Car washer

Abstract

To achieve both of reductions in washing cost and washing time and reliable execution of a treatment process requiring re-execution when temporally interrupting car washing by a car washing machine and restarting the car washing.SOLUTION: A car washing machine (2) washes a car by sequentially executing a plurality of treatment processes for washing a car (X). The car washing machine comprises: a car washing machine body (4) which washes the car while moving relatively to the car; and a control part (44) for controlling each part of the car washing machine. For each of the plurality of treatment processes, a restarting point when restarting after interruption is predetermined. When abnormality is detected during execution of the treatment process, the control part interrupts the treatment process, and after interruption, restarts the treatment process from the restarting point determined for the treatment process.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a car washer for washing a vehicle and a control method for the car washer.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a car washer including a car washer body that washes a vehicle while relatively moving with respect to the vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When washing a vehicle using a car washer, the washing of the vehicle may stop due to a special shape of the vehicle or the like. In this case, the car washer has been reset and the washing of the vehicle has been restarted by doing all the washing of the vehicle from the beginning again. However, in this case, after the restart of the washing of the vehicle, the washing process of the vehicle that has already been executed may be unnecessarily executed again, leading to an increase in cost and a lengthening of the washing time.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] A car washer according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a car washer that washes the vehicle by sequentially executing a plurality of processing steps for washing the vehicle, including a car washer body that washes the vehicle while relatively moving with respect to the vehicle, and a control unit that controls each part of the car washer. A restart point when restarting after interruption is predetermined for each of the plurality of processing steps, and when an abnormality is detected during the execution of the processing step, the control unit interrupts the processing step and restarts the processing step from the restart point determined for the processing step after the interruption.

[0006] Also, a control method for a car wash machine according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a control method for a car wash machine including a car wash machine body that washes the vehicle while making a relative movement with respect to the vehicle, and has a washing step of washing the vehicle by sequentially executing a plurality of processing steps for washing the vehicle. For each of the plurality of processing steps, a restart point when restarting after interruption is predetermined. The washing step includes an interruption step of interrupting the processing step when an abnormality is detected during the execution of the processing step, and a restart step of restarting the processing step from the restart point determined for the processing step after the interruption.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] In order to restart from a predetermined restart point when restarting the washing process, it is possible to achieve both a reduction in the washing cost and washing time due to non-execution of processing steps that do not require re-execution and reliable execution of processing steps that require re-execution, and the washing of the vehicle is appropriately executed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] 〔Embodiment 1〕 <Overview of the car wash machine> In this embodiment, in the washing process for sequentially executing a plurality of processing steps for washing a vehicle, a car wash machine for washing the vehicle will be described with reference to an example. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic side view 2S of a car wash machine main body 4 and a remote panel 6 included in the car wash machine 2 according to this embodiment, and a schematic front view 4F of the car wash machine main body 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the car wash machine 2 according to this embodiment includes a car wash machine main body 4 for washing a vehicle X which is a vehicle to be washed. The car wash machine 2 further includes a remote panel 6 for acquiring the washing conditions of the vehicle X by the car wash machine main body 4. In the schematic side view 2S, the outer shape of the remote panel 6 is shown by a dotted line in order to show that the remote panel 6 is located deeper toward the paper surface than the vehicle X.

[0010] As shown in the schematic front view 4F, the car wash machine main body 4 includes, for example, two frames 8 and a ceiling portion 10 connecting the upper ends of the two frames 8. The car wash machine main body 4 has a structure in which the vehicle X can pass through a space 4S surrounded by the frame 8 and the ceiling portion 10 along the entry direction DA of the vehicle X shown in the schematic side view 2S. In this specification, the entry direction DA is defined as the direction from the front surface 4A to the rear surface 4B of the car wash machine main body 4. In this embodiment, the front surface 4A is, for example, the surface provided with an operation panel 42 described later.

[0011] <Car wash machine main body> The car wash machine main body 4 has wheels 12 at the lower parts of the respective frames 8, and by rotationally driving the wheels 12 by a driving portion (not shown), it relatively moves in the front-rear direction with respect to the vehicle X along a rail R disposed on the ground G. The rail R is formed, for example, along the entry direction DA. Here, while the car wash machine main body 4 relatively moves with respect to the vehicle X, it performs washing on the vehicle X in the space 4S.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, among the moving directions of the car washer main body 4, the direction toward the front surface 4A side is defined as the forward direction D1, and the direction toward the rear surface 4B side is defined as the backward direction D2. Hereinafter, the movement of the car washer main body 4 in the forward direction D1 may be simply referred to as the forward movement of the car washer main body 4, and the movement of the car washer main body 4 in the backward direction D2 may be simply referred to as the backward movement of the car washer main body 4.

[0013] On the car washer main body 4, as one of the cleaning parts, a plurality of brushes that slide on the vehicle X and perform brushing are provided. For example, the brushes included in the car washer main body 4 include a top brush 14, a side brush 16, and a rocker brush 18 that are each rotated by a rotation motor (not shown). The top brush 14 slides along the upper surface of the vehicle X and cleans the upper surface of the vehicle X. The side brush 16 and the rocker brush 18 clean both side surfaces of the vehicle X.

[0014] On the side part of the car washer main body 4, a tank storage part 20 for storing a plurality of liquid storage tanks (not shown) storing various liquid agents including a detergent or a wax is arranged. Above the tank storage part 20, a distribution pipe part 22 for distributing water containing city water or a liquid agent from each liquid storage tank is provided. From the distribution pipe part 22, a first clean water nozzle 24, a second clean water nozzle 26, a first detergent nozzle 28, a second detergent nozzle 30, a water repellent coating nozzle 32, and a wax nozzle 34 included in the cleaning part are respectively led out via solenoid valves (not shown).

[0015] The first clean water nozzle 24 and the second clean water nozzle 26 included in the first nozzle are respectively arranged on the front surface 4A side and the rear surface 4B side of each frame 8 of the car washer main body 4, and spray water containing city water onto the vehicle X. The first detergent nozzle 28 and the second detergent nozzle 30 included in the first nozzle are respectively arranged on the front surface 4A side and the rear surface 4B side of each frame 8, and spray a cleaning liquid containing shampoo or the like onto the vehicle X. The water repellent coating nozzle 32 and the wax nozzle 34 are arranged on the rear surface 4B of the car washer main body 4. The water repellent coating nozzle 32 included in the second nozzle sprays a liquid agent of a water repellent coating agent onto the vehicle X. The wax nozzle 34 included in the second nozzle sprays wax onto the vehicle X.

[0016] In other words, the first nozzle including the first water purification nozzle 24, the second water purification nozzle 26, the first detergent nozzle 28, and the second detergent nozzle 30 is a nozzle that injects a liquid containing city water or a cleaning liquid onto the vehicle X to clean the vehicle X. Further, the second nozzle including the water repellent coating nozzle 32 and the wax nozzle 34 is a nozzle that injects a coating agent containing a water repellent coating agent or wax onto the vehicle X to form a coating film on the surface of the vehicle X.

[0017] Further, the car wash machine main body 4 is provided with a blower 36 that generates an air flow to dry the vehicle X. A top air blowing nozzle 38 and a side air blowing nozzle 40 are connected to the blower 36. The top air blowing nozzle 38 is provided at the upper center of the car wash machine main body 4 and blows air toward the ceiling surface of the vehicle X. The side air blowing nozzle 40 is provided on both sides of the car wash machine main body 4 and blows air toward the side surface of the vehicle X. The car wash machine main body 4 dries the washed vehicle X by the air blowing of the top air blowing nozzle 38 and the side air blowing nozzle 40.

