Material or article handling – Apparatus particularly adapted for charging or discharging a... – Including one or more movable sites
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-27
2001-12-11
Keenan, James W. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Apparatus particularly adapted for charging or discharging a...
Including one or more movable sites
C414S239000, C414S241000, C414S262000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328521
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to vehicle parking systems. The invention is particularly useful with respect to the vehicle parking system described in my prior Israel Patent 86295, and is therefore described below with respect to that application.
The problem of providing parking spaces for automotive vehicles is becoming increasingly serious because of the increase in demand for parking spaces, and the decrease in supply of land available for such parking spaces, particularly in commercial centers or densely populated areas. My above-cited patent describes a multi-level parking system which enables almost any available plot of land to be used for providing a large number of parking spaces since the described system accommodates itself to the shape, dimensions, and topography of the available plot of land.
An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle parking system which provides a number of important advantages particularly when used in the system described in that patent, but which may also advantageously be used in other systems.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle parking system comprising a vehicle parking system, comprising a pair of horizontal rails spaced apart to define a line of vehicle parking spaces between them; a horizontal carrier movable over the rails for conveying vehicles to selected parking spaces; and a vertical lift laterally of the pair of rails for lifting onto the horizontal carrier a vehicle to be parked; the horizontal carrier comprising: a frame structure for receiving a vehicle to be parked, and four legs depending from four corners of the frame structure and carrying wheels rollable along the rails; the legs being of a height to enable the frame structure, and the vehicle supported thereby, to move over other vehicles that may be parked in the parking spaces; at least the rail adjacent to the vertical lift being interrupted to produce a gap sufficiently large to accommodate the vertical lift when lifting a vehicle onto the horizontal carrier.
As will be described more fully below, such a parking system, when used in the system of the above-cited patent, substantially reduces the time for parking and retrieving vehicles, primarily for two reasons: First, it enables transferring the vehicle between the vertical lift and the horizontal carrier at the lifted position of the vehicle on the horizontal carrier, thereby saving the time of the horizontal carrier to lift the vehicle in order to pass over vehicles that may be parked in the line of parking spaces to be traversed by the horizontal carrier when parking and retrieving a vehicle. In addition, this arrangement enables the vertical lift to be located at an intermediate position in the line of parking devices at the respective level, rather than at one end of the line of parking spaces, thereby shortening the transmit time of a vehicle when parking or retrieving it.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle parking system comprising: a supporting structure having a plurality of parking levels; each of the levels including a pair of horizontal rails spaced apart to define a line of vehicle parking spaces between them, a plurality of trays supported on the rails, and a horizontal carrier movable over the rails of the respective level for conveying vehicles to the trays of selected parking spaces; and a vertical lift for lifting a vehicle to be parked to the horizontal carrier of a selected level; the pair of horizontal rails of each level being curved, and the horizontal carrier of each level having pivotally mounted wheels to enable the horizontal carrier to traverse the curved rails.
This feature better enables the parking system to accommodate itself according to the size and shape of the available plot of land to be used for parking purposes.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.
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Keenan James W.
Shakbar Investments Ltd.
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