GB2167394A - Multi-level parking garage - Google Patents

Abstract

A multi-level parking garage in which cars are supported and stored on respective pallets has Rack groups (10, 11) disposed along the travelling direction of each of a number of stacker cranes (1). A loading (15) and unloading (16) station is disposed at either end of each rack group, and a conveyor (22) is disposed in sections so as to convey empty pallets from the unloading station (16) back to the loading station (15). A pallet magazine (25) is disposed at an intermediate portion of the conveyor, the pallet magazine having the function of stacking the empty pallets of the conveyor, and also of separating one pallet at a time from the stack. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Multi-level parking garage BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to a multilevel parking garage of vehicles such as passenger cars, and more particularly to a multi-level parking garage which uses a stacker crane to put a car on each pallet and stores the car.

Description of the Prior Art A multi-level parking garage using a stacker crane is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 141178/1976. In accordance with this prior art reference, rack groups each having a large number of racks are disposed on both sides of a travelling path of the stacker crane, and an entrance is disposed at one of the ends of the travelling path with an exist at the other end. The entrance and the exist are disposed at the lower end of an elevation range of the stacker crane. A depalletizer which supplies one by one a large number of empty pallets that are stacked in disposed in the proximity of the entrance, and a palletizer which recovers and stacks the empty pallets from the exit is disposed in the proximity of the exit.

When one empty pallet is supplied from the depalletizer to the entrance, a car can enter the garage. When the car gets on the empty pallet, the pallet supporting thereon the car is conveyed by a conveyor to the stacker crane and is stored in the rack by the stacker crane.

To deliver the car out from the garage, the stacker crane first transfers the pallet on which the car is put to the conveyor on the exit side, and the conveyor then conveys the pallet to the exit. The empty pallet left at the exit is conveyed by the conveyor to the palletizer, which stacks the pallet.

When a predetermined number of cars are thus carried and stored in the garage, no empty pallet is delivered from the depalletizer any longer. Under this state, the stacker crane takes out the pallets that have been stored in the racks and supplies them to the depalletizer.

When a predetermined number of cars are taken out from the garage, a predetermined number of empty pallets are stacked on the palletizer, and no empty pallet can be recovered any longer. Under this state, the stacker cranes takes out the pallets stacked on the palletizer, and stores them in the empty racks.

If the depalletizer requires the stacked pallets at this time, it supplies them to the depalletizer.

According to the construction described above, the empty racks can be utilized for the storage of the stacked empty pallets, and hence the place for storage is not particularly necessary.

However, since the multi-level parking garage described above requires the palletizer and the depalletizer at each of the entrance and the exit, the system becomes expensive as a whole.

In the parking garage of the type described above, there is a rush hour such as a case where entrance and exit of cars are made in the same time zone or a case where entrance and exit are alternately made. If no empty pallet is supplied from the depalletizer any longer in such cases, the stacker crane suspend the entrance or exit work and must deliver the pallets to the depalletizer. Similarly if a predetermined number of empty pallets are pooled at the palletizer, the stacker crane must suspend the entrance or exit work and must store the stacked pallets. Therefore, the time required for the entrance or exit work becomes prolonged.

Generally, it is one of the requisites for a parking garage that the period of time in which the driver of a given car wants to park the car in the garage and finally keeps the car in the garage (until the driver can get off from the car) be short. Similarly, it is another requisite for the parking garage that the period of time in which the driver of a car wants to take out his car from the garage and finally can do so (until he can get on the car) be short. Particularly in the case of parking garages of large-scale shopping centers, leisure facilities, ordinary buildings and the like, there is a rush hour when entrance or exit of cars is at its highest, so that the waiting time must be reduced as short as possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A primary object of the present invention is to provide a multi-level parking garage which makes it possible to transfer empty pallets from an exit to an entrance without using a stacker crane.

