Cleaning device

Abstract

To solve a problem that twisting or the like occurs in a support part supporting a cleaning unit.SOLUTION: A cleaning device (1) includes a cleaning unit (20) and a guide rail (10). The guide rail includes: a storage part (11) storing a guide roller (23) therein and having at least a part of one side surface opened; and a folded part (12) located in a lower part of the storage part. At least a part of the guide rail is attached with a reinforcing tool (13) that connects the storage part and the folded part from the outside of the guide rail.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a car wash facility for washing garbage collection vehicles (compact trucks). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 57-158150 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a cleaning device such as that described in Patent Document 1, the cleaning unit equipped with a nozzle and the like is heavy, and therefore there is a possibility that a support portion that supports the cleaning unit may be twisted. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention provides a cleaning device for cleaning vehicles, comprising: a cleaning unit having a plurality of nozzles for spraying cleaning liquid; and a guide rail extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, supporting the cleaning unit at a position away from the vehicle's loading surface and guiding the movement of the cleaning unit; the guide rail houses a guide roller that rolls against the guide rail on the inside, and has a storage section with at least a portion of one side along the longitudinal direction that is open, and a folded section located below the storage section; and a reinforcing member attached to at least a portion of the guide rail that connects the storage section and the folded section from the outside of the guide rail. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the possibility of twisting of the guide rail when the load of the cleaning unit is applied to the rail. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between a washing device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a vehicle. [Figure 2] 1 is a side view of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a top view of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning device at a position indicated as IV-IV in FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] [Embodiment] A washing device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, the vehicle length direction of a vehicle X parked at a car wash position is defined as the front-to-rear direction. The car wash position is the position of the vehicle X when it is washed by the washing device 1. In this case, the forward direction of the vehicle X parked at the car wash position is defined as the front, and the backward direction is defined as the rear. Alternatively, the direction in which the vehicle X is parked relative to the washing device 1 is defined as the front. The width direction of the vehicle X is defined as the width direction, and the height direction of the vehicle X is defined as the up-to-down direction. Note that the up-to-down direction is a direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction and the width direction, and the front-to-rear direction is perpendicular to the width direction. The width direction may also be read as the left-to-right direction.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the washing apparatus 1 and a vehicle X located at a car wash position. For the sake of explanation, FIG. 1 shows the washing unit 20 of the washing apparatus 1 both located at a first position A and at a second position B. The same is true for FIG. 2. The washing apparatus 1 washes a vehicle X parked at the car wash position. The vehicle X can be driven by a driver to the car wash position. The vehicle X is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a passenger car, a large vehicle such as a truck or bus, or a specialized vehicle such as a dump truck or a compactor truck for garbage collection. FIGS. 1 to 3 show a case where the vehicle X is a compactor truck.

[0010] Fig. 2 is a side view of the cleaning apparatus 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of the cleaning apparatus 1. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the cleaning apparatus 1 includes two guide rails 10, a beam 32, a cleaning unit 20, an operation panel 26, a reinforcing member 13, an intermediate support 30, and a rear support 31.

[0011] The guide rails 10 extend in the length direction of the vehicle X, and a pair of guide rails 10 are arranged so as to sandwich the vehicle X positioned at the car wash position. The guide rails 10 support a washing unit 20 (described later) at a position spaced apart from the mounting surface (ground) of the vehicle X, and guide the movement of the washing unit 20. In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the guide rails 10 are arranged horizontally at the same height and parallel to each other, as shown in FIG. 2 and . Furthermore, the guide rails 10 are spaced apart by a distance at least greater than the width of the vehicle X.

[0012] The beam 32 connects and fixes the rear portions of the guide rails 10 together. The beam 32 extends in the left-right direction and may have, for example, a rectangular pillar shape. Both ends of the beam 32 are connected to the rear portions of the two guide rails 10, respectively.

[0013] The middle support 30 and the rear support 31 support the guide rail 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the middle support 30 and the rear support 31 are each erected on the ground and extend in the vertical direction. Each guide rail 10 is supported by the middle support 30 and the rear support 31. The middle support 30 is located toward the front of the guide rail 10 and away from the front end. The rear support 31 is located behind the guide rail 10. The middle support 30 and the rear support 31 may be fixed to the ground using fasteners such as bolts. Because the middle support 30 is located away from the front end of the guide rail 10, the guide rail 10 has an overhang portion 100 that protrudes forward from the connection portion between the middle support 30 and the guide rail 10.

[0014] The cleaning unit 20 sprays a cleaning liquid. As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning unit 20 is arranged so as to be suspended between two guide rails 10. In other words, the cleaning unit 20 is supported between the guide rails 10 at a position spaced apart from the ground. The cleaning unit 20 moves in the front-to-rear direction along the guide rails 10. The main body 20A of the cleaning unit 20 may be configured to rotate around a shaft 27 extending in the left-to-right direction, by receiving power from a motor 24 shown in FIG. 3.

