WO2009035338A1

WO2009035338A1 - Automatic multi-storey car park

Info

Publication number: WO2009035338A1
Application number: PCT/NO2008/000322
Authority: WO
Inventors: Leif Kvernes
Original assignee: Flexipark Holding As
Priority date: 2007-09-11
Filing date: 2008-09-11
Publication date: 2009-03-19
Also published as: WO2009035338A8

Abstract

The present invention provides a parking facility and a method for optimising the use of one or more spaces in an existing building or in a new building for parking purposes. The invention provides a framework put together of a small number of standardised framework elements, where location of parking bays, temporary parking spaces, transport paths, lifts etc. is not determined until the shape of the parking facility framework has been established. Through simulation, an optimal way of utilising or obtaining predetermined performance targets by allocating infrastructure elements in a framework will be implemented.

Description

Automatic multi-storey car park

The present invention is in the field of automatic multi-storey car parks, and particularly in the field of an automatic multi-storey car park constructed and put together of a small number of standardised framework elements which form uniform four-sided bays, wherein the uniform bays can be operatively connected together with any number of bays in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and also allow operative connection to a turntable in the horizontal plane that is able to provide an angled relation between sections of the interconnected bays in the horizontal plane, thereby allowing the framework of the multistorey car park to be built up to fill to the maximum one or more spaces, including irregularly shaped spaces, in an existing building or a new building, designated for parking purposes. The present invention is also related to a method for allocating the uniform bays provided in the framework to function as a parking bay, a temporary parking area, a part of a transport path, a part of a lift shaft or similar functional infrastructure elements for the car park, wherein the method provides several possible proposals of advantageous distributions of the uniform bays for the necessary infrastructure elements based on various parameters for the use of the car park, including parameters such as traffic volume, parking frequency, maximum times for parking and retrieval of parked cars or similar parameters. The present invention also comprises a method for operating a car park with regard to the selected distribution of the infrastructure elements for the car park. The method for operating the car park allows a dynamic allocation/removal of functions in uniform bays so that they either may be or not be a parking bay, a part of a transport path, or a temporary parking bay etc.

The car is modern man's best friend, even though the car also represents a source of concern, particularly during use in dense traffic, and in particular when the user, from time to time, has to park it. The competition for space in urban areas is strong when it comes to what use the available area should have. Dwellings, roads, play areas etc. and not least parking spaces for cars all need their share of the available space, hi many contexts, especially in the light of the environmental debate, the car has become a loser in this competition. One solution to the car's space requirement is to make better use of an area for parking needs. In the prior art there are many examples of automatic multi-storey car parks which optimize area utilisation. Typically, a car will be driven into a lift and left there by the driver before automatic devices take over the job of moving the car to a vacant parking bay. An automatic transporter fetches the car in the lift and puts the car in a vacant parking bay on the floor level to which the car was transported by the lift. Since automatic devices, such as the said lifts and transporters, provide automatic parking, the space can be utilised more efficiently than if the drivers of the cars were to execute the parking operation themselves as in traditional car parks. Room for manoeuvring the car, walkways etc. will be unnecessary when automatic devices execute the tasks. Both height and width in the car park can be used more efficiently when this is done automatically. One precondition for this development is, of course, that the parking operations can be controlled and monitored by computers. Retrieval of a parked car is usually effected in that the driver of the car enters a code which represents the bay in which the automatic parking system placed the car when parking it, for example, in the form of a floor number and a number couple indicating the position of the parking bay as an indexed matrix element of the floor plan. The receipt from the car park which is given when the car is parked can contain this address or code for this parking bay. The car is then retrieved by the same automatic machines or devices, controlled by computers, but in partly the opposite order of the order of actions carried out in connection with the parking operation, and which are known to those of skill in the art.

The major challenge associated with automatic car parks is that the driving in of cars normally takes place in an ordered sequence so that the first car into the car park can be placed in the first vacant parking bay. The next car that is driven in is then placed in the next vacant parking bay etc. To obtain maximum space utilisation, the cars should be placed in parking bays closely adjacent to all sides of the cars. The challenge for an automatic car park arises when a parked car that is surrounded by many other cars is to be retrieved by a transporter. A transport path must therefore be provided by moving a sufficient number of cars around the car to provide a transport path from, for example, the parking bay to the lift which, when required, moves the car up or down to an exit level. After some time, the utilisation of the parking area will appear as a hotchpotch of vacant parking bays among many filled parking bays. Maximum utilisation of such an area is a difficult task as many empty parking bays will be blocked by occupied bays which surround the vacant parking bay. The automatic devices must therefore move these blocking cars to create a transport path to the vacant bay if it is to be capable of being used for parking purposes. The same problem with blocking cars arises when a car is to be retrieved if it is surrounded by many other parked cars on all sides. Another problem that may arise in automatic multi-storey car parks is that the weight distribution of cars becomes so uneven throughout all floor levels that it can exert mechanical stress on the elements forming the infrastructure of the car park. In other words, a weight distribution of cars must also advantageously be taken into account when cars are moved to parking bays, or when parking bays are freed to form transport paths, and also when selecting the lift that the car can use for transport to other floor levels.

