AU2018100139A4 - Intelligent Parking System - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides an intelligent parking system, which comprises a stereo garage, a first rail set, a plurality of second rail sets, a third rail set, a plurality of support platforms, a plurality of conveyors, and a controller. With the intelligent parking system provided by the 5 utility model, fully automated parking is achieved. A user simply needs to park the vehicle onto the conveyor at the entrance, and the intelligent parking system automatically allocates a parking space, automatically parks the vehicle together with the conveyor carrying the vehicle into the parking space allocated automatically, and sends the parking information and charging information to a vehicle parking/picking-up application of the user. The user simply needs to o pick up the vehicle through the vehicle parking/picking-up application when it is required to pick up the vehicle, the intelligent parking system completes the charging and automatically picks up the vehicle from the parking space where the vehicle is parked, and the user only needs to enter the vehicle at the exit, drive it away from the conveyor and leave the exit. With the intelligent parking system according to the utility model, the parking efficiency and the 5 utilization rate of the parking spaces can be greatly improved, and the space occupied by the parking lot is saved. 50 opupHIP Entrance Exit Figure 1

Description

INTELLIGENT PARKING SYSTEM

This application claims the benefit of priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201720390316.5 titled “INTELLIGENT PARKING SYSTEM”, filed with the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office on April 14, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of intelligent parking technology, and in particular to an intelligent parking system.

BACKGROUND

[0002] In recent years, with the steady and rapid development of urban economy, people’s living standards have been continuously improved, and the use of vehicles has become more and more popular. This is accompanied by the shortage of parking spaces, especially in densely populated communities, office buildings or shopping malls of big cities. Driven by the huge market demand, a parking lot management system is used in more and more occasions, which greatly promotes the construction of intelligent city.

[0003] However, more human interventions are still required for the existing parking management system, and the parking order cannot be effectively managed; thus, the utilization rate of the limited parking spaces in a parking lot cannot be improved. Meanwhile, the automatic parking cannot be efficiently implemented and all the parking spaces in the area cannot be coordinated collectively for the existing parking management system.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need in the prior art for an improved parking management system.

SUMMARY

[0005] An object of the utility model is to overcome at least one of the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, and the object is achieved by the following technical solutions.

[0006] An intelligent parking system is provided according to the present utility model. The intelligent parking system comprises: [0007] a stereo garage having a plurality of parking frames parallel with each other, each of the parking frames having a plurality of layers of parking platforms and each layer of the parking platforms being provided with a plurality of parking spaces, and each of the parking spaces being provided with a parking rail set and provided with a releasable first locking device, a direction in which the parking rail set extends being parallel with a length direction of the parking space; [0008] a first rail set extending in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the parking platform extends and communicating to an entrance of the stereo garage; [0009] a plurality of second rail sets each disposed between two adjacent parking frames and connected to the first rail set in a variable rail manner respectively, and the second rail set being composed of a plurality of movable rail segments that can be combined; [0010] a third rail set disposed in parallel with the first rail set at a distance from the first rail set and communicating to an exit of the stereo garage, and being connected to the second rail sets in a variable rail manner; [0011] a plurality of support platforms each provided with a fixed platen and a movable platen rotatable with respect to the fixed platen when driven by a first drive device, the plurality of movable rail segments each being fixedly disposed on the corresponding movable platen, each of the support platforms being provided with an adjusting device capable of adjusting the length of the movable platen and a releasable second locking device, and the support platforms being capable of moving up and down when driven by an elevating mechanism so that the corresponding movable rail segment fixed onto the movable platen can move up and down; [0012] a plurality of conveyors on which a vehicle can be parked and held by a holding mechanism of the conveyor, the conveyor being provided with a wheel pair and capable of traveling on the first rail set, the second rail set, the third rail set and the parking rail set when driven by a second drive device, an axial direction of the wheel pair being perpendicular to the length direction of the conveyor, and the length direction of the conveyor being parallel with the extension direction of the first rail set, the vehicle being capable of being parked in the length direction of the conveyor; and [0013] a controller capable of controlling the conveyors, the first drive device, the second drive device, the elevating mechanism, the adjusting device, the first locking device, and the second locking device through wireless communication, the controller also being capable of interacting with the vehicle parking/picking-up application in a user’s mobile phone through wireless communication, [0014] wherein the conveyor carrying the vehicle and holding the vehicle can travel through the first rail set onto the corresponding movable rail segment of the second rail set and can be locked by the second locking device onto the movable platen of the corresponding support platform; when the corresponding support platform is raised by the elevating mechanism to a height of the corresponding parking space of the corresponding parking platform, the movable platen of the corresponding support platform is rotated by the first drive device to align the corresponding movable rail segment on the movable platen with the corresponding parking rail set, and then the length of the movable platen of the corresponding support platform can be adjusted by the adjusting device to bring the movable platen into substantial abutment with the corresponding parking platform, the second locking device is then unlocked, and the conveyor is capable of travelling to the parking rail set on the corresponding parking space when driven by the second drive device and is locked by the first locking device onto the corresponding parking space.