[0018] In FIG. 1, for the sake of simplicity of illustration, the illustration of each device for cleaning the vehicle X provided in the car wash machine main body 4 described above may be omitted. Further, each device provided in the car wash machine main body 4 shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and the car wash machine main body 4 may be provided with a device for cleaning the vehicle X including a conventionally known configuration in addition to the above-described devices, and a device for assisting the cleaning on the frame 8 or the ceiling portion 10.

[0019] An operation panel 42 is arranged on the front surface of one frame 8 of the car wash machine main body 4. The operation panel 42 is provided with operation buttons (not shown) for setting car wash conditions. For example, a user who has got out of the vehicle X or other technicians may operate the operation buttons to set the car wash conditions and the like.

[0020] <Control Unit and Remote Panel> Furthermore, the car washer 2 includes a control unit 44 that controls the car washer main body 4. In particular, the control unit 44 controls the cleaning of the vehicle X by the car washer main body 4 by controlling the movement of the car washer main body 4 along the rail R and the operations of the respective parts of the cleaning unit. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 44 may be provided in the car washer main body 4 or may be located outside the car washer main body 4. The control unit 44 may control the car washer main body 4 by transmitting and receiving information to and from the car washer main body 4 or a remote panel 6 to be described later through a communication device (not shown). The control unit 44 is composed of a processor such as a CPU, for example, and each control is realized by executing a control program stored in a memory on the processor.

[0021] The remote panel 6 is located, for example, on the front side of the car washer main body 4 and is arranged approximately along the moving direction of the car washer main body 4. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the front surface of the remote panel 6 is arranged to face the side surface of the vehicle X before being cleaned by the car washer main body 4, in other words, before entering the interior of the car washer main body 4. Therefore, in FIG. 1, the back surface of the remote panel 6 is shown.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the remote panel 6 includes a housing 46 and a support column 48 that stands on the ground G and supports the housing 46. The remote panel 6 may obtain at least a part of the car washing conditions of the vehicle X by the car washer main body 4 through operations such as a touch panel or buttons (not shown) provided on the housing 46. The control unit 44 may control the car washer main body 4 based on at least a part of the car washing conditions obtained by the remote panel 6 to clean the vehicle X.

[0023] <Sensor> The car washer main body 4 may further include an exit sensor 50 and a vehicle shape sensor 52 as sensors. The exit sensor 50 is located on the side of the rear surface 4B of the car washer main body 4 rather than the side brush 16 described above, and the vehicle shape sensor 52 is located on the side of the front surface 4A of the car washer main body 4 rather than the side brush 16.

[0024] The exit sensor 50 is a sensor that detects whether the vehicle X has exited the car wash after the cleaning of the vehicle X by the car wash main body 4 is completed. The exit sensor 50 may be, for example, a light axis sensor. In other words, the exit sensor 50 may be a sensor that determines whether an electromagnetic wave such as infrared rays emitted from a certain optical element is detected by an optical sensor corresponding to the optical element, thereby determining whether an object exists between the optical element and the optical sensor.

[0025] For example, after the cleaning of the vehicle X by the car wash main body 4 is completed, the control unit 44 moves the car wash main body 4 to a position where the exit sensor 50 detects the vehicle X. Next, the control unit 44 guides the user in the vehicle X to exit by means of voice from the speaker of the car wash main body 4 or video on the monitor of the car wash main body 4. After this, since the exit sensor 50 no longer detects the vehicle X after the cleaning of the vehicle X is completed, the exit sensor 50 detects the exit of the vehicle X from the car wash. After the exit sensor 50 detects the exit of the vehicle X from the car wash, the control unit 44 may perform control of each part including the movement of the car wash main body 4 in order to accept the next cleaning of the vehicle X.

[0026] The vehicle shape sensor 52 is a sensor for measuring the outer shape of the vehicle X to be cleaned. In particular, the vehicle shape sensor 52 detects the height of the vehicle X crossing a predetermined point. For example, the vehicle shape sensor 52 may include a plurality of light axis sensors arranged vertically on the front side of the frame 8 of the car wash main body 4 and on the space 4S side, such that a light emitting part and a light receiving part form a pair on each of the two frames 8. Thereby, the car wash main body 4 can estimate the height of the vehicle X for each position in a plan view from the change in the number of light axis sensors that detect the vehicle X among the light axis sensors included in the vehicle shape sensor 52. The control unit 44 may also extract at least a part of the information on the outer shape of the vehicle X from the detection result of the vehicle X by the vehicle shape sensor 52, and control each part of the cleaning unit based on the information to clean the vehicle X.

[0027] <Overview of the vehicle cleaning method> A method for cleaning vehicle X using a car wash 2 will be described by referring to FIG. 2 and explaining the control method of the car wash 2. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the control method of the car wash 2.

[0028] In the control method of the car wash 2 according to the present embodiment, first, the control unit 44 controls each part of the car wash main body 4 or the remote panel 6 and accepts a car wash from a user of the vehicle X or the like (step S2). In the reception step, for example, the control unit 44 controls the remote panel 6 or the operation panel 42 and accepts an operation of the remote panel 6 or the operation panel 42 or the like from the user. Thereby, the car wash 2 acquires information such as setting of the car wash conditions of the vehicle X and payment of the car wash fee from the user.

[0029] Next, the control unit 44 controls the speaker of the car wash main body 4 or the monitor of the car wash main body 4 and guides the user in the vehicle X to move the vehicle X to a predetermined position and stop it. In the present embodiment, the control unit 44 guides the user to move the vehicle X so that the vehicle X stops on the front side of the car wash main body 4, for example.

[0030] In the reception step according to the present embodiment, it is assumed that the car wash main body 4 is at a first initial position which is the position on the most backward direction D2 side in the moving range of the car wash main body 4. For example, the first initial position is the position of the car wash main body 4 when the wheels 12 are at the end on the backward direction D2 side of the rail R. Further, the first initial position is the position of the car wash main body 4 at the start time of the first washing step described later.

[0031] <First Washing Step> Following the reception process, the control unit 44 executes a first cleaning process as a cleaning process for cleaning the vehicle X by the car washer 2 through controlling each part of the car washer main body 4 (step S4). In the first cleaning process, the car washer 2 cleans the vehicle X through the control of each part of the car washer main body 4 by the control unit 44. In other words, the first cleaning process is included in one of a plurality of processing steps for cleaning the vehicle X that the car washer 2 sequentially executes. The first cleaning process will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the control method of the car washer main body 4 in the first cleaning process.

[0032] In the first cleaning process, first, the control unit 44 starts the forward movement of the car washer main body 4 from the first initial position through the control of each part of the car washer main body 4 and starts cleaning the vehicle X (step S4-2). For example, the control unit 44 controls the rotational drive of the wheels 12 to move the car washer main body 4 in the forward direction D1 from the first initial position. As the car washer main body 4 continues to move forward, the vehicle X passes through the space 4S. Here, the control unit 44 controls each cleaning part of the car washer main body 4 to clean the surface of the vehicle X passing through the space 4S. Thereafter, unless otherwise specified, the car washer main body 4 continues to move forward and clean the vehicle X passing through the space 4S.

[0033] In the first cleaning process, the control unit 44 controls the movement and rotation of each brush provided in the car washer main body 4, and slides the surface of the vehicle X passing through the space 4S by the brush to clean the vehicle X. In other words, the first cleaning process is a brushing process of sliding the surface of the vehicle X by the brush provided in the car washer main body 4.

