Abstract:
An improved vehicle position monitoring system for a carwash bay of the type having an overhead spray type carwash comprising an optical switch establishing a beam path across the wash bay at the forward end thereof, a second optical switch establishing a beam path across the bay at the rear or entry end thereof, the first and second beam paths being longitudinally spaced apart by substantially more than the longitudinal length of a standard passenger vehicle such that a vehicle may be positioned therebetween and allow both beam paths to be fully established. A logic system within the controller interprets the input information to determine whether or not a vehicle is properly positioned within the wash bay and adjust the wash parameters accordingly.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to carwash systems and more particularly to a control system which enables the operation of a bay-installed, carwash apparatus only after determining that a car is properly positioned within the confines of the bay.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Bay type carwash systems are often used to wash automotive vehicles in a stationary position within the wash bay. Such systems require far less dedicated space in comparison to tunnel type carwash systems wherein the vehicle is moved from station to station along a linear path where washing, rinsing, and drying procedures are carried out. Bay type carwash systems often use high pressure spray components mounted on one or more arms which can move around a vehicle properly positioned within the bay. The arm or arms direct a high pressure spray against the exterior surfaces of the vehicle. A proper vehicle position is one wherein the vehicle will not. interfere with the programed movement of the spray arm or arms. Various mounting and control systems for the arms, including an overhead system, are possible, one such system compatible with the present invention is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,372,053 issued Apr. 16, 2003 and assigned to Belanger, Inc. of Northville, Mich.  
         [0003]     To determine whether or not the vehicle is in the proper position within the wash bay, it has been common to use a treadle which is engaged, for example, by the left front wheel of the vehicle. Two closely spaced switches in the treadle are closed only when the vehicle is in the proper position. If only the first switch is closed, a sign visible to the driver of the vehicle is illuminated to urge the driver to move a small distance forward until the second switch is closed. If only the second switch is closed, the sign is illuminated to urge the driver to back up a short distance. Only when both switches are closed will a “stop” sign be illuminated.  
         [0004]     A system describing an optical treadle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,407, issued Jul. 30, 2002, to Alan S. Jones and Mark Cuddeback. In that patent, an array of cross beam optical devices is placed at a position near the front or exit end of the wash bay such that the front end of the vehicle can progressively break or interfere with the cross beams. When only the first of the three beams is broken, the driver of the vehicle is urged by illumination of an appropriate sign to move farther forward. When the second beam is also broken, the sign is illuminated to urge the driver to stop. If the driver goes too far forward so as to interrupt or break all three beams, the sign is illuminated to instruct the driver to move backward.  
         [0005]     A problem associated with both mechanical and optical treadles as described above is the requirement for precise positioning of the vehicle; i.e., rather small margins of movement or position error are provided in such systems because the switches in the treadle and the beams in the array are closely spaced. This makes it more difficult for the driver of a vehicle to find the appropriate position and such difficulty often lengthens the time it takes to start the washer. This “wasted” time accumulates throughout a busy day and reduces the throughput and revenue generating efficiency of the carwash system It is therefore desirable to provide a system which makes it easier to find the “go” position and tends to enhance throughput efficiency by relaxing the position error margins.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention has for its primary objective the relaxation of driver-imposed positioning requirements for a vehicle in a carwash bay which is equipped with a washing system, particularly but not necessarily a vehicle washing system of the high pressure spray type involving an overhead traveler from which one or more spray arms may depend. A carwash system compatible with the present invention is fully described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,372,053, ROLLOVER CARWASH APPARATUS AND METHODS OF OPERATING THE SAME, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The spray wash system described in the &#39;053 patent comprises a traveler mounted overhead of a wash bay on a rail system which permits both longitudinal and lateral movement of the traveler. A pair of “butterfly” spray arms carrying nozzles depend from the traveler. The arms can move angularly relative to the traveler so as to direct washing and rinsing fluid to the exterior of the vehicle.  
