Mechanical parking device

Abstract

To provide a mechanical parking device capable of being charged in a parking lot.SOLUTION: In a mechanical parking device 1, there are an entering / exiting floor 5 capable of accommodating a vehicle, a floor capable of accommodating a vehicle above and / or below the entering / exiting floor, and a plurality of vehicle installation areas 10 on each floor, a pallet 15 on which a vehicle is placed is arranged in the vehicle installation area 10, a pallet moving means is provided, and the pallet 15 is moved by the pallet moving means as required when entering / exiting. One or a plurality of pallets are power supply pallets 30 including a power supply fixture 31 and a power receiving fixture 32. One or a plurality of vehicle installation areas on the entering / exiting floor 5 are specific vehicle installation areas 35 where a power transmitting fixture 33 is arranged, and when the power supply pallet 30 is in the specific vehicle installation area 35, the power supply fixture 31 and the power transmitting fixture 33 are in a connected state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a multi-story mechanical parking device, and more particularly to a mechanical parking device that can charge a storage battery of an electric vehicle or the like while the vehicle is parked. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Mechanical parking systems are known as systems that make effective use of limited land areas and allow parking of a greater number of vehicles. A mechanical parking system is a system for parking vehicles such as automobiles in a multi-level manner. A typical mechanical parking system has a pallet on which the vehicle is placed and a moving means for raising and lowering the pallet. In addition, in mechanical parking systems, certain floors are designated as entry and exit floors. If the pallet is on the loading / unloading floor, the vehicle is loaded / unloaded with the pallet in that position. If the pallet is on another floor, the pallet is raised / lowered to the loading / unloading floor, and the vehicle is loaded / unloaded from the pallet.

[0003] Furthermore, what is called a puzzle-type multi-story parking device not only moves pallets up and down, but also has the function of moving the pallets laterally. Mechanical parking devices are disclosed in, for example, Patent Documents 1, 2 and 3. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3189078 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-42388 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-137619 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Automobiles equipped with a motor-driven function have been developed. For example, automobiles called electric vehicles are equipped with a storage battery and run on power supplied from the storage battery. The storage battery is charged by power supplied from an external power source. A plug-in hybrid vehicle is a hybrid vehicle that has an external charging function and has a built-in storage battery that can be charged by an external power source. Hereinafter, these will be collectively referred to as electric vehicles.

[0006] Electric vehicles require the storage battery to be charged, but charging takes a considerable amount of time. For this reason, electric vehicle users often charge their electric vehicles by connecting them to a power outlet at home while the vehicle is parked in a parking lot at home. On the other hand, in apartment buildings and other collective housing, mechanical parking devices such as multi-story parking garages are provided, and the residents of the apartment building park their cars in these mechanical parking devices. This creates a problem in that the residents of the apartment building and other collective housing cannot charge their cars while they are parked.

[0007] The present invention focuses on the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has an object to provide a mechanical parking device that allows charging within the parking lot. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An aspect for solving the above-mentioned problems is a mechanical parking device having an entry / exit floor capable of accommodating vehicles, and floors above and / or below that also capable of accommodating vehicles, with multiple vehicle installation areas on each of the floors, a pallet on which the vehicle is placed is placed in the vehicle installation area, and a pallet moving means is provided, and the pallet is moved by the pallet moving means as necessary when entering or leaving the parking lot, wherein one or more of the pallets are power supply pallets equipped with a power supply device and a power receiving device, and one or more of the vehicle installation areas on the entry / exit floor are specific vehicle installation areas in which a power transmission device is placed, and when the power supply pallet is in the specific vehicle installation area, the power supply device and the power transmission device are connected.

[0009] In the mechanical parking device of this embodiment, some of the vehicle installation areas on the entrance / exit floor are designated as specific vehicle installation areas in which power transmission devices are installed. A user can bring in his / her vehicle from the entrance / exit floor and charge it on that floor. According to this embodiment, since cars are often parked in the vehicle installation area on the entrance / exit floor, people are less likely to enter the mechanical parking device by mistake. Even if a person does enter the device, it is possible to prevent the person from falling into a pit or the like. In addition, in the mechanical parking device of this embodiment, the specific vehicle installation area is located on the entrance / exit floor, making wiring work easy.

