home door cleaning device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, FIG. 16 is a plan view of the home door cleaning device, FIG. 17 is a view in the direction of arrow 17 in FIG. 15, and FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the home door cleaning device.

[0102] The home door cleaning device 1' according to the present embodiment is for cleaning only the inner surface of the home door 100 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Its basic configuration is the same as that of the home door cleaning device 1 according to Embodiment 1 except that it is provided with one cleaning brush 3 (the first cleaning brush 3 in Embodiment 1). Therefore, in FIGS. 15 to 18, the same elements as those shown in FIGS. 3 to 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted below.

[0103] As shown in FIGS. 15 to 17, the home door cleaning device 1' according to the present embodiment includes one cleaning brush 3 on a self-propelled cart 2, an electric motor 5 as a drive source for rotationally driving the cleaning brush 3, an ECU 7 as a control means for controlling the drive of the electric motor 5, an injection means 8 for injecting a cleaning agent (cleaning liquid and coating liquid) onto the cleaning surface (inner surface) of the home door 100 while the cleaning brush 3 is rotating to clean the home door 100, a battery 9 as a power source for supplying power to the electric motor 5, etc.

[0104] Here, as shown in FIG. 18, a remote control 60, an ON / OFF switch 53, a safety bar switch 55, a distance sensor 56, a camera 58, and a tilt safety switch 23 are electrically connected to the input side of the ECU 7, and a traveling motor 12, an electric motor 5, a telescopic cylinder 24, a flow path switching solenoid valve 50, a cleaning liquid pump 48, and a coating liquid pump 49 are electrically connected to the output side.

[0105] [Home Door Cleaning Method] Next, the home door cleaning method according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention using the home door cleaning device 1' configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

[0106] FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the steps of the home door cleaning method according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the cleaning operation in the home door cleaning method in the order of the steps.

[0107] First, prior to cleaning the home door 100, the home door cleaning device 1' is transported to the platform of the station by an elevator (not shown) for passengers (used by passengers getting on and off) installed at home (step S31 in FIG. 19). In this case, when the elevator is small, for example, the cleaning brush 3 is removed from the cart 2 and the home door cleaning device 1' is disassembled and transported. In this case, since the cleaning brush 3 is detachably installed on the cart 2, it can be easily removed from the cart 2.

[0108] When the home door cleaning device 1' is transported to the platform of the station as described above, "Power ON" is selected on the operation unit 59 (see FIG. 17) installed in the home door cleaning device 1' (step S32). In addition, when the home door cleaning device 1' is transported to the home with the cleaning brush 3 removed, the removed cleaning brush 3 is attached to the cart 2 and the home door cleaning device 1' is assembled.

[0109] Next, "Move" is selected on the operation unit 59 (step S33). Then, the pair of left and right traveling motors 12 (see FIG. 18) of the home door cleaning device 1' are activated, and the pair of left and right drive wheels 11 are rotationally driven by these traveling motors 12, and the home door cleaning device 1' travels on the platform. In this case, the traveling speed of the home door cleaning device 1' can be set faster than the speed during cleaning.

[0110] Meanwhile, at the operation unit 59, "moving direction" is selected (step S34). Note that this selection of "moving direction" may also be performed with the remote controller 60 (see FIG. 18). Then, a speed difference occurs in the rotation of the pair of left and right traveling motors 12, and the moving direction of the home door cleaning device 1' is set, and the home door cleaning device 1' self-drives toward the home door 100 that is the cleaning target. When the home door cleaning device 1' moves to the home door 100, the operator selects "cleaning preparation" at the operation unit 59 (step S35), and then selects "brush arm" (step S36). Then, the brush arm 18 (see FIG. 16) approaches the home door 100, and the cleaning brush 3 rotatably supported by the brush arm 18 is pressed against the inner surface of the home door 100 with a predetermined pressure and comes into contact therewith.

[0111] Thereafter, the home door cleaning device 1' is moved to the cleaning start position of the home door 100 (step S37), and the cleaning start position is recognized (step S38). In this recognition of the cleaning start position, the distance between the home door cleaning device 1' and the home door 100 is recognized by the distance sensor 56 installed in the home door cleaning device 1', and the cleaning start position is recognized by the image captured by the camera 58.

