US3040913A

US3040913A - Parking garage

Info

Publication number: US3040913A
Application number: US7304A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Samuel Foster; Thomas H Eyles
Original assignee: Foster Grant Co Inc
Current assignee: Foster Grant Co Inc
Priority date: 1960-02-08
Filing date: 1960-02-08
Publication date: 1962-06-26
Anticipated expiration: 1979-06-26

Description

June 26, 1962 s. FOSTER, JR, ETAL 3,040,913

PARKING GARAGE Filed Feb. 8, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I.

SAMUEL F05 T E R, JR.

THOMAS H. EYLES INVENTORS ATTOR EY June 26, 1962 s. FOSTER, JR, ETAL PARKING GARAGE Filed Feb. 8, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 SAMUEL FOSTE June 26, 1962 s. FOSTER, JR., ETAL PARKING GARAGE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 8. 1960 SAMUEL FOSTER, JR

INVENTORS THOMAS H EYLES ATTOR EY June 1962 s. FOSTER, JR, ETAL 3,040,913

PARKING GARAGE R 4 J..$S t M 6 EMT. N m s N R 4 0 E m w FH w. 6 [-5 r Mm f. 5 MW Filed Feb. 8, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 S. FOSTER, JR, ETAL PARKING GARAGE INVENTORS SAMUEL FOSTER JR.

QWH$ FL W BYTHOMAS H. EYL

June 26, 1962 Filed Feb. 8, 1960 a! '30 [M30 BBC] [1 gggggggQ United States Patent 3,040,913 PARKING GARAGE Samuel Foster, In, Inglewood, Calif, and Thomas H. Eyles, Leominster, Mass, assignors to Foster Grant Co., Inc., Leominster, Mass, a corporation of Dela- Ware Filed Feb. 8, 196a, Ser. No. 7,304 7 Claims. c1. 214 1s.1

This invention relates to a parking garage, and more particularly to the automatic storage of automobiles and the like.

In the parking of automobiles in congested areas, two main problems present themselves. First of all, the land is quite valuable and the building in which the garage is located is quite expensive. For that reason it is necessary that the parking take place in such a manner that the most efiicient use of the space be provided. Secondly, the labor problem is a difficult one because of the fact that the price of the parking facility must be kept low to attract customers and, yet, even the relatively unskilled labor necessary at present is quite expensive and presents personnel problems. The conventional parking garage, which consists of a number of floors connected by ramps, in which the customer parks his own car or in which the car is turned over to an attendant, is wasteful of space, irrespective of the layout. Furthermore, after a certain number of stories have been reached in the building, it becomes quite difficult to expect either the owner of the car to take his car up and down; furthermore, if attendants are used, the time required for the attendant to take the car up to a given floor and back again is very long and the turnover in the garage becomes drastically limited. As a matter of fact, the critical times in the beginning of the day when people are coming into the garage for parking and at the end of the day when they are leaving determine the feasibility of any given arrangement, since people will not patronize a garage in which they have to spend too much time waiting for their automobile or in obtaining it themselves. Many automatic garages have been developed in the past, most of them using the socalled pigeonhole concept in which an elevator moves the automobile both vertically and horizontally and deposits it in an opening in the face of the building on which the elevator operates. It is impossible with such a construction to have a two-way flow of traffic; that is to say, it is impossible without a very expensive construction to permit one automobile to be moving downwardly to go out when another automobile is being moved upwardly to be placed in parking position. The space that may be serviced by one elevator is also limited. These and other difficulties experienced with prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a parking garage or similar storage facility which is capable of automatic operation from a remotecontrol central location.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an automatic parking garage in which a selected automobile may be removed at the same time that another automobile is being placed in a parking position.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an automatic storage apparatus which makes extremely eflicient use of the building in which it is located and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a parking garage in which the location of a particular parked automobile is fixed at any given time so that the apparatus lends itself to automatic operation by electrical control means.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a parking garage which is designed to provide ease of operation, speed, and economy and which solves many of the present day universal problems of parking and storage.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a special design of material handling platform for operation in an automatic parking garage or similar storage operation.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a storage apparatus making use of a special pallet wherein the pallet and the apparatus are designed to move the pallet in any one of four directions whereby optimum use of a given space may be made.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an automatic storage facility which may operate effectively irrespective of the number of floors.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a parking garage in which a given automobile may be removed from the parking facility while disturbing only a minimum number of other automobiles and in which the position of any given automobile may be known at all times.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a parking garage in which a minimum area in the building is occupied by elevators or other apparatus for moving vertically from one floor to another.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a parking garage which, because of its automatic nature and the simplicity of its moving apparatus, may be constructed inexpensively and in such a manner as to be strictly functional in that there is no need for safety devices or for interior decoration of any kind.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a parking garage which is readily adaptable to ground areas of a wide variety of sizes and shapes.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a parking apparatus which, because of its automatic nature and which, because it is not necessary for human beings to move into the parking areas, uses. simple girder and conveyor constructions which would otherwise possibly be somewhat dangerous and, furthermore provides that, despite the skeleton construction, the oil drippings and melted ice and snow from one automobile do not fall on another automobile.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to certain of its structural forms, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the exterior of a parking garage incorporating the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the garage showing the first floor, taken on the line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the rst floor taken on the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is another vertical sectional view of a portion of the first floor taken on the line IVIV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective inverted view of a pallet forming part of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the pallet taken on the line VIVI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view right side up of the pallet taken on the line VIIVII of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal plan view of a typical storage floor of the parking garage taken on the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view of the floor taken on the line IX-IX of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a somewhat schematic perspective view showing the general scheme of flow of automobiles through the parking garage.

