Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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AUTOMOBILE VEHICLES STACK PARKING SYSTEM
The ever growing number of automobiles in any developed
country have corresponded almost always to an also ever growing
headache; not only for the drivers themselves, but also to
respective authorities, ~hen either of them are confronted with
the parking problem.
The exiguity of space in the generality of buildings,
and the little available area in the places exclusively dedicated
to autoparks in face of the above referred automobile sales boon,
leads to the imperious necessity of finding some solutions that
permit to make more profitable, not only the free areas but also
the volumes therein.
The present invention relates to a system for parking
automobile vehicles by stacking them, which is characterized by
the fact that the stacking units are put into practice by means
of one or two fixed structures constituting one or two silo~,
respectively associate to a metallic movable structure, and also
by the fact that it permits to make the parking of a great number
of vehicles in reduced areas with considerable vertical span.
The parking system proposed by this invention, and as a
consequence the stacking units corresponding to its practical
execution can be used in either underground parking lots or in
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those located above ground level or also in those of mixed
architecture.
According to one aspect of this invention, thre is
provided an automobile vehicle stack parking system constituted
by a fixed structure which can be essentially made of metal or
precast strengthened concrete and rest upon reinforced concrete
foundations having a modular construction type, and that can
contain one or more vertical parking silos, with a number of
places that varies in function of the available vertical span,
either underground or at ground level or even mixed,
characterized by the fact that it is equipped with one or two
movable structures containing sets of stacking forks that move
themselves vertically, and that possess the freedom of horizontal
motion, all these movements being executed by the action of
hydraulic and pneumatic actuators, and because it possesses
security means applied to the fluid conducting systems for the
case of any leak or rupture thus assuring the immobili~ation of
the system.
According to a one aspect of the present invention
there is provided a vehicle parking system comprising: at least
one stationary parking tower, the tower having a plurality of
parking levels, the levels including at least one parking area
adapted to receive a vehicle; at least one vehicle positioning
means operatively associated with the tower, the positioning
means being movable from a first vehicle loading position spaced
from the tower to a second vehicle parking position within the
stationary tower; a vehicle hoisting means for hoisting the
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vehicle from ground level to at least one area of the tower, the
hoisting means being operatively associated with the vehicle
positioning means; and actuation means for actuating the vehicle
positioning means and the vehicle hoisting means whereby when the
vehicle is located on the hoisting means and positioned within at
least one area of the tower with the positioning means.
According to another aspect of the present invention,
all the parking places inside the towers may, in one embodiment,
be provided with a removable palette which may be received by the
hoisting means. The palettes include fluid collecting zones in
order to avoid the same from dripping on a vehicle parked below.
In addition, the palettes can include means to frictionally
contact the tires of a vehicle e.g. a textured surface, and as
well may include guidance aids, for example markings, etc. to
ensure that the vehicle is well centered upon the palette. The
palette may further be provided with guidance rails to guide the
wheels of the vehicle, and with stop shoulders that make it pos-
sible to indicate when the car has reached the desired centered
position upon the palette.
As will be understood, in private or public parking
lots that dispose of great areas and enough vertical span, the
use of the units in accordance with the present invention will
permit to multiply the number of vehicles that can be parked on
them.
The structures of the stacking units can be constructed
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for a variable number of vehicles and for vehicles of several
dlmenslons .
The arrangement of the several stacking units inside
the available area can vary from case to case, in accordance with
local requirements and conveniences, and with the side through
which the entrance and exit of vehicles must be made.
A feature of the movable structure of each one of the
stacking units is for its reception of a vehicle, its
installation in an empty place, its extraction from said place
and its devolution to the client.
The movable structure may present two types of
apparatus one that has support at the top and at the base of the
fixed structure, and the other which is suspended only from the
upper part of the fixed structure, without any inferior
supporting means, thus avoiding the inferior support wheels as
well as the problems inherent to the maintenance of respective
courses exempt from detritus if there are any. So a supported
movable structure and a suspended movable structure are herein
considered.
