DRB-Configuring a TunnelWatch Device

Overview

Tunnel Devices setup screen is where most tunnel devices are created and configured. Specialty devices, like the conveyor, conveyor idle, horn, entrance lights, inputs, progress switches, rollers, timed switches, and tunnel related inputs are created and configured elsewhere in TunnelWatch.

• Turn Devices On Or Off Based On Time Or Distance! Device cycle control - on or off - can be based on either the number of seconds or feet and inches that a vehicle is from a tunnel device. On/off controls are independent; for example a device's on control can be time-based while its corresponding off control is distance-based.

• Don't Assign Sequential Devices To Services. Sequential devices are automatically activated for every vehicle that enters the tunnel. They do not need to be assigned to a service or service group in the Services & Service Groups setup screen.

• Icons Help Verify Devices Are Applied By The Right Service At The Right Time. Assign icons to programmable devices to help verify that those devices are included and activated with the corresponding extra services.

The summarized list of devices includes the device name, relay, distance from the enter switch, and whether it is:

• Interlocked: Can only be activated if the conveyor is running.

• Overridable: Can be manually activated or deactivated from the TunnelWatch software (Overrides screen).

• Staggered: A high-load device whose activation will be briefly delayed if other high-load devices are activated at the same time.

• Flashing: It is repeatedly cycled on and off when activated.

• Status Icon: Indicates whether, and how, it is displayed in the Tunnel section of the Production and Quick Status screens.

Select 'Edit Device' to view a particular device's configuration. Each device's setup screen includes three tabs: General, Cycles and Traits, and Priming, Lookahead, and Saturation.

Configuration

Device Name

This is the device name as displayed on the screen or in reports. Device names can be 40 characters, including spaces. If the name is 13 characters or more, the Device Abbreviation field (see below) is displayed and the name in that field is displayed on the tunnel entrance terminal display and in reports.

No two devices should have the same name, even if the equipment that is controlled is identical. For example, if there are two rinse arches, they should be named Rinse Arch 1 and Rinse Arch 2.

Device Abbreviation

This field is only displayed if the value in the Device Name field (see above) is 13 characters (including spaces) or more. It automatically uses the first 12 characters entered in the Device Name field. However, once the field is visible, you can enter any 12 characters as the abbreviated name for the device. This abbreviated name is then displayed on the tunnel entrance terminal display and in reports in place of the longer Device Name value.

Active

Enable or disable the tunnel device. Select Yes to enable the tunnel device. When a device is active, it is controlled as usual.

Select No to disable the device; use this to disable a device for an extended period without losing its counts.

Tunnel Icon

Devices can be assigned a graphic icon that will then appear on the Tunnel section of the Production screen. Each icon lights up when it is activated for a vehicle. Assign icons to core sequential devices, like spray arches, soap arches, mitters, brushes, and blowers. Also consider assigning an icon to the device that assign icons to programmable devices to help verify that those devices are included and activated with the corresponding extra services.

Do NOT assign an icon to every device. Otherwise, icons will overlap each other and make it difficult to identify them and their activations.

Device Type

The device type parameter controls how a device is activated. The choices for this field are:

• Sequential (On for every wash): A sequential device is activated for every vehicle that enters the tunnel.

• Programmable (On when selected): A programmable device is only activated when a specified service is selected for the vehicle.

• Deprogrammable (On unless selected): A deprogrammable device is activated unless a specified service is selected for the vehicle.

Sequential devices are activated for every vehicle; they do not need to be associated with a service or service group. Programmable and deprogrammable devices, however, must be associated with a service in order to be activated for a vehicle. This means that a service and corresponding service group must be defined for each unique a-la-carte item that can be added to a wash on its own.

Box/Relay

Select the address of the Tunnel Control Station and relay to which the tunnel device is actually wired.

If you only have one Tunnel Control Station, select 1 for the address; if you have more than one, you will need to determine the address of the Tunnel Control Station to which the device is wired and then select that.