[0112] When the cleaning brush 3 is at the cleaning start position by the above image recognition, "OK" is displayed on the operation unit 59 (step S39). From this state, the operator selects "cleaning" or "coating" at the operation unit 59 (step S40), and selects "semiautomatic" or "fully automatic" as the cleaning mode (step S41). Then, thereafter, the operator selects "start cleaning" at the operation unit 59 (step S42).

[0113] After that, in step S41, it is determined whether "semiautomatic" or "fully automatic" is selected as the cleaning mode (step S43). If "semiautomatic" is selected, the operator holds the handle 51 and turns on the operation lever 52 (step S44). Then, when the ON / OFF switch 53 (see FIG. 18) provided on the operation lever 52 is turned on and this ON signal is transmitted to the ECU 7, the ECU 7 executes the cleaning operation (step S45).

[0114] On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S43, if "fully automatic" is selected in step S41, the cleaning operation is executed (step S45) without operating the operation lever 52 (step S44).

[0115] Here, the flow of the cleaning operation in step S45 will be described below based on FIG. 20.

[0116] When the cleaning operation is started, the traveling motor 12 is driven to make the home door cleaning device 1' travel at a low speed, and while the electric motor 5 is driven to rotationally drive the cleaning brush 3, the cleaning liquid pump 48 is driven to supply the cleaning liquid from the tank 43 to the pair of cleaning liquid injection pipes 44 (step S45-1). In this case, the distance between the home door cleaning device 1' and the home door 100 is detected by the distance sensor 56 installed in the home door cleaning device 1', and the home door cleaning device 1' travels automatically at a low speed while keeping the distance between the two constant.

[0117] Then, while the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the inner surface of the home door 100 from the plurality of injection ports 44a (see FIG. 15) that open into the pair of cleaning liquid injection pipes 44 respectively, the inner surface and the upper surface of the home door 100 (the opening / closing door 100A and the vertical wall 100B) are simultaneously cleaned by the rotating cleaning brush 3 and the dirt is removed.

[0118] In the above cleaning operation, it is determined whether "semi-automatic" or "fully automatic" is selected as the cleaning mode (step S45-2). When "semi-automatic" is selected, the current value of the electric motor 5 that rotationally drives the cleaning brush 3 is monitored (step S45-3), the swing of the brush arm 18 is monitored (step S45-4), and the safety bar 54 is monitored (step S45-5). On the other hand, when "fully automatic" is selected as the cleaning mode, only the safety bar 54 is monitored (step S45-5).

[0119] Then, in step S45-6, it is determined whether the current value of the electric motor 5 monitored in step S45-3 is appropriate. If the current of the electric motor 5 is an overcurrent exceeding the appropriate value (step S45-6: No), the brush arm 18 is retracted to separate the cleaning brush 3 from the inner surface of the home door 100 and reduce the contact pressure of the cleaning brush 3 on the inner surface of the home door 100 (step S45-7).

[0120] Thereafter, it is determined whether the cleaning operation has ended (step S45-8). If the cleaning operation has not ended (step S45-8: No), the processes of S45-6 to S45-8 are repeated. If the cleaning operation has ended (step S45-8: Yes), the series of processes ends (step S45-9). Note that the completion of the cleaning operation is visually judged by the operator when the cleaning mode is set to "semi-automatic", and automatically judged by the camera 58 when the operation mode is set to "fully automatic".

[0121] On the other hand, when the current of the electric motor 5 indicates an appropriate value equal to or less than the predetermined value (step S45-6: Yes), it is determined whether the cleaning operation has ended (step S45-8).

[0122] Also, in step S45-10, it is determined whether the swing of the brush arm 18 was detected in step S45-4. When the swing of the brush arm 18 is detected (step S45-10: Yes), the running of the home door cleaning device 1' is stopped (step S45-11). And when the swing of the brush arm 18 is detected, the brush arm 18 is retracted to separate the cleaning brush 3 from the inner surface of the home door 100 and reduce the contact pressure of the cleaning brush 3 against the inner surface of the home door 100 (step S45-12).