The structural and functional feature of the present invention resides in that a conveyor is provided which conveys empty pallets from an exit to an entrance, this conveyor is disposed within a range consisting of a stacker crane and rack groups, and a pallet magazine having the function of separating one by one the stacked pallets into individual empty pallets and supplying them to the conveyor and the function of stacking the empty pallets of the conveyor is disposed at an intermediate portion of the conveyor.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description to be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of principal portiosn along a direction of racks of a multi-level parking garage in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the multi-level parking garage along line A-A of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view along a travelling direction of a stacker crane shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of principal portions of a multi-level parking garage in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of principal portions of a multi-level parking garage in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the multi-level parking garage along line B-B of Fig. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODI MENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 through 3.

In Fig. 2, reference numeral 1 represents a stacker crane, and three cranes are juxtaposed as shown in the drawing. Each stacker crane 1 travels along upper and lower railes 3 and 4. The stacker crane 2 is equipped with a platform 5 and with forks that can project into right and left racks.

Rack groups 10, 11 each having a large number of racks that are arranged in a multiple stage are disposed in the travelling direction of each stacker crane on both sides of the crane. The rack groups 10, 11 store the cars in such a manner as to keep the longitudinal direction of each car parallel to the travelling direction of the stacker crane 1.

Here, a combination of one stacker crane 1 and the rack groups 10, 11 on both of its sides will be referred to as a "set".

An entrance 15 is disposed at one of the end of the rack group 10 of each set, and an exit 16, at the other end.

In Fig. 1, the entrance 15 consists of a lifter 15a, and raises a car from the surface of the entering path 17 of the car to the first stage of the rack 10. A conveyor 15b is disposed on the upper surface of the lifter 15a. The height of lifter 1 5a is changeable to three stages, that is, to the levels of the entering path 17, a conveyor 20a and a conveyor 22a.

Similarly, the entrance 1 6a consists of a lifter 16a, and lowers the car from the first stage of the rack group 10 to the level of the exit path 18 of the car. A conveyor 1 6b is disposed on the upper surface of the lifter 16a. The height of the lifter 1 6a is changeable to three stages, that is, to the levels of the exit path 18, a conveyor 21 c and a conveyor 22n4.

Entrance conveyors 20a, 20b, 20c 20m, 20n are disposed at the racks from the ath row to the nth row of the first stage of the rack group 10, respectively. Exit conveyors 21a, 21b, 21 c are disposed at the racks from the n+2th row to the n+4th row of the first stage of the rack group 10, respectively.

The number of the term "row" is counted from the side of the entrance 15 to the side of the exit 16. A passage port is defined at the racks of the first stage from the entrance 15 to the nth row so that the pallets on which the cars are put can be transferred towards the exit 16. Similarly, another passage port is defined at the racks of the first stage from the n+2th row to the exit 16 so that the pallets on which the cars are put can be transferred towards the exit 16.

Recover conveyors 22a, 22b, 22c 20m, 20n are disposed below the racks of the first stage of the rack group 10 in order to conveyor the empty pallets from the exit 16 to the entrance 15. The conveyors 22a-22n can be continuous. A passage port for passing the empty pallet between the racks of each row. The gap between the upper conveyors 20, 21 may be such that the empty pallets can pass therethrough.

Reference numeral 25 represents a pallet magazine, which recovers and stacks the empty pallets and supplies one by one those empty pallets that have been stacked. The pallet magazine is disposed at the n+ ith row of the rack group 10. The pallet magazine 25 consists of a conveyor 22no, a lifter 25d for elevating this conveyor 22n1, a stacked pallet storage portion 25b disposed at a rack of the first stage above the conveyor 22n1 and a support 25c for supporting the stacked pallets. The bottom surface of the storage portion 25b and its side surface on the side of the travelling path of the stacker crane 1 are open. Therefore, the stacked pallets can be delivered and accepted using the fork of the stacker crane. The support 25c is placed at the bottom of the rack and can retract with respect to the rack.When the support 25c is moved back, the pallet as well as the conveyor 22nl can pass in a vertical direction.

