MULTISTORY AUTOMATIC GARAGE

Abstract: An automatic garage comprises a motor vehicle elevator (24) which travels on a rail (22) between two multistory stands (20) wherein said motor vehicles are stored each in a single box (38). The movement of each motor vehicle from the elevator into the box and vice-versa is carried out by means of a mat which rolls on roller planes which mat is spread out over the supporting means of the motor vehicle either on the same elevator surface or over the box where the vehicle is contained or along the vehicle travel within said garage. At one end at least of said stand range a roller conveyor (42) is provided adapted for moving said mats from the exit to the entrance of said garage. Some transferring units are provided for moving said vehicles crosswise of said elevator travel. Four transitory boxes at both the incoming and ougoing ends of the garage are provided, easing for particularly crowded moments of said vehicles.

Description: MULTISTORY AUTOMATIC GARAGE The present invention relates to a multistory automatic garage which comprises an elevator which travel on a railway along a corridor between a pair of stand ranges on which the motor vehicles to be stored are located each in a single box. According to a feature of the invention the movement of the motor vehicles takes place on a plurality of mats one for each vehicle which mats are carried on roller planes while the vehicle is totally shut and braked differently from what happens with the existing garages. Store plants wherein the materials to be stored are located on loading units, mats or pallets which are moved by wheeld elevators travelling on floor rails are well known. Due to the very limited space among scaffold- ings made of precisely defined boxes or spaces the automatic displacement and centering of the loads to be stored are made feasable without any human presence. Any movement from the elevator to said boxes and vice-versa is made by resorting to the use of roller conveyors of which both the elevator and the vehicle boxes are provided. The motor for operating said roller conveyors are usually placed on the elevator, in which case the box rollers are actuated by friction from the elevator when the latter contacts the box. The use of mats for carrying the motor vehicles within the garage has been suggested by the following considerations: a. The saving of space that is of the overall dimensions of a rampless garage is the maximum; b. The danger of drips from the overlying vehicle is avoided; c. Because the parked motor vehicles are constantly braked the danger of hazardous movements of the same within the garage is reduced to a minimum; d. The motor vehicles speed within the garage is high in the order even of 65 feet per minute when travelling on roller conveyors and 330 feet per minute when travelling on the wheeled elevator. A car when travelling at neutral cannot be moved at the above speeds since it must be stopped at short distance from starting; e. The fire fighting equipment is very cheap in as much as the garage room cannot be entered by foreiners; f. The motor vehicle during its travel within the garage except when witdra n from a box maintains always its front in the same direction whereby no backing of the wehiσle is required for getting it into and out of the garage. In spite of all the above undoubted advantages no garage has been used up to now wherein the vehicles are always moved on mats because, when dealing with motor vehicles it is required to face a flow of vehicles to be stored eiter incoming and outcoming which can not be dolayed as in the case of other merchandise to be stored. In fact, in the case of vehicles the waiting time must be reduced to a minimum and the storing can not be programmed at fixed times during the day. Summing up, too many vehicles cannot be kept resting in a transitory area before thay will be transferred into a box: in as much as each vehicle pause in different and never foreseeble. Above all every vehicle must be ready for outgoing. Such problems have been solved according to this invention by providing a group of four transitory boxes one at the entrance and one at the exit of tthe motor vehicles into and out of the garage. All the vehicle traffic is made to pass trough said areas, while the vehicle mats are continuously recycled from the exit to the entrance of the garage. For the last named movement a roller conveyor is provided. Due to the position of the above transitory boxes, the problem has been faced of providing the garage of this invention with transfer roller conveyors by which any mat either alone or with superimposed vehicle can be moved sidewise from the site where it is placed. For such a movement of the mat,as described hereinafter, the terminal sections of the roller conveyor in addition to the rollers typical of a roller conveyor but crosswise thereof, are also provided with a olatform made of steel profiles which carry a range of small wheels or short rollers of which the axes are perpendicular to the axes of the rollers last named each range of said wheels being inserted between a pair of said rollers. The rollers provide for the movement crosswise of the position of the mat either with or without an overlaying vehicle while said wheels provide for the displacement of a further empty mat in the direction from the exit to the entrance of the garage. By means of the above features the following results are attained: only two communications with the ordinary road network are required: one for the entrance and one for the vehicle exit; - the stored vehicle is left closed and braked without anybody on board, the engine being left cut off. The garage system itself will provide a storing box for giving access to said entrance section of roller conveyor to a fresh vehicle and for later for giving it back, as required, at the garage exit. Further advantages and features of this invention