The fixed structures for the stacking units of the
present invention can be made of metal or precast strengthened
concrete, and they can rest upon steel concrete foundations with
adequate dimensions for the characteristics of the ground where
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they are to be implanted. When the fixed structures are
metallic, they are constituted by modules in order to make
transportation, assembling or transfer to another place easier.
The modular conception and construction allow for the
settling in lateral mechanical gemination with the advantage of
making assembling and reducing of the common uprights easier.
In the case that the stacking units are provided with
the two silos each one of said silos can present the same number
of places.
The movable structure corresponding to the fixed
structure with one sole silo makes the horizontal approaching and
withdrawing movements to and from the fixed structure in a
perfectly balanced way under the action of two hydraulic or
pneumatic jacks fixed upon the upper part of the fixed structure,
and two jacks of the same type mounted upon the lower part of
said structure or only two jacks upon the lower part, the action
of said jacks being controlled from a position where multi-
purpose electronic control devices are provided.
All the parking places inside the fixed structure of
the present invention may or may not be provided with a removable
palette. Usually these palettes have oil drop collecting zones
in order to avoid that said oil drops will pour upon the vehicle
that is parked below, the palettes having also, usually, great
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adherence zones for the vehicles tires to settle on, and near
each one of the tops thereon there is a flexible pole or other
auxiliary devices in order to permit that the vehicle be well
centered upon the palette.
Another possibility of the present invention is that
the palette be provided with guidance rails to guide the vehicle
wheels and with stop shoulders so as to indicate that the car has
reached the correct position.
Also in accordance with one feature these vehicles are
position detecting electronic devices that signal acoustically
and by way of lights indicate any eventual deviation even when
referring to the exaggerate dimensions of the vehicle and/or its
exterior bulk.
The section of the profiles used to build each one of
the stacking units, and obviously their dimensions are a function
of the type of vehicle to each they are appointed to and of the
number of vehicles to be stacked.
The hydraulic and electronic controls for the units can
be individual or collective, i.e., placed on a sole control panel
for each parking lot and if justified, having inclusively
recourse to the utilization of closed circuit television, not
only as a control auxiliary but also as a security/surveillance
means. The electronic control unit for the several steps
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necessary to the parking operation memorizes the number of vacant
or filled places inside the silo.
The above referred electronic unit works in association
with periferic devices to be defined by the entity that manages
the parking lot. Those periferic devices will constitute some
means for the stocking of data such as: starting date/hour of
the parking operation, position occupied by the vehicle inside
the silo, identification of the silo, etc.
The magnetic or punched card which the client receives
when giving out his vehicle to the parking unit functions, as can
be understood, as a personal and untransmissible ticket for the
withdrawing of his vehicle.
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If wished an automatic collection system can be
introduced that can function with currency or credit cards.
The elements that constitute the hydraulic system are
protected against overload and bursting of tubes, said protection
assuring the immobilization of the system till an eventual manual
operation if that is considered necessary.
The parking units can also be provided with an
equipment that allows removal of the vehicles from the silos in
case of an interruption in the electric power supplying, in which
case the electronic equipment does conserve intact its data
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records for a rather wide period of time.
The stacking forks which are part of the movable
structures and that carry upon them tha palette with the
automobile vehicle on it, get up and down by the action of some
jacks or hydraulic or pneumatic winches fixed thereon and
silently moving.
As has been referred the stacking units can have one or
two silos. In the first case the movable structures have only
one silo at one of its sides, and in the second case they have
two silos, one at each side.
When the stacking units are located at both sides of
the movable structure, this one, as it is double, is provided
with stacking forks at both sides as can be well understood, and
there are hydraulic jacks or winches controlling the ascension
and descent of the forks for each side.
The movable structures with their single or double set
of forks move themselves horizontally, getting near and/or
getting away to/and from the stacking units, under the action of
devices that are as well hydraulic or pneumatic.