International Patent Application WO 2005/089368 A2 describes a solution to the problem of blocking cars based on there being provided a static location of transport paths between the parking bays, temporary parking spaces and a lift, where the capacity of the temporary parking spaces is such that they can receive the maximum number of cars that must be moved to allow a closed-in car to be transported out of the parking level via the lift. According to this document, a parking level is divided into a number of parking bays in a matrix form where a number of bays are arranged in the driving direction of a car, for example, as shown where the number of bays is five. Thus, five cars can be placed one after the other in this direction. Another five cars can be parked in adjacent rows. At another point on the parking level, four temporary parking spaces are provided, as well as room for a lift. If such a row of five cars is full, and the innermost car is to be retrieved, the automatic devices in this car park can take out the first four cars and place them in the four vacant parking bays. Thus, a transport path is freed from the innermost parking bay to the lift. In the example illustrated in this document, the number of rows of five cars next to each other is a randomly selected number of rows that has no affect on the number of necessary temporary parking bays. The number of the temporary bays is determined by how many cars, at the most, may block another car in the transport direction, for example, four cars if the rows can park a maximum of five cars.

Although this solution provides a satisfactory automatic handling of cars, the form of the car park is limited to regular four-sided areas and volumes. The limitation that this and similar solutions have in their basic form arises because the infrastructure in the parking level is arranged in a fixed relation between parking bays, temporary parking bays, transport paths and lifts etc. To establish this static relation between the infrastructure elements, a floor plan must be provided having a specific form and infrastructure elements which reflect this fixed relation, and which advantageously is four-sided with permanently allocated infrastructure elements. The static infrastructure also results in poor area utilisation during the operation of the car park. The vacant parking bays that are intended for the temporary use during the retrieval/parking of cars in the innermost bays represent dead parking space which must remain empty in order to be in a state of readiness for a possible retrieval of a blocked car. Furthermore, this is highly unprofitable as there will in fact be vacant parking bays among the ordinary parking spaces which could have been used as temporary spaces when rearranging cars. Thus, this type of infrastructure will make it difficult to have an optimal use of the area during operation. It is also the case that even though only one row is filled with five cars, and the others are completely empty, four cars must still be moved before the innermost car is freed. This is due to the fixed static transport direction in the direction of the rows. Furthermore, the regular shape of the area will make it difficult to adapt the infrastructure to a floor plan where there are projecting building elements for building-technical reasons or natural obstacles in the form of rock, slopes, vegetation worth preserving etc. which will produce irregularity in both the parking volume and the parking area, and not least in the necessary infrastructure elements such as, for example, that a transport path is a "winding" path and not a straight path. These problems might be present both in existing buildings and new buildings that are to be equipped with an automatic parking system. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is first erected a framework composed of a small number of standardised framework elements which form uniform bays capable of accommodating a car, wherein the operatively connected uniform bays fill one or more spaces intended for parking purposes. Such spaces may be of an irregular shape. When all the bays are in place, the framework will contain the maximum possible number of parking slots there is room for in these spaces. Next the infrastructure elements must be allocated in the framework in that uniform bays are assigned respective functions or uses, as, for instance, to be a parking space, a temporary parking space, part of a transport path, part of a lift shaft etc. These functions and uses take up space at the expense of the parking capacity. Therefore, it is important to optimise this distribution of uniform bays based on how, form- wise, they are in fact provided in one or more actual spaces. It is one aspect of the present invention that the optimal utilisation of the car park is a function of the actual assembled exterior form or shape of the framework. Thus, one method according to the present invention will be to use the actual constructed shape of the framework as provided in a space together with parameters related to traffic volume, parking frequency, parking time, internal transport time etc. to calculate different alternative allocations of infrastructure elements which could best correspond to the use intended for the car park. In one example of an embodiment of such a method, a computer program will simulate different combinations of assemblies of infrastructure elements, and then compute potential parking capacity, parking frequency etc. for the combinations based on various parameters and the specific form or shape the parking facility has been given. An effective infrastructure for the multi-storey car park may then be determined on the basis of such computations

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a multi-storey car park having an infrastructure which can make use of essentially any geometric shape of a volume and area in an existing building or in a new building for automatic parking purposes.