[0015] Further, the intelligent parking system further comprises a rail switch, and the controller is capable of controlling the rail switch to change a rail from the first rail set to the second rail set or from the second rail set to the third rail set.

[0016] Further, the elevating mechanism is a collapsible elevating mechanism or a hydraulic elevating mechanism.

[0017] Further, the length and width of the conveyor are both less than the spacing between the adjacent parking frames.

[0018] Further, the length of the movable rail segment is less than the length of the conveyor, and the first rail set, the second rail set, the third rail set, and the parking rail set have the same rail spacing.

[0019] Further, the conveyor is provided with a wheel alignment slot to allow the user to park the vehicle onto the conveyor accurately.

[0020] Further, a stopper is provided at the end of the parking rail set to prevent the conveyor from being parked beyond the parking rail set.

[0021] Further, the first locking device and the second locking device are electrically controlled locking devices.

[0022] Further, the number of movable rail segments of each of the second rail sets is equal to the number of a row of parking spaces extending in the direction of the second rail set.

[0023] The utility model has the following advantages. With the intelligent parking system provided by the utility model, fully automated parking is achieved. A user simply needs to park the vehicle onto the conveyor at the entrance, and the intelligent parking system automatically allocates a parking space, automatically parks the vehicle together with the conveyor carrying the vehicle into the parking space allocated automatically, and sends the parking information and charging information to a vehicle parking/picking-up application of the user. The user simply needs to pick up the vehicle through the vehicle parking/picking-up application when it is required to pick up the vehicle, the intelligent parking system completes the charging and automatically picks up the vehicle from the parking space where the vehicle is parked, and the user only needs to enter the vehicle at the exit, drive it away from the conveyor and leave the exit. With the intelligent parking system according to the utility model, the parking efficiency and the utilization rate of the parking spaces can be greatly improved, and the space occupied by the parking lot is saved, which is advantageous for the construction of an intelligent city.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Upon reading the detailed description of the preferred selected embodiments below, various other advantages and benefits will become obvious to those skilled in the art. The drawings are only provided for illustrating the purpose of the preferred embodiments and are not intended to limit the present utility model. Throughout the drawings, identical reference signs are used to denote identical components. In the drawings: [0025] Figure 1 schematically shows a top perspective view of an intelligent parking system according to an embodiment of the utility model, with a roof of a stereo garage of the intelligent parking system being removed for clarity; [0026] Figure 2 schematically shows a front view of a first working state of the intelligent parking system; [0027] Figure 3 schematically shows a front view of a second working state of the intelligent parking system; [0028] Figure 4 shows schematically a front view of a third working state of the intelligent parking system; [0029] Figure 5 schematically shows a front view of a fourth working state of the intelligent parking system; [0030] Figure 6 schematically shows a front view of a fifth working state of the intelligent parking system; and [0031] Figure 7 schematically shows a front view of a sixth working state of the intelligent parking system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings. Although the drawings show exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosure may be implemented in various forms, and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the disclosure, and to completely convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0033] An intelligent parking system according to an embodiment of the utility model is described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7, and the intelligent parking system is particularly applied to an intelligent city. The intelligent parking system comprises a stereo garage, a first rail set 10, a plurality of second rail sets 20, a third rail set 30, a plurality of support platforms 40, a plurality of conveyors 50, and a controller (not shown). Specifically, the stereo garage has a plurality of parking frames parallel with each other, each of the parking frames (for example 6 parking frames, only part of parking frames are shown at a side of the dotted line in Figure 1) has a plurality of layers of parking platforms (for example 6 layers) and each layer of the parking platforms is provided with a plurality of parking spaces (for example 30 parking spaces), and each of the parking spaces is provided with a parking rail set 60 and a releasable first locking device (not shown), wherein a direction in which the parking rail set 60 extends is parallel with a length direction of the parking space, as shown in Figure 1. The first rail set 10 extends in a direction perpendicular to a direction (a direction indicated by arrow X in Figure 1) in which the