         [0007]     In general the objectives of the present invention are accomplished through the provision of a first sensor such as an optical emitter and optical receiver arranged at the near or entry end of a carwash bay and a second sensor similar to the first sensor arranged at the far or exit end of a carwash bay. The terms “entry” and “exit” are used broadly herein to refer to the longitudinally opposite ends of the bay. The bay may be either open at both ends or closed at the far end to require a vehicle to back out after a wash. The longitudinal distance between the two sensors is greater than the length of a standard passenger car but typically less than the length of a specialty vehicle such as a “stretch limousine”. Standard passenger cars are typically about 14 to 18 feet in length, so the first and second sensors may be placed about 20 to 24 feet apart. The positioning requirements imposed on the driver of a vehicle by such a system are greatly relaxed; i.e., the left and right spray arms of the wash system can be used, along with other optional visual cues, to roughly center the vehicle. The first sensor is wired to activate a “pull forward” sign as long as the vehicle is between the emitter and receiver. The sign then displays a “stop” message or the like as soon as the vehicle is fully between the two sensors, and a “reverse” message or the like is displayed if the vehicle pulls far enough forward to come between the emitter and receiver of the second or far end sensor. In short, the driver simply positions the vehicle between the entry and exit sensors and roughly on center. This can usually be achieved much faster than finding a treadle target with one wheel and meeting the fine positioning requirements that such systems impose. Optionally, additional sensors are provided to verify vehicle presence in the bay.  
         [0008]     In the preferred embodiment, an “adaptive” feature of the system comes into play as soon as it is determined that a vehicle is roughly positioned between the sensors at the entry and exit ends. The purpose of the adaptive feature is to adjust the travel parameters of the overhead carriage so that the spray arms closely follow the vehicle; i.e., while full longitudinal travel may be needed for an 18 foot vehicle, lesser travel is needed for a 14 foot vehicle. Similarly, cm off-center vehicle may require adjustment of lateral travel. In general, this is accomplished by additional sensors, such as ultrasonic devices, mounted on the overhead traveler and aimed downwardly. Such devices “see” the vehicle to verify its-presence after rough positioning. In addition, such devices can be used to locate the front and rear of the vehicle simply by causing the traveler to move forward and backward from a central “home” position and noting the distance from “home” where the ultrasonic devices see the floor of the bay. This position data is fed to a controller to adjust the length of the spray arm travel during the subsequent washing and rinsing operations.  
         [0009]     An additional sensor can be used to locate at least one side of the vehicle and adjust lateral traveler movement as necessary.  
         [0010]     It will be appreciated that the terms “car” and “vehicle” are used interchangeably herein and are intended to encompass all types of vehicular bodies including vans, trucks, busses, and even railroad cars.  
         [0011]     Other applications of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following description of the best mode contemplated for practicing the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a schematic plan view of a high pressure spray type carwash system incorporating a vehicle position determining system to enable operation of the carwash system in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the system of  FIG. 1  washing a stretched vehicle.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of the system of  FIG. 1  washing a standard size vehicle. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]     Looking to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a wash bay  10  of such size and shape as to fully accommodate therein a conventional automotive vehicle  12  such as a passenger car or a light truck. A representative bay length is 24 feet. A carwash system disposed within the bay  10  comprises parallel longitudinal overhead structural members in the form of box beams  14  and  16  supported above the ground by means of vertical posts (not shown) or suspended outwardly from the walls of the wash bay by means of cantilever brackets to eliminate the vertical posts. The longitudinal beams  14  and  16  are longer than the vehicle  12  and are located high enough in the wash bay  10  to be several feet above the roof of the vehicle  12  when positioned within the wash bay  10  as shown. A pair of cross beams  18  and  20  are disposed by means of rollers (more fully described in the Belanger &#39;053 patent) on the longitudinal beams  14  and  16  to support a traveler  22  and permit the traveler to move along the length of the wash bay as required. Traveler  22  contains motors, drive belts, gears, sprockets, and a suspension system for high pressure spray arms having an inverted L-shape and pivotally mounted to the center of traveler  22  as is more fully described in the aforementioned Belanger &#39;053 patent. Spray arms  23  and  25  suspend from the traveler  22  in mirror-image fashion and operate in a butterfly fashion to essentially wrap around the vehicle  12  to wash not only the sides but also the front, rear and horizontal surfaces of the vehicle  12  during a full cycle of operation. A “park” position for the arms places them to the sides of the wash bay where the driver of vehicle  12  may easily place the vehicle roughly centrally between them. Because the spray arms  23 ,  25  of the carwash system carried by the traveler  22  pass in front of and behind the vehicle during normal operation, it is necessary that the vehicle be positioned in such a way as to not interfere with the movement of the spray arms. In addition, it is desirable to minimize the distance between the spray nozzles and the vehicle exterior for maximum cleaning effect. A microcontroller  24  connected by databus  26  to the internal mechanisms supported by the traveler  22  is provided. The microcontroller is operated in combination with input/output unit  40  containing appropriate displays and program selector input devices such as push buttons. The microcontroller  24  receives signals containing data from the sensors in the system to adjust operating parameters such as travel distances as required to optimize system results.  
