Cleaning equipment

Abstract

To clean a ground surface during vehicle wash and / or after vehicle wash.SOLUTION: A cleaning device (100) includes: a car stop (7) which regulates a stop position of a vehicle to be cleaned; a cleaning device body including first nozzles (31) which jet a cleaning fluid to a vehicle from behind the vehicle; and a second nozzle (71) which jets the cleaning fluid to a ground surface located at the rear relative to the stop position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a washing device for washing a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Various washing devices have been developed for washing special vehicles such as trucks, compactors, construction vehicles, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a washing device that washes the inside of the tailgate of a compactor vehicle that has dumped waste into a waste pit.

[0003] For example, when cleaning is performed by the cleaning device of the compactor truck in Patent Document 1, the dirt floor (ground) behind the vehicle becomes dirty with garbage scattered thereon. Conventionally, such dirty ground has been cleaned by hand. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-302361 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] One aspect of the present invention provides a washing device that can wash a dirt floor during and / or after a car wash. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a bollard that defines the stopping position of a vehicle to be cleaned, a cleaning device main body having a first nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid onto the vehicle from behind the vehicle, and a second nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid onto the ground behind the stopping position. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, a washing device capable of washing the ground during and / or after a car wash can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic side view of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic front view of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a schematic side view of a car stopper according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a car stopper according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The vehicle to be cleaned by the cleaning device according to the present disclosure may be a specialized vehicle such as a truck or a garbage truck. Such specialized vehicles are used to transport various materials, earth and sand, garbage, etc. As a result, a large amount of dirt adheres to the exterior and interior of the loading platform or cargo box, and the dirt is washed onto the ground during the car wash, leaving the ground dirty. In this specification, the ground refers to the surface on which the cleaning device is installed or the surface on which vehicle X travels.

[0010] [Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0011] <Overview of cleaning equipment> In this embodiment, a washing device 100 for washing a vehicle X will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. In this embodiment, a case where the vehicle X is a compactor truck is illustrated. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the washing device 100. FIG. 1 shows the rear of the vehicle X being washed. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the washing device main body 3. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a car stopper 7. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the washing device 100. In this specification and drawings, the xyz coordinate system is defined so that the xy plane is a horizontal plane. The x-axis direction is the traveling direction of the vehicle X, and the y-axis direction is the width direction of the vehicle X. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the vehicle X is a compactor truck, but the vehicle X is not limited to a compactor truck and may be a truck.

[0012] The washing device 100 of this embodiment includes a washing device main body 3 and a control unit 4. The washing device 100 also includes a car stop 7 that defines the stopping position of the vehicle X, and a second nozzle 71 that sprays washing liquid onto the ground behind the stopping position. The washing device 100 may also include a vehicle width sensor 2 and / or a vehicle height sensor 5.

[0013] The control unit 4 controls each part of the cleaning device 100. The control unit 4 may be provided in the cleaning device main body 3, or may be located outside the cleaning device main body 3. The control unit 4 may control the cleaning device main body 3 by transmitting and receiving information to and from the cleaning device main body 3 or various sensors described below using a communication device or the like (not shown). The control unit 4 is composed of a processor such as a CPU, for example, and each control is realized by executing a control program stored in memory on the processor.

[0014] The washer main body 3 is provided with a first nozzle 31 that sprays washer liquid onto the vehicle. The washer main body 3 can wash the vehicle X by spraying the washer liquid onto the vehicle X from behind the vehicle X.

[0015] The washing device main body 3 includes a support pillar 32 and a horizontal portion 33 supported by the support pillar 32, and the first nozzle 31 is provided on the horizontal portion 33. As shown in FIG. 2 , the support pillars 32 may be a pair of support pillars erected on both sides in the width direction of the vehicle X. Furthermore, the horizontal portion 33 may be installed between the pair of support pillars 32. For example, in the washing device 100, a plurality of first nozzles 31 may be arranged horizontally on the horizontal portion 33.