[0010] In the above-mentioned aspect, when a vehicle is entering or leaving the depot, it is desirable for the power supply pallet to leave the specific vehicle installation area by the pallet moving means as necessary, and then for the power supply pallet to return to the specific vehicle installation area.

[0011] According to this aspect, even if the power supply pallet on which the charging vehicle is placed moves when another vehicle enters or leaves the premises, the pallet automatically returns to the original specific vehicle installation area, allowing charging to continue. In addition, according to this embodiment, since cars are often parked in the vehicle installation area on the entrance / exit floor, people rarely enter the mechanical parking device by mistake. Even if a person does enter the device, it is possible to prevent the person from falling into a pit or the like.

[0012] Another aspect for solving a similar problem is a mechanical parking device having an entry / exit floor capable of accommodating vehicles, and floors above and / or below that also capable of accommodating vehicles, each of the floors having a plurality of vehicle installation areas, a pallet on which the vehicle is placed is placed in the vehicle installation area, and having a pallet moving means, the pallet being moved by the pallet moving means as necessary when entering or leaving the parking lot, wherein one or more of the pallets are power supply pallets equipped with a power supply device and a power receiving device, one or more of the vehicle installation areas are specific vehicle installation areas in which a power transmission device is placed, and when the power supply pallet is in the specific vehicle installation area, the power supply device and the power transmission device are connected, and when a vehicle is entering or leaving the parking lot, the power supply pallet leaves the specific vehicle installation area by the pallet moving means as necessary, and then the power supply pallet returns to the specific vehicle installation area.

[0013] According to the mechanical parking device of this aspect, it is possible to charge an electric vehicle that is parked. Even if the power supply pallet on which the vehicle is being charged is moved when another vehicle enters or leaves the parking lot, the pallet automatically returns to the original specific vehicle installation area, allowing charging to continue.

[0014] In each of the above-mentioned aspects, it is desirable that the power supply pallet is normally installed on the second floor or higher or on an underground floor, that the power supply pallet can be raised and lowered by the moving means, and that the power supply pallet can be moved from another vehicle installation area to the specific vehicle installation area.

[0015] According to this aspect, pallets are placed in all vehicle placement areas on the exit floor, so that even if a person enters the mechanical parking device, they can be prevented from falling into a pit or the like.

[0016] In each of the above-mentioned aspects, if there is no pallet in any of the vehicle installation areas on the loading / unloading floors, it is desirable that the pallet moving means is driven to move pallets from the vehicle installation areas on other floors, and a space filling operation is performed to place pallets in all of the vehicle installation areas on the loading / unloading floors.

[0017] According to this aspect, pallets are placed in all vehicle placement areas on the exit floor, so that even if a person enters the mechanical parking device, they can be prevented from falling into a pit or the like. Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the mechanical parking device of the present invention, an electric vehicle can be charged while it is parked. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is an oblique view of a mechanical parking device according to an embodiment of the present invention and an enlarged view of a control device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the mechanical parking device of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2A and 2B are side views of the specific vehicle installation area of ​​the mechanical parking device of FIG. 1, where (a) shows the state immediately after the power supply pallet arrives at the specific vehicle installation area, and (b) shows the state after some time has passed since the power supply pallet arrived at the specific vehicle installation area. [Figure 4] This is a model of the mechanical parking device in FIG. 1, where (a) is an overall view and (b) is an enlarged view of the specific vehicle installation area. [Diagram 5] An explanatory diagram illustrating a series of operations of the mechanical parking device of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram illustrating a series of operations of the mechanical parking device of the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a first example of a series of operations of the mechanical parking device of the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a second example of a series of operations of the mechanical parking device of the third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, a mechanical parking device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The mechanical parking device 1 (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as parking device 1) of this embodiment is a puzzle-type multi-story parking device. As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 4, the parking device 1 has a three-story structure with one basement floor and two aboveground floors, and has a vehicle installation area 10 where multiple automobiles (vehicles) can be parked. The first floor of the parking facility 1 is actually the basement floor BF as shown in Figure 2, but for drawing purposes, Figure 1 shows it as if it were installed on the ground. In the mechanical parking device 1 of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, the first basement floor is located below ground level. The second floor of the parking device 1 is the ground floor GF. In the parking device 1, the ground floor GF is the loading / unloading floor 5, and cars enter and exit from the ground floor GF. The third floor of the parking device 1 is the upper floor HF.

