689,896. Marshalling vehicles. AUGER, H. June 29, 1950. [June 30, 1949] No. 17284/49. Classes 78 (i) and 78 (iv). In equipment for manoeuvring and parking vehicles, a road wheel of a vehicle is engaged in the direction of its normal rolling movement along a track by a wheel-imprisoning device, through respective parts of the device rearwardly and forwardly of the wheel, at least one of which parts is withdrawable for receiving or releasing the wheel into or out of such engagement. In a preferred form of apparatus, Figs. 1 and 2, forming part of a mechanical storage equipment, pusher bars associated with storage sections Z are mounted on carriages 19 reciprocable from end to end of their respective sections, while pusher bars for feeder sections X and distributing sections Y, e.g. sections raised and lowered to serve several floors of a building, are mounted on endless chains 12. In order that sections X and Y may feed a vehicle from either end automatically two main pusher bars, which comprise freely rotatable rollers 13a, 13b, and two subsidiary pusher bars comprising rollers 14a, 14b are mounted between a pair of endless chains 12 provided on each section in the side walls 11 of a trough 10 provided, midway between the upper and lower runs of the chains, with a floor 16 along which the wheels of one side of the vehicles run. The endless chains can be stopped with one subsidiary pusher bar near each end of the floor 16 on the upper run of the chains and the two main pusher bars just retracted beneath slots 15 in the floor 16 through which the chains pass, Fig. 2a. A motor 20, Fig. 3, on each section X or Y is controlled by switches x<SP>1</SP>, x<SP>2</SP> or y<SP>1</SP>, y<SP>2</SP>, for driving the chains one complete cycle and stopping them automatically in the position just described. The carriages 19 of sections Z are each reciprocated by a motor 33 on a section Y, Fig. 3, after sections Y and Z have been brought into register, through a detachable coupling 23, 24, winding drum 39, endless cable 40 and bracket 41 on the carriage which is secured to a stretch of cable 40 extending parallel to a trough 18 in which the carriage runs. At the end of trough 18 adjacent section Y are provided a transverse recess 18a and a pair of lateral recesses 18b, Fig. 6a. The carriage runs on wheels 19c, 19d and carries between side plates 19a two pusher bars comprising rollers 19e, 19f, roller 19f being directly mounted on the carriage while roller 19e is mounted on a pair of bell cranks 19g pivoted at 19h to the carriage side plates and carrying rollers 19i which run along the floor of trough 18 at each side. The carriage is guided laterally by rollers 19k. As the carriage approaches the unloaded position adjacent section Y rollers 19i drop into recesses 18b causing the bell cranks 19g to overturn and deposit roller 19e in the recess 18a. In Fig. 2A all sections are shown in unloaded position. To load a vehicle onto a storage section Z, the vehicle is driven forward until its front wheel enters trough 10 of section X and depresses switch x<SP>1</SP>. This causes the endless chains 12 to move so that pusher bar 13a rises behind the front wheel and pushes it to the Fig. 2B position. Here the movement may be stopped temporarily if section Y is not yet in position or in order for the driver to leave the vehicle. The subsidiary pusher bar 14a co-operates with pusher bar 13a to chock the vehicle. The movement is then restarted, preferably by a manual switch. When pusher bars 14a and 13a reach the end of the upper run they are retracted below floor 16 and the vehicle again remains stationary until pusher bar 13b engages with the rear wheel of the vehicle and pushes the latter into the Fig. 2C position where the front wheel actuates switch y<SP>1</SP> of section Y. This starts the endless chains of section Y moving and the pusher bar 13a of section Y engages the front wheel and moves in synchronism with pusher bar 13b of section X until the latter reaches the end of its upper run and is retracted whereupon the endless chains of section X stop in their initial position and section Y feeds the vehicle similarly to section X through the position of Fig. 20, corresponding to that of Fig. 2B, until the front wheel passes over the pusher bar 19e of carriage 19, which is in the recess 18a, and engages the pusher bar 19f, Fig. 2E. Carriage 19 is then trailed by the front wheel, pusher bar 19e being raised out of recess 18a by the movement, until pusher 13b of section Y is nearly at the end of its run when a switch (not shown) is actuated to