Car washing device

Abstract

To enable an automatic operation vehicle coming to a car wash station to be smoothly delivered outside of a car washing position.SOLUTION: A vehicle washer comprises: a vehicle washer main body 12 which washes a vehicle positioned at a car washing position 34; a communication part which communicates with an automatic operation vehicle with an on-vehicle communication part and an automatic operation part; and a controller which transmits, at least when car washing process of a first automatic operation vehicle 84 positioned at the car washing position 34 is completed and a first condition that the first automatic operation vehicle 84 can leave the car washing position 34 is satisfied, a delivery instruction where the automatic operation part of the first automatic operation vehicle 84 makes the first automatic operation vehicle 84 leave the car washing position 34 to the first automatic operation vehicle 84.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a car wash apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a car wash system that allows customers of car washes to know the congestion status of the car wash without having to go to the car wash. That is, a photographing means photographs the conditions of car washes located in various locations, an image analyzing means analyzes the photographed images to grasp the number of vehicles in the car wash, and a control means transmits vehicle count data to a management center every time there is a change in the number of vehicles. The management center publishes the vehicle count data for each car wash on the Internet, and automatically updates the published data every time the vehicle count data is transmitted. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-122840 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Patent Document 1 does not describe what circumstances would cause an autonomous vehicle to enter or leave the car wash when the vehicle that has visited the car wash is an autonomous vehicle. Therefore, the technology described in Patent Document 1 has room for improvement in terms of smooth entry and exit of autonomous vehicles that have visited the car wash into and from the car wash.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned facts, and aims to provide a car wash device that allows autonomous vehicles that arrive at a car wash to smoothly exit the car wash area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A car wash device according to a first aspect includes a car wash device main body that washes a vehicle positioned at a car wash position, a communication unit that communicates with an autonomous vehicle having an on-board communication unit and an autonomous driving unit, and a control unit that, when at least a first condition corresponding to a car wash process for a first autonomous vehicle positioned at the car wash position has been completed and the first autonomous vehicle is able to leave the car wash position, transmits an exit instruction to the first autonomous vehicle by the autonomous driving unit of the first autonomous vehicle to cause the first autonomous vehicle to leave the car wash position; a first distance detection unit that detects a distance between a first autonomous vehicle located at the car wash position and another vehicle that is present in a direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash position; Including The first condition is that the distance between the first autonomous vehicle and another vehicle present in the direction in which the first autonomous vehicle is leaving the car wash location is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

[0007] In a first aspect, when at least a first condition corresponding to a car wash process for a first autonomous vehicle positioned at a car wash position being completed and the first autonomous vehicle being able to leave the car wash position is satisfied, an exit instruction is transmitted to the first autonomous vehicle, whereby the first autonomous vehicle is caused to leave the car wash position by the autonomous driving unit of the first autonomous vehicle. In addition, the first condition is that the distance between the first autonomous vehicle and another vehicle present in the direction in which the first autonomous vehicle is leaving the car wash location is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. Therefore, according to the first aspect, it is possible for an autonomous vehicle that has come to a car wash to smoothly exit the car wash area. At the same time, it becomes possible to increase the number of cars that can be washed per hour by the car wash device. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The present disclosure has the effect of enabling an autonomous vehicle that arrives at a car wash to smoothly exit the car wash area. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the schematic configurations of a car wash apparatus and an in-vehicle system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a perspective view of a car wash site in which a car wash device is installed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the entrance position, the car wash position, and the exit position. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a car wash apparatus control unit. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing a warehouse entry / exit control process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transition of vehicle movement in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the schematic configurations of a car wash apparatus and an in-vehicle system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart showing a warehouse entry / exit control process according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transition of vehicle movement in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0011] [First embodiment] 1 shows a car wash apparatus 10 and an in-vehicle system 50 installed at a car wash. As described below, the in-vehicle system 50 includes an autonomous driving ECU 72, which is an example of an autonomous driving unit, and a vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle system 50 functions as an autonomous driving vehicle in the present disclosure. Hereinafter, the autonomous driving vehicle will be simply referred to as a "vehicle."