Since the pallet magazine itself is known in the art, only the essential points of its operation will be described.

The pallets can be stacked in the following way. The pallets conveyed by the conveyors 16b, 30, 22n422n, from the exit 16 are pushed onto the storage portion 25b by the lifter 25a, and are stacked somewhat upward from below the pallets that have been stacked. Next, the support 25c is projected to support the pallets. Thereafter, the conveyor 22n, is lowered.

The pallets can be taken out in the following way. The conveyor 22n1 is raised to somewhat push upward the stacked pallets, and after the support 25c is moved back, the conveyor 22n1 is lowered by a distance corresponding to one stage of the pallet, and then the support 25c is projected. After the conveyor 22nl is lowered, one pallet can now be taken out.

The lifter 25a can change the height of the conveyor 22n, to three stages.

When the pallets 40 are placed on the conveyors 15b, 16b, the conveyors are covered by the pallets so that cargoes or legs of people do not enter the conveyor. These conveyors are those which are produced by connecting a plurality of sheets or those in which the gaps between the rollers are covered by sheets.

The conveyors 20, 21 are those roller conveyors which can deliver and receive the pallets between them and the stacker crane 1, and their rollers and chains are arranged lest they should strike the fork of the stacker crane 1.

In Fig. 2, reference numeral 35 represents an entrance gate which controls incoming of the cars to the entrance 15, and reference numeral 36 represents a terminal device which instructs the entrance and issues a parking card. Reference numeral 37 represents a sidewalk which is disposed above the entrance 15 and is connected to the plane of the entrance by stairs. Reference numeral 38 represents a terminal device which instructs outgoing of a car, and recovers the parking card. Reference numeral 39 represents a sidewalk which is disposed above the exit 16 and is connected to the plane of the exit 16 by stairs.Both the entrance 15 and the exit 16 are positioned outside the moving range of the stacker crane 1, and suitable safety means such as fences or movable fences are disposed around the entrance 15 and the exit 16 to prevent the contact with the stacker crane 1 and the invasion into the entrance 15, the exit 16 and the rack group 10.

The lifters 15a, 16b, 25a, the conveyors 15b, 16b, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, the pallet magazine 25 and the stacker crane 1 are operated by a central control unit or by a control unit disposed for each of these members.

The level of the floor 8 on which the rack groups 10, 11 and the stacker crane 1 are disposed is substantially the same as the level of the entrance path 17 and the exit path 18 in order to reduce the dig quantity of the floor 8 and to attain economy.

The operation of the construction described above will now be described.

First of all, the entrance of cars will be explained. When empty racks exist in the rack groups 10, 11 and the empty pallet 40 is supplied to the entrance 15 through the recovery conveyors 22a, 28, the entrance gate 35 opens. The car on the entrance path 17 moves ahead and stops on the pallet 40 of the entrance 15. Then, the entrance gate 35 is closed. The driver who gets out of the car receives the parking card from the entrance terminal device 36 and pushes the button of the entrance terminal device 36 to instruct the entrance of the car. Thus, the entrance procedures are completed.

Next, the lifter 1 5a operates to raise the pallet to the first stage, and then the conveyors 15b, 27 and the entrance conveyors 20a--20n are operated to transfer the pallet into the rack group 10. When the pallet 40 supporting thereon the car is put on the entrance conveyor 20n, the entrance conveyor 20n is stopped. Next, the stacker crane 1 receives the pallet and conveys it to the rack at which the pallet is to be stored.

When the pallet 40 supporting thereon the car is transferred from the entrance 15 to the conveyor 27 and the entrance 15 lowers, the empty pallet 40 is supplied from the conveyor 22a via the conveyor 28. The pallet then lowers to the entrance path 17.