Referring first to FIG. 1, wherein are best shown the general features of the invention, the parking garage, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown for use with an automobile 11 which is shown approaching an entrance 12. An exit, which is similarly constructed, is situated at the opposite side of the building but is not shown. At the side of the building opposite the entrance 12 are a down elevator shaft 13 and an up elevator shaft 14. As is evident from the view, the building construction is quite simple and inexpensive to manufacture, being formed with vertical girders 15 joining horizontal concrete slabs 16 which serve as the basic support for the floors. The wall areas between the girders and the slabs are occupied by ornamental aluminum screens 17 or the like. The mode of construction of the outer wall will depend to a certain extent upon the climate in which the garage is situated; those garages which are built in tropical climates will, of course, require less protection from the weather than those which are situated in regions where severe cold is encountered. Such ornamental and functional features as a sign 18 and trees 19 may be provided, if desired.

Referring now to FIG. 2, which is a plan view of the first or ground floor, the entrance 12, the up elevator shaft 14, the down elevator shaft 13, and an exit 21 are readily recognized. Also located in the first floor are a loading apparatus 272 and an unloading apparatus 23. Preferably a control center 24 is located at an intermediate position on the first floor where the operator can observe both the loading and unloading operations. In this view it can be seen that the up elevator 25 and thedown elevator 26 are located, as would be expected, in the

shafts

14 and 13, respectively, in positions adjacent the loading apparatus 22. and the unloading apparatus 23, respectively. An underground return tunnel 27 is provided joining the unloading apparatus 23 to the loading apparatus 22 for a purpose to be described more fully hereinafter. The details of the loading apparatus are shown in FIG. 4; it consists of two

grooved parking lanes

28 and 29 having front wheel 'stops 31 located somewhat inwardly thereof. A pusher apparatus 32 is associated with each ramp and is provided with a vertically upstanding dog 33 which is movable along the ramp to an extreme position and which is driven by an endless chain conveyor 34. In its extreme inward position the dog 33 is adjacent a conveyor 35 carrying a series of pallets 36 adapted to carry the automobile 11. The conveyor 35 extends from the panel 27 to the up elevator 25.

The details of the unloading apparatus 23 are shown in FIG. 3. One end of the conveyor 35 extends from the tunnel 27 to adjacent the down elevator 26 and, as is evident, carries a number of pallets 36. Two push-off apparatus 37 are located beside the conveyor 35 in position to remove an automobile 11 from its pallet 36. From the position adjacent the side of the conveyor 35 extends a chain type conveyor 38 for moving the automobile forwardly of the pallet until the front wheels strike a safety treadle stop 39 which stops the conveyor operation. From this position the automobile may be driven away.