[0016] The horizontal section 33 may be supported by the support column 32 so as to be movable up and down. The washing device main body 3 may include a drive mechanism (not shown) that moves the horizontal section 33 up and down along the Z-axis direction. The drive mechanism may be controlled by the control unit 4. The control unit 4 controls the drive mechanism so that the horizontal section 33 moves up and down in the Z-axis direction. Washing the vehicle X while the horizontal section 33 moves up and down enables higher quality car washing.

[0017] The first nozzle 31 sprays a cleaning liquid toward the surface of the vehicle X to clean the surface. The cleaning liquid sprayed from the first nozzle 31 may be, for example, a detergent, a coating agent, water, or a combination of these. The surface of the vehicle X to be cleaned may be, for example, the rear surface of the vehicle X, or the inside of a cargo box or bed of the vehicle X. The first nozzle 31 may be configured to be adjustable in spray angle, which determines the spread of the sprayed cleaning liquid. The first nozzle 31 may also be oscillating.

[0018] The car stopper 7 defines the stopping position of the vehicle X. The car stopper 7 may have a main body 70 that is convex with respect to the ground and abuts against the wheels of the vehicle X, as shown in FIG. 1, for example. The second nozzle 71 is a nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid onto the ground behind the stopping position of the vehicle X during car washing. In this embodiment, the second nozzle 71 is attached to the car stopper 7, which will be described later. The cleaning liquid sprayed from the second nozzle 71 may be, for example, water.

[0019] In this embodiment, the second nozzle 71 is located behind the main body 70. More specifically, the second nozzle 71 is located on the surface of the main body 70 opposite to the side that contacts the wheels. By providing the second nozzle 71 that can spray cleaning liquid onto the ground behind the stopping position of the vehicle X, it is possible to wash away dirt that has been dropped on the ground by the cleaning liquid sprayed from the first nozzle 31. In the present disclosure, "behind the stopping position of the vehicle X" means behind the front end of the vehicle X that has stopped for the car wash.

[0020] The second nozzle 71 may be swiveled up and down, as shown in Fig. 3. When the second nozzle 71 swivels to spray cleaning liquid downward, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the second nozzle 71 can clean the ground. When the second nozzle 71 swivels to spray cleaning liquid upward, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the second nozzle 71 can clean the underside of the vehicle X. If the vehicle X is a compactor truck, the second nozzle 71 can clean the underside of the tailgate.

[0021] Alternatively, the cleaning device 100 may further include a third nozzle 72 that cleans the underside of the vehicle. FIG. 5 shows a side view of a car stopper 7A according to another embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the car stopper 7A may include a third nozzle 72 on the upper part of the main body 70. The third nozzle 72 may be oscillating. The location and number of the third nozzles 72 are not limited to this example. The third nozzle 72 may be provided directly on the ground facing the underside of the vehicle X when parked. By including the third nozzle 72, cleaning of the ground by the second nozzle 71 and cleaning of the underside of the vehicle by the third nozzle 72 can be performed simultaneously.

[0022] The car stopper according to the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described car stopper 7. For example, the car stopper according to the present disclosure may include a sensor that detects the position of vehicle X and a notification means that notifies the driver of vehicle X of an instruction to stop the vehicle. In this case, the second nozzle may be provided on the ground behind the stopping position of vehicle X. For example, the second nozzle may be a nozzle that is provided at a position facing the bottom of vehicle X parked at the stopping position and that can spray cleaning liquid onto the ground behind the stopping position. The second nozzle may also be configured to be able to change the spray direction. For example, the second nozzle may be swivellable in the up and down direction. With this configuration, the second nozzle can clean the ground and the underside of vehicle X. The second nozzle may have an additional nozzle that is provided on the ground ahead of vehicle X parked at the stopping position and to the side of vehicle X parked at the stopping position and that cleans the ground.