Enter 0 (zero) for both fields if no relay should be activated for the device.

Two or more devices can control a single relay. However, only one device can control the relay at any time. For example, a deprogrammable device and a programmable device can control the same relay if both are triggered by the same service and their measurements are compatible.

Switch Type

Select the tunnel device switch's polarity: Normally Open or Normally Closed.

* Note: that all relays turn off regardless of switch type setting:

• Anytime the TunnelWatch computer loses power;

• Anytime the Tunnel Control Station loses power; and

• Every day, briefly at midnight when the TunnelWatch computer automatically restarts.

Device Position

The distance, in feet and inches, of this device from the enter switch.  It is important to validate this measurement before making any changes to an already configured device.  

*Important: If the device position is not accurate it should be corrected before any additional adjustments to the timing and cycles are made.

Other Settings

Turn On Only With Conveyor (Interlocked)

• This option determines whether the device can only be activated if the conveyor is running, and whether it is deactivated if the conveyor is turned off.

• It is usually selected.

Staggered Device

• This option is for tunnel devices that have a high load factor, commonly used to stagger the activation of the blowers. Select it to briefly delay the device's activation if other tunnel devices with a high load factor (other devices with this option selected) are activated at the same time.

• The Staggered Device Delay parameter (located on the General tab of the General Configuration setup screen) provides the minimum amount of time that a device's activation is staggered.

• Staggered starting of several high-demand devices can reduce peak electrical demand and may result in lower electric bills in some locations.

Flashing Output

• This option determines whether the device, when activated, is repeatedly cycled on and off.

• When selected, a duration field is displayed. This field controls both the on and off cycle time in seconds. For example, if 3.0 seconds is entered, the device turns on for 3 seconds and then off for 3 seconds (always a fifty percent duty cycle). A value of 0.0 seconds will force the device to flash at a rate of approximately 10 times per second during activation.

Maintenance Interval A & B

• This is the number of hours between planned service maintenance operations for the device. Two intervals are provided in case there are two maintenance procedures and each has a different maintenance interval. For example, one maintenance procedure may need to be performed every 400 hours, while another maintenance procedure may need to be performed every 550 hours. These are based on the device's actual accumulated run-time, not the amount of time the tunnel is running, or the wash is open.

• One of the fields can be used to track chemical replacement or refills for equipment. For example, this type of use would be calculated from the flow rate in gallons-per-minute and size in gallons of the container with this formula: HOURS = GALLONS / ( GPM x 60 )

• The dates of the next projected maintenance intervals are provided on the Device Scheduled Maintenance Report.

Cycles and Traits

Cycles

This section controls whether the device's activation consists of one cycle or two cycles (for example, a first cycle for the front tires and a second cycle for the rear tires), and when each cycle is activated.

Device cycles can be controlled (turned on or off) based on time or distance. The two methods can even be used in the same cycle. For example, a blower device can be configured to turn on 5 seconds before the front of a car, and then turn off 6 inches after the rear of the car.

Device Operation Control

This determines the number of on/off cycles for the device.

• Single Cycle: Most devices only have one cycle.

• Double Cycle (Tires): Use the double cycle settings for tire applicator and front/rear bumper blaster devices.

Cycle "On"

Four fields determine when the cycle turns on.

• The first field is the device's physical position from a place on the vehicle or device turn-on in distance (feet and inches) or time (seconds).

• The second field is the measurement type: time (seconds) or distance (feet and inches).

• The third field is the relative location to the part of the car (set in the fourth field); direction is entered in the second field as either Before or After a part of the vehicle.

• The fourth field is the part of the vehicle that begins the cycle. The choices are: Front of Car, Rear of Car, Middle of Car, First Tire, Second Tire, and Start of Windshield.

Cycle "Off"

Four fields determine when the cycle turns off.

• The first field is the device's physical position from a place on the vehicle or device turn-on in distance (feet and inches) or time (seconds).