[0123] As described above, after reducing the surface pressure of the cleaning brush 3 because the swing of the brush arm 18 was detected, the running of the home door cleaning device 1 is resumed (step S45-13). Then, it is determined whether the cleaning operation has ended (step S45-14). When the cleaning operation has ended (step S45-14: Yes), a series of processes ends (step S45-9). On the other hand, when the cleaning operation has not ended yet (step S45-14: No), the processes of steps S45-10 to S45-14 are repeated.

[0124] On the other hand, when the swing of the brush arm 18 is not detected (step S45-10: No), the process proceeds to step S45-14, and it is determined whether the cleaning operation has ended.

[0125] Also, in step S45-15, it is determined whether a person or an object has contacted the safety bar 54 in the monitoring of the safety bar 54 in step S45-5. As a result of this determination, when a person or an object has contacted the safety bar 54 (step S45-15: Yes), the home door cleaning device 1' is temporarily stopped for safety (step S45-16). In this temporary stop, when it is detected by the safety bar switch 55 (see FIG. 18) provided on the safety bar 54 that a person or an object has contacted the safety bar 54, the ECU 7 that has received the detection signal temporarily stops the operation of the home door cleaning device 1' (such as running, rotation of the cleaning brush 3, injection of the cleaning liquid, etc.).

[0126] Then, it is determined whether safety has been confirmed (step S45-17). If safety has been confirmed (step S45-17: Yes), when the operator selects "Restart" on the operation unit 59 (step S45-18), the cleaning operation of the home door 100 by the home door cleaning device 1' is resumed, the process returns to step S45-1, and thereafter, the series of processes described above are repeated. On the other hand, if safety is not confirmed (step S45-17: No), the temporary stop of the home door cleaning device 1' continues (step S45-16).

[0127] On the other hand, when no person or object touches the safety bar 54 (step S45-15: No), it is determined whether the cleaning operation has ended (step S45-19). If the operation has ended (step S45-19: Yes), the series of processes end (step S45-9). On the other hand, if the cleaning operation has not ended yet (step S45-19: No), the process returns to step S45-15, and thereafter, the same processes as described above are performed.

[0128] Here, let's return to the flowchart shown in FIG. 19 for explanation.

[0129] When the cleaning operation described with reference to FIG. 20 ends, the travel of the home door cleaning device 1' is stopped (step S46). The stop of the travel of the home door cleaning device 1' is performed by the operator grasping and operating the operation lever 52 provided on the handle 51 when the travel mode is set to "semiautomatic", and is automatically performed by a command from the ECU 7 when the cleaning mode is set to "fully automatic".

[0130] As described above, when the travel of the home door cleaning device 1' stops, it is determined whether dirt is confirmed on the home door 100 after cleaning (step S47). This confirmation of dirt is made by visual inspection by the operator.

[0131] As a result of the above determination, when dirt is confirmed on the home door 100 after cleaning (step S47: Yes), the cleaning operation in step S45 is executed again. In this case, if the first (the first time) cleaning operation was performed while advancing the home door cleaning device 1′, the cleaning operation is performed while retracting the home door cleaning device 1′. In this case, the traveling speed of the home door cleaning device 1′ may be reduced to slowly and carefully clean the dirty portion of the home door 100. Alternatively, the dirty portion may be repeatedly cleaned by advancing and retracting the home door cleaning device 1′ a plurality of times.