This empty pallet 40 is supplied from the storage portion 25b of a pallet storage 25 or from the exit 16 through the recovery conveyor 22. Therefore, the empty pallets are normally put on the recovery conveyors 22a-22n1, and the empty pallets are also put mostly on the recovery conveyors 22n2, 22n3, 22n4.

When no empty pallet exists any longer at the storage portion 25b of the pallet magazine 25 as the cars continuously enter the garage, the stacked pallets stored at the racks of the rack groups 10, 11 are supplied by the stacker crane 1 to the storage portion 25b.

The existence of the empty pallets is detected by a detector disposed at a lower portion.

The supply period of the empty pallets from the storage portion 25b to the conveyor 22n is the time when the empty pallets do not exist from the conveyors 22n1-22n4 or the time when the empty pallets do not exist from the conveyors 22a-22n4. In the latter case, the operation frequency of the pallet magazine becomes low, but the waiting time for entrance might become longer.

Ordinarily, the empty pallets are put on the conveyors 22a-22n of the recovery conveyor 22. The empty pallets are likely to remain on the part of the conveyors 22n1-22n4, too. In other words, a greater number of empty pallets than the number n of the cars that can be stored is generally stored in the recovery conveyor 22. Accordingly, at least n cars can be accepted continuously without the supply of the empty pallets from the storage portion 25b or from the exit 16.

For this reason, the stacker crane 1 can be used exclusively for the car entrance work without using it for the supply work of the empty pallets, and at least n cars can be stored continuously. The stacker crane 1 can also be used for other kinds of works, such as rearrangement of cars between the racks, for example.

Next, the exit work of the car will be described. The driver puts the parking card into the exit terminal device 38 to instruct the exit.

Since the exit terminal device 38 can continu ously receive the exit demands, a plurality of drivers who wish to take out their cars can sequentially instruct the exit by putting their parking cards into the terminal device.

The stacker crane 1 takes out the pallets 40 supporting thereon the cars from the racks in accordance with the sequence of the exit instructions, and puts them down to the exit conveyor 21a on a deeper side. Then, the conveyors 21a, 21b, 21 c start operating and convey the pallets 40 supporting thereon the cars towards the conveyor 21 c on the front side. If no empty pallet 40 exists at the exit 16, the conveyor 1 6b is kept raised by the lifter 16a. After receiving the pallet supporting thereon the car, the conveyor 1 6b lowers.

The driver then gets on the car and advances the car to the exit path 18.

The empty pallets at the exit 16 are recovered to the recovery conveyor 22n4 by the operation of the conveyors 16b, 30, 22, and then the conveyor 1 6b rises to enter the waiting state.

In this manner, the remaining empty pallets at the exit 16 are recovered to the recovery conveyor 22n4.

If no empty pallet exists on the conveyors 22n2 - 22n4, the conveyor 22n4 transfers the pallet to the left whenever it receives the empty pallet.

Next, the case when the empty pallets are put on all the recovery conveyors 22 in the manner described above will now be explained.

The case in which a car enters the garage during the exit work under the state described above will be explained. In this case, an empty pallet 40 must be supplied to the entrance 15, so that all the recovery conveyors 22 are operated to transfer one empty pallet 40 to the entrance 15. Therefore, the conveyor 22n4 on the exit side 16 is empty, and the empty pallet can be recieved from the exit 16 by operating the conveyor 22n4.

Therefore, if the entrance of a car is made during the exit work, the empty pallet is sent to the entrance 15 through the recovery conveyors 22. Accordingly, supply and recovery of the empty pallets can be made easily.

Next, the case in which no car enters the garage during the exit work will be explained.

If the empty pallets are put on the conveyors 22no, 22n2, 22n3, 22n4, the lifter 25a is moved up and the empty pallet on the conveyor 22n1 is stacked in the storage portion 25b. Next, the lifter 25a is moved down, and the conveyors 22n1-22n4 are operated to transfer the empty pallets to the conveyor 22no. In this manner, the empty pallets 40 can be received by the conveyor 22n4.

