GB871012A - A vehicle park - Google Patents

Abstract

871,012. Mechanical garages. DE CHAIR, H. G. D. Sept. 5, 1957 [June 6, 1956; Aug. 9 1956], Nos. 17542/56 and 24462/56. Class 78 (4). A car park comprises one or more ferries 24, 25 (Fig. 1) movable on a track 30 whilst carrying a vehicle, entry and exit roads running transversely to the track, and means for pushing the vehicle on and off the ferry into parking bays on at least one side of the track. As shown, the ferries 24, 25 are moved electrically along a track 30 underneath a road and carry parking means 42 (Fig. 4) for pushing vehicles from the ferries into parking bays 32 or recovering them therefrom. Access to an egress from the ferries is by ramps 20, 20a, 21, 21a (Fig. 1). The parking means 42 is actuated by a pusher 41 (Fig. 4) and is connected to a central point on the ferry floor by cables which pass round pulleys at either end of the pusher so that the means 42 moves through twice the distance covered by the pusher. The parking means comprises four rollers 66, Fig. 9, two of which are shown extended to engage the wheels of a vehicle and two retracted to pass under a vehicle. Extension is by cables 74 which are joined in pairs on either side of the parking means and form the actuating cables for the parking means itself, and retraction is by springs (not shown). A spring-biased peg engages holes in the slide to prevent movement of the parking means during extension and retraction of the rollers and is released by a cable. The ferry has side guides 36 for the vehicle wheels, which may be adjustable from the control-point 38. Pushers acting on the side of the wheels, in combination with rollers or a slidable mat on the ferry floor, may locate the vehicle on the ferry. Fig. 11 shows the method of mounting the ferry wheels. The wheel 28 is supported in a fork 88 adjustable for height by a plug 91 screwed into a collar 90 on a cylindrical tube 85 which is attached to the floor 27 of the ferry (outside the guides 36) and slotted to guide the wheel and prevent its rotation about a vertical axis. A spring may be interposed between the fork 88 and the plug 91. The parking bays 32 may have floors sloping towards the ferry track 30 and humps to prevent cars running back on to the track. The parking means 42 may have only one pair of rollers 66. Traffic lights and possibly a positive stopping means controlled by a supervisor may be provided to prevent cars being driven on to the track until the ferry is in position. For narrow streets, where the entrance and exit ramps cannot be made truly transverse to the track 30, a turntable may be provided to align the ferry with the appropriate ramp and to straighten it before moving. The park need not be underground. Specification 871,022 is referred to.