[0023] The vehicle width sensor 2 is a sensor that acquires information related to the width of the vehicle X. The vehicle width sensor 2 may include two sensors 21. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , the two sensors 21 included in the vehicle width sensor 2 may be respectively attached to support bases 20 installed on both sides of the vehicle X in the width direction. Each of the sensors 21 may be a reflective optical sensor that is capable of measuring the distance from the sensor 21 to the side of the vehicle X. In other words, the sensor 21 may be a sensor that is capable of acquiring distance information related to the distance between the sensor 21 and the vehicle X.

[0024] The vehicle height sensor 5 is a sensor that acquires information related to the vehicle height of the vehicle X. The type and installation location of the vehicle height sensor 5 are not particularly limited as long as the sensor is capable of acquiring information related to the vehicle height of the vehicle X. For example, the vehicle height sensor 5 may be a sensor that can acquire vehicle height data of the vehicle X. The vehicle height sensor 5 may be attached to the upper part of the support pillar 32.

[0025] (Regarding control of the control unit) First, the vehicle X to be washed moves backward relative to the washing device main body 3. The driver of the vehicle X drives the vehicle X until the rear wheels reach a stopping position, and then stops the vehicle X. The stopping position of the vehicle X may be determined by a car stopper 7 having a convex shape relative to the ground as shown in FIG. 1. In the case of the car stopper 7 as shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 4 may determine that the vehicle X has stopped at the stopping position by detecting that a sensor provided on the main body 70 of the car stopper 7 has made contact with or approached within a predetermined distance from the car stopper.

[0026] The control unit 4 includes a first nozzle control unit 41. When the first nozzle control unit 41 determines that the vehicle X has stopped at a stop position, the first nozzle control unit 41 controls the first nozzle 31 to spray the cleaning liquid. In this way, the vehicle X is washed.

[0027] The control unit 4 includes a second nozzle control unit 42. The second nozzle control unit 42 controls the second nozzle 71 to spray the cleaning liquid during and / or after cleaning by the first nozzle 31. This allows the ground behind the front end of the vehicle X to be cleaned.

[0028] The control unit 4 may include a third nozzle control unit as needed. The third nozzle control unit may control the third nozzle 72 to spray the cleaning liquid while cleaning is being performed by the first nozzle 31 or the second nozzle 71. This allows the underside of the vehicle X to be cleaned.

[0029] 4, the control unit 4 may include a vehicle width calculation unit 43, as needed. The vehicle width calculation unit 43 may calculate the vehicle width of the vehicle X from the distance information acquired from the two sensors 21. The control unit 4 may control the first nozzle 31 based on the calculated vehicle width so that the spray direction of the first nozzle 31 is directed toward the surface to be cleaned of the vehicle X.

[0030] The control unit 4 controls the spray direction of the first nozzle 31 based on the width of the vehicle X so that it is directed toward the surface to be cleaned of the vehicle X, thereby significantly reducing splashing of the cleaning liquid containing dirt onto the surrounding area.

[0031] The control unit 4 may include a vehicle position deriving unit 44 as necessary. The vehicle position deriving unit 44 may derive the position of the vehicle X relative to the washing device main body 3 from the distance information from the two sensors 21. The control unit 4 may control the first nozzle 31 so that the spray direction of the first nozzle 31 is directed toward the surface of the vehicle X to be washed, based on the calculated vehicle width and / or position of the vehicle X. This configuration makes it possible to more accurately grasp the position of the vehicle X in the width direction relative to the washing device 100. This allows for more accurate control of the spray direction of the first nozzle 31, significantly reducing splashing of the dirty washing liquid into the surrounding area.

[0032] The control unit 4 may include a swing angle determination unit 45 as necessary. The swing angle determination unit 45 may determine the horizontal swing angle of the first nozzle 31 based on the vehicle width calculated by the vehicle width calculation unit 43 and / or the position of the vehicle X derived by the vehicle position derivation unit 44. The horizontal swing angle refers to the angle formed between the outermost spray direction and the innermost spray direction of the first nozzle 31 performing a swing operation, when viewed from above. Specifically, the swing angle determination unit 45 may determine the swing angle so that the spray direction when the first nozzle 31 is spraying most outward during the swing operation is directed toward the surface to be cleaned of the vehicle X.

