Vehicle Detection at a Car Wash

Keep Automated Car Washes Running Smoothly

Vehicle detection at a car wash is essential to verify that vehicles are correctly positioned in the car wash bay, monitor the flow of traffic through the car wash, and trigger next steps such as opening and closing entry and exit doors.

However, harsh conditions both inside and outside of a car wash pose many challenges to traditional equipment, and heavy-duty solutions are required to withstand the environment.

Keep reading to learn about technologies that provide reliable vehicle detection in these difficult conditions.

Challenges

Solutions

Detection at an Automated Car Wash Entrance

Application: Detecting vehicles at the entrance of a car wash to trigger automatic doors.

Challenges: The sensor is exposed to harsh outdoor environments that can impact sensor performance. In addition, a minimally invasive solution is required to reduce costly downtime.

Solution: A wireless sensor like the M-GAGE from Banner is a compact, minimally invasive, and cost-effective solution. Vehicle presence is detected by a node that activates the automated car wash system to power up and trigger the entry door.

Benefits: An wireless sensor node eliminates the need for a large and invasive inductive loop. The wireless node requires no wiring or external control box, but it achieves an accurate and repeatable response. The compact, fully-encapsulated device withstands harsh weather conditions and may be mounted above ground or below ground.

Verify Vehicle Position Inside the Bay

Detection Inside a Car Wash Bay

Application: Sensing vehicles as they travel through cycles of a car wash.

Challenges: Inside the car wash, extreme conditions like high pressure, drastic termperature changes, mist, steam, and humidity can impact sensor performance.

Solution: A high-performance long-range photoelectric sensor that is epoxy-ecapsulated and IP69K-rated for use in wet environments. In the image to the right, the QS30EXQ emitter and QS30RRXQ receiver are configured in opposed mode to verify that a vehicle has passed completely through the drying stage of wash, signaling the car wash is ready to allow another vehicle to begin a cycle.

Benefits: Sensors with epoxy-encapsulated electronics prevent water ingress from destroying the sensitive components, and IP69K-rated housings can withstand the constant presence of water and extreme temperature swings. In addition, sensors with a 875 nm wavelength infrared light can burn through mist and steam for reliable sensing.

Complete the Solution with Status Indication

LED Indicators Provide Clear Visual Feedback

A car wash vehicle detection solution would not be complete without status indication. Bright, LED indicator lights provide visual confirmation to customers that their vehicle is positioned correctly and that the car wash cycle is beginning. Multiple indicator lights can be used to clearly display which stage of the car wash cycle is in progress.

Similar to sensors, LED lights can be easily damaged by the environment of the car wash bay, so choosing an indicator rated IP69K is essential.

High Performance Photoelectric Sensor

거의 모든 장착 요건에 적합한 혁신적인 30mm 하우징 설계
최대 200m 범위에 이르는 고출력 감지
대향 모드, 고출력 대향 모드, 편광 및 비편광 역반사 모드, 확산 모드, 레이저 모드, 고정 필드 및 조절식 필드 모드, 투명 물체 감지 모드로 제공
확산 및 역반사 모델에서는 클래스 1 가시 광선, 확산 모델에서는 클래스 2
표준 10~30V dc 공급 전압 및 양극 NPN/PNP 출력이나 24~250V ac 및 12~250V ac 공급 전압 e/m 릴레이 출력을 제공하는 모델
모델에 따라 밝은 곳/어두운 곳 작동 선택 또는 구성 가능
모델에 따라 IP67 또는 IP69K 환경 등급
360도에서 쉽게 확인할 수 있는 밝은 LED 작동 상태 표시등