[0034] In addition, the control unit 44 controls the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle provided in the car wash machine main body 4, and injects the liquid onto the vehicle X passing through the space 4S. For example, in the first cleaning step, city water is injected onto the vehicle X from the first clean water nozzle 24 and the second clean water nozzle 26. Also, in the first cleaning step, the cleaning liquid is injected onto the vehicle X from the first detergent nozzle 28 and the second detergent nozzle 30. In other words, the above-described brushing step includes a first injection step of performing, in combination, the operation of injecting the liquid from the first nozzle provided in the car wash machine main body 4 onto the vehicle X.

[0035] Subsequent to the forward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the start of the cleaning of the vehicle X by the car wash machine main body 4, the control unit 44 determines whether the car wash machine main body 4 has moved to the second initial position (step S4-4). Here, the second initial position is on the forward direction D1 side with respect to the first initial position, and for example, it is the position on the most forward direction D1 side within the movement range of the car wash machine main body 4. For example, the second initial position is the position of the car wash machine main body 4 when the wheel 12 is at the forward direction D1 side end of the rail R. Alternatively, the second initial position may be the position of the car wash machine main body 4 when the cleaning of the rear surface of the vehicle X by the side brush 16 is completed, or a position where the car wash machine main body 4 has advanced a certain distance from that position.

[0036] In the first cleaning step, when the car wash machine main body 4 moves from the first initial position to the second initial position while cleaning the vehicle X passing through the space 4S, it can be regarded that the cleaning of the vehicle X from the front end to the rear end by the car wash machine main body 4 is completed. Step S4-4 may be executed, for example, by detecting that the wheel 12 is located at the forward direction D1 side end of the rail R, or by measuring the movement distance of the car wash machine main body 4 using a rotary encoder or the like. Alternatively, step S4-4 may be executed by detecting that the cleaning of the rear surface of the vehicle X by the side brush 16 is completed, or by measuring the forward distance of the car wash machine main body 4 from that point in time.

[0037] In step S4-4, assume that the control unit 44 determines that the car washer main body 4 has not yet moved to the second initial position. In this case, the control unit 44 determines whether the stop position described later has been recorded and whether the car washer main body has reached the recorded stop position (step S4-6). The determination in step S4-6 will be described in detail after the description of the interruption process and the like, which will be described later. If the interruption process described later is not being executed, the car washer main body 4 determines that the stop position has not been recorded.

[0038] In step S4-6, assume that the control unit 44 determines that the stop position has not been recorded or that the car washer main body 4 has not reached the recorded stop position. In this case, the control unit 44 determines whether a new abnormality has been detected during the execution of the first washing process (step S4-8). In the present embodiment, an abnormality in the washing process of the vehicle X refers to an event that once interrupts the operation of the car washer main body 4 and requires a restart operation of the operation.

[0039] For example, the control unit 44 may detect an abnormality by confirming that the signals transmitted from each part of the car washer main body 4 contain data indicating an abnormality. The abnormality in the washing process of the vehicle X according to the present embodiment may include, for example, a torque abnormality in which excessive torque is generated on the brush due to the special shape of the vehicle X. Alternatively, the abnormality in the washing process of the vehicle X according to the present embodiment may include, for example, a malfunction of any washing part of the car washer main body 4 due to a failure of the washing part.

[0040] In step S4-8, if the control unit 44 determines that no new abnormality has been detected, the control unit 44 continues to move the car washer main body 4 forward and wash the vehicle X through the control of the car washer main body 4 (step S4-10). On the other hand, in step S4-8, if the control unit 44 determines that a new abnormality has been detected, the control unit 44 interrupts the operation of the car washer main body 4 (step S4-12) and executes an interruption process. In the interruption process, for example, the control unit 44 interrupts the washing of the vehicle X by the car washer main body 4 by stopping the movement of the car washer main body 4 and the operation of the washing part.

[0041] Next, the control unit 44 records the stop position of the car washer main body 4 during the execution of the interruption process (step S4-14). For example, the control unit 44 may record the stop position of the car washer main body 4 by recording data on the moving distance of the car washer main body 4 from the first initial position during the execution of the interruption process in a memory (not shown) or the like.

[0042] Next, the control unit 44 controls the rotational drive of the wheels 12 to move the car washer main body 4 to the first initial position (step S4-16). In step S4-16, the control unit 44 moves the car washer main body 4 backward, for example, until the wheels 12 reach the most backward direction D2 side of the rail R. Therefore, at the completion of step S4-16, the car washer main body 4 is at the first initial position. In other words, the car washer main body 4 is at the same position as at the start of the first washing process.

[0043] Next, the control unit 44 resumes the forward movement of the car washer main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X with the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle stopped through the control of each part of the car washer main body 4 (step S4-18). For example, in step S4-18, the control unit 44 controls each part of the car washer main body 4 with the control content of stopping the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle in comparison with the control content of each part of the car washer main body 4 from step S4-2 to before the execution of step S4-12. Therefore, after step S4-18, the car washer main body 4 does not perform the injection of the liquid onto the vehicle X as compared with the operation of the car washer main body 4 from step S4-2 to before the execution of step S4-12. However, the operation of the car washer main body 4 after step S4-18 may perform the same operation as the operation of the car washer main body 4 from step S4-2 to before the execution of step S4-12 except for the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle.

[0044] In this embodiment, after interrupting the operation of the car washer main body 4 in step S4-12, from step S4-14 to step S4-18, the position of the car washer main body 4 is returned to the first initial position, and then the operation of the car washer main body 4 is resumed. In other words, from step S4-14 to step S4-18, after the interruption of the first washing process in the interruption process, it is a resumption process of resuming the first washing process from the start point of the first washing process, which is the resumption point defined in the first washing process.

[0045] Note that step S4-16 may be executed by the control unit 44 detecting an operation of the operation panel 42 or the like by the user after the implementation of the interruption process and the recording of the stop position of the car washer main body 4. Also, for step S4-18, after the car washer main body 4 has moved to the first initial position in step S4-16, it may be executed by the control unit 44 detecting an operation of the operation panel 42 or the like by the user.

[0046] In steps S4-16 and S4-18 according to this embodiment, the control unit 44 moves the car washer main body 4 to the first initial position and then executes the first washing process again. However, it is not limited to this. As long as the control unit 44 can execute the washing of the vehicle X in the first washing process from the front of the vehicle X again in step S4-18, the control unit 44 may move the car washer main body 4 to a position slightly advanced from the first initial position in step S4-16. For example, in step S4-16, the car washer 2 may move the car washer main body 4 to a position where the front of the vehicle X can be washed by the side brush 16.

[0047] Subsequent to step S4-18, the control unit 44 makes a determination in step S4-4 again. Even after the resumption of the first washing process, when it is determined in step S4-4 that the car washer main body 4 has not moved to the second initial position, the control unit 44 makes a determination in step S4-6 again.

[0048] Here, after executing step S4-18, in other words, after resuming the first washing process, since step S4-18 has been passed through, the stop position where the car washer main body 4 was located at the time of interruption in step S4-12 is recorded by the control unit 44. Therefore, after resuming the first washing process, in step S4-6, the condition that the stop position has been recorded is satisfied. However, even after resuming the first washing process, if the car washer main body 4 has not reached the recorded stop position, the control unit 44 makes the determination of step S4-8 again.

[0049] As described above, even after resuming the first washing process, unless the car washer main body 4 has reached the stop position and no new abnormality is detected, the control unit 44 repeatedly executes steps S4-4 to S4-10. Here, if a new abnormality is detected in step S4-8, the control unit 44 executes steps S4-12 to S4-18 again.