[0012] The car wash device 10 includes a car wash device main body 12, a car wash device control unit 14, a communication unit 26 and a vehicle detection unit 28, and the car wash device main body 12, the car wash device control unit 14, the communication unit 26 and the vehicle detection unit 28 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via an internal bus 30.

[0013] 2, the car wash device main body 12 is gate-shaped when viewed from the front, and is guided by a pair of rails 32 laid on the floor surface, and is capable of reciprocating along the rails 32 between a first position 36 (see FIG. 3) and a second position 38 (see FIG. 3). The car wash device main body 12 is provided with a brush device including multiple types of brushes that brush different parts of the outer surface of the vehicle, a drying device that sprays air to dry the surface of the vehicle body, and a spray device that sprays water or the like onto the vehicle body.

[0014] The space between the pair of rails 32 is a car wash position 34 where a vehicle to be washed stops, and the car wash device main body 12 performs a car wash process including a car wash process and a moving process. The car wash process is a process in which the car wash device main body 12 moves between a first position 36 and a second position 38 that are set to sandwich the car wash position 34, and washes a vehicle that is stopped at the car wash position 34. The car wash device main body 12 moves, for example, one and a half round trips between the first position 36 and the second position 38 from the start to the end of the car wash process. The moving process is a process in which the car wash device main body 12 moves from the second position 38 to the first position 36 after the end of the car wash process.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 3, the area behind the car wash position 34 (the entrance side) is set as an entrance position 40 where vehicles waiting to enter the car wash position 34 are stopped. The area in front of the car wash position 34 (the exit side) is set as an exit position 42 where vehicles leaving the car wash position 34 are stopped or pass. The vehicle detection unit 28 detects whether or not a vehicle is present at each of the entrance position 40, the car wash position 34, and the exit position 42. For example, a camera, a radar, or the like can be used to detect a vehicle by the vehicle detection unit 28. The vehicle detection unit 28 is an example of a first vehicle detection unit and a second vehicle detection unit.

[0016] The car wash device control unit 14 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 16, a memory 18 such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a non-volatile storage unit 20 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0017] The storage unit 20 stores an entry / exit control program 24. The car wash apparatus control unit 14 reads the entry / exit control program 24 from the storage unit 20 and loads it in the memory 18, and the entry / exit control program 24 loaded in the memory 18 is executed by the CPU 16, thereby functioning as a control unit 46 shown in Fig. 4. The control unit 46 controls the operation of the car wash apparatus main body 12, and is capable of communicating with the in-vehicle system 50 via the communication unit 26.

[0018] Next, a description will be given of the in-vehicle system 50. Note that Fig. 1 shows only a part of the in-vehicle system 50. In the following, the vehicle in which the in-vehicle system 50 is installed will be referred to as the host vehicle as necessary.

[0019] The in-vehicle system 50 includes a system bus 52, to which are connected a surrounding condition acquisition device group 54, a vehicle driving state detection sensor group 64, an automatic driving ECU 72 that performs automatic driving of the vehicle, and a user interface unit 74. The surrounding condition acquisition device group 54 includes, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) device 56, an in-vehicle communication device 58, a radar device 60, and a camera 62 as devices that acquire information indicating the state of the surrounding environment of the vehicle.

[0020] The GPS device 56 receives GPS signals from multiple GPS satellites to determine the position of the vehicle. The in-vehicle communication device 58 is a communication device that performs at least one of vehicle-to-vehicle communication with other vehicles and road-to-vehicle communication with a roadside device. The in-vehicle system 50 is capable of communicating with the car wash apparatus 10 via the in-vehicle communication device 58. The in-vehicle communication device 58 is an example of an in-vehicle communication unit in the present disclosure.

[0021] The radar device 60 detects objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles around the vehicle and obtains the relative position and relative speed between the detected objects and the vehicle. The radar device 60 also excludes noise, roadside objects such as guardrails, etc. from the monitoring targets based on the relative position and relative speed changes between each object included in the most recent multiple detection results, and tracks and monitors specific objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles as monitoring targets. The radar device 60 then outputs information such as the relative position and relative speed between each monitoring target object. The camera 62 captures the surroundings of the vehicle with multiple cameras and outputs the captured images.

