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REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claim priority to commonly owned U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/259,168 filed Dec. 29, 2000, entitled “Reduced Frontage Garage.” 
     
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the field of residential building construction and, more particularly, relates to a reduced frontage garage that is designed to house multiple vehicles, yet includes a door that is insufficiently wide to accommodate entry and exit of all of the vehicles in parallel side-by-side relation.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Many conventional residential home designs include a garage for parking one or more automobiles. Although two-car garages are the most popular design, one-car and three-car designs are also generally available. Each garage typically includes one or more garage doors and an associated driveway for vehicle entry and exit. Various garage designs include a front-entry plan (i.e., garage door at the front of the house), a side-entry plan (i.e., garage door at the side), and a rear-entry plan (i.e., garage door at the rear of the house). Any of these entry configurations may be located at ground level or in a drive-under configuration.  
           [0004]    A typical two-car garage design includes a single garage door that is wide enough to simultaneously accommodate two automobiles next to each other in a parallel side-by-side relation. This provides a parking space for each vehicle, and allows each vehicle to enter and exit the garage independently. Typically, the driveway is a little wider than the width of the garage door, which allows each vehicle to enter and exit the garage even if the other vehicle is parked in the driveway in alignment with its parking space inside the garage.  
           [0005]    When the cost of land is at a premium, it is often advantageous to minimize the size of the housing lot. When road frontage is also at a premium, it may also be desirable to minimize the width of the lot along the road frontage, which usually corresponds to the front of the house. This often eliminates the side-entry and rear-entry designs options in order to avoid occupying land adjacent to the house with a driveway. In other words, the front-entry garage design is usually preferred when minimizing the width of the housing lot is a design objective. In addition, most homeowners prefer at least a two-car garage.  
           [0006]    Accommodating these design constraints often result in what has been termed a “snout house,” which is a house with a relatively narrow front profile dominated by the presence of a two-car front-entry garage. Many people object to the appearance of this design as having a poor curb appeal. As a result, many zoning authorities have enacted regulations that prohibit or limit this type of housing design. For example, certain zoning ordinances limit the “snout house” design by requiring that the garage must occupy no more then 40-50 percent of the front profile of the house. This leaves the house designer with an undesirable choice: (1) increase the width of the house, which increases width of the lot significantly, (2) provide a side-entry or rear-entry garage, which also increases the width of the lot significantly, (3) provide only a one-car garage, which is less desirable for the homeowner, or (4) eliminate the garage entirely, which is unacceptable to most prospective home purchasers. As a result of this dilemma, housing designers and zoning officials are often at odds with each other, and solutions acceptable to both sides may be hard to come by. At a minimum, zoning ordinances that limit “snout house” designs increase the cost of these homes in certain situations, which may make home ownership unavailable to certain would-be purchasers.  
           [0007]    Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved residential garage design that houses multiple cars yet exhibits a reduced size garage door. More particularly, there is a need for two car garage designs with an apparent one car garage door, and for a three car garage design that has an apparent two car garage door. There is also a need for combined garage and carport designs and other innovations that improve on the present state of residential car and carport design.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention meets the needs described above in a reduced frontage garage, which solves the “snout house” problem described above through a reduced frontage garage that is designed to house multiple vehicles, yet includes a door that is insufficiently wide to accommodate entry and exit of all of the vehicles in simultaneous parallel side-by-side relation. In a two-car reduced frontage garage design, for example, the garage door may be only slightly larger than a one-car garage door (i.e., has “reduced frontage”). Yet the garage can still accommodate two parked vehicles. This is typically achieved by a flared interior garage shape that allows the vehicles to be parked inside the garage at an angle to each other.  
           [0009]    Generally described, the invention includes a reduced frontage garage configured to accommodate a plurality of motor vehicles. This garage includes a door that is insufficiently wide to accommodate entry of the entire plurality of vehicles in parallel side-by-side relation. The garage also includes a flared interior garage enclosure defining multiple parking spaces for the vehicles in a substantially radial parking arrangement at acute angles to each other. That it, the substantially radial parking arrangement is configured to allow the vehicles to pass through the door sequentially and stop in a substantially radial parking arrangement within the garage in which adjacent vehicles are parked at acute angles to each other. This substantially radial parking arrangement allows each vehicle to pass through the door and park in a designated parking space while veering the vehicle to at most one side of its orientation of straight travel. The building may also include a carport adjacent to the reduced frontage garage and accessible from a common driveway. The radial parking area may also be bifurcated by a building structure. In various configurations, the invention provides for two-car, three-car, four-car and five-car designs, with and without carports, and with and without a bifurcated radial parking area. Of course, the teaching of the invention may be extended to provide for a greater number of parking spaces. In addition, although the parking spaces in the embodiments described in this specification are configured to accommodate conventional automobiles, such as cars, light trucks and sport utility vehicles, the parking spaces may alternatively be configured to accommodate other types of motor vehicles, such as limousines, “humvees,” other types of oversized passenger vehicles, golf carts, riding lawn mowers, motorcycles, snowmobiles, trucks, boats, and so forth. Although a virtually limitless number of design options may be implemented according to the present, several preferred designs configured to accommodate multiple conventional automobiles are described in detail to illustrate the invention.  