After a predetermined number of pallets are stacked in the storage portion 25b, the stacker crane 1 moves them to the empty racks. Whether or not a predetermined number of pallets are stacked is detected by a detector disposed at an upper portion.

The empty pallets recovered from the exit 16 are supplied Qt the entrance 15 or stacked in the storage portion 25b until next entrance work is made, and empty portions are secured in the recovery conveyors 22 so that the empty pallet of next exit can be immediately accepted.

Since the exit 16 is connected to the entrance by the conveyor 22 as described above, the empty pallets at the exit 16 can be recovered and be supplied to the entrance 15 without using the pallet magazine 25 by suitably effecting entrance and exist of cars in the same time zone such as alternate entrance and exit of the cars. Therefore, supply and recovery of the empty pallets can be made easily. Since the operation frequency of the pallet magazine 25 can thus be reduced, sendin and send-out of the pallets by the stacker crane 1 can also be reduced. In consequence, the entrance and exit efficiency of the stacker crane 1 can be improved, and the waiting time for entrance and exit can be reduced.

Since the pallet magazine 25 is disposed at the intermediate portion of the conveyor 22, the pallet magazine may be single, and can be made more economical, and the number of cars stored can be increased.

A predetermined height is necessary between the floor 8 (foundation) on which the stacker crane 1 travels and the first stage of the racks 10, 11. This height must be greater than the distance between the lower frame of the stacker crane 1 and the platform 5. A space higher than the height of the platform must be secured even if the stacker crane is of a suspension type. This embodiment utilizes at least a part of this space as the transfer line of the empty pallets so that the space can be utilized efficiently, and the storage efficiency of cars with respect to the capacity of the multi-level parking garage can be improved.

At least a part of this space is disposed as a space of installation of the entrance conveyor 20, the exit conveyor 2i and driving sources for them.

The entrance conveyors 20b-20n and the exit conveyors 21a, 21b are disposed primarily as the buffers for the entrance and exit of cars, respectively. Even if the stacker crane 1 is engaged in other works and can not deliver the pallet supporting thereon the car onto the rack, n cars can be accepted in the garage.

Even if the exit of the car from the exit 16 is delayed, three cars can be kept waiting on the exit conveyor 21.

When the entrance work is conducted, it is not necessary to limit the receiving position of the pallet which supports the car thereon to the conveyor 20n. When a plurality of pallets each supporting thereon a car are put on the entrance conveyors 20a-20n, the send-out sequence of the stacker crane is not limitative.

The sequence must be determined in accordance with the positions of the storing racks, the position of the stacker crane 1, and the like, so that entrance of a car can be made within the shortest period of time.

When the exit work is conducted, the sendout positions of the exit conveyors 21a--21e from the stacker crane 1 and the sequence must also be determined depending upon the positions of the storing racks, the position of the stacker crane, and the like so that entrance of a car can be made within the shortest period of time.

When the cars are stored in all the racks, the entrance conveyor 20 and the exit conveyors 21 a, 21b can be used as the storing racks. In this case, if there is any possibility that the pallets might move due to earthquakes or the like, such possible movement is prevented by projecting upward pins by the cylinders from between the roller conveyors.

When an empty rack or racks develop due to exit of car(s), the cars on the conveyors 21 a, 21b are transferred to the empty racks.

The entrance and exit works can be speed up by disposing two stacker cranes for one line. In such a case, the racks at the center in the travelling direction of the stacker cranes 1 are used as the transfer racks of the pallets supporting thereon the cars.

The pallet magazine 25 and the transfer conveyor 22 may be disposed above the entrance conveyor 20 and the exit conveyor 21.

This arrangement can make the driving device of the lifter 1 6a more compact.

It is also possible to let the stacker crane 1 directly deliver and receive the pallets between the entrance and exit 15, 16 without disposing the conveyors 20, 21, 27, 29.

The entrance 15 and the exit 16 can be disposed in the direction of the height of racks 10 by burying substantially half the racks 10, 11 in the ground.