• The second field is the measurement type: time (seconds) or distance (feet and inches).

• The third field is the relative location to the part of the car (set in the fourth field); direction is entered in the second field as either Before or After a part of the vehicle.

• The fourth field is the part of the vehicle that begins the cycle. The choices are: Front of Car, Rear of Car, Middle of Car, First Tire, Second Tire, and Start of Windshield.

Cycle Modifications for Vehicle Traits

Cycle modifications for vehicle traits are optional. Therefore, tunnel devices do not have vehicle trait cycle modifications by default.

• If Vehicle Has

  • The trait that modifies the cycle. The list of traits that are available here are configured in the Vehicle Traits setup screen.

• Modify Cycle To

  • The cycle modification that occurs when a vehicle has the trait.

Modifications

• Disable Device: Prevents a device from activating for a vehicle with the trait. For example: Prevent a wrap-around device from running over the back of vehicles that have a trailer hitch.

• Stop At: Turns off the top blower at the start of the open truck bed. For example: Turn off a top blower at the start of the open truck bed.

• Delay Start Until: Delays the beginning of the cycle so the device doesn't start until it has passed over the vehicle trait. For example: Delay the start of a top brush until it passes over a bug deflector on the hood of the vehicle.

• Bump: Pauses a device's activation in the middle of its cycle so the device will "skip" over the trait/characteristic. The cycle automatically resumes running after the pause. The time or distance of the bump is configured by the user. You can “bump” around a characteristic/trait <X> seconds or <Y> feet/in; you must pick one or the other – time or distance. But then you can configure the actual time or distance. For example: Temporarily stop a top brush while it passes over a police light bar and then restart it once it has passed.

Add Cycle Modification

Select Add Cycle Modification to create a vehicle trait cycle modification. When a vehicle trait cycle modification is created, two parameters are provided: If Vehicle Has and Modify Cycle To.

Priming, Lookback, and Saturation

Priming

This feature is available for tunnel devices, like a soap arch, that need time to ramp up.

• Prime Needed

  • This is the number of seconds that elapse after the on cycle is activated until the chemical or substance is actually dispensed. The device will then turn on early by this number of seconds if the Prime Lost After time has elapsed since the device's last activation.

  • If the number of seconds that has elapsed is less than the Prime Lost After number of seconds, the device will turn on early as a function of the ratio of the number of seconds since the device's last activation to the Prime Lost After number of seconds. For example, if Prime Lost After is set to 22 seconds, and 11 seconds (half the configured number) has elapsed since the device's last activation, the device's actual prime (early turn on) will be half the configured Prime Needed value (so if the field is set to 10 seconds, the actual prime used in this scenario would be 5 seconds).

  • Set this to 0 to disable the feature.

• Prime Lost After

  • This is the number of seconds that must elapse before the device loses its prime and needs a new prime. For a soap arch, this represents the time it takes the soap/water to completely drain. The time that elapses after the last activation of the device is compared to this setting. The ratio between the two times is used to reduce the pre-turn-on specified by the Prime Needed setting.

  • Set this to 0 to force the device to be primed every time it activates.

Lookback

• Lookback Distance

  • If a device is activated and the next vehicle is close, the device will stay on for that next vehicle. Specifically, if the device's cycle is currently activated and the next vehicle to receive this device is this distance or less from the device, the device cycle stays on, rather than cycling off and then back on. If the device is programmable, the device must also be associated with a service that is programmed for the next vehicle. This reduces on and off cycling during busy periods.

Saturation

• When the saturation feature is enabled, the device is activated for the next Saturated After <N> Cars that would normally receive the device if:

  • At least Dry After <N> Cars have received the device since the last device activation (and Dry After <N> Cars is greater than zero),

  • Or if Or <N> Minutes have elapsed since the last device activation (and Or <N> Minutes is greater than zero),

  • Or if the sum of the percentage of Dry After <N> Cars that have received the device and the percentage of Or <N> Minutes that have elapsed since that last device activation is greater than or equal to 100% (if both values are non-zero).