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show the pallet 36 in considerable detail, the pallet being shown inverted in FIG. 5. It can be seen that it consists of a flat plate 46 of generally elongated rectangular shape which is somewhat larger than the plan view of the largest automobile to be accommodated. From the upper section of the plate extends four flanges 41, 42, 43, and 44, the space between the flanges 41 and 42 being maintained between the flanges 43 and 44 located at the other side of the pilot. A wide space thus remains between the flanges 42 and 43 and this is occupied by a shallow depression 45 intended to catch oil drippings and the like. A wheel de pression 46 is located at one end of the pallet between the flanges 41 and 42, while a similar wheel depression 47 is located between the flanges 43 and 44'. At the other end of the pallet between the flanges 41 and 42 is located an elongated wheel depression 48, while a similar elongated depression 49 is located at the same end of the pilot between the flanges 43 and 44. Under each of the four corners of the pallet is located a caster 51 which, as is evident in FIG. 7, is of the ball type in which a socket 52 carries a large ball 53 for completely free rolling action. Each caster is closely adjacent to its end of the pallet and is centrally located either under the space be tween the flanges 41 and 42 or the space between the flanges 43 and 44. Also located under the pallet are six guide and actuating blocks 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59. Each block extends downwardly from the under side of the plate 46 a distance slightly less than the casters 51 and all blocks are of the same width and thickness with their corners carefully rounded. The block 54 is located at the forward end of the pallet between the flanges 42 and t3 and is aligned with the two casters 51 at that end of the pallet. The block 55 is located at the other end of the pallet in a similar position between the two casters at that end; both

blocks

54 and 55 are arranged with their lengthwise dimension extending transversely of the pallet. The blocks 56 and 57 are located under the space between the two flanges 41 and 42 and are aligned with the two casters 51 which are also located under that space. These blocks also have their lengthwise direction extending longitudinally of the pallet. The other two blocks 58 and 59 are located under the space between the flanges 43 and 44 and are aligned with the casters 51 arranged under that space; in the same way these blocks have their lengthwise dimension extending longitudinally of the pallet. It should also be noted that the block 56 and the block 58 are located in the same position lengthwise of the pallet toward the front end, while the blocks 57 and 59 are similarly located with respect to one another at the rear end of the pallet. The location of the blocks relative to the casters can be seen from FIGS. 6 and 7 where the blocks 57 and 59 are shown in alignment with the casters 51 and the block 55 is shown in the background. The block 58 is shown associated with the caster 51 in FIG. 7 and, of course,

' it will be understood that the block 56 is hidden in this view behind the block 58. It should, perhaps, be noted at this point that the depressions 48 and 49 are considerably longer in extent than the depressions 46 and 47.

FIG. 8 shows a plan of a typical floor of the parking garage 10. Here again, the up elevator in its elevator shaft 14 and the down elevator 26 in its shaft 13 are evident. Generally speaking, the layout consists of an in aisle 61, an out aisle 62, a return lane 63 and a plurality of

parking lanes

64, 65, 66, 67, and 68. In the preferred embodiment the floor plan is somewhat elongated, there being considerably greater distance between the

elevator shafts

13 and 14 than there is in the transverse direction. However, it will be understood that this would vary with the particular piece of land on which the building is built. It will be observed, also, that the in aisle 61 extends transversely across the floor and is aligned with the up elevator 25, whereas the out aisle 62 also extends transversely of the floor but is aligned with the down elevator 26. The return lane 63 extends between the in aisle and the out aisle closely adjacent to the

elevators

25 and 26, while the

parking lanes

64, 65, 66, 67 and 68 extend parallel to one another longitudinally of the floor between the in aisle 61 and the out aisle 62. In the position of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 8, all of the parking lanes are filled with pallets 36 which presumably carry automobiles and the

elevators

25 and 26 are at the level of the floor being shown. The entire floor is made up of a level formation in which are formed a series of narrow and wide grooves. All of the wide grooves have a width slightly larger than the length of the guide and actuating blocks 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 and 59, while the narrow grooves have a width slightly larger than the thickness of these blocks. Although, for the purpose of simplifying the description, the floor has been shown as consisting of a level area in which are molded grooves, it will be understood that a more functional and slightly less presentable apparatus could be formed from girders and the like for serving the same purpose. It should be noted also that as a general rule the wide grooves contain chain type conveyors having dogs interposed along the chains while the narrow grooves have no conveyors situated therein. The distance between the narrow grooves in each of the aisles is the same distance as exists transversely between the blocks 56 and 57 at one side of each pallet 36 and the blocks 58 and 59 at the other side. However, this is true only for the lanes; the distance between the narrow grooves in the aisles 61 and 62, on the other hand, is the same as the longitudinal distance between the

blocks

54 and 55. In the same way, the distance between the wide grooves in the aisles 61 and 62 is the same as the longitudinal distance between the blocks 56 and 57 and also between the blocks 58 and 59, whereas the

lanes

63, 64', 65, 66, 67 and 68 have only one Wide groove which is located midway between the narrow groove and arranged to be occupied by the

