The object of this invention is a multistory automatic garage the characteristics of which are considerably improved with respect to what has been realized up to now in this field. In another patent application filed in the name of the same inventor a multistored automatic garage has been described and claimed which includes an elevator vehicle which travels along a rail between two scaffolding or pigeonholes where a number of cars are recovered each in a box, which is provided with longitudinal lower side frames between which rollers are connected.

The movements of the cars takes place always by means of a plurality of boards running on rollers the car being shut and braked. The available boards are withdrawn in succession from a stocking place that they reach as soon as they get free.

The purpose of this invention is to introduce remarkable operating and structural improvements into the plant described in the above cited patent application by suppressing the need of storing or piling up the available boards and their successive withdrawal as soon as the cars come in for parking.

This has been obtained by moving the empty boards under the roller conveyors which move the loaded baords and by providing that both in every box and on the elevating vehicle (which will be called ETV in bhe following) a single board will be ever present . Thus, if

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the board is loaded by a car, it is above both the ETV moving rollers and the roller conveyors of the boxes, and if the board is empty, it lies in the area underlying said rollers, said board being however moved, under command, by the same series of rollers moving the boards, whereby whenever a car is parked in a box an empty board is simultaneously transferred from the box to the ETV; as a consequence, the latter after its coming back to the starting position is ready to accept a fresh car to be parked.

In case a car has to be withdrawn at the end of parking time, said operations take place in the reversed order, whereby the ETV reaches a position facing a box having an empty board, it picks up the board carrying the car and simultaneously pushes into the box under the rollers said board which will be picked up when a fresh board with a fresh car to be parked will be pushed in and so on.

In order to achieve such results, according to this invention, the movement of the empty boards takes place in the ETV on a second series of rollers disposed on an underlying plane which is parallel to that of the rollers on which the boards loaded by the carsare moved while in the box the boards slide on guides underlying the box rollers.

Furthermore the feeding of the loaded board and the movement of retrieval of the empty board have the same speed and occur simultaneously in as much as an extractor is provided on the ETV and is formed of a pair of swinging arms provided at the ends with wheels which lift up the empty lower board while pushing it against the upper rollers in a diametrically opposed position with respect SHEET

to the position where the loaded board rests, thereby imparting to it the same speed but in a reversed direction.

From the above, it should be noted that the 5 invention permits an operating speed remarkably greater than that obtainable with the system described in the patent application as previously filed, and a remarkable reduction of the overall space of the plant, which characteristics has a basic importance, particularly if it '10 is considered that this kind of plants is applied in thickly inhabited city areas with intense car circulation. The parking equipment of this invention is completed by means for checking that a car has been left home-braked on the board. ^' 15 This invention will be now described with reference to the attached drawings showing only by way of a non limitative illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective front view of the 20 trans-elevator assembly (ETV);

Fig.2 shows a plan view corresponding to Fig.1 ; Fig.3 shows a perspective side view according to the transfer direction of ETV;

Fig.4 shows schematically a plan view of the 25 whole assembly along with the location of inlet-outlet platform and the parking boxes;

Fig.5 shows a schematic perspective view corresponding to Fig.4;

Fig.6 shows a cross-section view of the 0 inlet-outlet platform along with the check system of the car locking device of the incoming car;

Fig.7 shows a plan view corresponding to Fig.6;

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Fig.8 'shows the detail of a board as seen in a cross section with a car positioned thereon;

_: Fig.9 shows a detail of Fig.8 in enlarged scale; Fig.10 shows a plan view of two leveled 5 roller-systems j

Fig.11 is a cross-section according to line B-B of Fig.10 in enlarged scale;

Fig.12 shows a view according to line A-A of Fig, 10 in enlarged scalej 0 Fig.13 is a front view corresponding to Fig.12 ;

Figs. 14jl5 _» l6 show schematically the coming in of a car and its storage on the ETVj

Fig.17 and 18 show the transfer phases of a car from the ETV to the parking box. 5 With reference to Figures 1 to 3, the elevator

„ assembly (ETV) comprises a frame consisting of columns 1 stiffly connected to a framed base 2 which carries wheels

3 running along a guide rail A - At the top frame 5 transmission pulleys 6 are mounted which through ropes 7 0 and running pulley 8 vertically move the pair of platforms

9 and 10 each of which carries a series of upper rollers

11 and lower rollers 12 which are disposed in parallel and are vertically spaced.

A power plant 13 firmly attached to the base 5 frame 2 actuates all said movements. At the top a guide rail 14 is provided with which the two pairs of wheels 15 are engaged. Furthermore a walking platform 16, an access ladder 17* a railing 18 and a safety ladder are provided.