           [0010]    For example, one parking place in the garage may be configured in a substantially straight-in orientation of the garage  12 , which is typically in alignment with the axis of the driveway immediately in front of the garage, whereas the second parking place may be at configured at an angle of twenty degrees or so with respect to the orientation of the garage. The flared interior configuration of the interior of the garage provides additional room inside the garage to accommodate the second vehicle, which turns slightly as it passes through the garage door. This configuration allows each vehicle to be driven into the garage through the same door, with one vehicle pulling into the straight-in parking place, and the other vehicle veering off slightly into the angled parking place.  
           [0011]    The basic two-car reduced frontage garage design described above may be extended to provide a three-car, four-car, or higher number-car design. In these designs, one of the parking spaces is typically in a straight-in configuration with respect to the orientation of the garage (and the axis of the driveway), and the other parking spaces angle away from the door with increasing angular offset as the parking spaces move further away from the straight-in configuration. In all cases, however, the reduced frontage garage is designed to house multiple vehicles, yet includes a door that is insufficiently wide to accommodate entry and exit of all of the vehicles in simultaneous parallel side-by-side relation.  
           [0012]    In addition, the reduced frontage garage is deployed as part of a single-family detached dwelling. This distinguishes the reduced frontage garage from large multi-car garages, such as those which are often provided for apartment buildings and condominiums. Unlike these large multi-car garages, each parking space in a reduced frontage garage has its longitudinal axis directed toward the garage door, and preferably toward the center portion of the garage door. This allows a vehicle to enter and exit each space without having to turn once inside the garage. That is, a vehicle pulling into a parking space in the reduced frontage garage may complete a turn inside the garage that was started outside the garage, but the garage is not large enough to allow the vehicle to first pull into the garage and then start a turn into a parking space. Similarly, the garage is not large enough to allow the vehicle to first pull into the garage and then make multiple turns to drive into a parking space.  
           [0013]    To facilitate access to the various parking places, the garage door may be angled somewhat with respect to perpendicular to the axis of the driveway. For example, in the two-car garage design described above, with a first straight-in parking space and a second parking space at a 20 degree angle with respect to the axis of the driveway, the garage door may be at a 10 degree angle with respect to perpendicular to the axis of the driveway. That is, the garage door may be at a 100 degree angle with respect to the axis of the driveway.  
           [0014]    The reduced frontage garage design described above typically provides a portion of garage that is “hidden” behind house frontage. This house frontage can be used for various purposes, such as to provide a decorative facade to satisfy zoning requirements, to provide a front door and foyer to the house, to provide a pedestrian door to the garage, or to provide an auxiliary room for storage, water heater and other utilities, a mud room, a laundry bathroom, or some other amenity that the homeowner may desire.  
           [0015]    It will be appreciated that the reduced frontage garage design may be designed with many alternatives and options. For example, although a single front-entry garage door incorporated at the front of a home is typically preferred to minimize the lot size, the reduced frontage garage may alternatively be used in side-entry and rear-entry configurations, and for ground-level or drive-under configurations (and even a driveover design, if desired for some reason). Although a design with one garage door is typically the most cost effective option, the reduced frontage garage may also include multiple garage doors, and may include one or more pedestrian doors into the house or to the outside is various locations.  