[0050] Therefore, since step S4-14 is executed every time the first washing process is interrupted, step S4-14 may be executed multiple times. For this reason, in step S4-14, when there is a recorded stop position, the control unit 44 compares the recorded stop position with the new stop position and records only the stop position farther from the first initial position. In other words, in step S4-14, if the new stop position is farther from the first initial position than the recorded stop position, the control unit 44 overwrites the recorded stop position with the new stop position. As a result, in step S4-6 after resuming the first washing process, the control unit 44 determines whether the car washer main body 4 has reached the position where the car washer main body 4 has advanced the most from the first initial position.

[0051] When the control unit 44 determines in step S4-6 after the resumption of the first washing process that the car washer main body 4 has reached the recorded stop position, the control unit 44 resumes the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle (step S4-20). For example, in step S4-20, the control unit 44 may resume the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle by performing the same control as the control of the car washer main body 4 from step S4-2 to before the execution of step S4-12.

[0052] In the first washing process, the car washer main body 4 performs the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle until it reaches the stop position from the first initial position. In other words, the car washer main body 4 does not perform the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle until it moves from the stop position to the second initial position. Further in other words, in the first washing process after resumption, the control unit 44 stops the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle until the time point of interruption.

[0053] Therefore, by stopping the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle from the time of interruption in the first washing process to step S4-20, the car washer main body 4 can prevent the liquid from being repeatedly injected onto the same part of the vehicle X. Further, by resuming the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle from step S4-20, the car washer main body 4 can more reliably perform the injection of the liquid onto the part of the vehicle X that has not yet been injected with the liquid in the first washing process.

[0054] As described above, the control unit 44 repeatedly executes steps S4-4 to S4-20 until it is determined in step S4-4 that the car washer main body 4 has moved to the second initial position. When the control unit 44 determines in step S4-4 that the car washer main body 4 has moved to the second initial position, the control unit 44 stops the forward movement of the car washer main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X and records the vehicle length (step S4-22).

[0055] In step S4-22, the control unit 44 first stops the operation of the car washer main body 4 in the same manner as in step S4-12, stopping the forward movement of the car washer main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X by the car washer main body 4. Next, the control unit 44 records the vehicle length of the vehicle X in the front-rear direction, for example, based on signals transmitted from each part of the car washer main body 4. With the completion of step S4-22, the car washer 2 completes the first washing process.

[0056] Note that the control unit 44 may calculate the vehicle length of the vehicle X by, for example, obtaining the detection result of the vehicle X by the vehicle shape sensor 52. In the first washing process, while the car washer main body 4 moves from the first initial position to the second initial position, the vehicle shape sensor 52 detects the front end and the rear end of the vehicle X. Therefore, the control unit 44 may determine the forward distance of the car washer main body 4 from the time when the front end of the vehicle X is detected by the vehicle shape sensor 52 to the time when the rear end is detected, and record the distance as the vehicle length of the vehicle X. When the interruption process in the first washing process is being executed, the control unit 44 may record, as the vehicle length of the vehicle X, the distance obtained by subtracting the distance that the car washer main body 4 has advanced from the interruption to step S4-20 from the total forward distance of the car washer main body 4.

[0057] Alternatively, the control unit 44 may determine that the position of the car washer main body 4 at the time when the washing of the rear surface of the vehicle X by the side brush 16 is completed is the second initial position. In this case, the control unit 44 may calculate the vehicle length of the vehicle X from the distance that the car washer main body 4 has advanced from the start time of the washing of the front surface of the vehicle X by the side brush 16 to the completion time of the washing of the rear surface of the vehicle X by the side brush 16 in the first washing process.

[0058] <Second Washing Process> Returning to the reference of FIG. 2, following the first cleaning step, the control unit 44 executes a second cleaning step as a cleaning step of cleaning the vehicle X by the car washer 2 through the control of each part of the car washer main body 4 (step S6). In the second cleaning step, the car washer 2 performs the cleaning of the vehicle X through the control of each part of the car washer main body 4 by the control unit 44, similarly to the first cleaning step. In other words, the second cleaning step is included in one of the plurality of processing steps for cleaning the vehicle X that the car washer 2 sequentially executes. The second cleaning step will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the control method of the car washer main body 4 in the second cleaning step.

[0059] In the second cleaning step, first, the control unit 44 starts the backward movement of the car washer main body 4 from the second initial position through the control of each part of the car washer main body 4, and starts the cleaning of the vehicle X (step S6-2). For example, the control unit 44 may control the car washer main body 4 with the control content in which only the point that the traveling direction of the car washer main body 4 is changed to the backward direction D2 is changed compared with the control content of the car washer main body 4 in the first cleaning step. In this case, in the second cleaning step, the car washer main body 4 re-cleans the vehicle X by the same method as the cleaning of the vehicle X in the first cleaning step from the rear end to the front end of the vehicle X. Thereafter, unless otherwise specified, the car washer main body 4 continues the backward movement and the cleaning of the vehicle X passing through the space 4S.

[0060] For example, also in the second cleaning step, similarly to the first cleaning step, the control unit 44 controls the movement and rotation of each brush provided in the car washer main body 4, and slides the surface of the vehicle X passing through the space 4S by the brush to clean the vehicle X. In other words, the second cleaning step is a brushing step of sliding the surface of the vehicle X by the brush provided in the car washer main body 4. Further, the brushing step includes a first spraying step of also performing an operation of spraying a liquid from the first nozzle provided in the car washer main body 4 onto the vehicle X.

[0061] After the car washer main body 4 moves backward and the cleaning of the vehicle X by the car washer main body 4 starts, the control unit 44 determines whether the car washer main body 4 has moved to the first initial position (step S6-4). In the second cleaning step, when the car washer main body 4 moves from the second initial position to the first initial position and executes the cleaning of the vehicle X passing through the space 4S, it can be regarded that the cleaning of the vehicle X from the rear end to the front end by the car washer main body 4 is completed. Step S6-4 may be executed, for example, by detecting that the wheel 12 is located at the end on the backward direction D2 side of the rail R, or may be executed by measuring the moving distance of the car washer main body 4 in the same method as in step S4-4.

[0062] In step S6-4, assume that the control unit 44 determines that the car washer main body 4 has not yet moved to the first initial position. In this case, the control unit 44 determines whether the stop position has been recorded and whether the car washer main body has reached the recorded stop position (step S6-6). The determination in step S6-6 may be executed in the same method as the determination in step S4-6. Therefore, when the interruption process described later is not executed, the car washer main body 4 determines that the stop position has not been recorded.

[0063] In step S6-6, assume that the control unit 44 determines that the stop position has not been recorded or the car washer main body 4 has not reached the recorded stop position. In this case, the control unit 44 determines whether a new abnormality has been detected during the execution of the second cleaning step (step S6-8). In step S6-8, the control unit 44 may detect an abnormality in the same method as in step S4-8.

[0064] In step S6-8, when the control unit 44 determines that no new abnormality has been detected, the control unit 44 continues the reverse movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X through the control of the car wash machine main body 4 (step S6-10). On the other hand, in step S6-8, when the control unit 44 determines that a new abnormality has been detected, the control unit 44 interrupts the operation of the car wash machine main body 4 (step S6-12) and executes an interruption process. In step S6-12, the control unit 44 may interrupt the movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X by the car wash machine main body 4 in the same manner as in step S4-12.

[0065] Next, the control unit 44 determines whether the vehicle length of the vehicle X recorded in step S4-22 of the first washing process is less than a predetermined value (step S6-14). As will be described in detail later, in step S6-14, when the vehicle length of the vehicle X is less than the predetermined value, the control unit 44 moves the car wash machine main body 4 to the second initial position and then resumes the reverse movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X by the car wash machine main body 4. On the other hand, in step S6-14, when the vehicle length of the vehicle X is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the control unit 44 resumes the reverse movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X by the car wash machine main body 4 without moving the car wash machine main body 4 from the stop position at the time of interruption.

