Patent GB-1046256-A (GB)
Title: System and apparatus for controlling parking buildings
IPC: E04H6/42
Filed: 1963-11-27
Abstract: 1,046,256. Mechanical garages. HITACHI Ltd. Nov. 27, 1963 [Nov. 27, 1962 (2)], No. 64934/63. Heading B8E. A mechanical garage (Fig. 1, not shown), comprising a lift 2 and one or more columns of parking sites 3 is controlled remotely from an indicator panel (Fig. 3, not shown), on which each parking site is registered as empty or full and from which any site can be selected for transfer of a car to or from it. At this panel there is a control member, such as a switch, for each site. On operating any such control member in a unique manner (e.g. by closing the switch) a parking or de-parking operation automatically ensues - the control system itself determining whether this operation is to park or de-park according as the selected site is registered as empty or full. The system also makes provision for selecting one empty and one full site to be served in one operation, in which case the lift automatically takes a car to the empty site and then collects a car from the full site before returning to the entrance level. The cars rest on toothed supports in the sites 3 (see Fig. 2) and on complementarily toothed supports 4 in the lift 2, the motors M 1 , M 2 , M 3  serving respectively for vertical travel of the lift between floors, horizontal travel of the supports A to and from the sites 3, and a limited vertical travel-effected by an associated jack 10-of the supports 4 to lift a vehicle from or deposit it on the supports in the selected site. At the control panel, the indicators are designated 2L to 9L and 2R to 9R to correspond to parking sites on the left-hand or right-hand site respectively of the lift shaft and on the second to ninth storeys of the garage, the first (ground level) storey being the entrance and exit floor. Each indicator is a push-button switch which incorporates a lamp, and each time a vehicle is delivered to a site the corresponding lamp is illuminated. Operation.-If an unilluminated push-button, e.g. 9L, is depressed a circuit is made to relay 79L, Fig. 4, and this controls the following sequence of operations by means of switching circuits (Figs. 5 to 10, not shown). First the lift, which normally rests at the ground floor, has its motors M 2  and M 3  energized in the correct sequence to pick up a vehicle from the entrance on the left-hand side of the ground floor of the garage, this operation being possible only if a vehicle (detected by a photo-cell) is correctly positioned there. A photo-cell in the lift records that the vehicle is loaded, and motor M 1  is energized to raise the lift to the ninth floor. Here, a contact made by the lift stops the motor M 1  and re-energizes motors M 2  and M 3  to deposit the car and finally retract the supports 4. As the car leaves the lift, its photo-cell causes the lamp 9L to be illuminated and also causes relay contact 59LT, Fig. 4, to change over to the energizing circuit of relay 89L, which will control the subsequent deparking operation. In a like manner depression of any illuminated push-button will effect unparking at the corresponding site. If, after depressing an unilluminated button, an illuminated button is also depressed, a circuit will have thereby been made to a parking control relay such as 79L and also to a deparking control relay such as 89R (the latter corresponding to deparking of site 9R). However, whenever relay A is energized its contacts Aa 1 , Aa 2  &c. are made to complete only the energizing circuits of the parking relays, the contacts Ba 1 , Ba 2  &c. being broken in the energizing circuits of the deparking relays. As Fig. 4 shows, relays A and B are crossconnected, by means of their associated contacts Ab 1 , Bb 1 . Thus as soon as the parking operation is completed at site 9L, the attendent de-energization of relay A causes the energization of relay B and so completes the circuit to deparking relay 89R. The lift then goes direct to site 9R and deparks the vehicle there.