It is another object of the present invention to be able to provide an infrastructure for an automatic multi-storey car park from a small number of standardised framework elements and automatic transporters.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a flexible infrastructure for an automatic multi-storey car park where during the planning phase of such a car park it is possible to allocate or remove parking bays for use either as a parking bay, temporary parking bay, lift shaft, transport path or similar infrastructure elements in order to obtain an optimal location and/or number of such infrastructure elements in relation to one or more parameters related to the performance and the use of the car park. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a dynamic infrastructure in an automatic multi-storey car park which makes use of available parking area as optimally as possible during the operation of the car park.

Figure 1 shows an example of a standardised framework element according to the present invention.

Figure 2 shows an example of methods of assembly of a selection of standardised framework components according to the present invention.

Figure 3 shows an example of a framework ready assembled for an automatic multi-storey car park according to the present invention.

Figure 4 shows an example of a standardised turntable according to the present invention.

Figure 5 shows another example of a standardised turntable according to the present invention.

Figure 6 shows an example of an arrangement of a motor in a turntable as shown in Fig. 4.

Figure 7 shows an example of another use of the turntable in Fig. 4 according to the present invention.

Figure 8 shows an example of an arrangement of a turntable as shown in Fig. 4 in a framework according to the present invention.

Figure 9 shows an example of an arrangement of a transport path in a parking bay which allows transport of cars on a transporter in one of two directions of transport that are perpendicular to one another.

Figure 10 shows a platform for the transport of cars according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 11 shows an example of the stacking of platforms as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 12 to Figure 15 show how a platform stays locked on a transporter according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 16 shows an example of an embodiment of a lift according to the present invention.

Figure 17 shows a lift in a framework according to the present invention.

Figure 18 shows an example of an embodiment of a storage means for platforms.

Figure 19 shows an example of an embodiment of the exterior shape or form of a floor level in a car park according to the present invention.

Figure 20 is a side view of a framework according to the present invention.

Figure 21 shows a top view of two adjacent parking planes that are angled in relation to one another.

The basic shape for a volume that is to be able to contain a car is, of course, determined by the maximum extremities of the car in all directions, and is provided as a right-angled volume where the dimensions in an x, y and z (width, length, height) direction are determined by the car's maximum dimensions in the corresponding directions. There are many makes, types and sizes of car on the market. However, there exists a number of regulation imposed size limitations for a car to be registrable as a passenger car, commercial van or lorry etc. When a parking volume and/or area is to be optimised, car types must be taken into account. It will be inappropriate to park passenger cars in a car park designed for buses etc. Thus, there will be a natural limit for what type of cars a parking facility will be able to receive. According to one aspect of the present invention, the parking bays are dimensioned to be able to receive up to 95% of all passenger cars as defined by the dimensions for passenger cars in public regulations. The size of the parking bay is thus 95% of the maximum regulation prescribed dimensions in an x, y and z direction. In other examples of an embodiment of the present invention, the maximum size may be larger or smaller than those given in this exemplary embodiment. According to other examples of an embodiment of the present invention, larger cars can, for example, be parked in special sections which usually will be provided with a smaller number of spaces, hi an automatic multi-storey car park, there will be separate respective infrastructures that reflect each type of car or car dimension. Transporters must also be adapted to these dimensions. It is therefore an important aspect of the present invention that dimensions of framework defining parking bays and the necessary automatic transport means such as transport paths, temporary parking bays, transporters, lifts etc. have correspondingly adapted dimensionings so that the same maximum type of car or car dimensions can be moved in and out of parking bays within the same measurements that the parking bays themselves form. An advantageous effect of the present invention thus emerges in that the volume that is to be used for parking purposes is optimised according to car type or car dimension that at the maximum can be handled in the parking infrastructure according to the present invention. By adapting other sections to other types of cars (dimensions), the total use of available parking volume for a selection of car types will be optimised.

A framework containing uniform bays is provided both in a floor level (essentially horizontally) and in series of floor levels (essentially vertically) by assembling a few standardised framework elements. Figure 1 shows an example of a prefabricated framework module 14 that is termed a basic element. The basic element 14 shown in Figure 1 defines a parking bay by the dimensions the basic element 14 has. Height, width and length are respectively given by the height of the corner posts 12 and the horizontal distances between the four corner posts 12. The corner posts 12 are interconnected in a structure by means of the respective two elements 10 in the width direction of the parking bay, whilst two elements 11 join together the corner posts in the longitudinal direction of the parking bay. Figure 2 shows other standardised framework elements 20, 21 according to the present invention which make it possible to provide other parking bays around the basic element 14 as shown in Figure 1 in that the framework element 21 provides an extension in the longitudinal direction of the parking bay, whilst the framework element 20 forms extensions in the lateral directions of the parking bay. The framework elements 20, 21 are provided with corresponding elements 10 and 11 as shown in Figure 1, whilst the number of corner posts is reduced to two in the width relation for framework element 21, and to two in the length relation for framework element 20. The basic element 22 in Figure 2 may have another basic element 23 added on in the vertical direction. Other framework elements 20, 21 (not shown) can build parking bays on the floor level formed by the basic element 23, which then lies on top of corresponding framework elements 21, 22 in the underlying floor level. Corner posts in basic elements and framework elements can be joined together in their respective direction as known to those of skill in the art during the building of the framework for the infrastructure of the car park, for example, by welding, bolts, rivets etc.