[0066] In other words, the control unit 44 acquires the vehicle length of the vehicle X as information of the vehicle X in step S4-22. Further, in step S6-14, when the control unit 44 satisfies the first condition that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is less than the predetermined value, after the interruption of the second washing process in step S6-12, the control unit 44 resumes the second washing process from the start point of the second washing process. On the other hand, in step S6-14, when the control unit 44 satisfies the second condition that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, after the interruption of the second washing process in step S6-12, the control unit 44 resumes the second washing process from the interruption point.

[0067] More specifically, when the control unit 44 determines in step S6-14 that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is less than a predetermined value, the control unit 44 records the stop position of the car wash machine main body 4 at the time of executing the interruption process (step S6-16). In step S6-16, for example, the control unit 44 may record the stop position of the car wash machine main body 4 in the same manner as in step S4-14.

[0068] Next, the control unit 44 controls the rotational drive of the wheels 12 to move the car wash machine main body 4 to the second initial position (step S6-18). In step S6-18, the control unit 44 advances the car wash machine main body 4, for example, until the wheels 12 reach the most forward direction D1 side of the rail R. Therefore, at the completion of step S6-18, the car wash machine main body 4 is at the second initial position. In other words, the car wash machine main body 4 is at the same position as at the start of the second washing process.

[0069] Next, the control unit 44 resumes the backward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X with the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle stopped through the control of each part of the car wash machine main body 4 (step S6-20). For example, in step S6-20, the control unit 44 resumes the backward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X by the car wash machine main body 4 in the same manner as in step S4-18. Therefore, for example, after step S6-20, the car wash machine main body 4 performs the same operations as those from step S6-2 to before the execution of step S6-12, except that the injection of the liquid onto the vehicle X is not performed.

[0070] On the other hand, when the control unit 44 determines in step S6-14 that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control unit 44 resumes the backward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X from the stop position of the car wash machine main body 4 (step S6-22). In other words, in step S6-22, the control unit 44 resumes the second washing process from the stop position where the car wash machine main body 4 was located at the interruption of the second washing process in step S6-12 without returning the position of the car wash machine main body 4 to the second initial position.

[0071] In step S6-22, the control unit 44 resumes the second cleaning process without stopping the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle as compared with step S6-20. In other words, in step S6-22, the car washer main body 4 resumes the same operations as those of the car washer main body 4 from step S6-2 to before the execution of step S6-12.

[0072] In step S6-14, the control unit 44 selects whether to return the position of the car washer main body 4 to the second initial position and resume the operations of the car washer main body 4 or to resume the operations of the car washer main body 4 from the stop position of the car washer main body 4. In other words, in the second cleaning process, a restart point including the start time of the second cleaning process and the interruption time of the second cleaning process is determined. Further, from step S6-16 to step S6-20, after the interruption of the second cleaning process in the interrupted process, among the restart points defined for the second cleaning process, it is a restart process for resuming the second cleaning process from the start time of the second cleaning process. In addition, step S6-22 is a restart process for resuming the second cleaning process from the interruption time of the second cleaning process among the restart points defined for the second cleaning process after the interruption of the second cleaning process in the interrupted process. Note that regardless of the determination in step S6-14, the restart process of the second cleaning process does not resume the cleaning of the vehicle X from the start time of the already executed first cleaning process, so the cleaning of the vehicle X in the first cleaning process is not executed repeatedly.

[0073] In the second cleaning process, when the vehicle length of the vehicle X is less than a predetermined value, even when the operations of the car washer main body 4 are resumed from the start time of the second cleaning process after the operations of the car washer main body 4 are interrupted, the extension of the execution time of the second cleaning process is relatively short. Further, when the operations of the car washer main body 4 are resumed from the start time of the second cleaning process, the brushing process can be executed again from the beginning, so the car washer 2 can clean the vehicle X more reliably.

[0074] On the other hand, in the second washing step, when the vehicle length of vehicle X is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, after interrupting the operation of the car washer main body 4, the operation of the car washer main body 4 is resumed from the interruption point. For this reason, even when the vehicle length is long and the execution time of the second washing step is further extended when the operation of the car washer main body 4 is resumed from the start point of the second washing step, the car washer 2 can further reduce the extension of the execution time of the second washing step. Also, even in this case, since the vehicle X is washed by the car washer main body 4 up to the interruption point, the car washer 2 can reduce the possibility that the washing of the vehicle X becomes insufficient.

[0075] Therefore, by selecting the operation of the car washer main body 4 after resumption according to the vehicle length of vehicle X, the car washer 2 can more reliably wash the vehicle X while efficiently reducing the extension of the execution time of the second washing step.

[0076] In addition, in the present embodiment, after step S6-16, the control unit 44 may once move the car washer main body 4 to the first initial position. After that, the control unit 44 may move the car washer main body 4 to the second initial position without performing the sliding of the brush against the vehicle X or the injection of the liquid from the nozzle to the vehicle X, etc., and during this period, the vehicle may be detected by a sensor such as the vehicle shape sensor 52.

[0077] In the above steps, the car washer 2 may check whether there is any abnormality in the car washer 2 or the vehicle X. For example, the car washer 2 may check whether the position of the vehicle X has changed due to the self-running of the vehicle X or the like. Also, the car washer 2 may check whether the reference position of the rotary encoder that measures the moving distance of the car washer main body 4 has shifted.

[0078] Also, in this embodiment, although the control unit 44 selects the operation after restarting the second cleaning process according to the vehicle length of the vehicle X in step S6-14, it is not limited to this. For example, in step S6-14, the control unit 44 may calculate the progress rate of cleaning the vehicle X at the time of executing step S6-12 based on the vehicle length of the vehicle X and the backward distance of the car wash machine body 4. In this case, for example, when the progress rate of cleaning the vehicle X in step S6-12 is less than a predetermined value, the control unit 44 may restart the second cleaning process from the second initial position. On the other hand, for example, when the progress rate of cleaning the vehicle X in step S6-12 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control unit 44 may restart the second cleaning process from the interruption position. Thereby, the car wash machine 2 can more reliably clean the vehicle X while efficiently reducing the extension of the execution time of the second cleaning process.

[0079] Subsequent to step S6-20 or step S6-22, the control unit 44 makes the determination of step S6-4 again. Even after restarting the second cleaning process, when it is determined in step S6-4 that the car wash machine body 4 has not moved to the second initial position, the control unit 44 makes the determination of step S6-6 again.

[0080] When the control unit 44 determines in step S6-6 after restarting the second cleaning process that the car wash machine body 4 has reached the stop position farthest from the second initial position, the control unit 44 resumes the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle (step S6-24). For example, in step 6-24, the control unit 44 may resume the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle in the same manner as in step 4-20.

[0081] When the control unit 44 determines in step S6-14 that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is less than a predetermined value, also in the second cleaning process, the car wash machine body 4 does not perform the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle until it moves from the stop position farthest from the second initial position to the first initial position. In other words, when the vehicle length of the vehicle X is less than a predetermined value, in the second cleaning process after restarting, the control unit 44 stops the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle until the interrupted time point.

[0082] Therefore, when the vehicle length of the vehicle X is less than a predetermined value, even in the second washing step, by stopping the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle from the interruption time until step S6-24, the car wash machine main body 4 can prevent overlapping injection of the liquid onto the same part of the vehicle X. Further, by restarting the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle from step S6-24, the car wash machine main body 4 can more reliably perform the injection of the liquid onto the part of the vehicle X that has not yet been injected with the liquid in the second washing step.