[0022] In addition, the vehicle driving condition detection sensor group 64 includes a steering angle sensor 66 that detects the steering angle of the vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 68 that detects the driving speed of the vehicle, and an acceleration sensor 70 that detects the acceleration applied to the vehicle, as multiple sensors that acquire the driving condition of the vehicle.

[0023] The autonomous driving ECU 72 is connected to a throttle ACT (actuator) 76 that changes the throttle opening of the host vehicle, a brake ACT 78 that changes the braking force generated by the vehicle's brake device, and a steering ACT 80 that changes the steering amount by the vehicle's steering device. When the autonomous driving mode is selected as the vehicle's driving mode, the autonomous driving ECU 72 performs autonomous driving processing to automatically drive the host vehicle without the driver's operation of the host vehicle. The autonomous driving processing is processing to determine the situation of the host vehicle and its surroundings based on information obtained from the surrounding situation acquisition device group 54 and the vehicle driving state detection sensor group 64, and to control the throttle ACT 76, the brake ACT 78, and the steering ACT 80.

[0024] The user interface unit 74 includes various switches and displays provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle, etc. The user interface unit 74 is linked with a mobile terminal such as a smartphone carried by a user (a passenger of the vehicle), so that the mobile terminal can function as an operation unit of the car wash apparatus 10.

[0025] Next, as an operation of the first embodiment, the entry / exit control process according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. In step 100, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle waiting to enter the car wash device 10 is located at the entry position 40. If the determination in step 100 is negative, step 100 is repeated until the determination is positive. When the vehicle enters the entry position 40, the determination in step 100 is positive and the process proceeds to step 102.

[0026] In step 102, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle is present at the car wash position 34. Step 102 is an example of the second condition. If the determination in step 102 is positive, the process proceeds to step 104. In step 104, the control unit 46 transmits an entry prohibition instruction to the vehicle located at the entry position 40. This prohibits the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the entry position 40 from performing automatic driving to enter the vehicle located at the entry position 40 into the car wash position 34.

[0027] Furthermore, when the vehicle leaves the car wash position 34, the determination in step 102 is negative, and the process proceeds to step 106. In step 106, the control unit 46 transmits an entry instruction to the vehicle located at the entry position 40. As a result, the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the entry position 40 performs automatic driving to enter the vehicle located at the entry position 40 into the car wash position 34.

[0028] In the next step 108, the control unit 46 determines whether or not the entry of the vehicle that was located at the entry position 40 into the car wash position 34 has been completed. If the determination in step 108 is negative, step 108 is repeated until the determination is positive. Then, when the entry of the vehicle into the car wash position 34 has been completed, the determination in step 108 is positive, and the process proceeds to step 110.

[0029] In step 110, the control unit 46 starts the car wash process by the car wash device main body 12. In step 112, the control unit 46 determines whether or not the car wash process of the car wash device main body 12 has been completed. If the determination in step 112 is negative, step 112 is repeated until the determination is positive. When the car wash device main body 12 moves, for example, one and a half round trips between the first position 36 and the second position 38 between the start and end of the car wash process and reaches the second position 38, the determination in step 112 is positive and the process proceeds to step 114.

[0030] In step 114, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle is present at the exit position 42. If the determination in step 114 is positive, the process proceeds to step 116. Note that step 114 is an example of the first condition. In step 116, the control unit 46 transmits an exit prohibition instruction to the vehicle located at the car wash position 34. This prohibits the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 from performing automatic driving to exit the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 to the exit position 42.

[0031] Moreover, if there is no vehicle at the exit position 42, or if the vehicle that was located at the exit position 42 has left the exit position 42, the determination in step 114 is negative and the process proceeds to step 118. In step 118, the control unit 46 transmits an exit instruction to the vehicle located at the car wash position 34. As a result, the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 performs automatic driving to exit the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 to the exit position 42.

[0032] The entry / exit control process according to the first embodiment described above will be further described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6(A) shows a state in which the car wash process of the car wash apparatus main body 12 for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 has been completed, a third vehicle 88 is present at the exit position 42, and a second vehicle 86 is present at the entry position 40. The car wash apparatus main body 12 is located at the second position 38 when the car wash process is completed, and a movement process is started in which the car wash apparatus main body 12 moves from the second position 38 to the first position 36.