In figures 4 and 5 the assembly according to the 0 invention is schematically shown. It comprises two series of superimposed boxes 20 between which the now described

ETV can run, an inlet and outlet platform 22 which is

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has been formerly described,ascertains that the car is braked. Thereafter (Fig. IS) hoist 23 lifts up and carries board 31 up to the level of upper rollers 11 of transit platform 24; the rollers of platform 22 are activated and car 26 enters the transit platform, and next (Fig.16) passes from the latter to platform 9 of ETV. At the same time as the upper board advances with car 26, the progressive retrieval of the lower platforms 31 occurs the first of which takes place on the inlet platform 22.Thereafter while the ETV carries the car to the selected box, hoist 23 gets down whereby the starting conditions are restored.

When the ETV reaches the level of the preselected box 20 (Fig.17) the upper board 30 with the related car is transferred into the box while the available lower board 31 is retrieved and placed on the ETV (Fig.lδ). At the end of the parking time, the reverse operations are carried out, that is the upper board 30 with car 26 is pulled back from the box and placed on the ETV while a lower board 31 moves from the latter to the box while sliding on the bracket supports 40 as previously described.

From the above it clearly appears that the retrieval of the empty boards in succession simultaneously with the movement of the loaded boards eliminates the need of having a space for stacking the available boards and the related retrieving equipment with obvious advantages about the plant floor space and its operations as already mentioned in the foreword. The present invention has been illustrated and described in a preferred embodiment , however it is understood that structural variations thereof can be made

provided with an hoist 23 and a transit platform 24 aligned with said inlet and outlet platform 22 and also provided with two series of rollers 11 and 12.

The inlet and outlet platform 22 carries a single series of rollers 25 , as shown in figure 6 as well all the floors of the boxes 20. When a car 26 is to be parked (see also Fig.7) hoist 23 is at its lowermost position and inlet and outlet platform 22 is located at the ground level. The car driver places his car as shown in Fig.6, whereupon he brakes it and shuts it. In order to make easier the positioning of car 26 on platform 22 guide slant entrances 27 are provided.

In order to be sure that car 26 has been braked home, an elastic buffer 28 actuated by a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 29 moves forward to impress a thrust against the car buffer. If the car is well braked, buffer 28 meets a force of predetermined entity and the parking operation can proceed.If the car moves, an optic or acoustic signal warn sof the need of effectively braking the car.

On each series of upper 11 and lower 12 rollers a plurality of board 30, all equal to one another, can run which are intended for supporting the car, and are shaped as shown in Figs.8 and 9- They have two longitudinal guide grooves 32 in which the wheels 33 of car 26 are placed and two bent edges 34 having the twofold function of containing the car and allowing the sliding of the board upon when recovering the same as will be better shown in the following . In figures 10 to 13 the transmission between the two series of rollers is illustrated for effecting the translation of the upper board 30 and the contemporaneous

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recovery of the available lower board 31 when the elevator ETV carries one of its platforms 9 and 10 to coincide with one of the parking boxes 20 for parking it or taking a car 26 out of the garage. Specifically in Fig.10 where some details have been omitted for better clarity platform 9 carried by an ETV coincides with platform 21 of one or more boxes 20.

At the two ends of platform 9 as carried by a ETV two swinging arms 35 driven by pneumatic or oleo-dynamic cylinders provided with chain drive which moves a wheel 36 (Figs.12 and 13)- Wheel 36 in turn engages by friction wheel 37 which is carried by the first roller 11 of box 20. Thereby the sliding of the upper board 30 is ^' obtained in as much as all the other rollers of the series are connected by means of a chain transmission.

A pair of swinging arms 38 are provided for the reclaim of the lower available board (figs.9 and 11,) which arms are also carried by ETV and are provided with chain drive and carry wheels 39 underneath the lower board 30, whereby the latter is lifted from its bearings 40 and pushed upwards until the bent rim 34 is engaged with the shaft 41 of the upper roller 11. By noticing the arrows of Fig. 11 , it clearly appears that the input of the upper board 30 into the box is contemporary with the reclaiming of the empty board which goes back into the ETV.

In Figs.14, 15 and 16 the operating steps of parking and withdrawing a car are schematically illustrated . Car 26 appears on the entrance platform 22 with elevator ETV 23 in lowered position. Λ photoelectric cell 4 gives the consent to get in and assures . the correct position of the car, thereafter buffer 28, which

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without departing from the scope of the industrial right of the present patent. For example, it should be appreciated that one can resort to boards provided with own idle sliding rollers running within fixed side guides which replace the described rollers conveyors. This can above all apply to a non-metallic building, for instance , of reinforced concrete.