           [0016]    In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the reduced frontage garage avoids the drawbacks of conventional residential garage designs. The specific techniques and structures employed by the invention to improve over the drawbacks of the prior scissors lifting devices and accomplish the advantages described above will become apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention and the appended drawings and claims.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is a front view of typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage two-car garage.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 is a front view of three typical single-family residence standing side-by-side, each with reduced frontage two-car garage.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a typical floor plan for a reduced frontage two-car garage.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a second typical floor plan for a reduced frontage two-car garage.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a third typical floor plan for a reduced frontage two-car garage.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a floor plan for a reduced frontage two-car garage having a garage door that is angled with respect to the front siting of the building.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a floor plan for a reduced frontage two-car garage having a garage door that is parallel with respect to the front siting of the building.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of the floor plan for a reduced frontage two-car garage positioned adjacent to a carport.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a floor plan for a reduced frontage two-car garage positioned adjacent to a covered carport.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 10A is a front view of typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage three-car garage.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 10B is a front view of second typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage three-car garage.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 10C a schematic illustration of a floor plan for a typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage three-car garage.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of a second typical floor plan for a reduced frontage three-car garage.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a third typical floor plan for a reduced frontage three-car garage.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 13 a schematic illustration of a floor plan for a typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage four-car garage.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 14 a schematic illustration of a floor plan for a typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage five-car garage.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 15 a schematic illustration of a floor plan for a typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage two-car garage adjacent to a carport.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 16 a schematic illustration of a floor plan for a typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage three-car garage adjacent to a carport. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0035]    The present invention may be embodied in a reduced frontage two-car garage that accommodates two cars but presents the appearance of a single-car garage when viewed from the street. An important advantage of the reduced frontage garage is the relative reduction in the dominance of the garage in the “snout house” design, which allows the improved configuration to satisfy certain zoning ordinances without increasing the size of the width of the house or the lot. In a typical reduced frontage two-car configuration, the garage door may be of a standard single width design or may be of slightly larger width than the current standard. This reduces the cost of the garage door with respect to a standard two-car garage.  
         [0036]    The reduced frontage garage also allows the use of a single-width driveway to service the multiple parking spaces within the structure. This decreases the width and cost of the driveway, which in turn increases the available space in the front of the house for a lawn and landscaping. This advantage maximizes attractive architectural and landscape design elements, while minimizing the relatively unattractive driveway and garage door elements. Removing a substantial portion of the garage from the frontage of the home may also allow a porch, extended foyer, or garden to be added to the front of home. In this manner, the reduced frontage garage offers a home with increased livability without incurring the cost required to increase the width of the house or lot.  
         [0037]    The landscaping about the front of the home also benefits from the use of a single garage opening. The single door design allows the use of a more narrow driveway leading from the street which directly increases the available area for yard, shrubs or other landscaping details. The design also aids in locating the driveway to the side of the lot where it may be less visually intrusive. Hence, the design provides an overall benefit in the amount of greenery visible from the street. This effect is especially beneficial in narrow lot applications where the result is a more attractive home and neighborhood.  
         [0038]    In the interior of the home, the floor plan may take advantage of the available depth in a typical structure while minimizing the frontal exposure of the garage. For example, the entry foyer may be enlarged to accommodate a vaulted ceiling with a wide sweeping stair design, or an interior room along the front of the home may be enlarged.  
         [0039]    Within the garage interior, the flared design results in a more efficient use of the space. The use of a narrow entranceway, which then flares out into a parking area within the structure, results in an increase in the floor space available for storage and utility purposes. With the vehicle parking spaces angled apart from one another, more room is available at either side of a parked vehicle when compared to conventional designs. The increased space simplifies getting into and out of a vehicle and results in less inadvertent bumps and attendant damage to the vehicle sides and garage walls. Also, by locating the vehicle parking spaces deeper within the structure, the invention results in more space available behind a parked vehicle, which simplifies tailgate loading and unloading.  
         [0040]    In a conventional two door garage design, the structural support between the doors is often struck by a vehicle due the narrow nature of the individual doors and the proximity of the support. The angled entrance of the invention eliminates the problematic center structural support while still providing a straight line approach to the vehicle parking spaces. In addition, an interior structural support may be readily placed at the back of the garage area between the parking spaces. A support in this location more efficiently provides rigidity to the structure and will also serve to visually divide the parking area. In this position, the support is relatively safe from vehicle impact since it is positioned at the widest point of the parking area, and a vehicle will be moving slowing as it approaches the back wall of the garage.  
         [0041]    While providing the noted aesthetic and structural benefits, the present invention also reduces the overall home construction and maintenance costs. When compared to traditional garage designs, the purchase and installation of a single width garage door and opener is less expensive and eliminates the functional duplication associated with multiple garage doors. Additionally, the more narrow single width garage opening of the design requires a smaller support header across the opening and results in a more rigid overall structure. The invention also results in a more energy efficient design. When closed, a garage door does not typically provide the insulating properties of an exterior wall and the multi-panel nature of a folding door provides numerous opportunities for outside air infiltration. By reducing the quantity or size of the garage openings, the energy loss is proportionally reduced.  