energize motor 33 and cause the coupling 23, 24 to be connected whereby the vehicle is finally drawn into position on section Z by the carriage 19, after which coupling 23, 24 is disconnected and motor 33 is automatically cut out. To reverse the procedure coupling 23, 24 is again connected and motor 33 is started up in reverse. The rear wheel of the vehicle operates in sequence switches y<SP>2</SP> and x<SP>2</SP> which switch on the endless chain driving motors of sections Y and X in reverse. The movements then continue in reverse until the initial position of Fig. 2A is again reached. One end sprocket of each endless chain 12 is mounted on a shaft mounted for slidable movement to tension the chains. The position of gap 15 is defined by two slidable plates and can thus be adjusted to correspond to the sprocket position. The chains 12 and sprockets are all contained within the side walls of the troughs 10 which are slotted to allow passage of the pusher bars. The male part 23 of the coupling 23, 24 is fixed on a shatt 22 of winding drum 39. The female part 24 is bell shaped to guide the two parts into alignment and is slidable a short distance along the splined end of a shaft 25 against the pressure of a spring 31. Shaft 25 is axially slidable in a housing 26 which is resiliently secured to section Y by a single springy plate 27 and controlled by shock absorbers 35 to allow the coupling to be connected if the parts are slightly out of alignment, e.g. owing to section Y being mounted on a lift. Shaft 25 has a part 24 on each end since on floors of the building not having an exit to street level there is preferably a section Z at each end of section Y, as shown, Fig. 3. Axial movement of shaft 25 to couple or uncouple parts 23, 24 is effected by a nut member 29 projecting through a slot in housing 26 and travelling along a threaded rod 30 rotated by a motor 28. Motor 33 drives shaft 25 through a gear box 34 including a pinion slidable on splines on shaft 25. Shaft 22 is continued behind drum 39 and is provided with a threaded portion 47, Fig. 7A, on which is mounted a nut member 45 travelling in a slot 46 in a fixed casing 42. Compression springs 48, 49 are inserted between the nut member 45 and fixed walls of the casing such that in the unloaded position of carriage 19 on section Z spring 48 is more compressed than spring 49 and holds a clutch member 43 on shaft 22 out of engagement with a mating member 44 on the casing. When parts 23, 24 are coupled axial movement of shaft 22 is prevented by the end of shaft 25 but as a vehicle is drawn on to section Z the nut member 45 moves along portion 47 of shaft 22 to compress spring 49 more than spring 48 so that upon disengagement of coupling 23, 24 members 43, 44 engage to lock the carriage and hence the vehicle in chocked position on section Z. Unloading reverses the process. In a modification, Figs. 8 and 9A, the endless chains of sections X and Y are replaced by reciprocating carriages each comprising side plates 50 and two pairs of side rollers 51. At each end of the sections a well 52 is provided which is covered by a plate except for an entrance 54. A sloping passage 53 at each side of the well leads rollers 51 into the well. Pusher bars are mounted on the axes of the rollers 51 for engaging the vehicle wheels. As the carriage enters the well each pusher bar is retracted in turn. Section Y is provided with two reciprocating carriages, one engaging the wheels on each side of the vehicle. In operation, the carriage of section X is initially wholly within the well l, one carriage of section Y, e.g. that on track H is half out of the well o with the forward pusher bar projected, and the other carriage, on track J, is wholly within the well r. The vehicle is driven forward over the well l after which a front wheel actuates switch m which projects the front pusher of the carriage out of well The rear wheel then actuates a switch in well l which causes the carriage to rise completely from the well to imprison the rear wheel between the pusher bars and to travel forwardly, until the off-side front wheel actuates a switch in well o causing the carriage of track H to move the front wheel forward. As the near-side front wheel actuates switch s the front pusher bar of the carriage of track J is projected, the carriage rising completety from well r when the rear wheel actuates a switch in well r. The vehicle is thus transferred to the carriage 19 of section Z, the carriages of sections X and Y having moved to corresponding positions in wells n, g and t ready for reverse operation.