[0132] Also, when the cleaning of the inner surface of the home door 100 while spraying the cleaning liquid is completed, the cleaning brush 3 that has been used so far is replaced with a drying brush (not shown) for wiping, and while spraying the coating liquid onto the inner surface of the home door 100, the drying brush is used to wipe off the cleaning liquid remaining on the inner surface of the home door 100, and the coating liquid may be sprayed onto the inner surface of the home door 100. That is, while the home door cleaning device 1′ is self-propelled along the home door 100, the drying brush is rotationally driven by the electric motor 5, and the coating liquid pump 49 is driven to pump the coating liquid stored in the tank 43 to the pair of coating liquid injection pipes 46 respectively, and the coating liquid is sprayed from the injection port 46a (see FIG. 15) opening in the coating liquid injection pipe 46 toward the inner surface of the home door 100. Then, the adhesion of dirt to the cleaning surface (inner surface) of the home door 100 is suppressed by the coating liquid sprayed on the cleaning surface (inner surface) of the home door 100 from which the cleaning liquid has been wiped off and dried, and the cleaning surface (inner surface) is kept clean for a long time. After the cleaning by the cleaning brush 3 while spraying the cleaning liquid is completed, the coating liquid may be sprayed on the inner and outer surfaces of the home door 100 and the operation may be terminated as it is, or the cleaning brush 3 may be replaced with a drying brush as described above and the drying operation may be performed thereafter.

[0133] On the other hand, if no dirt is confirmed on the cleaning surface (inner surface) of the home door 100 as a result of the determination in step S47 (step S47: No), "Cleaning Complete" is selected on the operation unit 59 (step S48), and subsequently, "Brush Arm" of the operation unit 59 is selected (step S49). Then, the brush arm 18 contracts, and the cleaning brush 3 rotatably supported by the brush arm 18 returns to the initial position (the position before cleaning).

[0134] Next, the operator selects "Move" on the operation unit 59 (step S50), operates the operation lever 52 provided on the handle 51 to drive the pair of traveling motors 12 of the home door cleaning device 1', and moves the home door cleaning device 1' from the home door 100, thus completing all the series of cleaning operations on the home door 100.

[0135] As described above, in the present embodiment, the inner surfaces and upper surfaces of the opening / closing door 100A and the vertical wall 100B of the home door 100 are cleaned by the rotation of the cleaning brush 3 that moves together with the carriage 2 that self - runs along the home door 100. Therefore, the effect that the inner surface and upper surface of the home door 100 can be efficiently and safely cleaned in a short time without requiring a large number of hands is obtained.

[0136] Also, after cleaning the home door 100 with the cleaning brush 3, the cleaning brush 3 is replaced with a drying brush for wiping, and the carriage 2 is self - run along the home door 100 while rotating the drying brush, so that the cleaning agent remaining on the cleaned surface of the home door 100 can be wiped off by the drying brush to dry the cleaned surface. In addition, in the present embodiment as well, the same effects as those obtained in the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0137] In the present embodiment, a columnar cleaning brush 3 composed of a brush shaft 3A and a brush body 3B attached to the brush shaft 3A is used. However, instead of this cleaning brush 3, a rotary brush configured by making a belt conveyor vertical may be used.

[0138] <Embodiment 3> Next, the details of the configuration of the home door cleaning device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22.

[0139] The home door cleaning device 1″ of the present Embodiment 3 omits the arm 57 and the camera 58 in the home door cleaning devices 1 and 1′ of Embodiments 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 21, which corresponds to FIG. 4 of Embodiment 1 and shows a plan view of the home door cleaning device 1″, its basic configuration is the same as that of the home door cleaning devices 1 and 1′ according to Embodiments 1 and 2, except that the arm 57 and the camera 58 are absent. Therefore, in FIGS. 21 and 22, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements as those shown in FIGS. 3 to 14 and FIGS. 15 to 20, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted below.

[0140] Now, in Embodiments 1 and 2, since the home door cleaning devices 1 and 1′ have the camera 58, regarding the recognition of the cleaning start position after moving the home door cleaning devices 1 and 1′ to the cleaning start position of the home door 100, the cleaning start position is recognized by the image captured by the camera 58. However, in the present Embodiment 3, regarding the recognition of the cleaning start position after moving the home door cleaning device 1″ to the cleaning start position of the home door 100, it is performed by the operator's visual inspection.

