Claims
- 1. A system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles, the system comprising:
- a helical running rail;
- a plurality of parking platforms spaced in an elevational manner adjacent to said helical rail, said parking platforms are supported by a plurality of beam structures outside said helical rail;
- a tender rotatably supported on a central frame structure within said helical running rail;
- a vehicle support structure extending from said tender, said vehicle support structure contacts said helical rail, said vehicle support structure further includes:
- at least two running face platforms slidably mounted to said helical rail and rotatably mounted to said central frame structure;
- a transmitter device supported by at least one of said two running face platforms and said parking platforms, said transmitter device includes:
- an adjustable carrier frame;
- a first set of wheel carrier arms, said first set of wheel carrier arms includes two stationary arms and two pivotable arms, said first set of wheel carrier arms are mounted to said carrier frame;
- first means for pivoting said pivotable arms of said first set of wheel carrier arms in extended and retracted positions;
- a polygonal shaped sledge having corners, said sledge is mounted to said carrier frame;
- a second set of wheel carrier arms, said second set of wheel carrier arms include two pivotable arms mounted to said sledge at diagonally spaced pivot points;
- second means for pivoting said second set of said of wheel carrier arms in extended and retracted positions which are relatively opposite to each other, each wheel carrier arm including a beam supporting a plurality of wheel support rollers spaced and running rolls;
- wheel base means for adjusting a distance between said sledge relative to said first set of wheel carrier arms; and
- means for moving said transmitter device across said running face platforms and said parking platforms, said first and second set of wheel carrier arms elevate the wheels of a vehicle in the extended positions so that the wheels of the vehicle are spaced from said running face platforms while the wheels contact said wheel support rollers, and said running rolls contact at least one of said running face platforms and said parking platforms for automated parking of a vehicle.
- 2. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein all of said pivotable wheel carrier arms are parallel to said carrier frame in the retracted positions and said wheel carrier arms are perpendicular to said carrier frame in the extended positions.
- 3. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein said carrier frame includes two longitudinal beams parallel to said running face platforms attached to said sledge, said two longitudinal beams are attached together by a plurality of cross beams perpendicular to said running face platforms.
- 4. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 3, wherein said sledge and at least one of said cross beams include running wheels which space said transmitter device from said two running face platforms, whereby running wheels of said sledge contact said two running face platforms when said wheel carrier arms of said sledge are in the retracted position.
- 5. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein said wheelbase means for adjusting a distance between said sledge relative to said first set of wheel carrier arms includes a hydraulic piston/cylinder arrangement.
- 6. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein said running face platforms include a lateral set of edges which extend from said running face platforms in a substantially perpendicular manner.
- 7. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 6, wherein each beam of each wheel carrier arm includes a guide roll which contacts at least one of said lateral edges of said running face platforms when each wheel carrier arm is in the extended position.
- 8. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said running rolls are disposed in a substantially central area of its respective beam.
- 9. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein said first and second means for pivoting said first and second set of wheel carrier arms include a hydraulic piston/cylinder arrangement.
- 10. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for moving said transmitter device across said running face platforms and said parking platforms includes a motor and a synchronous belt drive coupled to said transmitter device for longitudinal movement of said transmitter device.
- 11. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 10, wherein said synchronous belt drive includes an endless toothed belt guided over a plurality of toothed disks, each disk being rotatably supported on said vehicle support structure and disposed in a central region between said two running face platforms.
- 12. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 10, wherein said motor and said tender are electrically driven.
- 13. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 10, further comprising:
- control means for activating said means for moving said transmitter device and said second means for pivoting said first and second set of wheel carrier arms, said control means calculates whether current consumption exceeds a given threshold value of said motor of said synchronous belt drive.
- 14. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 10, wherein said synchronous belt drive further includes a pole coupled to the synchronous belt drive, said pole contacts said transmitter device at predetermined positions along said belt drive to increase translational movement of said transmitter device.
- 15. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 14, wherein said pole has a substantially square cross section.
- 16. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 14, wherein said pole is secured against at least one of twisting and torsion by a pole guide mounted to said vehicle support structure in a central region between said two running face platforms.
- 17. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 16, wherein said pole guide includes two plates which enclose a portion of said synchronous belt drive.
- 18. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein said sledge is mounted to said carrier frame by a plurality of bearings.
- 19. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 18, wherein said bearings are polytetrafluorethylene slide bearings.
- 20. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein each parking platform is made of sheet metal having a length which extends beyond a length of a vehicle, each parking platform further includes a lateral set of edges which extend from each parking platform in a substantially perpendicular manner.
- 21. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 20, wherein each parking platform is supported by a plurality of longitudinal beams extending in a direction parallel to the length of each platform, each of said plurality of longitudinal beams extending in a direction parallel to the length of each platform is mounted to a plurality of beams positioned at an angle relative to said longitudinal beams, each of the plurality of beams positioned at an angle relative to said longitudinal beams is mounted to a plurality of beams extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal beams.
- 22. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 20, wherein said sheet metal is made from ferritic chromium-alloyed steel which is resistant against corrosion from de-icing salt solutions and wear.
- 23. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein each parking platform includes a plurality of flat members mounted to a surface of each parking platform, said flat members channel at fluids off the surface of each parking platform.
- 24. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for moving said transmitter device across said running face platforms and said parking platforms moves said transmitter device at a first speed and a second speed, the first speed is greater than the second speed, said transmitter device in an unloaded state is moved at the first speed and said transmitter device in a loaded state is moved at the second speed.
- 25. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, wherein said vehicle support structure further includes means for securing a position of a vehicle on said vehicle support platform to prevent displacement of the vehicle.
- 26. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 25, wherein said securing means includes a least one pivotable bow structure.
- 27. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 25, wherein said securing means includes a swing lever mounted to at least one of said wheel carrier arms of said first set of wheel carrier arms.
- 28. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 25, wherein said securing means includes a foldable swing barrier which is adapted to engage a bumper of a back side of a vehicle.
- 29. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 25, wherein said securing means includes a swing lever mounted to at least one of said wheel carrier arms of said first set of wheel carrier arms and a foldable swing barrier which is adapted to engage a bumper of a back side of a vehicle.
- 30. The system for receiving, temporarily storing, and outputting vehicles as defined in claim 1, further comprising:
- entry and exit platforms; and
- means for closing said entry and exit platforms, said means for closing said entry and exit platforms includes a structure which is foldable and separates the vehicle support structure from at least one of said entry and exit platforms when extended to prevent injury to people adjacent said vehicle support structure.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCTEP9403113 |
Sep 1994 |
EPX |
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Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 08/617,883, filed as PCT/EP95/03624 Sep. 14, 1995 published as WO96/08625, Mar. 21, 1996, now abandoned.
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
617883 |
Mar 1996 |
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