• Saturated After # Cars

  • This counter is the point at which the applicator is saturated based on the number of cars that have received the service. When TunnelWatch determines the applicator is dry (either because the set number of cars received the service or the set number of minutes has passed before that number of cars could be satisfied), the device will re-apply the chemical to the applicator for this number of cars.

• Dry After # Cars,

  • This counter marks the point at which the applicator is dry after the service has been applied to this number of cars. This causes the device to re-saturate the applicator; it will run until the set number of Saturated After <N> Cars is satisfied.

• Or # Minutes

  • This counter marks the point (in number of minutes that have passed since the last activation) at which the applicator is dry if the Dry After <N> Cars number of cars isn't satisfied. This causes the device to re-saturate the applicator; it will run until the set number of Saturated After <N> Cars is satisfied.

• Disable Device Saturation

  • There are 2 different ways to disable the vehicle saturation function of a tunnel device. If the saturation functionality is disabled, the device will supply chemical to the applicator pads or wrap each time a vehicle receives that service. This can result in a poor wash service, and it will increase chemical costs.

    • 1.  Set Saturated After <N> Cars to 0.

    • 2. Set both Dry After <N> Cars and Or <N> Minutes field to 0.

Entrance Light Configuration

The Entrance Lights setup screen (Setup>Entrance Lights) is where entrance light devices are created and configured. Entrance lights provide customers with confirmation that the services they ordered are programmed for their vehicle. Learn more about the TunnelWatch entrance lights functionality here.

Don't Forget To Assign Each Entrance Light To A Service! Entrance lights are programmable devices, which means they are only activated when they are assigned to a service and that service is programmed for a vehicle.

Unlike the devices in the Tunnel Devices setup screen, entrance light device configuration does not include a device type parameter of sequential, programmable, or deprogrammable. This is because the devices configured in the Entrance Lights setup screen are always programmable devices. Therefore, an entrance light, like any other programmable device, can only be activated if it is included with a service group that is programmed for the vehicle.

An entrance light device relay activates when its associated service, via a service group, is selected for the current car in the queue. It remains active until the car reaches the Minimum Vehicle Length (configured on the Enter Switch tab of the Tunnel Related Inputs setup screen). Entrance light operation can be enhanced through an Entrance Lights Delay parameter (located on the General Tab of the General Configuration setup screen), which prevents entrance lights from turning on for a car until the conveyor travels a configured number of feet (for example, 2 feet) after the car in front of this car. This feature allows TunnelWatch to send the signal to activate entrance lights for the next vehicle without actually illuminating them immediately.

Name

The name of the selected entrance light. 40 characters can be entered. Note that some reports and features in TunnelWatch may not display the entire device name, depending on the space available. The first part of the device name will be displayed in those instances.

Active

Select this to enable the entrance light for use. Remove the check mark to disable the entrance light. This is preferable to deleting an entrance light because it retains the historical service counts for reports.

Box

Select the address of the Tunnel Control Station to which the entrance light is actually wired.

If you only have one Tunnel Control Station, select 1 for the address; if you have more than one, you will need to determine the address of the Tunnel Control Station to which the device is wired and then select that.

Enter 0 (zero) if no relay should be activated for the device.

Relay

Select the relay to which the tunnel device is actually wired.

Enter 0 (zero) if no relay should be activated for the device.

Two or more devices can control a single relay. However, only one device can control the relay at any time. For example, a deprogrammable device and a programmable device can control the same relay if both are triggered by the same service and their measurements are compatible.

Flashing

Select this if the entrance light should cycle on and off (flash) while its relay is activated.

Flash Duration (Seconds)

The number of seconds the entrance light cycles on and the number of seconds the light cycles off while its relay is activated. For example, if a value of 3.0 is used, the light turns on for three seconds and then off for three seconds. A value of 0.0 (zero) flashes at approximately 10 times per second.