         [0042]    Turning now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements in the several figures, FIG. 1 is a front view of typical single-family residence  10  with a reduced frontage two-car garage  12 . This illustration shows the exterior appearance of the reduced frontage two-car garage  12 , which includes a garage door  14  that is substantially smaller than a standard two-car garage door. That is, the garage door  14  is not wide enough to accommodate two standard automotive vehicles in parallel side-by-side relation. In practice, the garage door  14  may be approximately the size of a standard one-car garage door, or it may be slightly larger than a standard one-car garage door. In addition the garage door  14  may be parallel to the siting of the side  16  of the residence  10  in which the door is located, or it may be angled with respect to the siting of the side of the residence in which the door is located. For example, an angle of ten degrees (10°) works well for many applications and facilitates ingress and egress of the vehicles through the door  14 .  
         [0043]    The residence  10  also includes a driveway  18  that is slightly wider than the garage door  14  and curves slightly away from the outer edge of the door in the area about ten feet or so immediately in front of the door to accommodate veering one or both of the vehicles as they pass through the door. In addition, the reduced frontage two-car garage  12  may be located in any side of the residence  10 , such as the front, rear or side location. And the reduced frontage two-car garage could be located in any floor of the residence  10 . In addition, a similar reduced frontage two-car garage  12  could be deployed as a stand-alone structure or as part of a building other than a single-family residence, but the reduced frontage garage is best suited for use as part of a single-family residence, and is best located at grade or ground level, which places the garage in the basement or first floor of the residence in most applications.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 2 is a front view of three typical single-family residences  10   a - c  standing side-by-side, each with a reduced frontage two-car garage  12   a - c.  In this configuration, the reduced frontage two-car garage allows greater use of the available road frontage that would be possible if the residences included standard two-car garages. For example, the residences  10   a - c  may each be thirty feet wide, located on a lot with forty feet of frontage, and still have an acceptable ratio between the garage door and the front sides of the residences. In many applications, this configuration will satisfy zoning regulations that residences with standard two-car garages could not have met without increasing the width of each residence, or the width of each lot, or increasing both. In addition, the residences  10   a - c  are shown on a twenty five percent grade, which facilitates locating each reduced frontage two-car garage  12   a - c  in the basement of each residence, resulting in very efficient utilization of the land and building space and an associated saving in construction costs.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a typical floor plan for the reduced frontage two-car garage  12 . In this configuration, the garage door  14  is positioned at an angle of approximately ten degrees (10°) with respect to the siting of the side  16  of the residence in which the door is located. The garage  12  includes two parking spaces  20  and  22  that may be accessed through the garage door  14 . Specifically, the parking space  20  is positioned “straight in” in that it is not angled with respect to the orientation of the garage, which is substantially aligned with the driveway  18 . The parking space  22 , on the other hand, is located at an angel of approximately twenty degrees (20°) with respect to the orientation of the garage. The driveway  18  bows away from the garage  12  slightly to facilitate veering of a vehicle into the paring space  22 . In addition, once parked the orientation of straight travel of each vehicle points back toward the garage door  14 .  
         [0046]    In this specification, the term “radial parking configuration” is used to indicate that the parking spaces  20  and  22  are positioned at an angle with respect to each other, and that each vehicle&#39;s orientation of straight travel points back toward the garage door  14 . This radial parking arrangement advantageously allows each vehicle to pass through the door  14  and park in a designated parking space,  20  or  22 , while veering the vehicle to at most one side of its orientation of straight travel. In other words, neither vehicle parking in spaces  20  or  22  has to veer toward one side first, and then toward the other side, as would be required to park in two parallel side-by-side parking spaces in a conventional large scale parking lot. The flared configuration of the garage  12 , in which the rear of the garage  24  is substantially wider than the garage door  14 , accommodates the radial parking configuration within the garage.  
         [0047]    It should also be noted that the specific floor plan shown in FIG. 3 includes a pedestrian door  26  adjacent to the garage door  14  and a stair well  28  down to the garage  12  adjacent to the pedestrian door  26 . Thus, this configuration is typical for a floor plan in which the reduced frontage garage  12  is located in a basement. In various configurations, the area  30  into which the door  26  leads from the garage  12  may be an outdoor space, such as a garden or carport, or it may be an interior space, such as a storage or utility room. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the floor plan shown is one of a myriad of possibilities, and that the reduced frontage garage  12  may be accompanied by any other configuration or rooms, doors, utilities, accessories and other building features that the designer may incorporate into the building design.  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a second typical floor plan  40  for a reduced frontage two-car garage. This configuration is typical for a floor plan in which the reduced frontage garage  12  is located in the first floor of a residence that does not include a basement. Again, as in all floor plans and building views shown or described in this specification, this particular floor plan is one of many possible configurations, and the reduced frontage garage  12  may be accompanied by any other configuration or rooms, doors, utilities, accessories and other building features that the designer may incorporate into the building design.  