[0015] 1 and 2 may be a position corresponding to the rear end of the movement range of the cleaning unit 20. The first position A may be a standby position of the cleaning unit 20, and may be a position overlapping with the rear support column 31 in a side view. The second position B may be a position corresponding to the front end of the movement range of the cleaning unit 20. The second position B is located at the overhang portion 100.

[0016] The washing unit 20 can move between the first position A and the second position B, thereby efficiently washing the vehicle X. For example, if the vehicle X is a compactor truck, the compactor truck has a hopper at the rear that opens and closes as shown in FIG. 1. Because the washing unit 20 can move to the first position A, the washing unit 20 can be retracted when the compactor truck's hopper is opened or closed. Furthermore, because the washing unit 20 can move to the second position B, the washing unit 20 can be moved to below the hopper 3 when the hopper is opened, thereby effectively washing the inside of the compactor truck.

[0017] The cleaning unit 20 includes a main body 20A having multiple cleaning nozzles 21 and a moving member 28 that holds the cleaning unit 20 and moves along the guide rail 10 together with the cleaning unit 20. The cleaning nozzle 21 sprays cleaning liquid from the tip of the cleaning nozzle 21. The moving member 28 has a guide roller 23 that rolls relative to the guide rail 10. The moving member 28 may be configured to be movable along the guide rail 10 by being connected to, for example, a chain or belt that is arranged along the guide rail 10 and rotated by a motor 25. The motor 25 may be arranged on, for example, a beam 32. Note that in FIGS. 1 and 2, the moving member 28 and the guide roller 23 are actually hidden behind the guide rail 10, but are shown clearly for illustrative purposes.

[0018] Main body 20A of cleaning unit 20 may be suspended below guide rail 10 by suspending tool 22 connected to movable member 28. Suspension tool 22 extends from movable member 28 toward the inside and below of cleaning apparatus 1. An end of suspending tool 22 opposite to the movable member side can support shaft 27 of main body 20A.

[0019] The operation panel 26 accepts user instructions such as starting and ending cleaning, selecting a cleaning course, and setting the direction of spraying the cleaning liquid.

[0020] Next, the guide rail 10 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 4, the guide rail 10 includes a storage portion 11 and a folded portion 12.

[0021] The accommodation section 11 is a section that accommodates the movable member 28 inside (inside). In other words, the accommodation section 11 is a section that accommodates the guide roller 23 inside. The cross section of the accommodation section 11 has a rectangular ring shape with one side partially open. In other words, the accommodation section 11 has at least a portion of one side open along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 10. Although FIG. 4 shows only the cross section of the right-side guide rail 10, the left-side guide rail 10 also has a bilaterally symmetrical structure.

[0022] The folded portion 12 is a portion located at the bottom of the storage unit 11. In the cross section shown in FIG. 4, the folded portion 12 extends downward from the lower end of the open side portion of the storage unit 11 and then extends toward the outside of the cleaning device 1. The vertical length of the folded portion 12 may be shorter than the vertical length of the storage unit 11, and the left-right length of the folded portion 12 may be approximately the same as the left-right length of the storage unit 11. The storage unit 11 and the folded portion 12 may be integrally molded. At the position where the guide rail 10 is connected to the intermediate support column 30 and the rear support column 31, the guide rail 10 may be supported by connecting the lower surface of the folded portion 12 to the intermediate support column 30 and the rear support column 31 using a bracket or the like.

[0023] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, a reinforcing element 13 is attached to at least a portion of the guide rail 10, connecting the accommodation portion 11 and the turned-back portion 12 from the outside of the guide rail 10. The reinforcing element 13 is made of a rigid metal, and may be made of a material such as aluminum or stainless steel. The reinforcing element 13 may be connected to the accommodation portion 11 by a bolt 14 and a fastening element 15. Furthermore, the reinforcing element 13 may be connected to the turned-back portion 12 by a bolt 14 and a nut 16. To connect the reinforcing element 13, the accommodation portion 11 may be provided with a fastening element 15. The fastening element 15 is located outside the accommodation portion 11 and has pitch holes facing outward, into which the bolts 14 can be fastened.

[0024] When a conventionally known guide rail without the reinforcing member 13 is used, the weight of the cleaning unit 20 is applied downward toward the inside of the cleaning device 1 via the guide roller 23. This may cause twisting of the guide rail. Specifically, twisting may occur in which the upper part of the guide rail moves forward and the lower part of the guide rail moves backward.

