US-12618254-B2 - Parking bays having a sloped floor, and parking apparatuses and parking systems including same

Abstract

A parking bay comprises a front wall comprising a front opening formed in the front wall and sized to accommodate a width of a vehicle; a rear wall opposite the front wall, the rear wall comprising a rear opening formed in the rear wall and sized to accommodate the width of the vehicle; a pair of side walls extending between the front wall and the rear wall; and a sloped floor provided between the front wall and the rear wall and defining a tray-receiving opening sized to contain a tray, wherein the sloped floor comprises an upper surface defining a slope between the front wall and the rear wall.

Inventors

• Lance Michael Beeny
• Stott D. Barwick
• Merin Jay Swasey

Assignees

• VOLLEY AUTOMATION, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20231002

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A parking bay comprising: a front wall comprising a front opening formed in the front wall and sized to accommodate a width of a vehicle; a rear wall opposite the front wall, the rear wall comprising a rear opening formed in the rear wall and sized to accommodate the width of the vehicle; a pair of side walls extending between the front wall and the rear wall; and a sloped floor provided between the front wall and the rear wall and defining a tray-receiving opening sized to contain a tray, wherein the sloped floor comprises an upper surface defining a slope between the front wall and the rear wall.
2. 2 . The parking bay of claim 1 , wherein the sloped floor further comprises an entrance platform between the front wall and the tray-receiving opening.
3. 3 . The parking bay of claim 1 , wherein the sloped floor further comprises an overdrive platform between the tray-receiving opening and the rear wall.
4. 4 . The parking bay of claim 3 , wherein the overdrive platform is operable between a use position, wherein the overdrive platform is in line with the sloped floor, and a retracted position, wherein the overdrive platform is moved such that the rear opening is exposed.
5. 5 . The parking bay of claim 1 , wherein the sloped floor further comprises a transition piece extending between the tray-receiving opening of the sloped floor and the side walls of the parking bay.
6. 6 . The parking bay of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor, wherein: the sensor detects at least one of: a position of a vehicle within the parking bay; a presence of a tray within the tray-receiving opening of the sloped floor; or an orientation of the tray within the tray-receiving opening of the sloped floor, and the sensor comprises at least one of an electronic sensor and a vision system.
7. 7 . The parking bay of claim 1 , further comprising an indicator comprising a visual notification device, an audible notification device, or both, wherein the indicator is configured to provide an instruction to an operator of a vehicle entering the parking bay.
8. 8 . A parking system comprising: a tray comprising a first upper surface sized to accommodate a vehicle; a tray transportation mechanism comprising a lifting mechanism operable between a lowered position and a raised position, wherein, in the lowered position, the lifting mechanism does not engage the tray, and, in the raised position, the lifting mechanism extends to raise the tray; and a parking bay comprising: a front wall comprising a front opening formed in the front wall and sized to accommodate a width of a vehicle; a rear wall opposite the front wall, the rear wall comprising a rear opening formed in the rear wall and sized to accommodate the width of the vehicle; a pair of side walls extending between the front wall and the rear wall; and a sloped floor provided between the front wall and the rear wall and defining a tray-receiving opening sized to contain the tray, wherein the sloped floor comprises a second upper surface defining a slope between the front wall and the rear wall.
9. 9 . The parking system of claim 8 , wherein the tray transportation mechanism comprises an automated guided vehicle.
10. 10 . The parking system of claim 9 , wherein the automated guided vehicle is an omnidirectional vehicle.
11. 11 . The parking system of claim 9 , wherein the automated guided vehicle includes at least one of: a navigation sensor; a tray sensor; a vision sensor; or a proximity sensor.
12. 12 . The parking system of claim 8 , wherein the lifting mechanism is further operable in an intermediate position wherein the lifting mechanism engages or mates with the tray.
13. 13 . The parking system of claim 8 , wherein: the first upper surface of the tray comprises a tray slope; and the tray slope of the tray and the slope of the second upper surface of the sloped floor differ by less than or equal to 10 degrees.
14. 14 . The parking system of claim 8 , wherein the tray includes a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism adjusts a tray slope of the first upper surface of the tray.
15. 15 . The parking system of claim 8 , wherein the sloped floor comprises a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism engages the tray to adjust a tray slope of the first upper surface of the tray.