[0021] The parking device 1 has a frame 2 as shown in Fig. 1. The frame 2 is a structure constructed by supports 3 and beams and the like (not shown), and has a three-story structure. Each floor has three vehicle installation areas 10 formed by the frame 2. In the vehicle installation areas 10, there are pallet support frames 11, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, pallets 15 are placed on the pallet support frames 11 of the vehicle installation areas 10 except for one of the vehicle installation areas 10.

[0022] The parking device 1 is equipped with a pallet moving means for raising and lowering the pallet 15 and moving it laterally. The pallet moving means is composed of a lifting mechanism which raises and lowers the pallet support frame 11 on which the pallet 15 is placed, and a traverse mechanism which moves the pallet support frame 11 traversely. The traverse mechanism for moving the pallet support frame 11 laterally is configured by providing traverse wheels (not shown) on the pallet support frame 11 itself, with the traverse wheels mounted on traverse rails, and driving a traverse motor (not shown) to move the pallet support frame 11 in the lateral direction. The mechanism for moving the pallet support frame 11 laterally is well known, so a detailed description will be omitted. The traverse mechanism is not limited to the structure described above.

[0023] The lifting mechanism is, for example, a structure in which a pallet support frame 11 is suspended by a chain 12 and raised and lowered. The lifting mechanism is also well known, so a detailed description will be omitted. The lifting mechanism is not limited to the structure described above.

[0024] Each pallet 15 in the parking device 1 can be moved in a puzzle-like manner in the lifting and traversing directions by the above-mentioned pallet moving means (lifting mechanism and traversing mechanism). In this embodiment, the second floor (the first floor above ground) of the parking facility 1 is the entrance / exit floor 5, and is provided with vehicle entrance / exit sections 16a to 16c through which automobiles enter and exit.

[0025] The entrance / exit floor 5 of the parking device 1 has at least one less pallet placed than the maximum number of pallets 15 arranged horizontally in the parking device 1. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 4, there are three horizontal rows of pallets on the first and second floors (ground floor GF, entrance / exit floor 5) of the parking device 1, but there are only two horizontal rows of pallets on the third floor of the parking device 1. The pallets on the first and third floors of the parking device 1 can only ascend and descend, and the pallets on the second floor (ground floor GF, entrance / exit floor 5) can only move horizontally.

[0026] Gates (parking lot gates) 17a, 17b, and 17c are provided at each of the vehicle entrances 16a to 16c in the parking facility 1. The gates 17a, 17b, and 17c are omitted in FIG.

[0027] 1, a control device 18 that controls the raising and lowering of the pallet 15 is provided near the frame 2 of the parking device 1. The control device 18 is a computer, and stores programs that cause the pallet 15 to perform various operations. The control device 18 has a numeric keypad 20 and operation switches 21 for operating the pallets 15. The operation switches 21 include a call switch 22, a return switch 23, and a gate open / close switch 25. The user operates the numeric keypad 20 to specify the pallet 15 that he or she wishes to use, and operates the call switch 22 to call up the desired pallet 15.

[0028] When a car is to be stored, the pallet moving means is driven to move an empty pallet 15 to the ground floor GF, and one of the gates 17a, 17b, 17c is opened to place the car on the pallet 15. When the car is to be removed, the pallet 15 on which the car is placed is moved to the ground floor GF by a pallet moving means, and one of the gates 17a, 17b, 17c is opened to take the car on the pallet 15 outside the parking device 1 (remove it from the parking facility).

[0029] That is, by turning on the call switch 22 of the operation switch 21, the pallet 15 to be used by the user is called to the ground floor GF. Also, by turning on the return switch 23, the pallet 15 on which the user's vehicle is placed is returned to the specified vehicle installation area 10. When the pallet 15 to be used by the user is on the loading / unloading floor 5, the pallet 15 is not moved by the pallet moving means.