         [0017]     To establish the positioning protocol of the present invention, a first optical switch comprising an infrared beam emitter  28  and an infrared beam detector  30  is positioned at the entry end of the wash bay  10 ; i.e., assuming a drive-through wash bay, at a position which is first encountered by the vehicle  12  as it enters the bay. The detector  30  is connected by dataline  36  to the microcontroller  24  so that the sensor output is an input to microcontroller  24 .  
         [0018]     A second optical switch comprising an infrared beam emitter  32  and an infrared beam detector  34  is positioned at the far or exit end of the wash bay  10 . The data output of the detector  34  is connected by data line  38  as an input to the microcontroller  24 . The combination of emitter  28  and detector  30  comprises a first light beam switch which is disposed above the floor of the wash bay by a sufficient distance to be intercepted and broken by the front bumper end and body work of the vehicle  12  as it enters the bay. Similarly, the switch made up of the emitter  32  and detector  34  is positioned above the floor of the wash bay  10  near the exit end and far enough forward of the vehicle to establish a light beam which is broken by the vehicle  12  only if it is too far forward in the bay; i.e., further forward than the spray system can accommodate in “normal” operation. The optical switches  28 ,  30  and  32 . 34  are slightly farther apart longitudinally than the length of a standard vehicle  12  so as to permit from one to two feet clearance at both the front and the rear of a standard vehicle positioned between the cross beams. It can be seen that “rough” vehicle position information is provided by the cross-bay sensors  28 ,  30  and  32 ,  34  alone. As indicated above, the driver uses the spray arms on opposite sides of the bay to achieve a roughly centered position in the bay.  
         [0019]     A front ultra sonic device  54  is mounted on the end of an arm  56 A projecting forwardly of the traveler  22  and a rear ultra sonic device  56  is mounted on the end of an arm  56 A projecting rearwardly from the rear of the traveler  22 . Both the front ultra sonic device  54  and the rear ultra sonic device  56  are oriented to look toward the floor of the wash bay  10  and to provide a signal to the microcontroller  24  when a vehicle is present. As hereinafter described, the front ultra sonic device  54  also locates the front of the vehicle  12  by noting the first forward position of the carriage where the vehicle is no longer seen. Similarly the rear ultra sonic  56  can locate the rear of the vehicle  12 . These positions are compared to a “home” position number to calculate distance traveled as an indication of the front and rear of the vehicle. The ultra sonic devices  54  and  56  are tuned to provide one output level when the return signal comes from the floor level and another output level when the signal comes from a higher plane i.e., the top or hood or rear deck of a vehicle beneath the sensor. Transition from hood level to floor level as the traveler  22  moves forward locates the front of the vehicle  12  and signals the microcontroller  24  that the front of the vehicle has been located and the microcontroller  24  shortens or lengthens the forward traveler movements as necessary to prevent wasted movement and excessive distances between the spray nozzles and the front surface of the vehicle being washed. The front ultra sonic device  54  is mounted on an arm  54 A. The arm ensures that the front of vehicle  12  is located before the traveler  22  reaches the full forward position. The rear ultra sonic device mounted on arm  56 A locates the rear of the vehicle  12  and signals microcontroller  24  exactly how far to move the wash arms  23  and  25  rearwardly before wrapping around the vehicle. The front ultra sonic device  54  and rear ultra sonic device  56  position transmit information to the microcontroller  24  by datalines  58  and  60 , respectively.  