[0033] From this state, when the third vehicle 88 leaves the leaving position 42, the determination in step 114 is negative, and as shown in Fig. 6(B), a leaving instruction is sent to the first vehicle 84 positioned at the car wash position 34 (step 118). As a result, the first vehicle 84 starts moving from the car wash position 34 to the leaving position 42 by automatic driving.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 6(C), when the first vehicle 84 moves to the leaving position 42 by automatic driving, the determination in step 102 is negative, and an entry instruction is sent to the second vehicle 86 located at the entry position 40 (step 106). As a result, the second vehicle 86 starts moving by automatic driving from the entry position 40 to the car wash position 34. Then, as shown in Fig. 6(D), the second vehicle 86 moves to the car wash position 34 by automatic driving.

[0035] In this way, in the first embodiment, when the car wash process of the first vehicle 84 positioned at the car wash position 34 is completed and the first condition corresponding to the first vehicle 84 being able to leave the car wash position 34 is satisfied, an exit instruction is transmitted to the first vehicle 84. This allows the first vehicle 84, which has come to the car wash and completed the car wash process, to smoothly leave the car wash.

[0036] In the first embodiment, when the car wash process of the first vehicle 84 positioned at the car wash position 34 is completed and the first condition corresponding to the first vehicle 84 being able to leave the car wash position 34 is not satisfied, an exit prohibition instruction is transmitted to the first vehicle 84. This allows the first vehicle 84, which has come to the car wash and completed the car wash process, to leave smoothly while being prevented from coming into contact with the third vehicle 88 positioned at the exit position 42.

[0037] In the first embodiment, when the car wash process for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 is completed and the second vehicle 86 waiting outside the car wash position 34 is able to enter the car wash position 34, a second condition is satisfied, which corresponds to the second vehicle 86 being able to enter the car wash position 34. This allows the second vehicle 86 that has come to the car wash to smoothly enter the car wash device 10.

[0038] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, when the car wash process for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 is completed and the second vehicle 86 waiting outside the car wash position 34 to be washed does not satisfy a second condition corresponding to being able to enter the car wash position 34, an entry prohibition instruction is transmitted to the second vehicle 86. This allows the second vehicle 86 that has come to the car wash to smoothly enter the car wash apparatus 10 while being prevented from coming into contact with the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34.

[0039] In the first embodiment, a vehicle detection unit 28 is provided that detects the presence or absence of a third vehicle 88 in the direction in which the vehicle leaves the car wash position 34, and the first condition is that a third vehicle 88 is not present in the direction in which the first vehicle 84 leaves the car wash position 34. This improves safety when the first vehicle 84 leaves the car wash after visiting the car wash and completing the car wash process.

[0040] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, a vehicle detection unit 28 is provided that detects the presence or absence of the first vehicle 84 at the car wash position 34, and the second condition is that the first vehicle 84 is not present at the car wash position 34. This makes it possible to improve safety when the second vehicle 86 that has come to the car wash enters the car wash.

[0041] In the first embodiment, the car wash apparatus main body 12 performs a car wash process including a car wash step of washing a vehicle located at the car wash position 34 while moving between a first position 36 and a second position 38 set to sandwich the car wash position 34, and a moving step of moving from the second position 38 to the first position 36 after the car wash step is completed. The control unit 46 then causes the vehicle to leave the car wash position 34 and enter the car wash position 34 during the moving step. As a result, in parallel with the moving step in which the car wash apparatus main body 12 moves from the second position 38 to the first position 36, the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 leaves and the second vehicle 86 located at the entry position 40 enters. This allows the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash apparatus 10 to be increased.

[0042] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Note that the same parts as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0043] 7, the car wash apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment is provided with a distance detection unit 82 consisting of a radar device instead of the vehicle detection unit 28. The distance detection unit 82 detects each vehicle present at the entrance position 40, the car wash position 34, the exit position 42, etc. within the car wash, and obtains the relative position and relative speed of each detected vehicle, as well as detecting the distance between each vehicle.

