Patent Application
20220120107
The disclosed embodiments relates generally to residential and commercial property. More particularly, some embodiments of the invention relate to multi-level building structures that allow for vehicles to park adjacent to ingress and egress portals of residential and commercial units on various levels of a multi-level building structure.
Multi-level building structures containing residential units, commercial units, and/or similar are found through large, medium, and small cities all over the world. In general, these multi-level building structures have vehicle parking underneath the structure, in a nearby parking garage, parking ramp, parkade, parking building, parking deck, or on a nearby street. Access to these multi-level building structures is then limited by a vehicle operator's ability to both find a parking stall somewhat close to their desired destination, and also within their ability to reach the destination. The possible distance between parking options and an individual's desired commercial or residential unit, may make reaching the desired unit difficult for those with children, those who are disabled, those who live in harsh climates, those with significant parcels to carry between their vehicle and place of occupancy, and similar units.
According to one or more embodiments of the invention, various features and functionality can be provided toward devices and method for providing multi-level, drive-up building structures suitable to provide commercial and residential units, with internal, drive-up parking adjacent to the occupancy unit, and direct occupant access. Such structures can be configured to allow commercial and residential units to occupy the exterior of the structure while confining some, much, or all of the owner and tenant parking to locations that are internal to the structure and on the same level or levels and the commercial or residential units. Accordingly, the commercial and residential units are located so as to be outward facing and may benefit from natural light and airflow, while the parking structure may be provided internally such that they are hidden or enclosed out of view, yet still provide parking locations adjacent to ingress and egress portals for their respective units.
One or more various embodiments are described in detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict typical or example embodiments of the invention. These drawings are provided to facilitate the reader's understanding of the invention and shall not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the invention. It should be noted that for clarity.
The figures are not intend to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It should be understood that the invention can be practiced with modification and alternation, and that the invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.
Various embodiments described herein are directed toward structures and methods for providing multi-level, drive-up building structures suitable to provide commercial and residential units with internal, or external, drive-up parking and direct occupant access to the ingress or egress portals of the commercial and residential units. Such structures can be configured to allow for commercial and residential units to occupy the exterior or interior of the structure while confining some, much, or all of the owner or tenant parking to locations that are internal to the structure and on the same level or levels as ingress and egress portals of the commercial and residential units. The structure further allows for occupants to travel from one commercial or residential unit to another commercial or residential unit along the interior of the building structure. Accordingly, the commercial and residential units may be located so that they are outward facing and may benefit from natural light and airflow, while the parking stalls may be provided internally such that they are hidden or enclosed out of view. Examples of residential units may include, for example, condominiums, apartments, cooperatives, townhouses and other residential properties. Ingress and egress portals may include one or more doors through which residents, proprietors, guests and other personnel enter and exit the respective units.
Embodiments of the disclosed invention may include a multitude of levels, including: ground level, upper levels, and below-ground levels. In some embodiments, the structure may have a single ground level and a single upper level. In some embodiments, the structure may have a single ground level and multiple upper levels. In some embodiments, the structure may also contain one or more below-ground levels. In some embodiments, the structure may include any combination thereof.
In some embodiments, the structure includes a ground level 206. A ground level can also be defined as a street level, surface level, first floor, garden level, lobby, first story, street floor, ground deck, first deck, lobby deck, entrance level, first stage, first tier, and/or similar. In some embodiments, the ground floor provides access without a ramp to occupancy units and road surfaces contained on the ground floor. The ground floor further acts as one of several possible access points for the structure. An access point being a place of entry from a public road, sidewalk, street, and/or similar to the multi-level structure.
In some embodiments, the structure includes one or more upper levels 104. An upper level is any level that is above the ground level. Upper levels can be considered to be second floors, third floors, etc., and further be considered elevated stories, above-ground levels, upper floors, upper decks, and/or similar. In some embodiments, the upper levels may contain occupancy units 102, road surfaces 112, ramps 110, sidewalks 510 and/or similar. The upper levels may be accessed via a ramp 110, as described below.