All the above referred movements are dampered at the
start by the introduction of a slope for acceleration and
deceleration electronically controlled in the action of the
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electrovalves responsible for the regulation of the flow supplied
to the several hydraulic or pneumatic organs.
The various drawing of this application show stacking
system comprising a silo with six places, several ways to dispose
this type of unit, a system with two silos for six or more
places, disposed one at each side of the movable structure and
two of the ways to erect the unit in accordance with the
available vertical span above pavement's level.
Having thus generally described the invention,
reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings
illustrating preferred embodiments and in which:
Fig. 1 is a whole side view of a unit of the
vehicles stack parking system constituted by a silo for six
vehicles and a supported movable structure;
Fig. 2 is a top plan view corresponding to Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a plan view of a palette;
Fig. 4 is a rear view of the fixed structure of a
unit as per Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a front view of the movable structure of
an unit as per Fig. 1;
Fig.6 is a front view of a unit of the vehicles
stack parking system comprising a double silo for fourteen
vehicles, and a suspended movable structure;
Fig. 7 is a front view of the suspended movable
structure of a unit as per Fig. 6;
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Fig. 8 is a plan view corresponding to the view of
Fig. 6;
Fig. 9 is a side view of a stacking unit with two
silos, one at each of the sides of the supported movable
structure;
Fig. 10 is a simplified representation of a stacking
unit of the type shown in Fig. 9, with all the places located
above pavement's level.
Fig. 11 is a simplified representation of a stacking
unit of the type shown in Fig. 9 with four of the 12 places
located under the level of the pavement; and
Figs. 12, 13 and 14 are a plan view of three
different ways for the disposition of the stacking units
comprising a silo in accordance with the available area
existing for that effect.
The various drawing of this application show
stacking system comprising a silo with six places, several
ways to dispose this type of unit, a system with two silos for
six or more places, disposed one at each side of the movable
structure and two of the ways to erect the unit in accordance
with the available vertical span above pavement's level.
In its general lines, the stacking unit that is
constituted by only one silo (Figures 1,2,4 and 5) compxises a
fixed structure (1) (which is metallic in the example shown)
and a supported movable metallic structure (2).
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The horizontal movement of the supported movable
structure (2) is effected in a perfectly balanced way either
in one sense (3) or (4).
The stacking forks (8) that function inside the
supported movable structure (2) are activated by means of
double effect jacks (9) anchored to the profiled elements (10)
connected to said structure, and acting upon the straight
plane bar (11) that interconnects and anchors said forks.
The control of the stacking unit is made from a
position (12). Considering that in the resting situation the
supported movable structure (2) is, for instance, with its
forks (8) located under the palette (5) which has upon it the
vehicle parked during the last parking operation, the command
for a new parking operation determines the removal of
structure (2) from structure (1), the descent or ascent of
forks (8) to the level of the nearest vacant place, the
: approaching movement of movable structure (2) to the fixed
structure (1), a slight uprising of the vacant palette by
forks (8), the removal of movable structure (2) from fixed
structure (1), and descent of said forks with the palette put
on them in order to receive the new vehicle, the ascent of the
forks with said new vehicle upon the palette till slightly
above the lateral (6) and intermediary (7) profiled support
elements where they put the vehicle upon.
In a general way the stacking unit constituted by a
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double silo (Fig. 6), comprises a fixed structure (13) (which
is metallic in the example shown), and a suspended movable
structure (14).
The horizontal movement of suspended structure (14)
is effected in a perfectly balanced and stable way, either in
one sense or another by action of hydraulic actuators (15)
(Fig. 7) extremely noiseless.
Stacking forXs (16) that function inside suspended
movable structure (~4) are activated by means of hydraulic
winches (17) anchored to said structure's upright (18), which
winches move inside vertical plane bars (19) (Fig. 7) that
constitute suspended movable structure's (14) legs.
Suspended movable structure (14) presents an
adequate form due to the fact of being suspended from upper
part (20) of fixed structure (13) of the type rolling
cantilever bridge and of being intended to support important
loads, and has the liberty of horizontal motion that allows
the closing in and removal movements of said movable structure
relative to each one of the two silos that constitute a double
silo.