         [0020]     In operation, the entire system is armed when a vehicle approaches; i.e., the emitters  28 ,  32 , the detectors  30 ,  34 , front ultra sonic device  54  and rear ultra sonic device  56  are turned on or activated. The wash components of the carwash are also activated all through proper manipulation of input or output switches at the attendant controller station  40 . The microcontroller  24  places the carwash system in an armed and ready condition such that appropriate water/chemical combinations are available and all other necessary conditions for washing vehicles are met. As the vehicle enters the wash bay, it breaks the beam between emitter  28  and detector  30  for as long as it takes the vehicle to move forward far enough to clear the beam path between emitter  28  and detector  30 . The signal from the detector  34  to the microcontroller is made before the vehicle arrives, is broken during the passage of the vehicle between the emitter  28  and detector  30  and is made again after the vehicle has passed beyond the beam path. A sign  46  is energized to illuminate a “FORWARD” indicator until the vehicle clears the entry detector  28 ,  30 .  
         [0021]     As soon as the vehicle clears sensor  28 ,  30  but has not reached sensor  32 ,  34 , the sign  46  is energized by the microcontroller  24  to display a “stop” message. If the vehicle  12  goes far enough forward to break the beam of sensor  32 ,  34 , a “reverse” message is indicated.  
         [0022]     The signal created by detector  34  remains made as long as the vehicle  12  has not moved far enough forward to intercept the beam path between emitter  32  and detector  24 . The signal from front ultra sonic device  54  and rear ultra sonic device  56 , however, is broken as soon as the vehicle  12  appears under the sensor. When a vehicle is between the sensors  28 ,  30  and  32 ,  34  and is seen by the ultra sonic devices  54 ,  56 . The microcontroller  24  illuminates sign  46  to display “Stop”. In the simplest form of the invention, the wash cycle can be enabled at this time and remain enabled as long as these signal conditions are met. If the vehicle  12  moves too far forward so as to break the beam between the emitter  32  and the detector  34  either after the wash cycle is enabled, a disable situation exists in which the carwash system is shut down. Sign  46  is activated by way of signal line  48  to advise the driver of the vehicle  12  to “REVERSE”. Only when the vehicle is between the sensors  28 ,  30  and  32 ,  34  so as to reestablish both beams is the vehicle determined to be in a proper position for activation and continued operation of the carwash system Under these circumstances, the sign  46  is activated to tell the driver of the vehicle  12  to “STOP” ; i.e., inferring that he is in the proper position.  
         [0023]     Should the vehicle inadvertently move rearwardly to a sufficient extent to break the beam between the emitter  28  and detector  30 , once again the conditions necessary to enable the carwash system are not met and the operation of the carwash system will be suspended. Suspending operation of the carwash system may also comprise moving the spray arms to the laterally outermost position, thereby to prevent damage from a vehicle that is inadvertently moving excessively to the front or the rear during the initiation of the carwash operating cycle. The present invention provides for substantially increased margins of vehicle position acceptance. It eliminates the need for an array of closely spaced multiple sensors at one end of the wash bay.  
         [0024]     In the preferred embodiment of the invention, an adaptive feature is employed once the vehicle is properly positioned in the bay but before the wash cycle begins. To activate this feature, the microcontroller  24 , having verified that the vehicle is properly positioned, advances the traveler  22  forwardly and rearwardly from a. “home” position to locate the front and rear of the vehicle  12  via the ultra sonic sensors  54  and  56 . The microcontroller  24  defines a “home” or “zero” position toward the center of the bay and finds the front and rear of the vehicle as a function of the distances the traveler  22  must move forwardly or rearwardly before the sensors  54  and  56 , respectively, see the bay floor. These distances will not be equal unless, by chance. In any event, the microcontroller  24  calculates an exact vehicle length and operates the traveler and arms to closely follow the vehicle outline. Side to side position by fixed sensors or two moving sensors on the lateral traveler.  