Next, another embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 4 will be described. In this embodiment, the lifers are not provided at the entrance 15 and the exit 16. The conveyors and the racks are not disposed, either, at the first stage of the ath and n+4th rows so as to open the lower surfaces. The conveyors 22a and 22n4 are supported by the lifters 15d, 16d and can rise to the height of the conveyors 20b, 21 b. Reference numeral 1 sic represents the conveyor of the entrance 15 and reference numeral 1 6c does that of the exit 16. Reference numerals 41 and 42 represent safety doors that move up and down, are disposed at the ends of the rack group 10 and rise at the time of passage of the pallets supporting thereon the cars.Mirrors representing the stop positions of the entering cars, displays instructing the stop and the forward and backward movement of the car, displays representing caution, and the like, are disposed on the front surface of the door 41.

Known mirrors and displays can be used for this purpose.

According to the construction described above, since the lifters are not disposed at the entrance 15 and the exit 16, the possibility that the passenger(s) fall into the recess of the lifters can be eliminated. Therefore, safety means therearound can be simplified, and the safety of passengers can be further improved.

Since the conveyor 1 6c is sufficiently longer than the cars, loading of cargoes can be easily made into the trunks.

Incidentally, if the conveyors 15c, 1 sic are shorter, frames are disposed so as to prevent any undesirable contact.

Since the mirrors and the displays are disposed on the door 41 of the entrance 15, the members for fitting the displays can be sued for other purposes, too, and the construction can be more simplified. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, too, safety can be further improved by disposing the doors 41 and 42, and the displays and the like may also be disposed.

Still another embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. In this embodiment, the entrance 15 and the exit 16 are disposed at the lower layer of the floor 8 on which the stacker crane 1 and the rack groups 10, 11 are placed. The entrance 15 and the exit 16 are positioned on the right and left sides of the drawing, respectively, and the row number is counted from the right side.

The entrance 15 is positioned at the fourth row of the rack 10, the exit 16 is positioned at the eighth row, and the pallet magazine 45, at the sixth row. The entrance path 17 and the exit path 18 are positioned below the rack group 10. Reference numeral 46 represents a sidewalk, which is positioned at the fifth row between the entrance 15 and the exit 16 in a direction at right angles to the travelling direction of the stacker crane 1. The entrance 15, the exit 16, the entrance path 17, the exit path 18 and the sidewalk 46 are positioned on substantially the same level at the lower layer of the floor 8. The sidewalk 46 is connected to the entrance 15 and the exit 16 by sidewalks as represented by arrows. The conveyors are disposed on the upper surfaces of the entrance 15 and the exit 16.

The recovery conveyors 47a, 47b, 47c are disposed at a layer which is below the level of the entrance and the exit. The pallet magazine 45 consits of the conveyor 47b, the lifter 45a, the storage portion 45b, the support 45e and the delivery port 45 of the rack of the first stage. The storage portion 45b is encompassed by walls 49 to insure safety. Reference numeral 50 represents the wall in front of the entrance 16. The entrance 16, the exit 17 and the lifters 50, 51, 45a of the pallet magazine 45 can raise the conveyors to the first stage of the racks. The conveyors of these lifters can directly deliver and receive the pallets between the stacker crane.

Reference numerals 55a, 55b, 55c represent the entrance conveyors, and reference numerals 56a, 56b represent the exit conveyors.

Teh other constructions are the same as those of the foregoing embodiments.

In the construction described above, the conveyor 45a can be raised up to the racks of the first stage when the stacked racks are to be taken in or out.

According to this embodiment, since the lifter 45b, the support 45c and the conveyors 47a-47c are positioned on the ground, their inspection and maintenance can be made easily by disposing detachably covers on these members.

