Vertical Vehicle Vending Machine Tower
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Solution Overview
Problem
The provisioning of vehicles to customers is a space-intensive and labor-intensive process, requiring large surface parking lots and manual effort to transport vehicles from outdoor parking lots to customers.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle vending machine system that includes a tower with storage locations, robotic carriers, and delivery bays, allowing vehicles to be retrieved from storage, transported via robotic carriers through corridors, and delivered to customers efficiently, reducing the need for extensive parking spaces and manual labor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If vehicles are stored in outdoor surface parking lots, then storage capacity is achieved, but space efficiency deteriorates and labor requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional surface parking lots to three-dimensional vertical storage towers. Vehicles are stored on multiple vertically stacked levels within a compact tower structure, allowing the system to utilize vertical space rather than horizontal space. This dimensional change enables significantly higher storage density while occupying minimal ground footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested structure where vehicle storage locations are arranged in concentric or stacked configurations within the tower. Multiple storage levels are nested vertically, with each level containing storage positions that can be accessed through centralized robotic carriers. This nesting approach maximizes the use of internal tower volume for vehicle storage.
2Productivity
If manual processes are used to transport vehicles from parking lots to customers, then delivery capability is achieved, but labor intensity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an automated robotic carrier system that autonomously retrieves vehicles from storage locations and delivers them to designated delivery bays without human intervention. The robotic carriers navigate through corridors, access storage positions, and transport vehicles independently, making the system self-sufficient for the retrieval and delivery function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations with an automated robotic system. Instead of workers physically driving or pushing vehicles from parking lots to customers, robotic carriers perform the transportation task. This substitution eliminates the need for manual labor while maintaining continuous operational capability.
3Area of stationary object
If vertical storage towers with robotic carriers are implemented, then space efficiency improves and labor is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic carriers are designed as multi-functional units that can perform multiple operations: navigating through corridors, accessing different storage levels, retrieving vehicles, and delivering them to various delivery bays. This universality reduces the need for separate specialized mechanisms for each function, thereby managing complexity while achieving high automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the automated retrieval and delivery system into modular components: vertical towers for storage, horizontal corridors for transportation, robotic carriers for vehicle handling, and delivery bays for customer access. This segmentation allows each component to be independently designed, tested, and maintained, managing overall system complexity through modularity.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, non-transitory processor-readable storage media, and devices of the various embodiments enable a vehicle vending machine to retrieve a vehicle from a storage location and deliver the vehicle to a delivery bay for delivery to a customer. Various embodiments may include a vehicle vending machine including a tower, a robotic carrier, a corridor extending from the tower, a plurality of delivery bays positioned along the corridor, a customer interaction kiosk, and/or a video system.