[0033] The control unit 4 may control the horizontal swinging motion of the first nozzle 31 based on the swing angle determined by the swing angle determination unit 45. By controlling the swinging motion of the first nozzle 31 based on the swing angle determined by the swing angle determination unit 45, the washing device 100 can wash the vehicle X while swinging and spraying the washing liquid in accordance with the width of the vehicle X. This enables car washing with improved washing performance while reducing splashing of dirty washing liquid to the surrounding area.

[0034] The control unit 4 may determine the lifting / lowering operation range of the horizontal unit 33 based on vehicle height data from the vehicle height sensor 5. Specifically, the control unit 4 may include a lifting / lowering operation control unit 46. The lifting / lowering operation control unit 46 may lift / lower the horizontal unit 33 within the vehicle height range of the vehicle X by controlling the drive mechanism based on the vehicle height data from the vehicle height sensor 5.

[0035] The washing device 100 raises and lowers the horizontal section 33 within a range according to the height of the vehicle X, thereby achieving high-quality car washing with reduced splashing of dirty washing liquid around the vehicle.

[0036] 〔summary〕 (1) A cleaning device according to aspect 1 of the present disclosure includes a bollard that defines the stopping position of a vehicle to be cleaned, a cleaning device body that includes a first nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid onto the vehicle from behind the vehicle, and a second nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid onto the ground behind the stopping position.

[0037] By providing a second nozzle, the ground can be cleaned during and / or after the car wash.

[0038] (2) A washing device according to aspect 2 of the present disclosure is the same as in aspect 1 above, further comprising a control unit, wherein the control unit controls the first nozzle to wash the vehicle and the second nozzle to wash the ground.

[0039] With the above configuration, it is possible to clean the vehicle surface and the ground that has become soiled by cleaning the vehicle surface, thereby reducing the labor required for manual cleaning of the dirt floor.

[0040] (3) In a cleaning device according to a third aspect of the present disclosure, in the first or second aspect, the second nozzle is swivellable in the up and down direction so as to spray cleaning liquid toward the underside of the vehicle.

[0041] Since the second nozzle can be swiveled up and down, the underside of the vehicle can also be cleaned.

[0042] (4) A cleaning device according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure is the cleaning device of the first or second aspect, further including a third nozzle that cleans the underside of the vehicle.

[0043] By further providing a third nozzle for washing the underside of the vehicle, the ground and the underside of the vehicle can be washed simultaneously.

[0044] (5) A cleaning device according to aspect 5 of the present disclosure is one in which, in any of aspects 1 to 4 above, the car stopper has a main body portion that is convex with respect to the ground and abuts against the wheels of the vehicle, and the second nozzle is located behind the main body portion.

[0045] With the above configuration, the ground behind the bollard can be cleaned. In addition, because the second nozzle is located behind the bollard, the possibility of damage due to contact with a vehicle can be reduced.

[0046] [Additional Notes] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 100 Cleaning equipment 2. Vehicle width sensor 3. Cleaning device body 31 No. 1 nozzle 32...post 33...Horizontal part 4. Control section 5. Vehicle height sensor 7. Parking barrier 71 Second nozzle 70 Main body 72 Third nozzle

Claims

1. means for defining the stopping position of the vehicle to be washed; a cleaning device body including a first nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid onto the vehicle from behind the vehicle; A second nozzle that can be swung up and down; a control unit; the control unit controls the first nozzle to wash the vehicle; The cleaning device controls the second nozzle to spray cleaning liquid onto the ground behind the stopping position, thereby cleaning the ground.

2. The washing device of claim 1 further comprising a third nozzle for washing the underside of the vehicle.

3. The means for determining the stopping position of the vehicle is a car stopper, The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the bollard has a main body portion that is convex with respect to the ground and that abuts against a wheel of the vehicle, and the second nozzle is located behind the main body portion.

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