will appear with reference _ to the attached drawings wherein: Fig.l shows an elevation cross-section of the garage of this invention; Fig.2 shows a plan, view of the garage of fig.l; Fig.3 shows a perspective view of the vehicle elevator of the invention; Fig.4 shows a partly exploded view of a transfer and roller conveyor; Fig.5 shows a longitudinal cross-section of the elevator and of one of the boxes. The mechanism is shown whereby a roller conveyor of a box is actuated by a motorized elevator; Figs.6-24 show some examples of the mats and vehicles movements. With reference to the figures the automatic garage of this invention for the storage of motor vehicles comprises two parallelepipedal pigeonholed blocks that is made of a stand 20 with several spaces or boxes in each of which a vehicle to be stored is placed. The two blocks or stands 20 are separated from one another by an intervening corridor 60 along the center of which an elevator is made to run on a rail which elevator comprises a portal framework 30 having a ceiling horizontal 32 which framework in addition to running on a floor railway 22 is guided by a ceiling U-rail attached to the building. Between and along the portal uprights 30 a platform 26 is vertically slidable which is lifted through chains 2 y a coup e of actuat ng cylinders -not shown- which are embedded in said uprights. A pair of motor vehicles resting on mats can be placed on platform 26 side by side which vehicles are moved by roller conveyor of which said platform is provided. As before mentioned, the garage of this invention has substantially rectangular shape, one of the shorter sides thereof having the length of two vehicle boxes 32 plus the intermediate corridor 60. At one of the smaller sides of said rectangle, which side will be called entrance -and- exit head, two groups of four vehicle boxes are located at positions symmetrical to each other with respect to corridor 60. One of the two groups of boxes 39' 1 ', 39' ', 39', 39 will be called entrance transitory boxes. Of such boxes, box 39' '' is placed side by side with one of the storage box ranges 38 while transitory box 39 ' ' is adjacent and aligned with box. 39''' but set back of the same with respect to corridor 60. Box 39 is side by side with box 39'' but closer to the entrance head. The same occurs for the four exit transitory boxes 40''', 40", 40', 40. The total of eight transitory boxes and one end of the intervening corridor all border on a roller conveyor 42 by which the entrance and exit of the garage communicate. The lenght L (fig.2) of conveyor 42 is thus equal to the length of four vehicle boxes plus the width of corridor 60. The first section 44 conveyor 42 for the length of a vehicle box comprises a transfer and conveying device which is known in the trade and which then will be only summarily described with reference to fig.4. It comprises a quadrilateral frame 62 on which a series of rollers 42' are mounted the axes of which are in the direction of said conveyor 42 with the exception of a first roller 62 ' on which the vehicle to be stored mounts for being moved crosswise of conveyor 42 and towards the first transitory box 39 and with the exception of the last roller 66 of which the axis is crosswise of rollers 42' and wich consequently is the first roller of conveyor 42. A line of empty mats arrive from the garage exit side to the garage entrance through conveyor 42. A further series of profiles 44 is provided between each pair of the above rollers 42' which are simultaneously vertically movable by means not shown. Each of the above profiles is equipped with a series of rotatable small wheels 66 which can be moved vertically all together with said profiles at an height such that an empty mat-after moving along roller conveyor 42 and surpassing roller 66- spreads on rollers 66 for receiving vehicle thereon entering the garage on its own power means. The above series of profiles will than be lowered enogh that the vehicle with underlying mat is pushed onto box 39 by rollers 42' . A device similar to that of section 44 of conveyor 42 can be provided at entrance transitory boxes 39, 39', 39' ', 39' ' ' and at exit transitory boxes 40, 40', 40' ', 40' 1 ' . The roller conveyor 42, apart from end sections 44,44' is decked with rollers the axes of which are transverse to the same conveyor. As for the roller motorization of boxes 39,39' ' and 40, 40'', they must be motorized because they cannot be contacted by elevator 24. On the contrary, boxes 39', 39' 1 ', 40', 40' ' ' must be motorized. Such solution is shown in fig.5 wherein the motor . is transmitted to rollers 46 of box 38 through oscillating friction arm 48 of elevator 24 whereby mat 40 which, in this case, is empty is transferred out of the elevator platform 26 as shown by arrow M, arm 48 being provided with an end wheel 48' which frictionally engages wheel 50 that is the first roller of box 38 the rest of the roller wheels of the same box being coupled to the first one. Garage operation (Fig.6-24). In figs.6-24 by an empty small rectangle a mat is shown while a full mat is shown by a black rectangle. Fig.6 Two vehicles N 1,2 are present at the garage entrance, other two vehicles N 3,4 are present in the same range (a) of storage boxes end other two in the other range; (b) while two empty mats are present in the same range and some empty mats are present along roller conveyor 42 and a full mat is .at the exit box 44 with an outogoing vehicle. Fig.7 Vehicle N 1 on a mat moves to box 39 vehicle N.2 is still in front of box 44 an outogoing vehicle is out of the garage. The has not changed. Fig.8 Vehicle N.l moves from box 44 to box 39 while a fresh mat is now at box 44. The rest has not changed. Fig.9 Vehicle N.2 moves from box 44 to box 39 and vehicle N.l moves from box 39'' to box 39'''. The rest is left uncharged. Fig.10 Vehicle N 1 has moved to box 39' ' * and vehicle N.2 moves to box 