[0083] Note that in step S6-14, when the control unit 44 determines in step S6-14 that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the injection of the liquid from the first nozzle has not stopped. In this case, the control unit 44 does not execute step S6-24 and performs the determination in step S6-8.

[0084] As described above, the control unit 44 repeatedly executes steps S6-4 to S6-24 until it is determined in step S6-4 that the car wash machine main body 4 has moved to the first initial position. When the control unit 44 determines in step S6-4 that the car wash machine main body 4 has moved to the first initial position, the control unit 44 stops the backward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X (step S6-26). Step S6-26 may be executed in the same manner as step S4-22, except that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is not recorded. With the completion of step S6-26, the car wash machine 2 completes the second washing step.

[0085] <Drying step> Returning to the reference of FIG. 2, following the second washing step, the control unit 44 executes a drying step of drying the vehicle X by the car washer 2 through controlling each part of the car washer main body 4 (step S8). In the present embodiment, the drying step is a step of drying the vehicle X washed by the car washer main body 4 by the car washer main body 4, and is included in the washing step of washing the vehicle X by the above-described car washer 2. In other words, the drying step is included in one of a plurality of processing steps for washing the vehicle X that the car washer 2 sequentially executes. The drying step will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a control method of the car washer main body 4 in the drying step.

[0086] In the drying step, first, the control unit 44 starts the forward movement of the car washer main body 4 from the first initial position and starts drying the vehicle X through controlling each part of the car washer main body 4 (step S8-2). For example, the control unit 44 executes control of the air blowing from the blower 36 provided in the car washer main body 4 to each air blowing nozzle and position control of each air blowing nozzle. Thereby, the car washer main body 4 dries the vehicle X by blowing air onto the surface of the vehicle X passing through the space 4S. Thereafter, unless otherwise specified, the car washer main body 4 continues the forward movement and the drying of the vehicle X passing through the space 4S.

[0087] Following the start of the forward movement of the car washer main body 4 and the start of drying the vehicle X by the car washer main body 4, the control unit 44 determines whether the car washer main body 4 has moved to the second initial position (step S8-4). In the drying step, when the car washer main body 4 moves from the first initial position to the second initial position while drying the vehicle X passing through the space 4S, it can be regarded that the drying of the vehicle X from the front end to the rear end by the car washer main body 4 is completed. Step S8-4 may be executed, for example, in the same method as step S4-4.

[0088] In step S8-4, when the control unit 44 determines that the car washer main body 4 has not yet moved to the second initial position, the control unit 44 determines whether a new abnormality has been detected during the execution of the drying process (step S8-6). In step S8-6, the control unit 44 may detect an abnormality by the same method as in step S4-8 or step S6-8.

[0089] In step S8-6, when the control unit 44 determines that no new abnormality has been detected, the control unit 44 continues to move the car washer main body 4 forward and dry the vehicle X through the control of the car washer main body 4 (step S8-8). On the other hand, in step S8-6, when the control unit 44 determines that a new abnormality has been detected, the control unit 44 interrupts the operation of the car washer main body 4 (step S8-10) and executes an interruption process. In step S8-10, the control unit 44 may interrupt the movement of the car washer main body 4 and the drying of the vehicle X by the car washer main body 4 in the same manner as in step S4-12 or step S6-12.

[0090] Next, the control unit 44 determines whether the vehicle length of the vehicle X recorded in step S4-22 of the first washing process is less than a predetermined value (step S8-12). When the control unit 44 determines in step S8-12 that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is less than the predetermined value, the control unit 44 controls the rotational drive of the wheels 12 to move the car washer main body 4 to the first initial position (step S8-14). In step S8-14, the control unit 44 may move the car washer main body 4 to the first initial position by the same method as in step S4-16. Therefore, at the completion of step S8-14, the car washer main body 4 is at the first initial position. In other words, the car washer main body 4 is at the same position as at the start of the drying process.

[0091] Next, the control unit 44 resumes the forward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the drying of the vehicle X from the first initial position through the control of each part of the car wash machine main body 4 (step S8-16). The operation of the car wash machine main body 4 after step S8-16 may be the same as the operation of the car wash machine main body 4 after step S8-2. In other words, in step S8-16, the control unit 44 resumes the forward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the drying of the vehicle X by the car wash machine main body 4 from the start point of the drying process.

[0092] On the other hand, when the control unit 44 determines in step S8-12 that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control unit 44 resumes the forward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the drying of the vehicle X from the stop position of the car wash machine main body 4 (step S8-18). In other words, in step S8-18, the control unit 44 resumes the drying process from the stop position where the car wash machine main body 4 was located at the interruption of the drying process in step S8-10 without returning the position of the car wash machine main body 4 to the first initial position. The operation of the car wash machine main body 4 after step S8-18 may be the same as the operation of the car wash machine main body 4 after step S8-2.

[0093] Also in the drying process, when the control unit 44 satisfies the first condition that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is less than a predetermined value in step S8-12, after the interruption of the drying process in step S8-10, the control unit 44 resumes the drying process from the start point of the drying process. On the other hand, when the control unit 44 satisfies the second condition that the vehicle length of the vehicle X is equal to or greater than a predetermined value in step S8-12, after the interruption of the drying process in step S8-10, the control unit 44 resumes the drying process from the interruption point. Also in the drying process, by selecting the operation of the car wash machine main body 4 after resumption according to the vehicle length of the vehicle X, the car wash machine 2 can more reliably dry the vehicle X while efficiently reducing the extension of the execution time of the drying process.

[0094] Note that the control unit 44 may also select the operation of the car wash machine main body 4 after the resumption of the drying process based on the progress rate of the drying of the vehicle X at the execution time of step S8-10 in step S8-12. Thereby, the car wash machine 2 can more reliably dry the vehicle X while efficiently reducing the extension of the execution time of the drying process.

[0095] Subsequent to step S8-16 or step S8-18, the control unit 44 performs the determination of step S8-4 again. As described above, the control unit 44 repeatedly executes steps S8-4 to S8-18 until it is determined in step S8-4 that the car washer main body 4 has moved to the second initial position. In other words, even when an interruption occurs during the drying process, the control unit 44 does not execute the already executed first washing process and second washing process again, but only resumes the drying process.

[0096] When the control unit 44 determines in step S8-4 that the car washer main body 4 has moved to the second initial position, the control unit 44 stops the forward movement of the car washer main body 4 and the drying of the vehicle X, and guides the vehicle X to exit (step S8-20). In step S8-20, first, the control unit 44 stops the forward movement of the car washer main body 4 and the drying of the vehicle X in the same manner as in step S6-26. Next, the control unit 44 guides the user in the vehicle X to exit by means of voice from the speaker of the car washer main body 4 or a signal lamp or the like.

[0097] Note that in step S8-4 according to the present embodiment, when the control unit 44 determines that the car washer main body 4 has moved to the second initial position, the control unit 44 stops the forward movement of the car washer main body 4 and the drying of the vehicle X, but it is not limited thereto. For example, in step S8-4 according to the present embodiment, the control unit 44 may stop the forward movement of the car washer main body 4 and the drying of the vehicle X when it determines that the drying of the vehicle X by the car washer main body 4 is completed. In other words, the second initial position and the position of the car washer main body 4 at the time of stopping the drying of the vehicle X by the car washer main body 4 do not have to coincide.