In some embodiments, the structure may include one or more below-ground levels. A below-ground level is any level that is below the ground level. Below-ground levels can also be considered basements, lower floors, lower levels, lower decks, underground parking, underground floors, underground levels, cellars, undercrofts, vaults, crypts, sub-basements, substructures, understructure, and/or similar. In some embodiments, the below-ground level is used solely for parking. In some embodiments, the below-ground level includes air handlings systems that remove exhaust and carbon monoxide from interior units, and the interior of the structure, and replace it with filtered or fresh air. The air handling systems are not limited to placement in below-ground levels and may be placed at any location within the structure. In some embodiments, the below-ground level includes commercial units or residential space. Embodiments can include any variety of the aforementioned uses of below-ground space.
In some embodiments, each level of the structure is considered a rigid deck or floor. A rigid deck may be made, for example, from pre-cast reinforced concrete, cast-in-place reinforced concrete, or other construction materials, and is generally rigid enough and otherwise suitable to handle the anticipated loading from vehicles, pedestrians, commercial equipment and other objects it is intended to support.
In general, drive-up is considered to be the process of entering a structure with a vehicle, operating the vehicle to the desired level, and then “driving-up” to a desired residential or commercial unit. The notion of a drive-up structure is encompassed by one's ability to operate a vehicle and park said vehicle within the structure in such a way that the driver is adjacent 202 or nearly adjacent to the residential or commercial unit they desire to enter.
In various embodiments, multi-level drive-up structures can be configured in a variety of different shapes and sizes, and may include various dedicated or mixed-use units. Structures generally, include occupancy units, ramps, road surfaces, landscaping, utilities, open air units, and/or similar.
Commercial and residential units may be any of various types of commercial and residential units whether owner or tenant occupied or otherwise. Commercial and residential units may collectively be referred to as occupancy units. In some embodiments, commercial units may include retail units, corporate units, office units, business units, industrial units, service units, medical units, professional units and/or similar. The term commercial units may be defined as to include commercial units, commercial offices, commercial suites and other similar units. In this example, the commercial units may occupy ground levels 206 of the multi-level structure or may occupy any or all upper levels or below-ground levels of the multi-level structure. For example, commercial units may occupy one or more below-ground, at ground, or above ground levels. In some embodiments, the commercial units may be accessible from the exterior of the structure, the interior of the structure, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the commercial units may be segregated from the residential units. In some embodiments, the commercial units may be intermixed with the residential units on one or more levels. In some embodiments, commercial units may be permitted a greater number of parking areas in the structure, because commercial units may require a greater number of parking per square foot than residential units. In some embodiments, additional visitor parking may be provided either external to the structure, internal to the structure, or below the structure. Visitor parking may also be drive-up parking adjacent the visited unit, or it may be spatially removed from visited unit.
In some embodiments, residential units may include condominiums, apartments, townhomes, residential communities, communes, co-ops, single-family homes, multi-family homes, tiny homes, campgrounds, recreational vehicle sites, bungalows, cabins, sheds, residential rentals, vacation homes, VRBOs and AirBNBs, other vacation rental properties, and other similar units. In some embodiments, the residential units may occupy ground levels or the multi-level structure or may occupy any or all upper levels or below-ground levels of the multi-level structure. For example, residential units may occupy one or more below-ground, ground, or above ground levels. In some embodiments, the residential units may be accessible from the exterior of the structure, the interior of the structure, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, residential units may be open to the outside of the structure, such as on an open air rooftop, where in other embodiments the residential units me be entirely internal to the structure. In some embodiments, the residential units have both external and internal aspects, allowing for occupants of the space to use the space externally, internally, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments the residential units may have windows or doors that face the interior of the structure.
Referring to
Various embodiments may include air handling systems that provides sufficient airflow to vent exhaust gasses (e.g., carbon monoxide) out of the structure. In such embodiments, the air handling may be sufficient venting to allow for units to have interior windows into the structure. In some embodiments, the interior facing windows may be on one or more floors of an occupancy unit.