39'. Elevator 24 moves along corridor 60, with two empty mats thereon an empty mat has moved to section 44. The rest is left unchanged. Fig.11 Two empty mats are moved on boxes 41', 40' '' and vehicle N 1 and N 2 move on elevator 24. The rest is left unchanged. Fig.12 Vehicle N 1 e N 2 on elevator 24 move towards the box to be occupied by the same; two empty mats move from box 40', 40'*' to boxes 40, 40'' respectively the rest is loft enchanged. Fig.13 Vehicle N 1 and 2 move to respective storage boxes, an empty mat moves from box 40 to section 44' and another empty mat moves from box 40'' to box 40. Fig.14 Elevator 24 moves towards the box kept by vehicle N 3, an empty mat moves from box 40 and another empty box moves from section 44' to the rest of conveyor 42. The rest is unchanged. Fig.15 Vehicle N 3 moves from its storage box to elevator 24 and an empty mat moves from box 40 to section 44'. The rest is left unchanged. Fig.16 Elevator 24 with vehicle N 3 moves towards the garage exit conveyor 42 is full of empty mats. Fig.17 Vehicle 24 takes on board vehicle N 4.The rest is unchanged; Fig.18 Elevator 24 moves towards the garage exit.The rest is left unchanged. Fig.19 Vehicles N 3 e N 4 move to boxes 40' '' and 40' respectively.The rest is left unchanged. Fig.20 Vehicles N 3 and N 4 from boxes 40''' and 40' respectively move to boxes 40" and 40.Elevator 24 is left free.Two further vehicles N 5 and N 6 are present at the garage entrance.All the rest is left unchanged. Fig.21 Vehicle N 5 from section 44 of conveyor 42 moves to box 39.Vehicle N 4 moves from box 40 to section 44".The rest is unchanged. Fig.22 Vehicle N 5 moves from box 39 to box 39",vehicle N 4 exits from the garage.The rest is unchanged. Fig.23 Vehicle N 6 moves from section 44 to box 39.All the mats on conveyor 42 move from the respective position on conveyor 42 towards section 44.Vehicle N 4 moves away from garage 20. Fig.24 An empty mat is on section 44,vehicle N 3 leaves garage 20. he rest is left unchanged. Thus a preferred embodiment of this invention has been described.However it is obvious that a lot of variants and modifications can be made of it by those skilled in the art for meeting different traffic flows.For instance the garage entrance and exit can be doubled and put each at either end of the garage while the garage can be equipped with two elevators whereby the garage activity can be doubled.Said roller conveyor and the related transit groups of transitory boxes can be located at any of the storage floors. Such variants are deemed to be covered by the following claims whenever they are made in the true spirit of this invention.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A multistory automatic garage for parking motor vehicles in a building comprising two parallelepiped pigeonholed blocks opposed to- one another in each space of which a vehicle is stored,said two blocks being separated from one another by an- intermediate corridor along the center of which a motor vehicle elevator travels on at least one rail which elevator is made of a portal framework between the uprights of which an horizontal plane runs up or down suspended to a ceiling horizontal,on which plane at least one vehicle can be placed, character¬ ized by the fact that while said vehicles are within said building each is placed stationary on a mat (40);that said building has a first group of positions or transitory boxes (39,39 ' ,39" ,39' ' ' ) named as entrance transitory boxes and a second pair . of position or transitory boxes - * (40,40' ,40' ' ,40' ' ' ) named as exit transitory boxes which are symmetrical with respect to said corridor a first pair of said first group (39* '',39') being aligned with the adjoining store boxes and a second pair (39,39") being set behind the former pair with respect to said corridor the same occurring for said second group;that beside said two groups of transitory boxes a conveyor (42) extends which connects the entrance section with the exit section (44 1 ) of the garage. 2. A garage as claimed in claim 1 wherein in said entrance section (44) of conveyor (42) a transfer and conveying device is mounted which is provided with rollers of which the axes are in the direction of roller conveyor (42) and of a series of profiles (44) which are simultaneously vertically movable;each of said profiles being equipped with a series of rotatable small wheels (66); whereby a vehicle on said section of roller conveyor (42) can be pushed on one (39) of said second pair (39,39") transitory boxes. 3. A garage as claimed in claim 1 an 2 wherein the transitory boxes provided at the entrance transitory boxes (39,39' ,39",39' ' ' )and the transitory boxes (40,40' ,40",- 40 ' ' ' ) are provided with the same device described at claim 2. 4. A multistpry automatic garage as claimed in claim 1 wherein said roller conveyor and the related groups of transitory boxes can be located at any of the storage floors. 5. A multistory automatic garage as claimed in claim 1 wherein said elevator is provided with an oscillating friction arm (48) for transmitting rotation to rollers (46) of a box roller conveyor whereby a mat (40) with or without overlaying vehicle is put on or extracted.from the related box whenever said elevator is mating said box;said oscillating friction arm being provided with an end wheel (48') which engages wheel (50) of the box roller (45). 6. A method for storing motor vehicles in a multi¬ story building which metod comprises placing said vehicle by its own moving means on a mat at the entrance of the building,braking it and leaving it till the end of the storage on the said mat at the exit of the multistory building releasing the vehicle brakes and leaving the building by the motor means of said vehicle itself.

Inventors: PIETROPAOLI PAOLO, PIETROPAOLI, PAOLO
Applicants: PIETROPAOLI PAOLO, PIETROPAOLI, PAOLO
Application year: 1986
Main classification: E04H6
IPC codes: E04H6