Optics: measuring and testing – By alignment in lateral direction
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-26
2003-12-09
Lee, Diane I. (Department: 2876)
Optics: measuring and testing
By alignment in lateral direction
Reexamination Certificate
active
06661516
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method for operating a vehicle treatment installation and a vehicle treatment installation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Vehicle treatment installations, in particular portal washing installations, have in practice mechanical guide devices consisting of two guide rails on the floor, which guide rails are supposed to define the drive-in track laterally and, if necessary, are supposed to guide the vehicle wheels laterally. This mechanical guide aid is not sufficiently safe and is easily being rolled over by the vehicle wheels. Furthermore the rails form a trip threshold and can cause an accident for the vehicle operator when leaving and entering the vehicle. Furthermore a signaling device in the form of a signal with red and green lights is usually mounted on the portal. It indicates to the vehicle operator when he has driven sufficiently far under or in front of the portal and can park the vehicle. Incorrect positions of the vehicle, like a later shift or skewed positions, are thereby not detected. The light also does not give any instructions for corrections in the case of skewed positions. The known vehicle treatment installation does not meet the demands because of its limited guide and accident safety.
The DE-G-92 15 013 discloses a different drive-in aid for vehicles at garages having a manipulator which can be mechanically coupled with the vehicle and which moves the vehicle without the driver and automatically into the parking space. Such an arrangement is very expensive and cannot be utilized for vehicle washing installations because of the difficult surrounding conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the present invention is therefore to provide a better vehicle washing installation.
The vehicle washing installation of the invention has a drive-in aid which transmits optically visible direction and correction instructions to the vehicle operator. It safely and reliably guides the vehicle operator during his drive into the installation and enables him to avoid undesired skewed positions and other incorrect positions. The drive-in aid also takes away from insecure vehicle operators the fear regarding the correct driving into a vehicle washing installation.
Mechanical guide rails or other like guide devices engaging the vehicle itself are because of the drive-in aid not needed. With the elimination of such guide rails, accident prevention and also comfort in the vehicle washing installation can be improved.
The drive-in aid can be designed differently, for example, as a passive or active drive-in aid. The passive drive-in aid offers the vehicle operator at least one optically visible guide line on which he can orient himself like on a line of collimation when driving into the installation. He can thereby determine with the help of the guide line(s) and the vehicle position relative to the guide line, whether he drives in laterally shifted or skewed, and can correct his direction of travel accordingly. The guide line communicates through its stationary position to the vehicle operator on the one hand an instruction regarding the direction. On the other hand he receives an instruction regarding an incorrect position by a deviation of the guide line from the desired position, whereby the magnitude and direction of the deviation give an instruction for correction.
It is hereby advantageous when the guide line is aligned on the one hand essentially along the drive-in direction and on the other hand centrally with respect to the installation or in the area of the vehicle operator.
Of a particular advantage is to project the optic guide line(s) from above onto the vehicle and/or onto the floor of the installation. This makes it possible for the vehicle operator to see in front of himself on the floor the guide line(s) initially when driving in. In the installation he sees the guide line mainly on the hood of the car and on the windshield and can thereby very easily recognize whether he is off center with respect to the desired drive-in direction.
The drive-in aid has thereby the special advantage that it is suited for all vehicle dimensions alike and does not need any adjustments. Furthermore mechanical guide devices on the floor of the installation can be eliminated so that falls due to tripping no longer exist. An optic guide line is furthermore psychologically more advantageous because it does not produce any frightening impacts during direction deviations. The optic drive-in aid has in addition the advantage that it does not demand a great structural input and can also be retrofitted at any time.
It is possible in a further embodiment to utilize instead of one single guide line a plurality of lines or also a guide net. With this also optic three-dimensional guide actions can be achieved in such a manner that a three-dimensionally appearing funnel-shaped guide picture is projected onto the windshield in front of the vehicle operator. These light and/or picture effects can appear as a virtual drive-in aid.
He thereby receives through the signaling device steering instructions, with which he can correct incorrect positions during the positioning and aligning of the vehicle. In particular he can correct in this manner skewed positions or a lateral shift, which is too much, with respect to the drive-in track.
The active drive-in aid operates with one or several measurement devices which determine the position and alignment of the vehicle during driving in and in the final position, evaluate same in a suitable control system, and then transmit to the vehicle operator in the case of incorrect positions via a suitable signaling device the necessary steering aids through direction and correction instructions.
The measurement devices have in the one embodiment non-contact sensors, in particular optic sensors. In an improved and more complex embodiment, it is possible to utilize other optic detection systems, for example, camera systems or so-called vision systems. The measurement devices are particularly reliable and operate reliably and precisely even under the surrounding conditions existing in a vehicle washing installation. In particular the requirements for assembly, installation, service and operation are low in optic detection systems. They are also advantageous regarding costs.
The camera systems have the advantage that they can also be utilized for other purposes, in particular for contour detection and for controlling and/or monitoring the treatment process or the vehicle treatment installation. Furthermore camera systems are particularly inexpensive and reliable in operation. When only one drive-in aid is demanded, inexpensive systems with a low resolution and little requirements regarding the calculating capacity, which systems are oriented on the switched-on lights of the vehicle, are sufficient. Better camera systems with a higher resolution permit the aforementioned contour detection with the control and monitoring functions.
It is particularly advantageous in the case of the active drive-in aid when the signaling device can be positioned directly in front of the vehicle operator in the field of vision, for example, in the opening of the portal. This can be realized, for example, by arrangement on a liftable and lowerable roof nozzle of the washing installation. The signaling device can thus for guiding the operator be lowered directly into the range of vision in front of the vehicle operator and can again be removed for the following treatment process or also for exiting. Furthermore sufficient space is available on the roof treatment aggregate, in particular the roof-drying nozzle, in order to store a larger or more complex signaling device. The signaling device, however, does no longer need to be protected so very carefully because it can be moved with the roof nozzle during the washing operation upwardly into a relatively spray-safe position.
The signaling device can have various designs. It is in the preferred exemplary embodiment a switchable optic indicator directed toward the vehicle operator. The sub
Dietsch Wolfgang
Klos Walter
Windel Guenter
Flynn ,Thiel, Boutell & Tanis, P.C.
Lee Diane I.
WashTec Holding GmbH
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