[0044] In detail, the distance detection unit 82 detects a distance L1 (see FIG. 9) between a first vehicle 84 present near the car wash position 34 and a second vehicle 86 present near the entrance position 40. The distance detection unit 82 also detects a distance L2 (see FIG. 9) between the first vehicle 84 present near the car wash position 34 and a third vehicle 88 present near the exit position 42. The distance detection unit 82 is an example of a first distance detection unit and a second distance detection unit.

[0045] Next, the entrance / exit control process according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. The entrance / exit control process according to the second embodiment is executed in parallel for each vehicle present in the car wash.

[0046] In step 130, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle waiting to enter the car wash apparatus 10 is present at the entrance position 40. If the determination in step 130 is negative, step 130 is repeated until the determination is positive. When a vehicle enters the entrance position 40, the determination in step 130 is positive and the process proceeds to step 132.

[0047] In step 132, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle is present at the car wash position 34. If the determination in step 132 is negative, the process proceeds to step 138. If the determination in step 132 is positive, the process proceeds to step 134. In step 134, the control unit 46 determines whether or not the distance L1 between the vehicle located at the entrance position 40 and a vehicle located closer to the car wash position 34 than the vehicle is less than a predetermined value L. Note that step 134 is an example of the second condition, and the predetermined value L is set to a value equal to or greater than the distance between the entrance position 40 and the car wash position 34.

[0048] If the determination in step 134 is positive, the process proceeds to step 136, where the control unit 46 transmits an entry prohibition instruction to the vehicle located at the entry position 40. This prohibits the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the entry position 40 from performing automatic driving to enter the vehicle located at the entry position 40 into the car wash position 34.

[0049] Furthermore, when the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 starts moving to the exit position 42 and the distance L1 becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined value L, the determination in step 134 is negative and the process proceeds to step 138. In step 138, the control unit 46 transmits an entry instruction to the vehicle located at the entry position 40. As a result, the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the entry position 40 performs automatic driving to enter the host vehicle located at the entry position 40 into the car wash position 34 while maintaining the distance L1 equal to or greater than the predetermined value L.

[0050] When the entrance of the vehicle into the car wash position 34 is completed, in step 140, the control unit 46 starts the car wash process by the car wash apparatus main body 12. In step 142, the control unit 46 judges whether or not the car wash process of the car wash apparatus main body 12 has been completed. If the judgment in step 142 is negative, step 142 is repeated until the judgment is positive. When the car wash apparatus main body 12 moves, for example, one and a half round trips between the first position 36 and the second position 38 between the start and end of the car wash process and reaches the second position 38, the judgment in step 142 is positive and the process proceeds to step 144.

[0051] In step 144, the control unit 46 determines whether or not a vehicle is present at the exit position 42. If the determination in step 144 is negative, the process proceeds to step 150. If the determination in step 144 is positive, the process proceeds to step 146. In step 146, the control unit 46 determines whether or not the distance L2 between the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 and a vehicle located closer to the exit position 42 than the vehicle is less than a predetermined value L. Note that step 146 is an example of the first condition, and the predetermined value L is set to a value equal to or greater than the distance between the car wash position 34 and the exit position 42.

[0052] If the determination in step 146 is positive, the process proceeds to step 148, where the control unit 46 transmits an exit prohibition instruction to the vehicle located at the car wash position 34. This prohibits the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 from performing automatic driving to exit the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 to the exit position 42.

[0053] Furthermore, when the vehicle located at the exit position 42 starts to move in the direction to leave and the distance L2 becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined value L, the determination in step 146 is negative and the process proceeds to step 150. In step 150, the control unit 46 transmits an exit instruction to the vehicle located at the car wash position 34. As a result, the automatic driving ECU 72 of the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 performs automatic driving to exit the vehicle located at the car wash position 34 to the exit position 42 while maintaining the distance L2 equal to or greater than the predetermined value L.

[0054] The entry / exit control process according to the second embodiment described above will be further described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9(A) shows a state in which the car wash process of the car wash apparatus main body 12 for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 has been completed, a third vehicle 88 is present at the exit position 42, and a second vehicle 86 is present at the entry position 40. The car wash apparatus main body 12 is located at the second position 38 when the car wash process is completed, and a movement process is started in which the car wash apparatus main body 12 moves from the second position 38 to the first position 36.