The support 45c may be disposed on the racks of the first stage in the same way as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

In this embodiment, since the entrance and the exit are positioned at the center in the travelling direction of the stacker crane 1, entrance and exit of cars can be made more quickly.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, too, safety can be further improved in the same way as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 by disposing the entrance 15 and the exit 16 at the third row and the ninth row, respectively, without disposing them on the lifters 50 and 51, and connecting the entrance 15 and the exit 16 to the lifters 50, and 51, respectively, by conveyors.

In a multi-levei parking garage consisting of a combination of only one set of the stacker crane and racks, the entrance and exit paths may be disposed in a direction crossing the travelling direction of the stacker crane at right angles.

The exit terminal device 38 is disposed upstream of the sidewalks 38, 46 so that the walking time from the place of installation of the terminal device 38 to the exit 16 is assigned to the time necessary for the exit of the car, and the waiting time till the exit can thus be shortened.

It is possible to dispose the pallet magazine on the rack of adjacent set and to connect it to the recovery conveyors 22, 47.

Though each of the embodiments described above uses only one magazine pellets, a plurality of pallet magazines may be used when the working time of the pallet magazine is greater than the time required for the entrance and exist of cars.

The recovery conveyors may consist of linear motors.

As described above, the present invention disposes the conveyors for conveying the entrance to the exit inside a range of a set of the system consisting of the combination of one stacker crane and the rack group, and disposes also the pallet magazine at the intermediate portion of the conveyors, the pallet magazine having the function of supplying one by one the stacked pallets and the function of stacking the empty pallets of the conveyors.

Therefore, the work efficiency of the stacker crane can be improved, and the waiting time for the entrance and exit of cars can be shortened.

Claims (13)

1. A multi-level parking garage comprising: a stacker crane for conveying pallets supporting thereon cars; rack groups, each consisting of a large number of racks and disposed along the travelling path of said stacker crane; an entrance and an exit connected to delivery ports of said stacker crane and disposed at different positions from each other; a conveyor disposed between said exit and said entrance in such a manner as to convey empty pallets from said exit to said entrance, and disposed inside a range consisting of said stacker crane and said rack groups; and a pallet magazine disposed at an intermediate portion of said conveyor, and having the function of separating one by one empty pallets from stacked pallets and supplying it to said conveyor, and the function of stacking said empty pallets of said conveyor.

2. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 1 wherein a storage portion for storing the stacked pallets of said pallet magazine is disposed at such a position where it can exchange said pallets between it and said stacker crane.

3. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 2 wherein said storage portion is disposed on the racks of said rack groups.

4. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 1 wherein said conveyor is disposed below the lowermost rack of a plurality of stages.

5. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 1 wherein said entrance is disposed on one side of one of said rack groups parallel to said travelling path, said exit is disposed on the other side, and said conveyor is disposed within the range of said rack groups.

6. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 5 wherein said entrance and said exit are positioned at a height close to said racks of the lowermost stage, and said conveyor is disposed between said racks of the lowermost stage and a foundation.

7. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 1 wherein said conveyor disposed between said entrance and said exit is long enough to support thereon a plurality of said pallets in series.

8. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 7 wherein said conveyor disposed between said entrance and said pallet magazine is long enough to support thereon a plurality of said pallets in series.

9. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 7 wherein said conveyor disposed be tween said exit and said pallet magazine is long enough to support thereon at least one pallet.

10. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 7 wherein said conveyor disposed between said exit and said pallet magazine is long enough to supoort thereon a plurality of said pallets.

11. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 1 wherein the travelling path of said stacker crane and said rack groups are disposed at a layer higher than the entrance and exit paths of cars and a sidewalk, a lifter is disposed so as to connect said entrance, said exit and said rack groups, and said conveyor is disposed on the layer on which said entrance path, said exit path and said sidewalk are disposed.

12. A multi-level parking garage according to claim 11 wherein said sidewalk is disposed at right angles to travelling direction of said stacker crane between said entrance and said exit, and said conveyor is disposed below said sidewalk.

13. A multi-level parking garage constructed and arranged to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.