It is an important aspect of the present invention that the framework elements 20, 21 together with the basic element 14 do not require that the end shape of the area they define together should be square or rectangular. In Figure 19 there is shown an example of a shape of a parking area according to the present invention. Figure 20 illustrates another example which shows a side view of a car park according to the present invention.

In such irregular shapes, both horizontally and vertically, it is difficult to construct infrastructure elements in the form of transport paths, parking bays, lift shafts, temporary areas etc. which at the same time take into account the irregular shape. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide an operating system that can utilise an identified infrastructure during use of the car park.

An important aspect of the present invention is that the elements 10 and 11 as illustrated in Figure 1 are joined together in a respective x and y direction forming an infrastructure element in the form of tracks in the x and y (or width and length) direction of the floor level for one or more automatic transporters for cars on the floor level. With reference to Figure 19, it will be obvious that in parts of a floor level there will be only one transport direction in, for example, the x direction, whilst in other parts of the floor level there will be only one transport direction in a y direction, whilst in other parts there will be transport directions in both an x and a y direction. According to one aspect of the present invention a transport direction for a car is possible in respectively the longitudinal direction of the car or transverse (sideways) to the longitudinal direction of the car. Thus, the tracks provided by elements 10 and 11 form respective transport directions for cars in a respective x and y direction where the shape or form of the floor level provided allows this, or only in an x or y direction if only this is possible because of the shape.

The transport of cars in a respective longitudinal direction of the car or transverse to the longitudinal direction of the car is provided by two standardised elements, a platform 30 as shown in Figure 10, and a self-propelling transporter on wheels which runs on rails formed by the elements 10 and 11, and which carries a platform holding a car between parking bays, lifts etc. The dimensions of the platform are adapted to the dimensions of the parking bay so that the platform can pass posts 12 in corners of parking bays, both in the longitudinal and transverse direction. When a transporter has carried a platform holding a car to a parking bay, a lifting and supporting means in the automatic transporter will lower the platform down so that the platform and car will rest against supports 15 as indicated in Figure 1. The supports 15 project upwards vertically from the bottom plane of a parking bay, for example, secured to elements 10 and 11. When the platform holding a car rests against the supports 15, the transporter is free to move on without carrying a platform, hi other words, the supports 15 provide a plane which forms the actual parking plane, and the floor of the parking plane is formed by movable platforms 30. The plane formed by the elements 10 and 11 which form tracks on floor levels defines a transport plane. The distance between the transport plane and the parking plane should be a small as possible.

The automatic transporter that moves empty platforms and platforms holding cars is dimensioned and adapted to run on tracks in both the x and y direction. Wheels in each corner of a transporter roll on the tracks 10 and 11. When a transporter runs in the longitudinal direction of parking bays, the wheels are directed in that direction. When a transporter runs in a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the wheels are first turned 90 degrees in relation to the longitudinal direction before transport takes place. The actual turning of the wheels takes place only when the transporter is inside a parking bay. It is in this position that tracks in respective x and y directions intersect each other, and when a transporter is correctly positioned in the parking bay, the wheels will be correctly centred in such intersecting points between the tracks 10 and 11. Figure 9 illustrates how a wheel is centred in such an intersecting point between a track 10 and a track 11. As illustrated in Figure 9, the tracks in this example of an embodiment have side edges which ensure that the wheels of a transporter follow the correct direction of the track during transport. Figure 9 also illustrates that in one example of an embodiment of the present invention there is provided a ball bearing mounted or axially mounted turntable 40 centred in the point of intersection between the tracks 10 and 11 which makes it easy to turn a wheel to point in a respective x or y direction. The actual mechanism in the transport trolley that turns the wheels may be provided in a way known to those of skill in the art. Positioning of a transport trolley in a parking bay so that the wheels of the transport trolley are centred correctly on a turntable 40 may, for example, be provided by several known techniques that are known to those of skill in the art, for example by means of a laser. In one embodiment of a transporter according to the present invention, a laser is used for positioning, but also as a distance metre when it approaches a parking bay. It is important that the speed of the device is gradually lowered towards zero when the transporter approaches the correct position in the parking bay. Stopping abruptly might damage a car and/or the framework. Such warnings of distance that will result in a transporter braking can also be provided by microswitches, photocells etc, as known to those of skill in the art. Signals generated in such manners can be sent wirelessly to the transporter which then slows down.

