Motor vehicle parking installation, forming an automatic individual garage in an urban environment

The invention provides a motor vehicle parking installation forming an automatic individual garage in an urban environment. In this installation, the vehicle carrying platform (2) has two longitudinal edges (25) with a V shaped inclined profile cooperating by bearing on two retractable longitudinal stop elements (29) mounted along the hopper opening (3).

The present invention relates to improvements to the vehicle parking 
installations of the type described in FR 2 586 443 relating essentially 
to a motor vehicle parking installation forming an automatic individual 
garage in an urban environment. It relates more particularly to the 
vehicle carrying platform as well as the assembly of associated means 
concerning the safety of its movement. 
It will be recalled that the object of this patent is a vehicle, 
particularly motor vehicle, parking installation, characterized in that it 
comprises: 
a common entrance in the form of a closed garage equipped with an automatic 
door and a control for fetching and parking said vehicles, 
a group of individual parking places situated in a space available in the 
vicinity of said common entrance and intended for parking respectively 
each of said vehicles, 
an assembly of independent vehicle supporting platforms, respective 
supports for each of said vehicles and 
a system for transporting said vehicle supporting platforms capable of 
moving a selected platform from said entrance, as a function of said 
control, for depositing a vehicle or receiving it to bring it into a 
respective parking place, 
said control only being able to be operated by authorized users. 
The vehicle carrying platforms, such as they are called at present, have in 
fact an essential role. They must correctly receive the vehicle to be 
parked in all safety and they must be moved and deposited precisely, 
reliably and perfectly reproducibly in their respective parking place. 
The present invention relates then, for the above purpose, to the elements 
proper to the vehicle carrying platform as well as the kinematic means for 
its reliable movement. 
The vehicle carrying platform constitutes the bottom forming the floor of 
the individual garage or box receiving the vehicles, when the installation 
is not operated. This platform is moved during operation by the transport 
system of the installation, which is essentially formed of a lifting 
console moving a rotary platform with its transfer carriage, guided 
vertically along a vertical post by rolling on rollers. The lifting 
console supporting the rotary platform is raised by a central jack 
extending over the whole depth of the hopper where the vehicle parking 
places are located, which are in a radial configuration in the hopper. 
The first function concerned is that where the platform forms the bottom of 
the box when not in operation. To ensure and protect this function, the 
vehicle carrying platform of the present application, having an 
essentially rectangular shape and of a format corresponding substantially 
to the ground dimensions of usual motor vehicles, is essentially 
characterized in that its two longitudinal edges have a slanted profile in 
the form of a V and cooperate by bearing on two retractable longitudinal 
stop elements mounted along the hopper opening closed by said platform. 
Said stop elements are advantageously elements in the form of L-shaped 
floor bolts whose essentially flat head cooperates with the external V 
profile of the platform. These elements are articulated to the hopper 
opening, to each of the longitudinal hopper beams and are driven by a 
jack. In the operating position, they are rotated with their head bearing 
on the V profile of the platform and in the inoperative or retracted 
position, they come right against the opening so as to occupy a vertical 
position out of range of said profile, allowing the platform to descend. 
This arrangement with articulated floor bolts cooperating on the V profile 
of the platform makes it possible to obtain absolutely perfect 
self-locking of the platform on the hopper opening. Furthermore, from the 
mechanical point of view, it is also excellent since it transfers all the 
vertical forces to the concrete floor about the hopper opening, this floor 
thus working under compression. 
The platform has been completed on the surface, in order to provide safety 
of reception of the vehicles, with two raised longitudinal edges defining 
the track for introducing the vehicles. The thus channelled vehicle is 
further displayed by cameras disposed orthogonally on the maximum height 
gauge not to be exceeded. If one of the parts of the vehicle introduced 
exceeds the gauge, the system stops as a safety precaution. In the second 
aspect of the application concerning the safety of movement of the 
platform, two means have been provided for locking the movement, which are 
indispensable for without them the system cannot operate. Between the 
vehicle carrying platform and the rotary platform is located an 
intermediate element which is the transfer carriage on which the vehicle 
carrying platform is laid. In order to secure the vehicle carrying 
platform firmly to the rotary platform, a first locking means has been 
provided in the form of engagement of a vertical finger in a complementary 
housing formed in the rotary platform. This finger may be fixed to the 
transfer carriage, so as to move vertically and in a controlled fashion. 
Thus, the carrier platform and so the vehicle cannot accidentally move out 
of position during the vertical translation of the system. 
This same finger may be used for very accurately positioning the carrier 
platform in its parking place, by indexing itself also to a complementary 
housing fixed thereon. 
This means further ensures the reproducibility of the horizontal and 
translational travel paths and so positioning of the carrier platform. 
The second safety means consists in locking the vertical and rotary 
positioning of the rotary platform at a recognized selected position, for 
example by a landing bolt or movable horizontal finger fixed to the rotary 
platform and cooperating with a housing suitably provided at the parking 
place to allow the transfer carriage to move over its guides. This bolt is 
completed by a contact element for recognizing the correct operation of 
the system. 
Thus, the transfer carriage with its platform cannot be removed unless 
authorized.

