A cleaning apparatus includes at least one detection device for detecting soiling on a vehicle to be cleaned and at least one cleaning device for cleaning the vehicle. A control device controls the at least one cleaning device in dependence on the detected soiling. The at least one cleaning device includes at least one multi-axis robot for positioning a cleaning element relative to the vehicle. The cleaning apparatus enables simple, fast and reliable automatic cleaning of the vehicle.

A brush construction for motor vehicle washing systems comprises a base plate (2) that supports a plurality of bristles (3) each of which has a base end (31), fixed to the plate (2), and a free end (32); the base plate (2) is suitable for being removably fixed to a rotating construction that is suitable for rotating the base plate (2) around the central axis thereof; the bristles (3) are fixed to the base plate (2) with different tilts both in radial directions, inwardly and outwardly, both in non-radial directions, clockwise and anticlockwise, with respect to the rotation direction of the base plate (2) or in any other direction that is different from the preceding directions; the bristles (3) being arranged with mutually converging and/or diverging tilt directions.

A brush construction for motor vehicle washing systems comprises a base plate (2) that supports a plurality of bristles (3) each of which has a base end (31), fixed to the plate (2), and a free end (32); the base plate (2) is suitable for being removably fixed to a rotating construction that is suitable for rotating the base plate (2) around the central axis thereof; the bristles (3) are fixed to the base plate (2) with different tilts both in radial directions, inwardly and outwardly, both in non-radial directions, clockwise and anticlockwise, with respect to the rotation direction of the base plate (2) or in any other direction that is different from the preceding directions; the bristles (3) being arranged with mutually converging and/or diverging tilt directions.

A device for controlling a vehicle convenience equipment includes a communicator configured to communicate with at least one sensor for recognizing a surrounding environment, and a processor configured to, in a vehicle washing mode, determine whether a vehicle washing is complete based on surrounding environment information recognized by the at least one sensor received through the communicator, and upon concluding that the vehicle washing is completed, control the communicator to transmit a return control signal for at least one electronic device whose operating state is changed before the vehicle washing mode is performed.

A device for controlling a vehicle convenience equipment includes a communicator configured to communicate with at least one sensor for recognizing a surrounding environment, and a processor configured to, in a vehicle washing mode, determine whether a vehicle washing is complete based on surrounding environment information recognized by the at least one sensor received through the communicator, and upon concluding that the vehicle washing is completed, control the communicator to transmit a return control signal for at least one electronic device whose operating state is changed before the vehicle washing mode is performed.

A car wash system is disclosed. The car wash system can include an adjustable top washer, a sensor configured to determine a height measurement of the vehicle, an actuator configured to adjust a position of the top washer, and a control system coupled to the actuator and the sensor. The control system can be configured to receive the height measurement of the vehicle from the sensor and control the actuator to adjust the position of the top washer based on the received height measurement.

Provided is a robot including: a chassis; wheels; electric motors; a network card; sensors; a processor; and a tangible, non-transitory, machine readable medium storing instructions that when executed by the processor effectuates operations including: capturing, with at least one exteroceptive sensor, a first image and a second image; determining, with the processor, an overlapping area of the first image and the second image by comparing the raw pixel intensity values of the first image to the raw pixel intensity values of the second image; combining, with the processor, the first image and the second image at the overlapping area to generate a digital spatial representation of the environment; and estimating, with the processor using a statistical ensemble of simulated positions of the robot, a corrected position of the robot to replace a last known position of the robot within the digital spatial representation of the environment.

A carwash device receives vehicle attribute information indicating an attribute of a vehicle that is a car-washing target. The carwash device selects a car-washing mode based on the vehicle attribute information, and the carwash device drives a drive section for washing the vehicle such that the vehicle is washed in the selected car-washing mode.

A carwash device receives vehicle attribute information indicating an attribute of a vehicle that is a car-washing target. The carwash device selects a car-washing mode based on the vehicle attribute information, and the carwash device drives a drive section for washing the vehicle such that the vehicle is washed in the selected car-washing mode.

This invention relates to an automatic vehicle wash apparatus employing one or more rotary cloth or foam rubber brushes, and more particularly to the way how the rotary brush to vehicle surface contact is managed using one or more encoders connected to the rotating shaft of each brush and one or more programmable logic controllers (PLC). The encoders, recording the revolutions per minute (RPM) of each brush shaft, provide input to the programmable logic controller. If the RPM value is at or above the high RPM limit, the pivoted boom will move the brush toward the vehicle to achieve a desired brush-to-washable surface contact. If, on the other hand, the RPM value is at or below the low RPM limit, the pivoted boom will move the brush away from the vehicle to achieve a desired brush-to-washable surface contact.