Various embodiments may also include solotube or similar structures that allow for natural light to enter the structure. In some embodiments, the placement of the occupancy units allows for natural light to enter the structure. In some embodiments, the interior roofs of the structure have openings that allow natural light to enter the structure, and allow for natural airflow and ventilation.
The terms commercial units and residential units can be generally considered occupancy units or enclosures within the multi-level building structure. In some embodiments, occupancy units within the multi-level building structure can be arranged around some, most, or all of the periphery of each level of the structure, with road surfaces occupying interior 406 areas within each level of the structure. In some embodiments, the interior of the structure may include residential features that look and feel like a residential street. For example, the residential features of the interior of the multi-level building structure may include roads, sidewalks, plants, landscaping, irrigations systems, air handling systems, streetlamps, road signs, mailboxes, dog parks, trash receptacles, artificial or natural lighting, and/similar attributes found in an outdoor residential neighborhood. In some embodiments, occupancy units within the multi-level building structure can be arranged around the interior of the structure, with road surfaces occupying the exterior of the structure. In some embodiments, when the occupancy units occupy the interior of the structure, the exterior area will include residential features that look and feel like a residential neighborhood, as described above. In other embodiments, occupancy units can be placed in any combination of exterior and interior placements, and road surfaces can occupy any combination of exterior and interior placements. In some embodiments, occupancy units may have windows, doors, and/or ingress/egress points into the interior of the structure. For example, a condominium on an upper level may have a door that leads directly to the condominium's internal parking stall 504. In another embodiment, the occupancy units may have windows, doors, and/or similar ingress/egress points to the exterior of the structure. For example, a commercial space may have a helicopter port on the roof of the structure that can be directly accessed from the occupancy units by way of an external door.
In various embodiments, the structure may include road surfaces 406 throughout the structure. A road surface may be a street, road, roadway, alley, drive-way, access-way, byway, byroad, path, passage, thoroughfare, bridleway, trail, track, and/or similar. In some embodiments, the road surfaces may be internally surrounded by occupancy units, where each occupancy unit has access to the internal road surface 406 for eventual ingress/egress of the structure. The road surfaces may also be used for internal transportation 506, for example in
In various embodiments, the occupancy units may be multi-leveled. For example, in
Referring to
In some embodiments of the invention, exterior ramps may be used. For example, in
In some embodiments, the circular style ramp 110 may include road surfaces for ascending and descending the ramp, vertical or angled barriers 108 for keeping vehicles within the ramp and keeping unwanted matter (e.g., debris, dust, leaves, rain, snow, etc.) off of the road surface within the ramp, painted lines to guide the vehicle operators, angled road surfaces to assist ascending and descending vehicles with traction between the vehicle and the road surface, and an interior structural component that may be a cylinder or similar for which the ramp will rotate around. In some embodiments, the center of the circular ramp may be free from structural components and open to the air. An open air ramp structure can assist with airflow and act as a source of natural light for within the interior of the structure.
In some embodiments the circular ramp 110 may be made from concrete, metal, plastic, wood, or any combination thereof. In further embodiments, the road surface may be paved with tar, asphalt, concrete, or other commonly known road surfaces. In further embodiments, the road surface may angled from zero to forty-five degrees. In further embodiments, the radius of the circular ramp may range from eight to fifty feet.
While the circular style ramp 110 provides a compact footprint, in some embodiments, other ramp styles may be used. In some embodiments, an internal ramp may be used as opposed to this example exterior ramp. There are many examples of interior ramps. For example, an inclined road surface that includes a road surface, barriers, painted lines, structural components, and/or similar may be placed throughout the multi-level structure to allow for vehicle operators to ascend or descend levels of the structure. In some embodiments, the interior ramp may include a raised end connected to an upper level and a lower end connected to a ground level or an upper level occupying space beneath the desired upper level. In this embodiment, a vehicle operator could drive from the road surface disposed on a level, enter the interior ramp, proceed to ascend or descend (go up or down) the angled road surface, and then exit the interior ramp onto the end desired level. This example of an interior ramp may allow for vehicle operators to ascend or descent a single or multiple levels within the structure.