[0030] The parking device 1 of this embodiment is programmed to automatically fill vacancies. Therefore, if there are no pallets 15 in any of the vehicle installation areas 10 on the entrance / exit floor (ground floor GF), the pallet moving means is automatically driven to move the pallets 15 from the vehicle installation areas 10 on other floors, and the pallets 15 are placed in all of the vehicle installation areas 10 on the entrance / exit floor.

[0031] The parking device 1 of this embodiment is capable of charging an electric vehicle while it is parked. The configuration will be described below. The parking device 1 of this embodiment has eight pallets 15, one of which is a power supply pallet 30 equipped with a power supplying fixture 31 and a power receiving fixture 32, as shown in FIG. The parking device 1 of this embodiment has nine vehicle installation areas 10, one of which is a specific vehicle installation area 35 in which a power transmission device 33 is arranged, as shown in Fig. 3. In this embodiment, there is only one specific vehicle installation area 35.

[0032] The power supply pallet 30 is a normal pallet 15 to which a power supplying device 31 and a power receiving device 32 are attached. The power receiving device 32 is a connector piece and is fixed to the lower part of the rear end side of the power supply pallet 30. The power supply fixture 31 is a power outlet. The power supply fixture 31 is attached to a support box 36 provided on the rear end side of the power supply pallet 30. The power supplying appliance 31 is connected to the power receiving appliance 32 via a power transmission line (not shown).

[0033] In the specific vehicle installation area 35, a power transmission device 33 is placed on the frame 2. The power transmission device 33 is a connector piece. In this embodiment, the power transmission device 33 is attached to the rear side of the frame 2. The power transmission device 33 is connected to the control device 18 by a power transmission line (not shown), and is connected to a commercial power source via the control device 18. In this embodiment, the control device 18 also serves as a power supply control device that controls the charging of the electric vehicle A.

[0034] The power supply control device can also monitor the charging state of electric vehicle A. That is, the power supply control device can detect whether the storage battery of electric vehicle A is fully charged or not. Also, the power supply control device can detect what percentage of the full charge the current charge amount is. In this embodiment, the control device 18 communicates with the electric vehicle A, and information on the charge amount is transmitted from the electric vehicle A side to the control device 18. Note that the terminal voltage of the storage battery may be monitored, and the control device 18 may detect the charge amount independently. In this embodiment, the user can specify the required amount of charging by operating the control device 18. For example, charging can be performed by specifying a numerical value such as 80% charging. The user can also forcibly end charging by operating the control device 18. In this embodiment, the frame 2 is provided with an expandable member 40, and the power transmitting device 33 is attached to the expandable member 40.

[0035] When the power supply pallet 30 moves from another vehicle installation area 10 to a specific vehicle installation area 35, or when the power supply pallet 30 moves from a specific vehicle installation area 35 to another vehicle installation area 10, the expandable member 40 contracts and the power transmission device 33 is separated from the power receiving device 32, as shown in Figure 3(a). When the power supply pallet 30 stops in the specific vehicle installation area 35, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the expandable member 40 automatically expands and the power transmitting device 33 is connected to the power receiving device 32. As mentioned above, the power transmission device 33 is connected to a commercial power source. Therefore, when the power transmission device 33 is connected to the power receiving device 32, the power supply device (such as a power outlet) 31 on the power supply palette 30 is connected to the commercial power source, and the power supply device 31 can supply, for example, 200V or 100V of power.

[0036] When charging electric vehicle A, an on-board charging cable 42 provided with electric vehicle A is used, and the on-board charging cable 42 is used to connect a charging port 45 of electric vehicle A to a power supply device (such as a socket) 31 on a power supply pallet 30. As a result, 200V or 100V power is supplied to electric vehicle A and the storage battery is charged.