[0055] From this state, the third vehicle 88 starts moving from the leaving position 42 in the direction of leaving, and when the distance L2 between the third vehicle 88 and the first vehicle 84 becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined value L, the determination in step 146 of the entry / exit control process for the first vehicle 84 is negative. Then, a leaving instruction is sent to the first vehicle 84 positioned at the car wash position 34 (step 150). As a result, the first vehicle 84 starts moving by automatic driving from the car wash position 34 to the leaving position 42 while keeping the distance L2 from the third vehicle 88 equal to or greater than the predetermined value L.

[0056] Furthermore, when the distance L1 between the first vehicle 84 and the second vehicle 86 becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined value L due to the movement of the first vehicle 84, the determination in step 134 of the entry / exit control process for the second vehicle 86 is negative. Then, an entry instruction is sent to the second vehicle 86 located at the entry position 40 (step 138). As a result, the second vehicle 86 also starts moving by automatic driving from the entry position 40 to the car wash position 34 while keeping the distance L1 from the first vehicle 84 equal to or greater than the predetermined value L.

[0057] In this way, in the second embodiment, the third vehicle 88, the first vehicle 84, and the second vehicle 86 are moved in parallel by automatic driving. Then, after passing through the states shown in Figures 9(B) and (C), as shown in Figure 9(D), the first vehicle 84 moves to the leaving position 42, and the second vehicle 86 moves to the car wash position 34.

[0058] As described above, in the second embodiment, a distance detection unit 82 is provided that detects the distance between a first vehicle 84 positioned at the car wash position 34 and a third vehicle 88 that is present in the direction in which the first vehicle 84 leaves the car wash position 34. The first condition is that the distance L2 between the first vehicle 84 and the third vehicle 88 that is present in the direction in which the first vehicle 84 leaves the car wash position 34 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value L. This makes it possible to increase the number of cars that can be washed per hour by the car wash apparatus 10.

[0059] In the second embodiment, a distance detection unit 82 is provided that detects the distance between the second vehicle 86 and the first vehicle 84 leaving the car wash position 34. The second condition is that the distance L1 between the second vehicle 86 and the first vehicle 84 leaving the car wash position 34 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value L. This makes it possible to increase the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash apparatus 10.

[0060] In the above, a mode has been described in which, when the car wash process for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 is completed and a first condition is satisfied, a departure instruction is sent to the first vehicle 84. Also, a mode has been described in which, when the car wash process for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 is completed and a second condition is satisfied, a parking instruction is sent to the second vehicle 86 waiting to be washed outside the car wash position 34, but the present disclosure is not limited to this.

[0061] For example, when a first condition is satisfied after the washing process for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 is completed and the washing process for the first vehicle 84 is also completed, a departure instruction may be transmitted to the first vehicle 84. Also, when a second condition is satisfied after the washing process for the first vehicle 84 located at the car wash position 34 is completed and the washing process for the first vehicle 84 is also completed, a coming-in instruction may be transmitted to the second vehicle 86 waiting to be washed outside the car wash position 34.

[0062] Regarding the above embodiment, the following supplementary notes are further disclosed.

[0063] (Appendix 1) a car wash device main body for washing a vehicle positioned at a car wash position; A communication unit that communicates with an autonomous driving vehicle having an in-vehicle communication unit and an autonomous driving unit; a control unit that transmits, to a second autonomous vehicle, an entry instruction to cause the second autonomous vehicle to enter the car wash position by the autonomous driving unit of the second autonomous vehicle at least when a second condition corresponding to a car wash process for a vehicle located at the car wash position being completed and a second autonomous vehicle waiting outside the car wash position being able to enter the car wash position is satisfied; 23. A car wash apparatus comprising: According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 1, it is possible for an autonomous vehicle that arrives at a car wash to smoothly enter the car wash position.