An example of an infrastructure element in the form of a lift according to the present invention is illustrated in Figure 16, and it is further illustrated in Figure 17 how the lift can be incorporated into a framework in a column of uniform bays. As can be seen from Figure 16, the floor in the lift is provided as a frame which in design is identical to the frame in the bottom of a parking bay provided by, for example, the basic element 14 as shown in Figure 1, and in the surrounding framework elements 20, 21 as illustrated in Figure 2 with associated tracks 10, 11 in a longitudinal and/or transverse transport direction. In other words, the bottom of the lift will be a part of the transport plane of a floor level, and which allows a transporter according to the present invention to be run in and out of the lift from all sides (long side and short side) if the lift is surrounded by parking bays on all sides. Thus, transport paths may be arranged to and from the lift in the longitudinal direction of a parking bay or in a transverse direction perpendicular to its longitudinal direction. This makes it possible to position a lift anywhere on a floor level as shown in Figure 19. If the height of the car park also has an irregular shape, as, for instance, illustrated in Figure 20, a lift shaft can link some floor levels and then continue upwards or downwards between other floor levels at other suitable points of columns of uniform bays. The bottom of the lift also has similar supports 15 as shown in Figure 1 on which a transport platform can rest. Thus, the lift will also be a part of the parking plane of a floor level. The principal difference between a lift and an ordinary parking bay is thus merely that the floor of the parking bay can be hoisted up or down. In other words, a parking bay can easily be converted into a part of a lift shaft, or a lift shaft can easily be converted into a parking bay. In Figures 16 and 17 there is shown an example of the position of a motor on a lowermost level of the lift in the lowermost gap formed between the transport plane and the parking plane in a parking bay. In other examples of an embodiment of a lift according to the present invention, four cooperating motors are provided, one in each corner of the bottom plane of the lift. In another example of an embodiment, the lift is also used as a weighing machine in that the weighing device is in operative contact with the lifting means in the lift. In another example of an embodiment, measurement of the weight is provided in that the current through the motors which operate the lift is measured when the motors balance the weight of the lift when the lift is stationary. The magnitude of this current is directly proportional to the weight. The transmission of power is to be effected to all four corners where the actual bottom of the lift is fastened to chains which run in channels provided for this purpose in the corner posts of the adjacent parking bays, and which are pulled by the motor in the lift as known to those of skill in the art. In one example of an embodiment, the necessary channels for the chains are provided by screwing channels in place on the respective corner posts of a parking bay which is a part of a lift shaft.

Although cars can be transported in a respective x and/or y direction on a floor level by means of one or more transporters as described above, it is nevertheless necessary sometimes to be able to turn a car, for example, in order to position it facing in an exit direction so that a driver retrieving his car does not need to reverse out of a parking facility. One example of a turntable for this purpose is illustrated in Figure 6. One aspect of this turntable according to the present invention is that it can be placed below the transport plane so that the height provided between the transport plane and the parking plane in a parking bay becomes level with the rails arranged on the top of the turntable. However, since a turntable can turn a car out of a longitudinal direction and thus cross the direction of the width of a parking bay, the turntable arrangement as shown in Figure 6 needs areas from at least two adjacent turntables in the transverse direction for a car, for example, to be turnable 180 degrees. La some cases, the length of a parking bay may also be too short so that the turntable also takes space from at least two parking bays in the longitudinal direction. Figure 7 shows an example of how a floor of the turntable is arranged with corresponding rails in an x or y direction. Figure 8 shows a turntable positioned in a framework. A turntable may be arranged with rails in both an x and a y direction, thereby enabling driving on/driving off to be done either in a longitudinal direction or in a transverse direction of a parking bay. Another aspect of such a turntable according to the present invention is that the mechanics of the turntable which are located below the transport plane should have as little height as possible. This is accomplished in that a motor is located within the surface of the turntable as shown in Figure 6 where the motor turns the turntable by turning a gearwheel positioned on the axis of the turntable in the centre of the turning surface. The weight of a car, rails and transporter is taken up by wheels in the periphery of the turning surface which support the turning surface on the bottom of the turntable arrangement.

Another aspect of the present invention is that the turntable can be used not only for turning cars in certain directions, such as 180 degrees for example, but also for joining together sections of framework to connect framework sections which are angled randomly relative to one another. Figures 4 and 5 show two examples of this use. Figure 21 shows an example of a top view of two adjacent parking planes which are angled relative to each other. A turntable placed between two sections makes it possible to angle these sections relative to one another. Thus almost any shape of parking area can be filled with an infrastructure for an automatic multi-storey car park according to the present invention. The operative use of the turntable comprises, for example, aligning the transport direction of the turntable with a turntable in one plane and subsequently turning it towards a transport direction of the other adjacent plane after a transporter has been run onto the turntable from the first plane.