[0037] Next, the operation of the mechanical parking device 1 will be described. For ease of explanation, in order to identify the vehicle installation area 10 on each floor, the vehicle installation area 10 is displayed as 1st floor above ground-A, 1st floor above ground-B, 1st floor above ground-C, 2nd floor above ground-A, 2nd floor above ground-B, 2nd floor above ground-C, 1st basement floor-A, 1st basement floor-B, 1st basement floor-C, etc. (see FIG. 4). The power transmitting device 33 and the power receiving device 32 are also displayed as triangular model symbols. The first floor above ground is a loading / unloading floor, and in this embodiment, the first floor above ground-C is a specific vehicle installation area 35.

[0038] The mechanical parking device 1 of this embodiment is a puzzle-type multi-story parking lot, which has nine vehicle installation areas 10 and eight pallets 15, with one vehicle installation area 10 always being vacant. When the pallet 15 is to be moved to the loading / unloading floor for loading / unloading, the pallet moving means is driven to move the pallet 15 on the movement path, and the movement path is opened to move the desired pallet 15 to the loading / unloading floor 5.

[0039] As an example, as shown in Figure 5(a), when electric vehicle A is parked and charging in specific vehicle installation area 35 on ground floor 1-C, the operation when vehicle B stored on basement floor 1-B is to be removed will be described. In order for car B to leave the parking lot, it is necessary to move car B to the first floor B. In the situation shown in FIG. 5(a), there is a pallet 15 on the first floor B. The vacant vehicle installation area 10 is the second floor C.

[0040] When the user specifies basement floor 1-B where car B is parked and turns on the call switch 22 of the operation switch 21, the control device 18 calculates the route and automatically executes the operations from Figure 5(b) to Figure 5(d). That is, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the power supply pallet 30 located in the specific vehicle installation area 35 on the ground floor-C rises and moves to the vacant area on the ground floor-C on the second floor, and the ground floor-C becomes a vacant area. At this time, the power supply pallet 30 leaves the specific vehicle installation area 35, and charging of the electric vehicle A is interrupted. At this point, the control device 18, which is the power supply control device, stores whether or not charging has been completed. If charging has been completed, the charging completion flag is stored as ON. If charging has not been completed, the charging completion flag remains OFF. Next, as shown in Figure 5(c), pallet 15 that was in vehicle installation area 10 on ground floor 1-B moves sideways to the vacant area on ground floor 1-C, and ground floor 1-B becomes a vacant area. 5(d), the pallet 15 on which the car B is placed, which is on the basement floor 1-B, rises and moves to the vacant area on the ground floor 1-B. That is, the pallet 15 on which the car B is placed reaches the loading / unloading floor 5.

[0041] In this state, when the user operates the gate opening / closing switch 25, the central gate 17b opens as shown in Figure 5(e), and when car B starts moving, an empty pallet 15 remains on the ground floor-B as shown in Figure 5(f).

[0042] In this state, when the user operates the gate open / close switch 25, the central gate 17b closes. If the stored charging completion flag is OFF at this time, the power supply pallet 30 that was retreated to the 2nd floor-C descends and returns to the specific vehicle installation area 35 on the 1st floor-C, and charging is resumed. That is, when the user operates the gate opening / closing switch 25, the central gate 17b closes as shown in FIG. 5(h). In parallel, the control device 18 calculates the path of the power supply pallet 30, and the operations from FIG. 5(i) to FIG. 5(k) are automatically executed.

[0043] That is, as shown in FIG. 5(i), the pallet 15 located in the vehicle installation area 10 on the ground floor 1-B descends and moves to the vacant area on the basement floor 1-B, and the ground floor 1-B becomes a vacant area. Next, as shown in FIG. 5(j), pallet 15 that was in specific vehicle installation area 35 on ground floor-C moves sideways to vacant area on ground floor-B, and ground floor-C becomes a vacant area. 5(k), the power supply pallet 30 on which the electric vehicle A is placed descends to reach the specific vehicle installation area 35 on the second floor-C. When the power supply pallet 30 reaches the specific vehicle installation area 35, the expandable member 40 automatically expands, the power transmission fixture 33 connects to the power receiving fixture 32, and charging of the electric vehicle A is resumed. The operation of moving the power supply pallet 30 to the specific vehicle installation area 35 on the ground floor GF (entry / exit floor 5) in this manner corresponds to the operation of filling up vacant spaces on the entry / exit floor 5.