         [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a stretched vehicle  12  may also be detected and washed. In the first stage, the length of the vehicle  12  is such as to hold the beam from emitter  28  to detector  30  broken, even though the front ultra sonic device  54  and rear ultra sonic device  56  signal the presence of the vehicle  12 . One approach is to activate the sign  46  to signal the driver to continue to move forward until the forward beam is broken. Simultaneously broken (interrupted) signals from detectors  30  and  34  with broken signals from  54  and  56  indicating the presence of a stretched vehicle. The driver is then signaled via sign  46  to “REVERSE” until the forward beam is made (re-established) and then advised to “STOP”. A stretch vehicle can be verified by running the traveler backward and looking for the rear end of the vehicle. If the traveler goes to full rearward stop without finding the vehicle end, then a stretch vehicle is presumed to be in the bay. The wash system may then be activated to perform all operations except the rear wraparound operations.  
         [0026]     The following table represents the basic sequence of operations to be programmed:  
               TABLE 1                           Arm system when vehicle approaches.       Entry beam made; no vehicle present. Illuminate “FORWARD”.       Entry beam broken; vehicle present; continue to illuminate “FORWARD”.       Entry beam made again and ultra sonic devices 54, 56 show vehicle       present, illuminate “STOP.”       If entry beam is made, ultra sonic devices show vehicle present       but exit beam broken, illuminate “REVERSE”       Locate front of vehicle.       Locate both sides of vehicle and adjust center line of travel.       Locate rear or stretch vehicle and adjust wash cycle.       Commence wash.       After commencing full wash if forward beam is broken, discontinue       wash, illuminate appropriate sign message to restore vehicle to proper       position.       When wash is finished, store arms and illuminate “FORWARD” sign.       Disarm system when vehicle gone.                  
 
         [0027]     Shown in  FIG. 30  shows the system washing a standard size vehicle. This embodiment also includes a side ultra sonic device  50 . The operation of this embodiment mirrors the operation of the previously disclosed embodiment.  
         [0028]     The side ultra sonic device  50  is added to recognize that a side of a vehicle is present within the wash bay  10  and to ensure that the side of the vehicle  12  is within a lateral distance limit established by the longitudinal extending spray arms  23  and  25  coupled to the traveler  22 . A vehicle  12  operator uses the dual arms as vertical reference guides to “rough” position the vehicle. When no vehicle  12  is present, the side ultra sonic device  50  transmits a beam to the other side of the baywash  10  which is too far away to cause the ultra sonic device  50  to produce a signal. When a vehicle  12  is present, the side ultra sonic device  50  finds the side of the vehicle  12  and emits a signal pulse that is communicated by way of dataline  52  to the microcontroller  24 .  
         [0029]     The signal from the detector  30  to the microcontroller  24  is made before the vehicle  12  arrives, is broken during the passage of the vehicle  12  between the emitter  28  and the detector  30  and is made again after the vehicle  12  has passed beyond the beam path. The signal created by detector  32 ,  34  remains made as long as the vehicle  12  has not moved far enough forward to intercept the beam path between the emitter  32  and the detector  34 .  
         [0030]     When a vehicle  12  is present under the front ultra sonic device  54  and rear ultra sonic device  56 , forward and reverse, pre-wash movement of the carriage locates the front and back of vehicle  12  and data signals communicated by way, of datalines  58  and  60 , respectively, as inputs to the microcontroller  24 .  
         [0031]     The sign  46  remains illuminated to display “FORWARD” until the vehicle breaks the beam from emitter  28 . Then the sign  46  is activated to display “REVERSE” until the beam  28 , 30  is reestablished. As soon as both the front ultra sonic device  54  and the rear ultra sonic device  56  intercept the vehicle  12  and when the vehicle  12  is between the entrance beam  32 ,  34  and the exit beam  28 ,  30 , and the vehicle  12  is located between the spray arms  23 ,  25 , the sign  46  is activated to display “STOP.” At such time, the car wash system may begin.  
         [0032]     By way of summary, it can be seen that the present invention provides two significant operating advantages: (1) it reduces the positioning requirements imposed by the system on the driver, and (2) it provides for an adaptive system operation which locates the vehicle and adjusts the movements of the traveler to optimize the way.  
         [0033]     While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, which scope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures as is permitted under the law.