During transport of cars placed on a platform as shown in Figure 10 which is supported by a transporter, it is important that the car should be secured from rolling off the platform. Normally, a car will be parked by a driver driving the car onto a platform which is on a suitable delivery station at the entrance to a parking facility. The platform here can rest on similar supports 15 as shown in Figure 1. When the driver has parked the car on the platform, he will normally activate the car's handbrake. Since this may be forgotten or the handbrake may be in poor condition, it is necessary to secure cars from rolling off the platform with the aid of a special locking device. When a transporter runs under the platform at the delivery station, an example of a locking device according to the present invention, as shown in Figures 12 to 15, will be activated. In the side of the transporter there may be a lifting device 50 which lifts up two chock devices 51 level with the parking plane of the platform 30. This is illustrated in Figure 13 with arrows. In Figure 14 it is shown how the chocks 51 are swung across the parking plane of the platform in proximity to the centre point of the platform at a distance from the wheels 52 belonging to the car that has been driven onto the platform. In Figure 15 it is illustrated how the chocks 51 are moved away from the centre point of the platform 30 towards the wheels 52 into a locking position of the wheels 52. The locking is provided in that the chocks are wedged in place against the wheels. After locking has been effected by the transporter, the car will be capable of being transported safely in an x or y direction to either a lift for transport to a different floor level, or for placing in a vacant parking bay in the same floor level as that on which the delivery station is located. The chocks 51 are then released by being moved towards the centre of the platform whilst the chocks 51 are swung away from the platform. The lifting device 50 will then lower the locking device into the plane of the transporter. This locking procedure will also be followed when a car is moved around on a floor level between parking bays etc. When a car is driven out of a parking facility, this will be done in that the car is transported automatically to a delivery station where the locking mechanism is activated during transport and is then deactivated when the driver is to start the car and drive out of the facility himself.

hi another example of an embodiment of a locking device according to the present invention, the locking device described above is located in lifts. This means to say that when a platform holding a car is placed in a lift as the car comes in for parking in the car park, the chocks 51 will be lockingly positioned at the wheels of the car in the lift. But in contrast to the sequence of actions described above, the arms which placed the chocks 51 in locking position will now leave the chocks 51 on the platform in a wedged position against/under the wheels whilst the empty arms return to the start position. When a car is to be retrieved, a similar means and sequence of actions as above will release the locking chocks 51 in the lift which transports the car for driving out. The arms are raised, moved towards the chocks which are then passed onto the arms which subsequently remove them from the platform. Chocks 51 are stored in lifts in operative contact with the locking device for respective retrieval or storage. At regular intervals, chocks will be taken from the exit side to the entrance side for further use in locking cars.

As is evident from the description above, it will also be a consequence of these actions in connection with the parking operation that a store of platforms will be required at the delivery station and a storage point for empty platforms will be required at the exit station. Since the platforms are standardised in accordance with the dimensions and mode of operation of the parking bays, a parking bay in proximity to the delivery station can be a store for platforms that are to be used by incoming cars. When a platform is used by a car and is transported by a transporter, another transporter will collect a platform from the store, and then place the platform in position at the delivery station for the next car that is driven into the parking facility. At the exit station, a similar parking bay will be utilised as a store for used platforms, and which is filled up by transporters that move used platforms from the exit station to the store. When there are no platforms at the delivery station, the store at the exit station is probably fall. A transporter can fetch a stack of platforms, for example, a stack as illustrated in Figure 11, and drive it from the exit station to the delivery station. The storage of platforms in a parking bay is provided by a special locking device as illustrated in Figure 18. When a transporter is to fetch a platform from a stack in a store, the lowermost platform will be secured to the locking device 60 in Figure 18 in that projecting members 61 are passed into openings in the side of the platform. When the transporter lifts up the stack of platforms, the locking device 60 will turn about its own axis. If it is turned 1/8 of a whole revolution around its own axis, the locking mechanism will be released and the platform can be lowered down again by the transporter. The next platform in the stack that lies on top of the platform that is to be fetched will then be caught by the next pair of projecting members 61 which are then locked in the starting position whilst the platform that is now supported by the transporter is released from the stack and can be moved out of the stack from the underside thereof. When a platform is to be stored, a transporter will drive the platform in under the stack, and then lift the platform with the stack, for example, as much as ¹A of a revolution around the axis of the locking mechanism. The platform at the bottom of the stack that is locked by the locking device is released from the locking device by the upward movement, whilst the platform closest to the transport trolley is caught by the next projecting members 61 in a subsequent locking position. The transport trolley can then withdraw from the store.