[0098] In step S8-20, for example, as described above, the control unit 44 may move the car washer main body 4 to a position where the exit sensor 50 detects the vehicle X, and guide the user in the vehicle X to exit the vehicle X. In this case, the control unit 44 may detect the exit of the vehicle X from the car wash by confirming that the exit sensor 50 no longer detects the vehicle X.

[0099] As described above, step S8-20 is completed, and the car washer 2 finishes the drying process. With the completion of the drying process, all the cleaning of the vehicle X using the car washer 2 is completed. Note that, subsequent to the completion of step S8-20, the control unit 44 may control each part including the movement of the car washer main body 4 to accept the cleaning of the next vehicle X.

[0100] <Summary of Embodiment 1> The car washer 2 according to the present embodiment cleans the vehicle X by sequentially executing a first cleaning process, a second cleaning process, and a drying process as a plurality of processing steps for cleaning the vehicle X. Here, a restart point when restarting after interruption is predetermined for each of the processing steps including the first cleaning process, the second cleaning process, and the drying process. Further, the control unit 44 restarts each of the first cleaning process, the second cleaning process, and the drying process from the restart point determined for each processing step after interruption.

[0101] Therefore, since the car washer 2 does not re-execute the processing steps that have been executed before the current processing step in each processing step, the cleaning cost and cleaning time of the vehicle X can be reduced. Further, if it is after the restart point, even if there are processes that have been executed in the processing step, the car washer 2 re-executes the current processing step, so that the current processing step can be executed more reliably. Therefore, the car washer 2 can achieve both reduction of the cleaning cost and cleaning time due to non-execution of the processing steps that do not require re-execution, and reliable execution of the processing steps that require re-execution.

[0102] In particular, each of the first cleaning process and the second cleaning process is a brushing process in which the surface of the vehicle X is slid by a brush. Also, a restart point of the current brushing process is predetermined at the start time of each brushing process. Therefore, even when an interruption occurs in the first cleaning process and the second cleaning process, the cleaning of the vehicle X in each processing step is restarted from the start time, and the cleaning of the vehicle X by the brush is surely executed again.

[0103] For example, in each of the first washing step and the second washing step, the control unit 44 may record the movement locus of the side brush 16 while moving the side brush 16 along the side surface of the vehicle X. Thereby, the control unit 44 may estimate the shape of the vehicle X from the movement locus of the side brush 16. In addition, the control unit 44 may estimate the shape of the vehicle X from the movement locus of the top brush 14 in each of the first washing step and the second washing step. With this configuration, the car washer 2 can wash the vehicle X more reliably.

[0104] Here, as described above, in each of the first washing step and the second washing step, after interruption, the washing of the vehicle X in each processing step is restarted from the start point. For this reason, the control unit 44 can acquire the movement locus of the side brush 16 from the start point of the processing step even after the restart of each processing step. Therefore, the car washer 2 can cause the control unit 44 to accurately estimate the shape of the vehicle X, and can wash the vehicle X more reliably.

[0105] Each of the first washing step and the second washing step includes a first injection step of also performing an operation of injecting liquid from the first nozzle toward the vehicle X. Further, in each of the first washing step and the second washing step, after restart, the first injection step has been stopped until the interruption point. For this reason, the car washer 2 can omit re-injection of the liquid to the portion of the vehicle X where the liquid has already been injected, and thus can reduce the washing cost of the vehicle X.

[0106] In each of the first washing step and the second washing step, assume that any one of the first nozzles is a high-pressure water nozzle that injects service water at a higher pressure than other nozzles. In this case, since the high-pressure water nozzle injects more service water, the car washer 2 can reduce the washing cost of the vehicle X more with the above configuration.

[0107] Also, in each of the first cleaning step and the second cleaning step, it is assumed that the first detergent nozzles 28 and the second detergent nozzles 30 included in the first nozzles eject a cleaning liquid including shampoo or the like. In this case, generally, since the cleaning liquid has a higher cost and a heavier waste liquid treatment load than city water, the car washer 2 can reduce the cleaning cost of the vehicle X more and can further reduce the load of waste liquid treatment with the above configuration.

[0108] In each of the second cleaning step and the drying step, the car washer 2 selects the restart timing of each treatment step from the start timing and the interruption timing of the treatment step according to whether the vehicle length, which is information of the vehicle X, is less than a predetermined value (first condition) or not less than a predetermined value (second condition). For this reason, the car washer 2 can select a more appropriate restart timing according to the information of the vehicle X and can execute the cleaning of the vehicle X more appropriately.

[0109] 〔Embodiment 2〕 <Coating step> The car washer 2 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as the car washer 2 according to the previous embodiment, and only a part of the method for cleaning the vehicle X is different. The method for cleaning the vehicle X using the car washer 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6 by explaining the control method of the car washer 2. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the control method of the car washer 2.

[0110] The control method of the car washer 2 according to the present embodiment is different only in that a coating step is executed instead of the second cleaning step as compared with the control method of the car washer 2 according to the previous embodiment. In other words, in the control method of the car washer 2 according to the present embodiment, first, the reception step and the first cleaning step described in the previous embodiment are executed in order. Next, in the control method of the car washer 2 according to the present embodiment, after executing the coating step described later, the drying step described in the previous embodiment is executed.

[0111] Hereinafter, the coating process will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the control method of the car wash machine main body 4 in the coating process. In the coating process, the car wash machine 2 applies a coating agent to the surface of the vehicle X through the control of each part of the car wash machine main body 4 by the control unit 44 to form a coating film. The coating process is included in one of a plurality of processing steps for cleaning the vehicle X that the car wash machine 2 sequentially executes.

[0112] For example, in the coating process according to the present embodiment, when the control unit 44 obtains through the control of the operation panel 42 or the remote panel 6 that the user performs the application of the coating agent as the car wash condition of the vehicle X in the above-described reception process, the coating process is executed. Thus, the car wash machine 2 may select the cleaning process to be executed from either the cleaning process according to the previous embodiment or the cleaning process according to the present embodiment according to the car wash condition of the vehicle X obtained from the user X.

[0113] Since the coating process is executed after the first cleaning process, it is executed from the state where the car wash machine main body 4 is located at the second initial position. In the coating process, first, the control unit 44 starts the backward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 from the second initial position through the control of each part of the car wash machine main body 4 and starts applying the coating agent to the vehicle X (step S10-2).

[0114] For example, the control unit 44 causes at least one of the water-repellent coating nozzles 32 or the wax nozzles 34 included in the second nozzle provided in the car wash machine main body 4 to spray a water-repellent coating agent or wax as the coating agent through the control of the car wash machine main body 4. Thereby, the car wash machine main body 4 applies the coating agent to the vehicle X by spraying the coating agent onto the surface of the vehicle X passing through the space 4S. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the car wash machine main body 4 continues the backward movement and the application of the coating agent to the vehicle X passing through the space 4S. In other words, the coating process is a second spraying process of spraying the coating agent from the second nozzle onto the vehicle X.

[0115] After the car washer body 4 moves backward and before the start of applying the coating agent to the vehicle X by the car washer body 4, the control unit 44 determines whether the car washer body 4 has moved to the first initial position (step S10-4). In the coating process, when the car washer body 4 moves from the second initial position to the first initial position and applies the coating agent to the vehicle X passing through the space 4S, it can be regarded that the application of the coating agent from the rear end to the front end of the vehicle X by the car washer body 4 is completed. Step S10-4 may be executed, for example, by the same method as step S6-4.

[0116] Assume that in step S10-4, the control unit 44 determines that the car washer body 4 has not yet moved to the first initial position. In this case, the control unit 44 determines whether a new abnormality has been detected during the execution of the coating process (step S10-6). In step S10-6, the control unit 44 may detect an abnormality by the same method as in any of step S4-8, step S6-8, or step S8-6.