[0044] According to the mechanical parking device 1 of this embodiment, even if charging is temporarily interrupted when the vehicle enters or leaves the parking lot, charging is automatically resumed when the vehicle enters or leaves the parking lot.

[0045] In the mechanical parking device 1 of this embodiment, as described above, when the power supply pallet 30 leaves the specific vehicle installation area 35, the control device 18 stores whether charging has been completed or not, and if charging has been completed, stores the charging completion flag as ON. The conditions under which the charging completion flag is turned ON or OFF will be described below.

[0046] The charging completion flag turns ON when any of the following three conditions is satisfied: (ON condition 1) When a signal is received from electric vehicle A that it is fully charged. As described above, the power supply control device of the control device 18 can monitor the charging state of the electric vehicle A, and when the storage battery reaches full charge, power supply to the storage battery is automatically stopped. In this embodiment, information that the storage battery is fully charged is transmitted from the electric vehicle A to the control device 18. When the control device 18 receives information that the storage battery is fully charged from the electric vehicle A, the charge completion flag is turned ON.

[0047] (ON condition 2) When a certain charge level is reached. As described above, the user can operate the control device to specify the required charge amount. When the charge amount specified by the user is reached, power supply to the storage battery is automatically stopped. In this embodiment, when the predetermined charge amount is reached, the charge completion flag is turned ON.

[0048] (ON condition 3) When the charging cable 42 is removed. The charging cable 42 may be disconnected by the user or another person. monitors the connection / disconnection state of the charging cable 42, and when the charging cable 42 is disconnected, it determines that charging has been intentionally stopped and turns on the charging completion flag.

[0049] (ON condition 4) When the control device 18 receives an instruction to end charging. As described above, the user can forcibly end charging by operating the control device 18. In this case as well, the charging completion flag is set to ON.

[0050] Even if the above-mentioned ON condition is met and the charging completion flag is once turned ON, the flag will return to OFF, for example, if the next OFF condition is satisfied. (OFF condition 1) When the charging cable 42 is connected. As described above, when the charging cable 42 is removed, the charging completion flag is set to ON, but when the charging cable 42 is reconnected, the flag is set back to OFF.

[0051] (OFF condition 2) When an instruction to start or resume charging is given to the control device 18. As described above, when the controller 18 is instructed to end charging, the charging completion flag is turned ON, but when the controller 18 is instructed to start or resume charging, the flag is returned to OFF. Also, if a new command to start charging is received, the flag is returned to OFF.

[0052] In addition, in the mechanical parking device 1 of this embodiment, the pallets 15, 30 often stay on the entry / exit floor, so even if a person passes through the gate 17 to enter the mechanical parking device 1, they will not fall underground.

[0053] In the embodiment described above, the specific vehicle installation area 35 is set on the entrance / exit floor, but the specific vehicle installation area 35 may be set on another floor. FIG. 6 shows a mechanical parking device 50 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the second floor-C above ground is the specific vehicle installation area 35. FIG. 6 shows a series of operations for calling an empty power supply pallet 30, placing an electric vehicle A thereon, and parking the pallet in a mechanical parking device 50.

[0054] In order to store and charge electric vehicle A, it is necessary to move the power supply pallet 30 located in the specific vehicle installation area 35 on the second floor-C to the first floor-C. In the situation shown in FIG. 6(a), the pallet 15 is located on the first floor-C. The vacant vehicle installation area 10 is the first floor-B.

[0055] When the user specifies the second floor-C, which is the vehicle installation area 10, and turns on the call switch 22 of the operation switch 21, the control device 18 calculates the route and automatically executes the operations in Figures 6(b) and 6(c). That is, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the pallet 15 that was in the specific vehicle installation area 35 on the ground floor-C moves sideways to the vacant area on the ground floor-B, and the ground floor-C becomes a vacant area. 6(c), the power supply pallet 30 in the specific vehicle installation area 35 on the second floor-C above ground descends and moves to the empty area on the first floor-C above ground. That is, the empty power supply pallet 30 reaches the loading / unloading floor 5.