One aspect of a platform 30 as illustrated in Figure 10 is that the platform 30 is provided with projecting elements having corresponding cooperating openings in other platforms. This means that platforms can be stacked on top of each other without sliding relative to each other in any direction. This simplifies both stacking and transport of stacks of platforms. Furthermore, the platform is provided with a recess 31 that can catch, for example, oil spill or leakages of other kinds from a parked car on the platform. Furthermore, melt water from ice and snow on the car will also be caught. Thus, such liquids, also inflammable and corrosive liquids, will not flow around in the parking facility either on a floor level or drip down between floor levels.

In the side edges of the platform there are provided drainage holes 32 as shown in Figure 10 which can be opened and closed via associated valves. When a platform holding a car arrives at an exit station, the transporter that effects the transport will lower the platform onto supports corresponding to the supports 15 as shown in Figure 1. When the platform has been lowered to this position, there may be provided a device at the exit station which opens the valves attached to the drainage holes 32 in the platform. For example, projecting rods can press against a release arm in the valve so that the liquid collected in the platform is led away from the platform via the drainage holes 32 to a centrally located reservoir that can be emptied regularly in an environment-friendly manner at the exit station.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a framework put together in a space in order to provide a parking facility will be not preconstructed with necessary transport paths, temporary spaces, lift shafts etc. It is necessary first to establish the form of the framework that best utilises the available volume in the space. When the actual framework has been established, there could be parts of a parking level which only have a transport direction in a longitudinal direction of parking bays, or only transverse to this direction in the width direction. Other parts of the parking level may however have transport both in the longitudinal direction and in the transverse direction. These factors are taken into account in that the form of the framework is used by a method according to the present invention which starts by introducing, in a purely combinatory manner, infrastructure elements in the framework, for example, by introducing a simple straight transport path from one point to another where a lift shaft is experimentally arranged in contact with the transport path and a number of temporary parking spaces. The method which thus can be implemented in a computer program will then compute how an assumed traffic pattern could be realised with this choice of transport path and lift shaft. It will be determined whether "blind" areas will occur in that, for example, the transport path cannot come into contact with a limited transport direction on a part of the parking level etc. A systematic virtual moving of possible transport paths will then be carried out, and there may be introduced a "winding" transport path, lift shafts, temporary parking spaces, where each iteration of a combination of introduced infrastructure elements may also include more lift shafts, more transport paths etc., and results in a computation of consequences for the use and performance of the parking facility seen in the light of selected target figures for performance and anticipated use of the parking facility. The combination of infrastructure elements and location thereof in the framework, or the combinations which give essentially the same result, and which are close to the target performance for the parking facility, are then reported. This leads to uniform bays in the framework being allocated their tasks, partly in that necessary physical elements are mounted, for example, channels for lifts, and not least in that the selected allocation is transferred to a system that is to operate the parking facility during use. It is an important aspect of the present application that the identified infrastructure which satisfies the target requirements is reflected in the system that controls devices in the parking facility. During operation, parameters for the operation are monitored and evaluated. With simple means, the system that operates the facility can redistribute dynamically distributed uniform bays for other purposes in order further to adapt operation to new operating situations or new requirements. In an operating situation, sensors will at all times be able to keep a check on positions of movable infrastructure elements. For example, the positions of transporters can constantly be transmitted to a central computer, for example as a wireless signal that contains an identification of the transporter, platforms can be equipped with RFID tags which are read by, for example, a wireless reader in lifts, at platform storage bays etc. and which are known to those of skill in the art. Vacant bays can be identified in that pressure sensitive switches are activated if a platform holding car is resting against supports 15 as illustrated in Figure 1. Such information collected to the central computer makes it possible for an operating program in the computer to control devices in the parking facility, for example, to control lifts, start and stop transporters, move platforms from a store at the exit station to the delivery station if necessary, at the same time as the form of the facility is known together with how the facility is being utilised (number of cars and positions of parked cars) at all times. It is also possible for the operating program to compute at any given time the weight distribution in the framework. Thu, also the load on the framework can be controlled at all times.

Claims

P a t e n t c l a i m s

1.

A method for providing an automatic parking facility in one or more regularly and/or irregularly shaped spaces in an existing building or in a new building, characterised in that the method comprises the steps of:

a) interconnecting uniform four-sided bays provided by framework elements of a predetermined length, breadth and height into a framework for the parking facility, the interconnection being provided in the length, breadth and height directions to provide bays with a number of interconnections in these respective directions that fill the whole space in these directions;

b) using the shape or form of the framework provided in a) as a starting point for determining an allocation of how respective bays in the framework can be used as a parking space, temporary parking space, as a part of a lift shaft, be a part of a transport path in either the longitudinal direction of the bay or in a transverse direction of the bay, or similar infrastructure elements for the parking facility, such that an automatic control and use of the parking facility can be executed according to predetermined performance and use of the parking facility;

c) mounting and adapting necessary components for the determined infrastructure elements in the determined bays determined in b).