parking platform extends, and communicates to an entrance of the stereo garage. The plurality of second rail sets 20 are each disposed between two adjacent parking frames and connected to the first rail set 10 in a variable rail manner respectively, and the second rail set 20 is composed of a plurality of movable rail segments 21 capable of being combined. The third rail set 30 is disposed parallel with the first rail set 10 at a distance from the first rail set 10 and communicates to an exit of the stereo garage, and is connected to the second rail sets 20 in a variable rail manner. The support platforms 40 are each provided with a fixed platen 41 and a movable platen 42 rotatable with respect to the fixed platen 41 (for example, rotated by 90 degrees clockwise or rotated by 90 degrees anti-clockwise with respect to an original position) when driven by first drive device (not shown, which may be, for example, a motor), the plurality of movable rail segments 21 are each fixedly disposed on the respective movable platen 42, each of the support platforms 40 is provided with an adjusting device (not shown) capable of adjusting the length of the movable platen 42, and a releasable second locking device (not shown), and the support platforms 40 are capable of moving up and down when driving by an elevating mechanism 70 so that the corresponding movable rail segment 21 fixed onto the movable platen 42 can move up and down. A vehicle can be parked on the conveyor 50 and be held by a holding mechanism of the conveyor 50, the conveyor 50 is provided with a wheel pair 51 (as shown in Figure 3) and is capable of traveling on the first rail set 10, the second rail set 20, the third rail set 30 and the parking rail set 60 when driven by a second drive device (not shown, which may be, for example, a motor), the axial direction of the wheel pair 51 is perpendicular to the length direction of the conveyor 50, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the length direction of the conveyor 50 is parallel with the extension direction of the first rail set 10, and the vehicle is capable of being parked in the length direction of the conveyor 50, as shown in Figure 1. The controller is capable of controlling the conveyors 50, the first drive device, the second drive device, the elevating mechanism 70, the adjusting device, the first locking device, and the second locking device through wireless communication, the controller is also capable of interacting with a vehicle parking/picking-up application in a user’s mobile phone through wireless communication, wherein the conveyor 50 carrying a vehicle and holding the vehicle is capable of travelling through the first rail set 10 onto the corresponding movable rail segment 21 of the second rail set 20 and being locked by the second locking device onto the movable platen 42 of the corresponding support platform 40. When the corresponding support platform 40 is raised by the elevating mechanism 70 to a height (as shown in Figure 3) of the corresponding parking space of the corresponding parking platform, the movable platen 42 of the corresponding support platform 40 is rotated by the first drive device to align the corresponding movable rail segment 21 on the movable platen 42 with the corresponding parking rail set (as shown in Figure 4), and then the length of the movable platen 42 of the corresponding support platform 40 can be adjusted by the adjusting device to bring the movable platen 42 into substantial abutment with the corresponding parking platform (as shown in Figure 5), the second locking device is then unlocked, and the conveyor 50 is capable of travelling to the parking rail set on the corresponding parking space (as shown in Figure 6) when driven by the second drive device and is locked by the first locking device on the corresponding parking space. Then, the corresponding support platform 40 is lowered by the elevating mechanism 70 and is returned to its original position, as shown in Figure 7.

[0034] In addition, a platform having a slope may be provided at the entrance or exit to allow the user to park the vehicle onto the conveyor or drive the vehicle away from the conveyor. The intelligent parking system further comprises a rail switch (not shown), and the controller is capable of controlling the rail switch to change a rail from the first rail set 10 to the second rail set 20 or from the second rail set 20 to the third rail set 30. The elevating mechanism 70 is a collapsible elevating mechanism or a hydraulic elevating mechanism. The length and width of the conveyor 50 are both less than the spacing between the adjacent parking frames, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The length of the movable rail segment 21 is less than the length of the conveyor 50, and the first rail set 10, the second rail set 20, the third rail set 30, and the parking rail set 60 have the same rail spacing. The conveyor 50 is provided with a wheel alignment slot (not shown) to allow the user to park the vehicle onto the conveyor 50 accurately. A stopper (not shown) is provided at the end of the parking rail set 60 to prevent the conveyor 50 from being parked beyond the parking rail set 60. The first locking device and the second locking device are electrically controlled locking devices. The number of movable rail segments 21 of each of the second rail sets 20 is equal to the number of a row of parking spaces extending in the direction of the second rail set 20.