A preferred embodiment of the parking installation according to the above 
mentioned patent is recalled in FIGS. 1 and 2. It comprises a reception 
box 1, whose bottom is closed when not operated by a vehicle carrying 
platform, an underground hopper with its different vehicle parking places 
5 in a radial configuration, the transport system 7 with the lift 9 or 
lifting console driven by a jack 11 and guided laterally by rollers 13 on 
a vertical post 15. On the lift 9 is disposed the rotary platform 17 and 
its associated transfer carriage 19, the purpose of which is to move the 
vehicle carrying platforms 2 as far as the selected parking places 5. 
Platform 2 is essentially flat, carried by the transfer carriage 19 at 
four points and more precisely by four jacks 23 suitably disposed in a 
rectangle on the inner surface of the platform 2 and secured vertically to 
the carriage 19. The platform comprises (FIG. 3) two longitudinal edges 25 
turned towards the hopper and defining a V profile and able to bear on the 
upper heads of two longitudinal L-shaped floor bolts 29 articulated to the 
longitudinal beams 31 joining the concrete slab 33 defining the hopper 
opening. These bearing points transfer the vertical forces (weight) of the 
platform to the concrete slab and cause it to work under compression, so 
suitably. These bolts 29 are actuated by a simple jack 35 (FIG. 4) and 
come into a retracted vertical position just before operation of platform 
2 and more precisely just after the platform has been slightly raised to 
release the bolts. 
Platform 2 also comprises, as can be seen in FIG. 3, two raised 
longitudinal edges 37 defining the path for the vehicle to be dealt with. 
As mentioned above, edges 37 or the periphery may serve as reference for 
the sighting lines, of a camera (not shown), which define the maximum 
permitted longitudinal gauge of the vehicles. 
In operation, platform 2 of the box, positioned on its floor bolts is taken 
up by the transport system 7, raised slightly then lowered after 
withdrawal of bolts 29, to the desired level. It rests on the transfer 
carriage 19. The rotary platform 17 is turned facing the selected parking 
place 5, guides 47 of the transfer carriage being in continuity on the 
parking place. At this time, the horizontal transfer may be carried out; 
the transfer carriage 19 raises the platform 2 slightly by means of the 
four jacks 23 then rolls over its guides 47 into the selected parking 
place, carrying the platform as far as its approximate setting down 
position. A mobile finger of the carriage 19 then engages in a 
complementary housing defining the exact position at which the platform is 
set down in the parking place. The platform is then lowered on to the 
parking place, still by means of jacks 23, and the carriage thus released 
may be withdrawn in the reverse direction, also using position locking of 
the carriage and the rotary platform. 
It will be noted in the variant of FIGS. 6 and 7, relating to the movement 
of the carrier platform 2, that the vertical movement may be provided by 
means of a device with a lifting frame comprising four arms (at least 
three) coupled at their end by a transmission box 53 to the vertical racks 
55 of corresponding carrier posts 57 (some of those of the hopper). These 
boxes operated to maintain the platform horizontal. This device, with 
respect to the single vertical central actuating jack 11, by multiplying 
the vertical actuators further reduces the probability of failure, which 
is the source of accidents, in the vertical movement of the vehicle 
carrying platform. This device may be further coupled in redundancy or in 
an emergency with the central jack actuation. 
Finally, control of the movement of said elements, namely floor bolts, 
aprons, camera display, landing bolt and translation index, will be 
provided by an automatic device controlling the whole of the system, 
itself possibly connected to a central data processing display and 
monitoring station.