[0025] In contrast, in the cleaning device according to the present disclosure, a reinforcing member 13 is attached to the guide rail 10. The reinforcing member 13 is a rigid member that connects the storage section 11 located at the top of the guide rail 10 with the folded-back section 12 located at the bottom from the outside of the guide rail 10, thereby reducing the possibility of the top and bottom sections moving in opposite directions. This reduces the possibility of the guide rail 10 twisting even when the load of the cleaning unit 20 is applied to the guide rail 10.

[0026] The length of the reinforcing element 13 in the front-to-rear direction may be long enough to reinforce a portion of the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 10. The reinforcing element 13 may be fixed to the guide rail 10 at a total of four locations: two locations in the longitudinal direction of the storage section 11 and two locations in the longitudinal direction of the turned-up section 12. This prevents the upper and lower parts of the guide rail 10, i.e., the storage section 11 and the turned-up section 12, from moving in opposite front-to-rear directions, thereby reducing the possibility of twisting of the guide rail 10.

[0027] Twisting can occur anywhere a load is applied, but it is particularly likely to occur in the overhang portion 100. This is because the overhang portion 100 is cantilevered, and the amount of twisting deformation and twist angle become larger at the end that is not supported.

[0028] Therefore, the reinforcing element 13 may be located in the overhang portion 100. By attaching the reinforcing element 13 to the overhang portion 100, which is prone to twisting, the possibility of twisting occurring in the guide rail 10 can be further reduced.

[0029] Furthermore, the reinforcing member 13 may be located at the end of the range of movement of the cleaning unit 20 in the overhang portion 100. As described above, the greatest twist occurs when the cleaning unit 20 is located at the frontmost position of the overhang portion 100 within the range of movement of the cleaning unit 20. With the above configuration, the possibility of twisting occurring in the guide rail 10 can be further reduced.

[0030] 2, the reinforcing members 13 may be provided at a plurality of locations in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 10. With this configuration, the twisting that occurs in the guide rail 10 can be further reduced.

[0031] Furthermore, the cross section of the reinforcing element 13 may be an L-shaped metal fitting having an L-shape that connects the outer surface of the storage section 11 and the bottom surface of the folded-back section 12. For example, an L-angle may be used as the reinforcing element 13. According to the above configuration, the reinforcing element 13 has a simple structure and can effectively reduce the possibility of twisting of the guide rail 10.

[0032] 〔summary〕 A cleaning device according to aspect 1 of the present disclosure is a cleaning device for cleaning vehicles, comprising: a cleaning unit having a plurality of nozzles for spraying cleaning liquid; and a guide rail extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, supporting the cleaning unit at a position away from the vehicle's loading surface and guiding the movement of the cleaning unit; the guide rail houses a guide roller that rolls against the guide rail on the inside, and has a storage section with at least a portion of one side along the longitudinal direction that is open, and a folded portion located below the storage section; and a reinforcing member attached to at least a portion of the guide rail that connects the storage section and the folded portion from the outside of the guide rail.

[0033] A cleaning device according to aspect 2 of the present disclosure is the same as aspect 1, wherein the guide rail has an overhang portion located outside the support pillar supporting the guide rail, and the reinforcing member is located in the overhang portion.

[0034] A cleaning device according to a third aspect of the present disclosure is the cleaning device of the first or second aspect, wherein the reinforcing member is located at an end of a range of movement of the cleaning unit in the overhanging portion.

[0035] A cleaning device according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure is any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the reinforcing member is an L-shaped metal fitting that connects the outer surface of the storage portion and the bottom surface of the folded portion.

[0036] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1 Cleaning equipment 10 Guide rail 11 Storage section 12 Folded section 13 Reinforcement 15 Fastening part 20 Cleaning Unit 21 Cleaning nozzle 22 Hanging equipment 23 Guide roller 100 Overhang X vehicle

Claims

1. A washing device for washing a vehicle, a cleaning unit having a plurality of nozzles for spraying cleaning liquid; a guide rail extending in the vehicle length direction, supporting the cleaning unit at a position spaced apart from the mounting surface of the vehicle, and guiding movement of the cleaning unit; the guide rail has an accommodation section that accommodates a guide roller that rolls relative to the guide rail inside, and at least a part of one side surface along the longitudinal direction is open, and a folded-back section that is located below the accommodation section, A cleaning device, wherein a reinforcing member is attached to at least a portion of the guide rail, the reinforcing member connecting the storage portion and the folded portion from outside the guide rail.

2. 2. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide rail has an overhang portion located outside a support column supporting the guide rail, and the reinforcing member is located in the overhang portion.

3. The cleaning device according to claim 2 , wherein the reinforcing member is located at an end of a range of movement of the cleaning unit in the overhanging portion.

4. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing member is an L-shaped metal fitting that connects an outer surface of the storage portion and a bottom surface of the folded portion.

Images