blocks

54 and 55. The up elevator 25 is provided with narrow grooves 69 and 71 which are aligned with

narrow grooves

72 and 73 forming part of the in aisle 61. In the same way, the elevator 25 is provided with parallel wide grooves 74 and 75, which are aligned with corresponding wide grooves 76 and 77, so that they form part of the in aisle 61. In the wide groove 74 is located a chain type conveyor 78 having upstanding dogs and a similar conveyor 79 is located in the Wide groove 75. The conveyors 78 and 79 extend from adjacent the back of the elevator to a point very close to the front of the elevator where it joins the main part of the floor; each conveyor is provided with a plurality of dogs, the dogs being matched so that they move in pairs side by side with the conveyor. In the wide groove 76 lies a chain conveyor 81 which is also provided with upstanding dogs and this conveyor extends across almost the entire width of the floor from a point adjacent the elevator to a point midway across the parking lane 68. A similar chain conveyor 82 is located in the wide groove 77 and the dogs of the

chain conveyors

81 and 82 are in synchronization.

In the same way the elevator 26 is provided with two

narrow grooves

83 and 84 with two wide grooves 85 and 86 between them. The

narrow grooves

83 and 84 are in alignment with similar narrow grooves 87 and 88 forming part of the out aisle 62, while the wide grooves 85 and 86 are aligned with corresponding

wide grooves

89 and 91, respectively, also forming part of the out aisle 62. In the wide grooves 85 and 86 in the surface of the elevator 26 are located chain conveyors 92 and 93 which extend almost entirely across the surface of the elevator from the rear to the front thereof; the conveyors 92 and 93 are provided with a plurality of dogs and the dogs are in paired synchronization. Also, in each of the

wide grooves

89 and 91 are located

conveyors

94 and 95 which extend almost entirely across the floor of the garage from closely adjacent to the elevator 26 to the mid-point of the parking aisle 68; these conveyors have a plurality of dogs and the dogs are in synchronization with each other. The return lane 63 is provided with two parallel narrow grooves 96 and 97 and mid-Way between them a wide groove 98 having a chain conveyor 99. The grooves of the return lane 63 all extend longitudinally of the garage and, of course, at right angles to the in aisle 61 and the out aisle 62.

In the same way, each of the

parking lanes

64, 65, 66, 67,

and 68 contains two narrow grooves and a wide groove intermediate thereof. For example, the parking lane 64 is provided with two parallel

narrow grooves

101 and 102 and a wide groove 103 located midway between the two. In this wide groove are three

chain conveyors

104, 105 and 106 which are aligned with one another and each of which is provided with a plurality of dogs. The chain conveyor 104 starts halfway between the Wide groove 76 and the narrow groove 72 in the in aisle 61 and proceeds longitudinally of the machine to a point approximately one-third of the way across the garage. The conveyor starts at that last point and continues another portion of the way across the garage and, then, the conveyor 106 picks up and continues to a point mid way between the narrow groove 88 and the wide groove 99 in the out aisle 62. All of the parking lanes are similarly provided with conveyors. It will be understood that the grooves of the in aisle 61 and the out aisle 62 are crossed by the grooves of the return lane 63 and the parking lane, and that the corners of the intersections are suitably rounded to prevent scratching and catching. Furthermore, it will be understood that all of the conveyors are capable of actuation from the control center 24 on the first floor. All of the conveyors, with the exception of the elevators, also are non-reversible and move in one direction only. For instance, the conveyors 78 and 79 associated with the elevator 25 move in a direction outwardly of the elevator and the

conveyors

81 and 82 associated with the in lane 61 move from the elevator toward the other side of the garage. All of the conveyors associated with the

parking lanes

64, 65, 66, 67, and 68 move from right to left in FIG. 8 and the

conveyors

94 and 95 associated with the out aisle 62 move toward the elevator 26 and the conveyors 92 and 93 in the elevator move from the main part of U the garage outwardly to move a pallet and its automobile into the elevator. The conveyor 99 associated with the return lane 63 moves from left to right in FIG. 8. It will be understood that from the control room on the first floor it will be possible to energize any or all of the conveyors associated with the floor and that suitable indications are located on a control panel to show the condition of each of the conveyors at any given time.