[0117] In step S10-6, when the control unit 44 determines that no new abnormality has been detected, the control unit 44 continues the backward movement of the car washer body 4 and the application of the coating agent to the vehicle X through the control of the car washer body 4 (step S10-8). On the other hand, in step S10-6, when the control unit 44 determines that a new abnormality has been detected, the control unit 44 interrupts the operation of the car washer body 4 (step S10-10) and executes an interruption process. In step S10-10, the control unit 44 may interrupt the movement of the car washer body 4 and the application of the coating agent to the vehicle X by the car washer body 4 by the same method as in any of step S4-12, step S6-12, or step S8-10.

[0118] Next, the control unit 44 resumes the backward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the application of the coating agent to the vehicle X from the stop position of the car wash machine main body 4 at the time of interruption in step S10-10 (step S10-12). For example, in step S10-10, the control unit 44 resumes the backward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the washing of the vehicle X by the car wash machine main body 4 in the same manner as in step S6-22. Therefore, in the application process, after the interruption of the application process in step S10-10, in step S10-12, regardless of the vehicle length of the vehicle X, the control unit 44 resumes the application process from the interrupted point. In other words, step S10-12 is a resume process that resumes the application process from the interruption point of the application process, which is the resume point defined in the application process, after the interruption of the application process in the interruption process.

[0119] Next to step S10-12, the control unit 44 makes the determination of step S10-4 again. As described above, the control unit 44 repeatedly executes steps S10-4 to S10-12 until it is determined in step S10-4 that the car wash machine main body 4 has moved to the first initial position. When the control unit 44 determines in step S10-4 that the car wash machine main body 4 has moved to the first initial position, the control unit 44 stops the backward movement of the car wash machine main body 4 and the application of the coating agent to the vehicle X (step S10-14). In step S10-14, the control unit 44 stops the movement of the car wash machine main body 4, for example, through the control of each part of the car wash machine main body 4, and also stops the injection of the coating agent from the second nozzle. It may be executed in the same manner as in step S6-26. With the completion of step S10-14, the car wash machine 2 completes the application process.

[0120] Also in this embodiment, the control unit 44 resumes each processing step from the resume point defined in each processing step after interruption in each of the first washing step, the application step, and the drying step. In particular, the resume point in the application step is defined only at the interruption point of the application step, different from the first washing step and the drying step.

[0121] Therefore, for the same reasons as those described in the previous embodiment, the car washer 2 can achieve both the reduction of the cleaning cost and cleaning time due to the non-execution of the processing steps that do not require re-execution, and the reliable execution of the processing steps that require re-execution. Note that all of the above-described restart points are merely examples, and for each processing step, an appropriate restart point corresponding to the content of the processing step may be determined.

[0122] A coating agent to be applied to the vehicle X, which contains a water-repellent coating agent, wax, or the like, generally has a problem that when it is applied to the same part of the vehicle X multiple times, the coating film at that part may become thicker than necessary and coating film unevenness may occur. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 44 restarts the coating process from the interruption point, which is the restart point determined for the coating process, regardless of the information of the vehicle X or the like. As a result, the car washer 2 can reduce the coating unevenness of the coating agent in the coating process.

[0123] Furthermore, by the control unit 44 restarting the coating process from the interruption point, the car washer 2 reduces the unnecessary injection of the coating agent from the second nozzle. A coating agent to be applied to the vehicle X, which contains a water-repellent coating agent, wax, or the like, generally has a higher cost and a higher waste liquid treatment load compared to city water. Therefore, the car washer 2 can reduce the cost and the waste liquid treatment load by reducing the unnecessary injection of the coating agent from the second nozzle in the coating process.

[0124] In the present embodiment, an example in which the car washer 2 according to the embodiment performs the first cleaning process, the coating process, and the drying process in this order has been described. However, the cleaning process of the vehicle X performed by the car washer 2 is not limited to the above-described processes. For example, the car washer 2 may perform the second cleaning process described in the previous embodiment after the first cleaning process. Further, after the second cleaning process, the car washer 2 may apply a coating agent to the vehicle X while moving the car washer main body 4 from the first initial position to the second initial position in the same manner as the above-described coating process, and then perform the above-described coating process.

[0125] The car washer 2 according to each of the foregoing embodiments can reduce the wasteful consumption of city water, cleaning agents, and coating agents by reducing the unnecessary re-execution of processing steps in the cleaning process. Therefore, the car washer 2 according to each embodiment can contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Target 6, "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all," and Target 12, "Responsible consumption and production."

[0126] Furthermore, the car washer 2 according to each of the foregoing embodiments can reduce the environmental load when discarding waste liquid because it reduces the wasteful disposal of cleaning agents and coating agents whose waste liquid treatment load is high compared to city water. For this reason, the car washer 2 according to each embodiment can contribute to the achievement of SDGs Target 14, "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development," and Target 15, "Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss." Also, for the same reason, the car washer 2 according to each embodiment can contribute to the achievement of SDGs Target 6, "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all," from the perspective of simplifying waste liquid treatment or reducing the amount of water required for waste liquid treatment.

[0127] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0128] 2 Car washer 4 Car washer main body 14 Top brush (brush) 16 Side brush (brush) 18 Locker brush (brush) 24 First water purification nozzle (first nozzle) 26 Second water purification nozzle (first nozzle) 28 First detergent nozzle (first nozzle) 30 Second detergent nozzle (first nozzle) 32 Water repellent coating nozzle (second nozzle) 34 Wax nozzle (second nozzle) 44 Control unit

Claims

1. A car wash machine that washes the vehicle by sequentially executing a plurality of processing steps for washing the vehicle, a car wash machine body that washes the vehicle while moving relative to the vehicle, and a control unit that controls each part of the car wash machine, wherein a restart point is predetermined for each of the plurality of processing steps when restarting after interruption, one of the plurality of processing steps is a brushing step of sliding the surface of the vehicle with a brush provided in the car wash machine body, when the brushing step includes a first spraying step of spraying a liquid from a first nozzle provided in the car wash machine body onto the vehicle, the predetermined restart point for the brushing step is the start point of the brushing step, the control unit, when an abnormality is detected during the execution of the brushing step, interrupts the processing step, records the stop position of the car wash machine body at the time of interruption, after the recording, restarts the processing step from the restart point predetermined for the processing step, and in the brushing step after restart, stops the first spraying step until the car wash machine body reaches the stop position recorded by the control unit. A car wash machine.

2. The plurality of processing steps further include a second spraying step of spraying a coating agent onto the vehicle from a second nozzle provided in the car wash machine body, wherein the predetermined restart point for the second spraying step is the interruption point of the second spraying step. The car wash machine according to claim 1.

3. A car wash machine that washes the vehicle by sequentially executing a plurality of processing steps for washing the vehicle, a car wash machine body that washes the vehicle while moving relative to the vehicle, and a control unit that controls each part of the car wash machine, wherein a restart point is predetermined for each of the plurality of processing steps when restarting after interruption, the control unit, when an abnormality is detected during the execution of the processing step, interrupts the processing step, and after the interruption, restarts the processing step from the restart point predetermined for the processing step, wherein the predetermined restart point for each of the plurality of processing steps includes the start point and the interruption point of the processing step. The control unit further acquires information on the vehicle. When the vehicle length of the vehicle is less than a predetermined value, after the interruption, the processing step is restarted from the start point. When the vehicle length of the vehicle is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, after the interruption, the processing step is restarted from the interruption point. A car wash machine.

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