Material or article handling – Apparatus particularly adapted for charging or discharging a... – Carrier-facility-site relationship
Patent
1996-07-17
1999-06-29
Brahan, Thomas J.
Material or article handling
Apparatus particularly adapted for charging or discharging a...
Carrier-facility-site relationship
B65G 100
Patent
active
059159081
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a system for accommodation, temporary storage and output of movable objects, in particular of pilotless locomotive vehicles.
In such a system which is subject of the application PCT/EP94/03113, vehicles are taken over from at least one entry platform by means of a transfer device of a tender rotatably supported about a central axis and comprising at least one carrier arm. Each vehicle is taken from a parking platform over to an exit platform, wherein the platforms are arranged one beside the next in radial direction along a helical rail for the tender. The transfer device supported on the carrier arm of the tender therein comprises a frame device which can be moved in longitudinal direction between the wheels of a vehicle standing on a platform. The frame device includes at least four support arms extending rectangularly towards the vehicle wheels. At least two of said support arms are pivotable from a position directed in direction of said frame device into the rectangularly extended position in which the arms bear on the bottom area of the respective vehicle under pressure and lift it from the parking surface.
The efficiency of a parking plant depends upon the number of entering and leaving vehicles, which can be taken and delivered per unit time. Thus it is possible to provide a tender with only one carrier arm which depends upon request transfers, where a vehicle is moved to a platform or from a platform to the exit platform. Such an arrangement, however, only is suitable for small-size parking place capacities where a demand for parking spaces essentially remains constant over the course of time. In larger-scale plants, account has to be taken for rush operation or a temporal change between prevailing entry and exit operations. Thus, in an urban parking plant during the morning, mainly entry operations will occur while at the time of closing exit operations will prevail. Similarily, upon the end of theater or concert performances or similar events strong exit traffic will occur in the parking plant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is based on the object of designing a system where the operation can be optimized and adapted to different loads and operating conditions.
For solving said object, the tender in general comprises at least two carrier arms of which in entry and exit positions of the tender, one carrier arm is aligned with an entry platform and one carrier arm is aligned with an exit platform. In this way, it is possible to simultaneously take over a vehicle from an entry platform to a carrier arm and to deliver a vehicle to an exit platform from the other carrier arm.
In case of the tender equipped with two carrier arms, those preferably are arranged diametrally opposing each other, whereas four carrier arms preferably have an angle of 90.degree. between one another. In the latter case, the entry and exit platforms are disposed on the periphery of a circle with mutual angular distances of 90.degree..
The capacity of the plant can be further increased if more entry and exit platforms than carrier arms are provided for. The carrier arms then can be aligned with entry and exit platforms at different angular positions and the entry and exit platforms which are not in connection with a carrier arm can be loaded or emptied during this time. The entry and/or exit platforms, respectively, therein preferably are arranged one beside the other for permitting quick loading of each platform.
Flexibility of the plant can be further increased by providing some of the entry and exit platforms which are equipped for selective use as entry platforms or as exit platforms or a built to be modified to selective use. It is also possible to make the individual carrier arms adjustable in their angular position such that in one position of the tender each carrier arm selectively can be aligned with at least two entry and/or exit platforms, respectively.
Depending on size and required efficiency of the plant one or several tender
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Brahan Thomas J.
Friedrich Maurer & Sohne Gmbh & Co. KG
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