Reference to FIG. 9 will clarify some of the concepts present here, since it is a section through the floor taken along the mid-line of the parking lane 64. In a somewhat schematic manner it can be seen that a series of pallets 36 are arranged along the surface of the floor with their

blocks

54 and 55 depending downwardly into the wide groove 103. The manner in which the

conveyors

104, 105, and 106 are located is clear .in the drawings as are the dogs which are used to push the pallets along in the grooves. At the right end of FIG. 9 a cross section of the in aisle 61 is shown with its

narrow grooves

72 and 73 and its wide grooves 76 and 77 with the

chain conveyors

81 and 82 located therein, the view showing the motor for driving these chains together and showing dogs extending upwardly into the grooves to engage portions of a pallet. At the left hand side of FIG. 9 is shown the out aisle 62 with its narrow grooves 87 and 88 and its

wide grooves

89 and 91 with the

conveyors

94 and 95, respectively, located therein. A doubleshafted motor is shown as driving these chains together and the dogs are shown extending upwardly into the

grooves

89 and 91 to engage a pallet. With reference to FIG. 8 it will be noted that a number of switches are located in various parts of the floor of the garage to indicate to the operator of the control center 24 on the first floor the situation on the storage floor. These switches are engaged by the pallets 36 as they move around on the floor and, for instance, turn on lights on a control panel indicating the location of the pallets at any given time. A switch 107 is located in the in aisle 61 between the wide grooves 76 and 77 to be engaged by a pallet as it comes off the elevator 25. A switch 108 is located in the in aisle being engaged by a pallet when the pallet is in alignment with the parking lane 64. Similar switches 109, 111, 112, and 113 are located in the in aisle 61 in position to be engaged by pallets when they are aligned, respectively, with the parking lanes 65, 66, 67 and 68. The switch 114 is located in the parking lane 64 in position to be engaged by a pallet when it has been carried by the conveyor 104 into position so that it overlies the portion of the conveyor 105. In the same way, switches 115, 116, 117, and 118 are located in the parking lanes 65, 66, 67, 68, respectively, in position to be contacted by pallets after they have been carried to the ends of their respective first conveyors (corresponding to the conveyor 104 in the parking lane 64). A switch 119 is located in the parking lane 64 in position to be engaged by a pallet as it reaches the end of the second conveyor 105, and similar switches 121, 122, 123, and 124, are located in the same portions of their respective parking lanes 65, 66, 67 and 68. A switch 125 is located in the parking lane 64 in the middle portion of the third conveyor 106 and similar switches 126, 127, 128 and 129 are located in like locations in the parking lanes 65, 66, 67 and 68, respectively. A switch 131 is located at the end of the parking lane 64 on the far side of the narrow groove 87 in the out aisle 62. This switch is engaged by a pallet, after the pallet has been carried by the conveyor 106 into position in the out lane 62. In a similar manner, the extensions of the parking lanes 65, 66, 67, and 68 are provided with similar switches 132, 133, 134, and 135, respectively. A

switch 136 is located in the out lane 62 adjacent the elevator to indicate that the

conveyors

94 and 95 have carried a pallet to a position adjacent the elevator at which time the conveyors 92 and 93 of the elevator take over. Lastly, a switch 137 is located at the right hand end of the return lane 63 to indicate that the conveyor 99 has carried a pallet well into the in aisle 61.

The operation of the invention will now be readily understood in view of the above description. The automobile 11 enters the garage through the entrance 12 and is driven onto the floor in the area of the

ramps

28 and 29. Preferably an attendant, but possibly the operator, Will drive the car into the ramp until its front wheel strikes the front wheel stops 31. At that time the conveyor 34 is actuated, thus driving the pusher apparatus 32 and causing the vertically upstanding dog 33 to contact the rear bumper of the automobile and move the automobile along. Eventually, the automobile is pushed onto the pallet 36 which rests on the conveyor 35. Re-

ferring to FIG. 5, the rear wheels of the automobile rest in the depressions 46 and 47, while the front wheels rest in the elongated depressions 48 and 49, these latter depressions being elonagted in order to compensate for automobiles of different wheel bases. Actuation of the conveyor 35 carries the pallet with the automobile on it into the up elevator 25 with the assistance of the conveyors 78 and 79, which in FIG. 2, are covered by a pallet 36. The elevator 25 is energized and moves vertically upwardly until it reaches a desired floor. Now, referring to FIG. 8, when the elevator reaches the same lever as the floor, the conveyors 78 and 79 are actuated to move the pallet 36 into the in aisle 61. It should be understood that in moving the pallet sideways the