2.

A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the interconnection of the uniform four- sided bays in a) includes joining together rails (10, 11) in a respective longitudinal direction and transverse direction of the bays which thus form a respective transport direction in the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction for a transporter for moving cars and the like on the rails (10, 11) in the plane formed by the interconnected rails (10, 11), where the respective transport directions intersect each other in the bays.

3.

A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the predetermined lengths, widths and heights of the uniform bays are determined as a percentage of the dimensions laid down in public regulations for registration of car types.

4.

A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the determination of the allocation of infrastructure elements in step b) includes simulating the effect on capacity, traffic pattern, use of time for parking and retrieving a car and similar parameters in relation to predetermined targets for performance and use of the parking facility by first establishing a random composition of a selection of infrastructure elements including at least one transporter, a plurality of parking spaces, a plurality of temporary parking spaces, and at least one lift shaft, in order then to compute the effect of this allocation and then, in combination, moving the location and varying the numbers of infrastructure elements and types of infrastructure elements in an iterative manner so that a combination of locations and types and number of infrastructure elements is found that is closest to the predetermined performance and use of the parking facility.

5.

A method according to claim 1, characterised in that when a first section of the framework no longer can be extended in a direction because of irregular form in the space in which the framework is to be erected, a second section of the framework capable of being angled in relation to the first section in the space can operatively be connected to the first section by means of at least one turntable located in the area formed by the angling between the sections in at least one of the horizontal planes of the framework sections.

6.

A method according to claim 2, characterised in that a transporter is able to change transport direction when it has been placed inside a bay in the framework.

7.

A method according to claim 2, characterised in that a transporter transports a car by lifting a platform with the car parked thereon during the transport of the car.

8.

A method according to claim 7, characterised in that, during its transport, the car is locked to the platform by chocks wedged in under the wheels of the car.

9.

A method according to claim 7, characterised in that the platform comprises a collecting recess for liquids, where this liquid is emptied from the collecting recess at a station provided therefor with a central tank that stores the liquid which is emptied for subsequent environmentally correct handling.

10.

A method according to claim 1, characterised in that an infrastructure element is a lift that can be mounted within the dimensions of a bay.

11.

A method according to claim 10, characterised in that the lift comprises a weighing device that shows the weight of a car that is transported by the lift.

12.

A method according to claim 11, characterised by providing the weighing device by measuring the current that runs in the motors in the lift when the lift balances the weight of the car.

13.

A method according to claim 7, characterised in that platforms that are to transport a car are fetched from a store arranged in a bay in the framework in proximity to an entrance to the parking facility by a transporter which collects platforms from this bay from the bottom of a stack of platforms stored in the bay by lifting the stack up into a releasing position for the bottommost platform.

14.

A method according to claim 13, characterised in that a platform which has been used to transport a car is stored after use in a bay in the framework in proximity to an exit from the parking facility by a transporter which stores used platforms by inserting the platform under the stack of platforms in the bay and then lifting the platform and stack upwards into a locking position for the platform to be stored.

15.

A framework for use in a method according to claim 1, characterised in that the framework of uniform bays is formed by first arranging a basic element 14 in a ground plane in a desired orientation in a space that is to contain a parking facility, and which then is extended with framework elements 20, 21 in a respective essentially horizontal length and breadth direction in relation to the basic element 14 with as large a number of framework elements 20, 21 as there is room for in the respective length and breadth directions in such manner that rails 10, 11 in the framework elements form a continuous track in the respective interconnected length and breadth directions of the framework elements 14, 20 and 21, extending basic elements 23 are then connected on top of the basic element 14 in an essentially vertical direction in a number that fills the height of the space together with extending framework elements 20, 21 in the horizontal plane on top of the other underlying framework elements 20, 21 so that they also fill the space in their respective directions in the horizontal plane.

16.

A locking mechanism for placing chocks on a platform according to a method in claim 8, characterised by including at least one arm that lifts a chock up above the edge of the platform at a point of the edge which is close to the middle of the platform in order then to move the chock towards a car wheel at one end of the platform so that the chock lies wedged in under wheel.

17.

A locking mechanism according to claim 17, characterised in that the locking mechanism contains four arms which operatively lock a respective wheel of the car.

18.

A locking mechanism according to claim 16, characterised in that the locking mechanism is arranged on side edges of the transporters.

19.

A locking mechanism according to claim 16, characterised in that the locking mechanism is arranged in a lift which carries cars between floor levels in a parking facility.

20.

A method for controlling an infrastructure in an automatic parking facility according to claim

1, characterised in that the composition and locations of the infrastructure are transferred from the determination in step b) to control this particular infrastructure according to predetermined criteria.