[0141] And in the state where the cleaning start position is recognized, the operator selects "Cleaning" or "Coating" on the operation unit 59, further selects the cleaning mode of "Fully automatic" or "Semi-automatic", and then selects "Start cleaning" to start the cleaning of the home door 100. The cleaning of the home door 100 is performed in the same procedure as in Embodiments 1 and 2. However, the present Embodiment 3 is different from Embodiments 1 and 2 in that the end of cleaning is performed as follows.

[0142] That is, as shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 22, which shows the method for ending the cleaning of the home door 100 in the third embodiment, in the third embodiment, a cleaning end board Bo is arranged at the cleaning end position for cleaning the home door 100. Then, as the cleaning of the home door 100 progresses, when the distance sensor 56' installed in the home door cleaning device 1" recognizes a specific distance from the cleaning end board Bo, or when the safety bar 54 of the home door cleaning device 1" abuts against the cleaning end board Bo, the ECU 7 determines that the cleaning operation has ended. Note that, as the distance sensor 56', the distance sensor 56 of the first and second embodiments may be used so that it can simultaneously measure the distance from the home door and the distance from an object in the direction along the home door, or a distance sensor separate from the distance sensor 56 of the first and second embodiments may be used.

[0143] Also, as another method for ending the cleaning or coating operation, the cleaning movement distance of the home door cleaning device 1" can be arbitrarily set on the operation panel. When the home door cleaning device 1" is moved to the cleaning start position, the cleaning movement distance is set. When the set distance is reached, the travel is temporarily stopped. If further cleaning is required, it is also possible to perform re - setting to continue the cleaning or perform the cleaning manually until the end.

[0144] In this embodiment, since the cleaning operation of the home door 100 can be automatically ended without using the camera 58, the effect of reducing the number of parts and being able to perform "fully automatic" or "semi - automatic" cleaning at low cost can be obtained.

[0145] Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Of course, various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, the specification, and the drawings. Furthermore, it is also possible to perform manual cleaning by an operator using the cleaning device of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0146] 1,1′,1″ Home door cleaning device 2 Carts 3 First cleaning brush 3A Brush shaft of the first cleaning brush 4 Second cleaning brush 4A Brush shaft of the second cleaning brush 5,6 Electric motor (driving source) 7 ECU (control means) 8 Injection means 9 Battery 11 Driving wheels 18 Brush arm 21,22 Neutral spring (biasing means) 24 Telescopic cylinder (contact / separation mechanism) 30 Long brush arm 35,36 Neutral spring (biasing means) 38 Opening / closing motor 43 Tank 44,45 Cleaning liquid injection pipe 46,47 Coating liquid injection pipe 48 Pump for cleaning liquid 49 Pump for coating liquid 51 Handle 52 Operating lever 53 ON / OFF switch 54 Safety bar 55 Safety bar switch (contact detection means) 56,56′ Distance sensor 58 Camera 59 Operating unit 60 Remote control 100 Home door 100A Opening / closing door of the home door 100B Vertical wall of the home door

Claims

1. A self-propelled cart; a cleaning brush or a spraying means for spraying liquid, which moves together with the carriage; A platform door cleaning device for cleaning platform doors installed on platforms, A camera that moves together with the carriage and captures an image of the platform door is provided. Platform door cleaning device.

2. The cart is configured to be self-propelled on the platform. The platform door cleaning device according to claim 1.

3. The camera captures an image of the platform door from above. A platform door cleaning device according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. Having an arm, the camera is attached to the arm; the carriage includes a frame supporting the cleaning brush or the spray means; The arm is disposed so as to extend further toward the platform door than the frame, and the camera is provided on the arm at a position closer to the platform door than the frame, and an image of the platform door is captured by the camera. A platform door cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The camera captures an image of the end of the platform door. A platform door cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The platform door has a sliding door that opens and closes and a vertical wall that functions as a door pocket for storing the sliding door. The camera captures an image of the boundary between the door and the vertical wall. A platform door cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A means for image-recognizing the boundary portion between the opening / closing door and the vertical wall is provided. The platform door cleaning device according to claim 6.

8. The imaging range of the camera spans the surface on the platform side and the surface on the track side of the platform door. A platform door cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. The cleaning start position is recognized based on the image captured by the camera. A platform door cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

Images