blocks

54 and 55 move in the narrow grooves 69 and 71 of the elevator and the

narrow grooves

72 and 73 of the in aisle 61. At that same time the blocks 56 and 58 are moving through the wide groove 76 while the blocks 57 and 59 move through the wide groove 77. Now, assuming that the pallet 36 is in the elevator with the blocks 56 and 57 at the rear of the elevator, the dogs on the conveyors 78 and 79 engage the blocks 56 and 57 so that eventually these conveyors push the pallet into the in aisle 61 far enough so that the dogs on the

conveyors

81 and 82 can engage the blocks 58 and 59 at the forward side of the pallet. It might be stated that as the pallet moves around over the floor of the garage the blocks reside in the grooves; when the pallet is moving in the direction of the length of the block, the blocks reside in narrow grooves, and when the pallet is moving in the direction transversely of the length of any given block, that block resides in a large groove. Usually, when one of the blocks resides in a large groove, it is being contacted by a dog on a conveyor in that groove, but not necessarily so. Assuming, then, that there is a space available for a pallet of a automobile in the parking lane 64, the man at the control center on the first floor observes that the pallet, actuated by the conveyors 78 and 79* of the elevator, strikes the switch 107. When this happens, he stops the conveyors 78 and 79 and actuates the

conveyors

81 and 82, the dogs of which contact the back blocks 56 and 57 of the pallet and push it along. Eventually, the pallet strikes the switch 108 indicating to the man operating the control center that the pallet has come directly opposite the parking line 64. Assuming that the operator has caused any part of an automobile already in the lane to be pushed as far to the left as possible, there is a space for the pallet in the area associated with the conveyor 104. Therefore upon the actuation of the switch 108 the

conveyors

81 and 82 are stopped and the conveyor 104 is started. The dogs on the conveyor 104 engage the forward block 54 of the pallet and drag it into the position such that the pallet strikes the switch 114 indicating to the operator that it has at last reached the spot in which it is to be parked.

In describing the method of removing a pallet and automobile for return to the customer, let us suppose that the pallet 36 in which we are interested is at the right hand end of the parking lane 64 overlying the conveyor 104. When the conveyor 104 Was stopped, upon the striking of the switch 114 by the pallet, the forward block 54 was engaged by a dog of the conveyor 104. Now, upon reenergization of the conveyor 104, the dog which was engaging the block 54 disappears downwardly around the sprocket wheel of the endless chain conveyor and another dog approaches the pallet from behind and engages the block 55 and pushes the pallet forward. At the same time, a similar action is taking place in connection with the pallets associated with the conveyor 105 and with the conveyor 106. The left hand pallet ends up overlying the out aisle 62. The next pallet ends up overlying the conveyor 106, whereas the pallet in which we are interested overlies the conveyor 105. It, of course, has engaged the switch 119 indicating to the operator that it is in the middle of the parking lane. The pallet which was moved by the conveyor 106 has moved forward across the out aisle 62 until it strikes the switch 131 indicating to the operator its position. Then, he stops operating the conveyor 106 and starts the

conveyors

94, 95, thus dragging the pallet sideways with the block 54 riding in the narrow groove 87 and the block 55 riding in the narrow groove 88, while the blocks 56 and 58 move along the side groove 89 and the blocks 57 and 59 move along the wide groove 91. Eventually, this pallet strikes the switch 136 indicating that it has moved to a position in line with the return lane 63. It also is very close to the elevator 26. The operator starts the

conveyors

94 and 95 and energizes the conveyor 99 associated with the return lane 63. This conveyor has a multitude of dogs and the first one that comes along strikes the block 55 of the pallet and carries it along the return lane. Eventually, it goes far enough so that it strikes the switch 137 at which time it overlies the in aisle 61. The conveyor 99 is then stopped and the

conveyors

81 and 82 have been energized until the pallet is carried along the in aisle 61 until it is lined up with its original parking lane 64. At that time the conveyor 104 is energized to engage the front block 54 of the pallet and move it into position overlying the inner end of the conveyor 104. In the meanwhile, the same procedure is carried out for the second pallet 36 and it passes over to the out aisle 62, along the return lane 63, over the in aisle 61 to its parking lane 64- and moves into the parking lane 64 but not until the original left hand pallet has been moved into the second or middle position to make room for it. By this time, the pallet in which we are interested (originally the one at the right in the parking lane 64) has been moved onto the out lane 62 and, under the movement of the