[0035] Intelligent parking carried out by using the above-described intelligent parking system is now described with reference to Figs 1 to 7. When the user needs to park a vehicle, the user opens the vehicle parking/picking-up application in the mobile phone to check whether there is a spare parking space in the stereo garage. If there is a spare parking space, the intelligent parking system automatically allocates a parking space after the user chooses to park the vehicle; the user parks the vehicle onto the conveyor 50 in a direction parallel with the first rail set 10 from the entrance, as indicated, and the holding mechanism of the conveyor 50 holds the vehicle on the conveyor 50 and then sends a prompt sound to prompt the user to come out of the vehicle, the user comes out (for example, leave the vehicle via a slow step) and locks the vehicle, and then selects automatic parking from the vehicle parking/picking-up application. After receiving the automatic parking command, the controller controls the conveyor 50 to move along the first rail set 10 and change a rail for the conveyor 50 to the corresponding second rail set 20 and parks the conveyor 50 on the corresponding movable rail segment 21 according to the automatically allocated parking space (as shown in Figure 1), then the controller controls the second locking device to lock the conveyor 50 onto the corresponding support platform 40 (as shown in Figure 2), and the controller controls the elevating mechanism 70 to be raised upward to a parking platform corresponding to the automatically allocated parking space (as shown in Figure 3), then rotates the movable platen 42 of the corresponding support platform 40 to align the corresponding movable rail segment 21 on the movable platen 42 with the corresponding parking rail set (as shown in Figure 4), and controls the adjusting device to adjust the length of the movable platen 42 to bring the movable platen 42 into substantial abutment with the corresponding parking platform (as shown in Figure 5); then the controller controls the second locking device to be unlocked, and controls the conveyor 50 to move onto the corresponding parking rail set 60 (as shown in Figure 6). When the conveyor 50 carrying the vehicle is completely parked onto the corresponding parking rail set 60, the controller controls the first locking device to lock the conveyor 50 onto the corresponding parking space; after the parking is completed, the controller controls the support platform 40 to return to its original position (as shown in Figure 7). The controller then sends parking information comprising a parking position, a parking start time and a parking charge rate, and a two-dimensional code corresponding to the parking information to the user’s vehicle parking/picking-up application. When it is required to pick up the vehicle, the user pays the parking fee by scanning the two-dimensional code obtained in parking the vehicle on an automatic vehicle picking-up machine at the exit. After acquiring the parking charge information, the controller controls the corresponding support platform 40 to be raised up to the corresponding parking space and controls the first locking device to be unlocked; then the controller rotates the movable platen 42 of the corresponding support platform, adjusts the movable platen 42 to extend, controls the conveyor 50 to travel to the movable rail segment 21 on the corresponding support platform and controls the second locking device to lock the conveyor 50 on the corresponding support platform. Subsequently, the controller restores the movable platen 42 to its original length and rotates the corresponding support platform to its original position, and the controller controls the elevating mechanism 70 to be lowered and aligns the corresponding movable rail segment 21 with other movable rail segments of the second rail set, then controls the conveyor 50 to pass through the second rail set 20 and reach the exit after the rail is switched to the third rail set 30. Then, the controller controls the second locking device to be unlocked, the holding of the vehicle by the holding mechanism is released, and the user enters the vehicle and drives it away from the conveyor 50 in a direction parallel with the first rail set 10, and leaves from the exit.

[0036] With the intelligent parking system provided by the utility model, fully automated parking is achieved. A user simply needs to park the vehicle onto the conveyor at the entrance, and the intelligent parking system automatically allocates a parking space, automatically parks the vehicle together with the conveyor carrying the vehicle into the parking space allocated automatically, and sends the parking information and charging information to a vehicle parking/picking-up application of the user. The user simply needs to pick up the vehicle through the vehicle parking/picking-up application when it is required to pick up the vehicle, the intelligent parking system completes the charging and automatically picks up the vehicle from the parking space where the vehicle is parked, and the user only needs to enter the vehicle at the exit, drive it away from the conveyor and leave the exit. With the intelligent parking system according to the utility model, the parking efficiency and the utilization rate of the parking spaces can be greatly improved, and the space occupied by the parking lot is saved, which is advantageous for the construction of an intelligent city.