         [0049]    For example, FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a third typical floor plan  50  for a reduced frontage two-car garage  12 . In this configuration, the garage  12  is located toward the center of the floor plan, which may be preferable for some residential configurations. In this particular arrangement, both parking spaces  52  and  54  veer somewhat, such as approximately 15 degrees, one to each side of the straight-in orientation of the garage  12 . This produces a symmetrical radial parking configuration that may be pleasing in certain applications.  
         [0050]    As another example, FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a floor plan  60  for a reduced frontage two-car garage  12  having a garage door  14  that is angled with respect to the front siting  16  of the building. In addition, FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a floor plan  70  for a reduced frontage two-car garage  12  having a garage door  16  that is parallel with respect to the front siting  16  of the building.  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of the floor plan  80  for a reduced frontage two-car garage  12  positioned adjacent to a carport  82 . In this configuration, the garage  12  and the carport  82  may be accessed by a common driveway  18 . In addition, in this configuration the carport  82  is uncovered.  
         [0052]    [0052]FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a floor plan  90  for a reduced frontage two-car garage  12  positioned adjacent to a covered carport  92 . This carport may be partially or fully covered, and it may be covered by a roof or another portion of the building housing a room or other structure. In this configuration, the garage  12  and the carport  92  may be accessed by a common driveway  18 .  
         [0053]    [0053]FIG. 10A is a front view of typical single-family residence  100  with a reduced frontage three-car garage  102 . This garage shares the flared garage and radial parking configuration design elements described previously with reference to the reduced frontage three-car garage  12 . FIG. 10B is a front view of second typical single-family residence  100 ′ with a similar reduced frontage three-car garage  102 . FIG. 10C a schematic illustration of a typical floor plan for the reduced frontage three-car garage  102 . FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of a second typical floor  110  plan for a reduced frontage three-car garage  102 . FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a third typical floor plan  120  for a reduced frontage three-car garage  102 .  
         [0054]    [0054]FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of a floor plan  130  for a typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage four-car garage  132 . FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of a floor plan  150  for a typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage five-car garage  152 .  
         [0055]    [0055]FIG. 15 is a schematic illustration of a floor plan  150  for a typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage two-car garage  152  adjacent to a carport  154  in which the garage is bifurcated by a building structure  156 . Despite the bifurcation of the parking area, this configuration shares this garage shares the flared garage and radial parking configuration design elements described previously with reference to the to the reduced frontage three-car garage  12 .  
         [0056]    [0056]FIG. 16 a schematic illustration of a floor plan  160  for a typical single-family residence with a reduced frontage three-car garage  162  adjacent to a carport  164  in which the garage is bifurcated by a building structure  166 . Again, despite the bifurcation of the parking area, this configuration shares this garage shares the flared garage and radial parking configuration design elements described previously with reference to the to the reduced frontage three-car garage  12 .  
         [0057]    It should be understood that the foregoing relates only to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and that numerous changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Summary:
A reduced frontage garage configured to accommodate a plurality of motor vehicles. This garage includes a door that is insufficiently wide to accommodate entry of the entire plurality of vehicles in parallel side-by-side relation. The garage also includes a flared interior garage enclosure configured to allow the vehicles to pass through the door sequentially and stop in a substantially radial parking arrangement within the garage in which adjacent vehicles are parked at acute angles to each other. This substantially radial parking arrangement allows each vehicle to pass through the door and park in a designated parking space while veering the vehicle to at most one side of its orientation of straight travel. The building may also include a carport adjacent to the reduced frontage garage and accessible from a common driveway. The radial parking area may also be bifurcated by a building structure. In various configurations, the invention provides for two-car, three-car, four-car and five-car designs, with and without carports, and with and without a bifurcated radial parking area. Of course, the teaching of the invention may be extended to provide for a greater number of parking spaces, parking spaces configures to accommodate other types of vehicles, such as golf carts, lawn mowers, motorcycles, snowmobiles, trucks, boats, and so forth.