[0064] (Appendix 2) a car wash device main body for washing a vehicle positioned at a car wash position; A communication unit that communicates with an autonomous driving vehicle having an in-vehicle communication unit and an autonomous driving unit; a control unit that transmits to the first autonomous vehicle an exit prohibition instruction that prohibits the autonomous driving unit of the first autonomous vehicle from exiting the car wash position when at least a first condition corresponding to a car wash process for a first autonomous vehicle located at the car wash position being completed and the first autonomous vehicle being able to exit the car wash position is not satisfied; 23. A car wash apparatus comprising: According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 2, it is possible for an autonomous vehicle that has arrived at a car wash to smoothly exit the car wash area.

[0065] (Appendix 3) a car wash device main body for washing a vehicle positioned at a car wash position; A communication unit that communicates with an autonomous driving vehicle having an in-vehicle communication unit and an autonomous driving unit; a control unit that transmits to the second autonomous vehicle an entry prohibition instruction that prohibits the autonomous driving unit of the second autonomous vehicle from entering the car wash position when at least a second condition corresponding to the completion of the car wash process for a vehicle located at the car wash position and a second autonomous vehicle waiting outside the car wash position becoming able to enter the car wash position is not satisfied; and 23. A car wash apparatus comprising: According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 3, it is possible for an autonomous vehicle that arrives at a car wash to smoothly enter the car wash position.

[0066] (Appendix 4) Further comprising a first vehicle detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a vehicle in a direction in which the vehicle leaves the car wash position, 3. The car wash apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the first condition is a condition that there is no other vehicle in a direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash position. According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 4, it is possible to improve the safety of autonomous vehicles entering and leaving a car wash.

[0067] (Appendix 5) Further comprising a first distance detection unit that detects a distance between a first autonomous vehicle located at the car wash position and another vehicle that is present in a direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash position, A car wash device as described in claim 1 or appendix 2, wherein the first condition is that the distance between the first autonomous vehicle and another vehicle present in the direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash location is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 5, it is possible to increase the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash device.

[0068] (Appendix 6) Further comprising a second vehicle detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a vehicle at the car wash position, 4. The car wash apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second condition is that there is no other vehicle at the car wash position. According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 6, it is possible to improve the safety of autonomous vehicles entering and leaving a car wash.

[0069] (Appendix 7) Further comprising a second distance detection unit that detects a distance between the second autonomous vehicle and another vehicle leaving the car wash position, A car wash device as described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 3, wherein the second condition is that the distance between the second autonomous vehicle and another vehicle leaving the car wash location is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 7, it is possible to increase the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash device.

[0070] (Appendix 8) the car wash device body performs a car wash process including a car wash step of washing a vehicle positioned at the car wash position while moving between a first position and a second position set to sandwich the car wash position, and a moving step of moving from the second position to the first position after the car wash step is completed; 8. The car wash apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the vehicle to leave the car wash position and to enter the car wash position during the moving step. According to the aspect of Supplementary Note 8, it is possible to increase the number of cars washed per hour by the car wash device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 10 Car wash equipment 12 Car wash device main body 14 Car wash device control unit 26 Communications Department 28 Vehicle detection unit 34 Car wash position 36 1st position 38 2nd position 40 Stocking position 42 Delivery position 46 Control Unit 50 In-vehicle systems 58 Vehicle communication device 72 Autonomous Driving ECU 82 Distance detection unit 84 First vehicle (first self-driving vehicle) 86 Second vehicle (Second self-driving vehicle)

Claims

[Claim 1] a car wash device main body for washing a vehicle positioned at a car wash position; A communication unit that communicates with an autonomous driving vehicle having an in-vehicle communication unit and an autonomous driving unit; a control unit that, when at least a first condition corresponding to a car wash process for a first autonomous vehicle positioned at the car wash position is completed and the first autonomous vehicle is able to leave the car wash position, transmits an exit instruction to the first autonomous vehicle to cause the autonomous driving unit of the first autonomous vehicle to leave the car wash position; a first distance detection unit that detects a distance between a first autonomous vehicle located at the car wash position and another vehicle that is present in a direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash position; Including, A car wash device, wherein the first condition is that the distance between the first autonomous vehicle and another vehicle present in the direction in which the first autonomous vehicle leaves the car wash location is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

Images