conveyors

94 and 95, is moved until it strikes the switch 136. Since the

conveyors

94 and 95 engage the front block 56 and 57 of the pallet, it is still not in position to be engaged by the dogs on the conveyors 92 and 93 of the elevator 26 so the pallet stays in its position while the dogs which originally contacted the blocks 56 and 57 move downwardly and under the endless chain arrangement of the conveyor. The next dog moving along, however, engages the rearward facing blocks 58 and 59 and pushes the pallet onto the elevator with the blocks 54 and S riding in the

narrow grooves

83 and 84, respectively, in the floor of the elevator. The

conveyors

94 and 95 are stopped and the elevator conveyors 92 and 93 are started. The first dog strikes the blocks 56 and 57 on the forward side of the pallet and pulls the pallet partway into the elevator. The next dog coming along pushes on the back blocks 58 and 59 and advances the pallet as far as desirable into the elevator. The elevator 26 moves downwardly until it reaches the first floor and the conveyor 35 carries the pallet out of the elevator into alignment with one of the conveyors 38 (see FIG. 3). Eventually, the automobile is moved off the pallet by the conveyor 38 until it strikes the safety treadle stop 39 and the conveyor 38 is stopped. The operator then gets into the automobile and drives out through the exit 21.

With reference to FIG. 10, it can be seen that the path which the pallet with its automobile makes resembles two L-shaped conveyors placed in a vertical plane with the vertical legs of each L representing an elevator. The horizontal legs of the Ls, in one case represents the in aisle 61 and the other case represents the out aisle 62. Between these two horizontal legs extends the parking lanes as well as the return lane 63, but each parking lane corroborates with the in lane 61 and the ou lane 62 as well as the return lane 63 to form a loop so that, in effect, the horizontal legs of the Us are joined by loop conveyors permitting the pallets and automobiles in any given parking lane to be rotated around the loop until one of them is in position to be moved to the down elevator.

It should be understood that there are several ways of operating this garage automatically. One of them is, as has been described, the provision of a small light on a chart in the control panel indicating whether a pallet resides in any given position. There would be a small plan of each floor of the garage on the wall of the control center, exactly as shown in FIG. 8, with a small bulb indicating the presence of a pallet over any one of the switches so that the operator knows exactly where the pallets are on each floor of the apparatus. Another way of accomplishing the same thing would be to use a computing apparatus with a memory device which would remember exactly what happened to each pal-let according to the signals received from the switches. It is desirable to have attendants who will drive the automobiles into position for the conveyors to place the automobile onto the pallets and to remove the automobile from the apparatus when it comes out. There is no necessity for the attendant to go up in the elevator with the automobile in the pallet or to assist in moving the pallet and automobile around on the parking floor. All of this can be done automatically. Therefore, the attendants are present on the first floor in full view of the operator of the apparatus at all times. Presumably, no one would ever be up on the parking floor and, therefore, he need not worry about avoiding persons walking around on the floor. It should be noted in connection with FIG. 2 that the pallets 36, as they leave the elevator 26 and the automobiles are moved, pass through the tunnel 27 and appear again in connection with the up elevator, where automobiles may be placed on them. Sufiicient storage space is available in the tunnel for a large number of pallets and, of course, if the number becomes too great for the tunnel, the pallets are returned to the upstairs parking areas from which they may be brought down at any time. It will be understood that the same narrow and wide grooves as well as conveyors exist under the tunnel 27 to move the pallets around as were described in connection with the parking floor.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Storage apparatus comprising a generally rectangular horizontal floor, an in aisle consisting of a linear unidirectional conveyor extending across one end, an out aisle consisting of a linear unidirectional conveyor extending across the other end, a return lane consisting of a linear unidirectional conveyor extending longitudinally of the floor between the two aisles, a plurality of parking lanes each consisting of a linear unidirectional conveyor extending longitudinally of the floor between the two aisles, each aisle being formed with two parallel narrow grooves and at least one wide groove lying between the narrow grooves, each lane being formed with two parallel narrow grooves and a wide groove between them, each groove consisting of an upwardly-opening recess formed in the floor, a pallet adapted to move on the floor along the aisles and lanes, said pallet comprising a rectangular plate, flanges extending upwardly from the plate and defining two longitudinal wheel tracks, an oilcatching depression formed in the plate between the tracks, a caster mounted on the under side of the plate at each corner, elongated blocks extending downwardly from the under side of the plate, a block extending transversely of the plate in line with two casters at one end, another block extending transversely of the plate in line with two casters at the other end, the remaining blocks extending longitudinally of the plate adjacent the sides and in line with the two casters on the respective sides, the thickness of the blocks and the width of the casters being substantially equal to the width of the narrow grooves, the casters extending downwardly below the bottom of the blocks to contact the bottom of the narrow grooves, the length of the blocks being substantially the same as the width of the said wide grooves, the pallet moving along the aisles in a direction transverse of its length and moving along the lanes in a longitudinal direction.