In other embodiments, multiple ramps may be provided that include multiple exterior ramps, multiple interior ramps, or a combination thereof.
Parking areas are generally considered locations where an occupant is able to park their vehicle and where a plurality of parking stalls or other parking spaces are contained. Parking areas may be interior to the structure or exterior.
Parking stalls are generally considered as places where a vehicle can be brought to a halt and left temporarily, this typically takes place in a parking lot, parking garage, carport and/or similar. In some embodiments, the multi-level structure includes various types of parking stalls and parking areas, including internal parking stalls, external parking stalls, and more generally adjacent parking stalls.
In reference to
In some embodiments, internal parking areas with parking stalls are present 502. Such internal parking stalls can exist on below-ground levels, ground levels, and/or upper levels. For example, internal parking on ground and above-ground levels is typically surrounded by occupancy units, with interspersed access to airflow and natural light. In some embodiments, internal parking stalls are accessed via ramps and exist throughout the structure such that vehicle operators are able to park at an internal stall near a desired occupancy unit on any level of the multi-level structure. In some examples, occupancy units are single-story and have associated internal parking stalls that can be reached by the structure level directly at surface level or by stairs from the surface level 404. In other embodiments, the occupancy units are multi-story. In some embodiments, the occupancy units may have internal stairs to reach an ingress/egress portal of the occupancy unit from their parking stall 512.
In some embodiments, external parking stalls are present. Such external parking stalls can exist on ground levels and/or upper levels. External parking stalls can be disposed around occupancy units to allow for internal occupancy units to have adjacent parking. External parking stalls can also permit airflow and natural light to enter the structure and they may be enclosed, exposed, or any combination thereof.
In some embodiments, both internal 402 and external parking stalls 202, collectively parking stalls, may be adjacent to occupancy units, and particularly adjacent ingress or egress portals of the occupancy units 204. Parking stalls on upper levels may be adjacent to occupancy units proceeding ramps to access the upper levels. This would allow for vehicle operators to park their vehicle next to 304, in front 302 of or behind a desired occupancy unit. Occupancy units may have parking stalls assigned, deeded, or permitted to them, or parking stalls may be generally available to occupants of the structure. In some embodiments, parking stalls range from six to twelve feet in width, and from eight to forty feet in length. In some embodiments, occupancy units may have parking stalls in the form of enclosed garages with a garage door 302, covered carports, and/or open parking. The adjacent parking stalls may provide ingress/egress points for each occupancy unit. Providing dedicated or shared parking at each level of the structure (or at least at levels where occupancy unit ingress/egress is provided for human occupants or visitors, however, the term occupant is not limited to humans) provides for a drive-up structure that allows occupants and visitors to drive directly to an desired occupancy unit and park outside the include, thus reducing the need for occupants and visitors to travel from their vehicle to their desired occupancy unit.
An occupant of the structure may include owners of occupancy units within the structure, renters of occupancy units within the structure, tenants of occupancy units within the structure, and both residential and commercial visitors to the structure.
Various embodiments may be implemented to enable owners, occupants, and visitors to drive their vehicles directly their desired occupancy units and park immediately outside of the occupancy unit 404 regardless of the level their occupancy unit occupies. This can allow direct access to the unit from the vehicle regardless of the floor on which the occupancy unit occupies. Accordingly, occupants are not required to use elevators, long hallways, lobbies, or other like means to carry parcels between their occupancy units and vehicles. This also permits easier access to occupancy units for those with movement challenges, thus making the occupancy units more accessible to all persons. Some conventional structures utilize separate elevators from the underground parking to the ground level and from the ground level to the occupancy unit floors or upper levels. These conventional structures may require an occupant to take multiple elevators to travel between their occupancy unit and their vehicle. Further, these traditional structures may hinder access to an occupancy unit for a person with difficulty moving. This inconvenience may be ameliorated or eliminated with embodiments that utilize the drive-up approach such as the disclosed embodiments. The elimination of elevators may have benefits for residents concerned about numerous pathogens, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other infectious diseases, including SARS-CoV-2 (or COVID-19). Particularly, embodiments may eliminate or lessen the chances of meeting strangers in confined units such as elevators.