Another advantage of the present invention due to
the use of suspended movable structure is that the upper
places (A) having some protection rails allow not only parking
of high box vehicles, but also to profit from a space that
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otherwise would be only occupied by the hydraulic winches.
The stacking units with two silos A and B each one
of them located at one different side o~ supported movable
structure (Fig. 9), comprise fixed structures (21~ constituted
by six places in each silo, and in each of the places there is
the profiled supporting element for the corresponding palette
(5).
Movable structure (22) is rectangular in shape and
presents at each of its corners a profiled element (23) that
corresponds to the upper and lower parts of fixed structures
(21) of the two silos by means of wheels (24) which in
conjunction with wheels (25) make possible the closing in and
removing motions of supported movable structure (22~ relative
to both silos.
Support movable structure (22) comprises stacking
forks (26) provided with distinct controlling and signalizing
means.
Let us see now how the utilization of the units in the case of
two silos units are processed as afore described.
When there is one or more vacant places inside any
one of both silos of the parking unit, a green light located
in a convenient place will light informing the user of this
fact. In this case, the fence (not represented) that limits
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the admission and exit of vehicles is raised and under one of
the sets of forks (26) there is a palette which is appointed
to receive the vehicle to be parked.
The user drives his vehicle over the palette, brakes
it, changes its gears, and after that gets out of the vehicle
and depresses the button that starts the parking operation.
When said button is depressed the photoelectric cells do the
readings pertaining to the dimensions of the vehicle and/or
its load, and if these do not exceed the maximum values
allowed for the vacant place, the above mentioned fence lowers
and the forks (26) raise to that place and stop, according to
the fact that the place where the palette pertains to is
located either in silo A or silo B.
If we admit that the used palette pertains to an
empty place in silo A the movable structure (22) then closes
in to this silo, passes with the palette occupied by the
vehicle slightly over the profiled supporting elements (not
visible upon the figure), stops to permit the slight descent
of forks (26) to deposit the palette with the vehicle on it
over the referred profiled supporting elements.
Once the parking operation of the vehicle is
executed, the movable structure (22) extracts a new palette by
means of forks (26) and puts it at ground level for the next
parking operation.
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When a parking operation is in course of execution,
the fence of the stacking unit maintains itself lowered, i.e.,
in the position it did take before the forks started their
raising motion, and that to avoid the entrance of a vehicle or
person that would be harassed by the motion of structure (22)
or of forks (26) themselves. Thus the fence will only raise
when a new palette has been put at ground level, and any or
all motion of the system has ceased.
If the photoelectric cells verify that the
dimensions and/or the load of the vehicle to be parked are
superior to those admissible by the system, control is
blocked, and a strong acoustical signal is heard and a
luminous signal is lit averting the user that he must withdraw
his vehicle.
The withdrawal of the vehicle is made by executing
in reverse order the operations referred when its first
positioning over the palette took place.
Figures 10 and 11 are examples of two possible ways
of installation for the example of Fig. 9, where one verifies
the existence of the 12 places located above ground level and
that of 4 of 12 places that are located under pavement's level
in the unit respectively. This solution with the silos being
partially under pavements's level can happen too in the case
of silos located at one side of the movable structure only.
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Figures 12, 13 and 14 are examples of dispositions
that can be adopted for several stacking units. For example,
accepting that each one of the units shown have a six place
silos too, one would have for these examples total capacities
of 30(5x6), 48(8x6) and 60(10x6) places, constituting thus an
excellent profit of respective areas and vertical span.
It is important to mention that either in the case
of stacking units with just one silo or with two silos located
one at each side of the movable structure, the connection of a
unit to the ones laterally adjacent to it is made by means of
screwing or, in a preferred embodiment, by the use of same
lateral upright, which permits an excellent utilization of
material and the easy transportation of the structures for
each of the units to the assembling place.