2. Storage apparatus comprising a horizontal floor, an in aisle consisting of a linear unidirectional conveyor extending across one end, an out aisle consisting of a linear unidirectional conveyor extending across the other end, a return lane consisting of a linear unidirectional conveyor between the two aisles, a plurality of parking lanes each consisting of a linear unidirectional conveyor extending between the two aisles, each aisle and lane being formed with two parallel narrow grooves and at least one wide groove lying between the narrow grooves, each groove consisting of an upwardly-opening recess formed in the floor, a pallet adapted to move on the floor along the aisles and lanes, said pallet comprising a rectangular plate, a caster mounted on the under side of the plate at each corner, elongated blocks extending downwardly from the under side of the plate, a block extending transversely of the plate in line with two casters at one end, another block extending transversely of the plate in line with two casters at the other end, the remaining blocks extending longitudinally of the plate adjacent the sides and in line with the two casters on the respective sides, the thickness of the blocks and the width of the casters being substantially equal to the width of the narrow grooves, the casters extending downwardly below the bottom of the blocks to contact the bottom of the narrow grooves, the length of the blocks being substantially the same as the width of the said wide grooves, the pallet moving along the aisles in a direction transverse of its length and moving along the lanes in a longi tudinal direction.

3. Storage apparatus for article carriers, comprising (a) a vertical up elevator,

(b) a vertical down elevator, the two elevators defining a vertical plane,

(c) a first horizontal conveyor connected at one end to the up elevator and operating unidirectionally away from the up elevator and extending at a right angle to the said vertical plane,

(d) a second horizontal conveyor connected at one end to the down elevator, operating unidirectionally toward the down elevator, and extending at a right angle to the said vertical plane, the first and second horizontal conveyors lying in the same horizontal plane and parallel to and coextensive with one another,

(e) a plurality of laterally-spaced, parallel cross conveyors extending between the first and second horizontal conveyors at right angles thereto and operating unidirectionally from the first horizontal conveyor toward the second horizontal conveyor, each cross conveyor having a plurality of storage positions,

(1) and a return conveyor adjacent the elevators parallel to the cross conveyors and operating unidirectionally from the second horizontal conveyor toward the first horizontal conveyor, whereby the conveyors are capable of moving a carrier about a continuous closed path in the horizontal plane, the path being determined by a cross conveyor, the second horizontal conveyor, the return conveyor, and the first horizontal, conveyor in the order named.

4. Storage apparatus as recited in claim 3, including (g) a plurality of carriers movable along the conveyors, the conveyors and the carriers being so constructed that each carrier remains in a fixed orientation at all times.

5. Storage apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein each of the conveyors is provided with a pair of tracks and an endless chain provided with dogs.

6. Storage apparatus as recited in claim 3, including a loading station at the lower end of the up elevator and an unloading station at the bottom of the down elevator, each station including a horizontal conveyor.

7. A parking garage for automobiles, comprising (a) a vertical up elevator,

(b) a vertical down elevator, the two elevators defining a vertical plane, 1

(f) and a return conveyor adjacent the elevators parallel to the cross conveyors and operating unidirectionally from the second horizontal conveyor toward the first horizontal conveyor, each of the conveyors is provided with a pair of tracks and an endless chain provided with dogs,

(g) a plurality of carriers movable along the conveyors, the conveyors and the carriers being so constructed that each carrier remains in a fixed orientation at all times, whereby the conveyors are capable of moving a carrier about a continuous closed path in the horizontal plane, the path being determined by a cross conveyor, the second horizontal conveyor, the return conveyor, and the first horizontal conveyor in the order named,

(it) a loading station at the lower end of the up elevator and an unloading station at the bottom of the down elevator, each station including a horizontal conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,775,799 Young Sept. 16, 1930 2,069,886 Joslin Feb. 9, 1937 2,102,995 Coombs Dec. 21, 1937 2,722,322 Gunderson Nov. 1, 1955 2,837,223 Wolfi June 3, 1958 2,848,121 Semler Aug. 19, 1958 2,849,126 Kerekes Aug. 26, 1958