In some embodiments, the parking stalls 202 may be directly connected to the unit, and provide access to the unit through a single or multiple doors. In other embodiments the parking stalls may be at a range of one to forty feet from its associated unit, and may be accessed by walking through the interior or exterior of the structure, along sidewalks or road surfaces, and may further require passing through one or multiple doors.
In some embodiments, there may be one or more access points 106 to the structure. An access point may be an opening in the ground level of the structure that allows for ingress/egress from a public road surface to the structure. In some embodiments, there are only access points on the ground level, but in other embodiments access points may exist on multiple levels. For example, if the structure was built on the side of a hill there may be access points on the ground level on one side of the structure and access points on upper levels on the side of the structure facing the inclined portion of the hill. In other embodiments, an access point could be placed on the roof to allow a helicopter to land and permit occupants to enter the structure through the rooftop.
In reference to
In reference to
In some embodiments, the multi-level structures may exist alongside other, similar multi-level structures to allow for groupings of multi-level structures to cohabit a given property. This may be appealing to real estate investors, construction companies, surety companies, and/or similar who could group their financing and development efforts into a single location.
Embodiments may also reduce or eliminate the amount of underground parking required. This can result in cost savings for construction and may also be more attractive to consumers. Safety of the residents may be enhanced as well because embodiments may be implemented in which residents need not utilize an underground parking structure, which may be isolated, and at an increased risk of structural failure, flood, poor ventilation, crime, excessive heat or cold, and/or similar. Instead, occupants may be able to park in their own garage or parking stall attached or adjacent to their occupancy unit, where their occupancy unit may be surrounded by neighboring occupancy units with other occupants nearby.
While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or other configuration for the invention, which is done to aid in understanding the features and functionality that can be included in the invention. The invention is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but the desired features can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Indeed, it will be apparent to one of skill in the art how alternative functional, logical or physical partitioning and configurations can be implemented to implement the desired features of the disclosed embodiments. Also, a multitude of different constituent module names other than those depicted herein can be applied to the various partitions. Additionally, with regard to flow diagrams, operational descriptions and method claims, the order in which the steps are presented herein shall not mandate that various embodiments be implemented to perform the recited functionality in the same order unless the context dictates otherwise.
Although the invention is described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described, but instead can be applied, alone or in some combination, to one or more of the other embodiments of the invention, whether or not such embodiments are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. Thus the breadth and scope of the disclosed embodiments should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.
As used herein, the articles “a” or “an” when referring to an item are not limited to requiring one and only one of the referenced item, and the various embodiments can include additional of the referenced items (or an alternative item) unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term “including” should be read as mean “including, without limitation” or the like; the term “example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof; and adjectives such as “conventional,” “traditional,” “normal,” “standard,” “known” and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that may be available or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future.
The presence of broadening words and phrases such as “one or more,” “at least,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases in some instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases may be absent. The use of the terms “module” and “appliance” or the depiction of a box in a diagram does not imply that the components or functionality described or claimed as part of that item are all configured in a common package. Indeed, any or all of the various components of an item, whether control logic or other components, can be combined in a single package or separately maintained and can further be distributed across multiple locations. Likewise, multiple items can be combined into single packages or locations.
Additionally, the various embodiments set forth herein are described in terms of exemplary block diagrams, flow charts and other illustrations. As will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this document, the illustrated embodiments and their various alternatives can be implemented without confinement to the illustrated examples. For example, block diagrams and their accompanying description should not be construed as mandating a particular architecture or configuration.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/093,715 filed Oct. 19, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63093715 | Oct 2020 | US |