[0056] In this state, when the user operates the gate opening / closing switch 25, the rightmost gate 17c opens as shown in FIG. 6(d), opening up the area in front of the ground floor-C. The user drives electric vehicle A in this state and places it on the power supply pallet 30 on the ground floor-C as shown in Figure 6(f). The user then connects the charging port 45 and the power supply equipment 31 with the charging cable 42.

[0057] When the user operates the gate opening / closing switch 25 in this state, the gate 17c closes as shown in FIG. 6(g). Then, since the charging completion flag stored in the control device 18 was reset to OFF when the electric vehicle A left the parking lot the previous time, the power supply pallet 30 that had moved to the first floor-C returns to the specific vehicle installation area 35 on the second floor-C as shown in Fig. 6(h). As a result, the power receiving device 32 of the power supply pallet 30 is connected to the power transmitting device 33, and charging of the electric vehicle A begins.

[0058] After that, the empty spaces are automatically filled, and the pallets 15 on the basement floor-1-C rise to the ground floor-1-C as shown in Fig. 6(i). As a result, the pallets 15 are placed in all of the vehicle installation areas 10 on the loading / unloading floor.

[0059] The mechanical parking devices 1, 50 of the embodiments described above each have a three-story structure with one basement floor and two floors above ground, and each floor has three vehicle installation areas 10, but the number of floors and the number of vehicle installation areas 10 on each floor are arbitrary. In the mechanical parking devices 1 and 50 of the above-described embodiments, the number of specific vehicle installation areas 35 and the number of power supply pallets 30 are one each, but these numbers are also arbitrary. Also, the number of specific vehicle installation areas 35 and the number of power supply pallets 30 may be different.

[0060] For example, the mechanical parking system 51 shown in Figs. 7 and 8 has a five-story structure with two basement floors and three above ground floors, and the present invention can also be applied to such a structure. In the mechanical parking device 51 of this embodiment, the second basement floor of the same row rises and falls in conjunction with each other. The third floor is the ground floor GF, and the pallets can only move sideways. The pallets on the fourth floor can move sideways and rise and fall, and the pallets on the fifth floor (the top floor) can only rise and fall. For example, when moving a pallet 15 from the vehicle installation area 10 on the second basement floor-B to the loading and unloading floor, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the pallets 15 in the vehicle installation area 10 on the first aboveground floor-B and the pallets 15 in the vehicle installation area 10 on the second aboveground floor-B move sideways to the first aboveground floor-C and the second aboveground floor-C, respectively, leaving the first aboveground floor-B and the second aboveground floor-B vacant. Next, as shown in Figure 7(c), the pallets 15 on basement floor 1-B and basement floor 2-B in row B are raised to the ground floor GF, and the pallets 15 are moved from the vehicle installation area 10 on basement floor 2-B to the loading / unloading floor.

[0061] FIG. 8 illustrates an operation of the mechanical parking device 51 as a vacancy filling operation, for example, when a pallet 15 is moved from the vehicle installation area 10 on the third floor-B to the entrance / exit floor. In that case, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the pallets 15 in the vehicle installation area 10 on the 1st floor-B above ground and the pallets 15 in the vehicle installation area 10 on the 2nd floor-B above ground are moved to the 1st floor-C above ground and the 2nd floor-C above ground, respectively, leaving the 1st floor-B above ground and the 2nd floor-B above ground vacant. Next, as shown in Fig. 8(c), the pallet 15 is lowered from the vehicle installation area 10 on the 3rd floor-B to the loading / unloading floor. This allows the power supply pallet 30 to be connected to a commercial power source, while the pallets can be placed in all sections of the ground floor GF (loading / unloading floor 5).

[0062] The mechanical parking device described above is premised on charging the electric vehicle A using the on-board charging cable 42, and the power supply equipment 31 is an outlet or the like connected to a commercial power source. A normal charger or a quick charger can also be used to supply power to an electric vehicle, and the present invention can also be used in cases where such chargers are used. In this case, a normal charger or a rapid charger is used as the power supplying device. That is, the normal charger or the rapid charger is mounted on the pallet. The charger is connected to the power receiving device 32.

[0063] The mechanical parking system described above has only one vacant area and all pallets can be moved up, down, left and right, but the present invention can also be adopted in a mechanical parking system having a structure in which there is one vacant area in each vertical row.