[0037] Described above are preferred particular embodiments of the utility model, but the scope of protection of the utility model is not limited thereto. Various modifications and alternations that can be readily conceived by those skilled in the art without deviation from the technical scope disclosed by the utility model will fall within the scope of protection of the utility model. Therefore, the scope of protection of the utility model should be defined by the scope of protection of the appended claims.

Claims (5)

1. An intelligent parking system, characterized in that the intelligent parking system comprises: a stereo garage having a plurality of parking frames parallel with each other, each of the parking frames having a plurality of layers of parking platforms and each layer of the parking platforms being provided with a plurality of parking spaces, and each of the parking spaces being provided with a parking rail set and provided with a releasable first locking device, a direction in which the parking rail set extends being parallel with a length direction of the parking space; a first rail set extending in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the parking platform extends and communicating to an entrance of the stereo garage; a plurality of second rail sets each disposed between two adjacent parking frames and connected to the first rail set in a variable rail manner respectively, and the second rail set being composed of a plurality of movable rail segments that can be combined; a third rail set disposed in parallel with the first rail set at a distance from the first rail set and communicating to an exit of the stereo garage, and being connected to the second rail sets in a variable rail manner; a plurality of support platforms each provided with a fixed platen and a movable platen rotatable with respect to the fixed platen when driven by a first drive device, the plurality of movable rail segments each being fixedly disposed on the corresponding movable platen, each of the support platforms being provided with an adjusting device capable of adjusting the length of the movable platen and a releasable second locking device, and the support platforms being capable of moving up and down when driven by an elevating mechanism so that the corresponding movable rail segment fixed onto the movable platen can move up and down; a plurality of conveyors on which a vehicle can be parked and held by a holding mechanism of the conveyor, the conveyor being provided with a wheel pair and capable of traveling on the first rail set, the second rail set, the third rail set and the parking rail set when driven by a second drive device, an axial direction of the wheel pair being perpendicular to the length direction of the conveyor, and the length direction of the conveyor being parallel with the extension direction of the first rail set, the vehicle being capable of being parked in the length direction of the conveyor; and a controller capable of controlling the conveyors, the first drive device, the second drive device, the elevating mechanism, the adjusting device, the first locking device, and the second locking device through wireless communication, the controller also being capable of interacting with the vehicle parking/picking-up application in a user’s mobile phone through wireless communication, wherein the conveyor carrying the vehicle and holding the vehicle can travel through the first rail set onto the corresponding movable rail segment of the second rail set and can be locked by the second locking device onto the movable platen of the corresponding support platform; when the corresponding support platform is raised by the elevating mechanism to a height of the corresponding parking space of the corresponding parking platform, the movable platen of the corresponding support platform is rotated by the first drive device to align the corresponding movable rail segment on the movable platen with the corresponding parking rail set, and then the length of the movable platen of the corresponding support platform can be adjusted by the adjusting device to bring the movable platen into substantial abutment with the corresponding parking platform, the second locking device is then unlocked, and the conveyor is capable of travelling to the parking rail set on the corresponding parking space when driven by the second drive device and is locked by the first locking device onto the corresponding parking space, and the intelligent parking system further comprises a rail switch, and the controller is capable of controlling the rail switch to change a rail from the first rail set to the second rail set or from the second rail set to the third rail set; the elevating mechanism is a collapsible elevating mechanism or a hydraulic elevating mechanism; the length and width of the conveyor are both less than the spacing between the adjacent parking frames; the length of the movable rail segment is less than the length of the conveyor, and the first rail set, the second rail set, the third rail set, and the parking rail set have the same rail spacing.

2. The intelligent parking system according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor is provided with a wheel alignment slot to allow the user to park the vehicle onto the conveyor accurately.

3. The intelligent parking system according to claim 1, wherein a stopper is provided at the end of the parking rail set to prevent the conveyor from being parked beyond the parking rail set.

4. The intelligent parking system according to claim 1, wherein the first locking device and the second locking device are electrically controlled locking devices.

5. The intelligent parking system according to claim 1, wherein the number of movable rail segments of each of the second rail sets is equal to the number of a row of parking spaces extending in the direction of the second rail set.