[0064] In the embodiment described above, the power transmitting device 33 is attached to the expandable member 40, and the expandable member 40 is expanded and contracted to connect and disconnect the power transmitting device 33 and the power receiving device 32, but the disconnecting mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the power transmitting device 33 and the power receiving device 32 is not limited to this configuration. For example, the power transmitting device 33 and the power receiving device 32 may be connected and disconnected by the movement of the power supply pallet 30. In other words, the power receiving device 32 may be connected and disconnected to and from the power transmitting device 33 as the lifting pallet rises or falls, or the power receiving device 32 may be connected and disconnected to and from the power transmitting device 33 as the traversing pallet traverses to the left or right.

[0065] Although the control device 18 of the mechanical parking device 1 doubles as the power supply control device that controls the charging of the electric vehicle A, the power supply control device may be a dedicated control device separate from the control device 18. In this case, the dedicated power supply control device may control the charging of the electric vehicle A and transmit the charging status to the control device 18, which may determine from the charging status whether or not to execute a vacant space filling operation after the electric vehicle A enters or leaves another pallet 15 (after the gate 17 is closed), or the dedicated power supply control device may determine from the charging status whether or not to execute a vacant space filling operation and issue an instruction to the control device 18. In addition, the parking devices 1, 50, 51 may be connected to a network, and a control device connected to the network, for example, a charging management server, may determine whether charging or filling up the vacant space is required and issue an instruction to the control device 18. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1, 50, 51 Mechanical parking device (parking device) 5. Entrance and exit floor 10 Vehicle installation area 15 Palettes 30 Power Palette 31 Power supply equipment 32 Power receiving equipment 33 Power transmission equipment 35 Specific vehicle installation area 42 Car charging cable A Electric Vehicle B Car

Claims

1. A mechanical parking system having an entrance / exit floor capable of accommodating vehicles, and floors above and / or below the entrance / exit floor also capable of accommodating vehicles, each of said floors having a plurality of vehicle installation areas, pallets on which vehicles are placed are arranged in said vehicle installation areas, and having a pallet moving means, wherein the pallets are moved by the pallet moving means as necessary when entering or leaving the system, The one or more pallets are power supply pallets including a power supply device and a power receiving device, The one or more vehicle installation areas on the entrance / exit floor are specific vehicle installation areas in which power transmission equipment is arranged, A mechanical parking device characterized in that the power supply device and the power transmission device are in a connected state when the power supply pallet is in the specific vehicle installation area.

2. A mechanical parking device as described in claim 1, characterized in that when a vehicle is entered or exited, the power supply pallet leaves the specific vehicle installation area by the pallet moving means as necessary, and then the power supply pallet returns to the specific vehicle installation area.

3. A mechanical parking system having an entrance / exit floor capable of accommodating vehicles, and floors above and / or below the entrance / exit floor also capable of accommodating vehicles, each of said floors having a plurality of vehicle installation areas, pallets on which vehicles are placed are arranged in said vehicle installation areas, and having a pallet moving means, wherein the pallets are moved by the pallet moving means as necessary when entering or leaving the system, The one or more pallets are power supply pallets including a power supply device and a power receiving device, the one or more vehicle installation areas are specific vehicle installation areas in which the power transmission device is arranged, When the power supply pallet is in the specific vehicle installation area, the power supply device and the power transmission device are in a connected state, This mechanical parking device is characterized in that, when a vehicle is entered or exited, the power supply pallet leaves the specific vehicle installation area by the pallet moving means as necessary, and then the power supply pallet returns to the specific vehicle installation area.

4. The mechanical parking device described in claim 1, characterized in that the power supply pallet is normally installed on the second floor or higher or on an underground floor, the power supply pallet can be raised and lowered by the moving means, and can be moved from other vehicle installation areas to the specific vehicle installation area.

5. A mechanical parking device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that if there is no pallet in any of the vehicle placement areas on the loading / unloading floors, the pallet moving means is driven to move pallets from the vehicle placement areas on other floors, and a gap filling operation is performed to place pallets in all of the vehicle placement areas on the loading / unloading floors.

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