16. 16 . The parking system of claim 8 , wherein: the parking bay is positioned on a floor surface; the sloped floor of the parking bay defines an angle relative to the floor surface; and the angle is greater than or equal to 0.5 degrees and less than or equal to 10 degrees.
17. 17 . The parking system of claim 8 , further comprising a floor surface comprising indicia defining at least one of: parking spaces on the floor surface; or one or more paths on the floor surface.
18. 18 . A method for orienting a tray within a parking bay on a slope, the method comprising: positioning, by a tray transportation mechanism, a tray within a tray-receiving opening defined by a sloped floor of the parking bay and sized to contain the tray, wherein the sloped floor is provided between a front wall and a rear wall of the parking bay and wherein the tray enters the tray-receiving opening through a rear opening formed from the rear wall of the parking bay and sized to accommodate a width of a vehicle; positioning a vehicle on an upper surface of the tray, wherein the vehicle enters the parking bay through a front opening formed from the front wall of the parking bay and sized to accommodate the width of the vehicle; and transporting, by the tray transportation mechanism, the tray from the tray-receiving opening and through the rear opening of the parking bay.
19. 19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising: in response to receiving instruction that the vehicle desires to be parked, operating an overdrive platform of the parking bay to move into a retracted position to permit the tray transportation mechanism to position the tray within the parking bay; and in response to the tray being detected by a sensor of the parking bay, orienting, by a drive mechanism of the sloped floor, the tray to be sloped.
20. 20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the tray transportation mechanism is an automated guided vehicle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE To RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/413,073 filed Oct. 4, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety including the drawings. TECHNICAL FIELD The present specification generally relates to automated parking systems and, more specifically, automated parking systems which address vehicles not placed into a secured position such as, for example, a parking gear. BACKGROUND Unsecured vehicles rolling forward and backward while being transported within automated parking systems is a recurring problem within the industry. When a vehicle rolls backward or forward while in transit, the vehicle may collide with other vehicles stored in the system, with structure supporting the system, with system equipment itself, or even be damaged while moving within floors, between floors, and the like. In addition to potential damage to the vehicle itself, unintended movement of the vehicle may damage system equipment or building elements. Such incidents occur with some regularity and require significant direct human intervention to mitigate, which disrupts system operations until the resulting situation inside the system can be corrected, and any required repairs performed. Automated parking system manufacturers have deployed a number of approaches in an attempt to limit the frequency of these sort of incidences caused by unsecured vehicles entering a parking system. However, previous methods utilized have practical limitations such as, for example, potential cost to system performance, situations which limit their effectiveness, and difficulty in complying with U.S. safety and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Accordingly, a need exists for improved parking bays that notify or otherwise alert an operator of a vehicle that the vehicle has not been placed into a secured position such as, for example, a parking gear. SUMMARY In embodiments, parking apparatuses, parking systems, and methods for parking a vehicle using the parking apparatuses and parking systems include a parking bay including a sloped floor defining a tray-receiving opening and a tray positionable within the tray-receiving opening. The tray includes an upper surface configured to have a slope corresponding to a slope of the sloped floor when positioned within the tray-receiving opening. In an embodiment, a parking bay may comprise a front wall, a rear wall opposite the front wall, and a pair of side walls. In embodiments, the front wall may comprise a front opening formed in the front wall and sized to accommodate a width of a vehicle. In embodiments, the rear wall may comprise a rear opening formed in the rear wall and sized to accommodate the width of the vehicle. In embodiments, the pair of side walls may extend between the front wall and the rear wall. In embodiments, the parking bay may further comprise a sloped floor provided between the front wall and the rear wall. In embodiments, the sloped floor may define a tray-receiving opening sized to contain a tray. In embodiments, the sloped floor may comprise an upper surface defining a slope between the front wall and the rear wall. In an embodiment, a parking system may comprise a tray comprising a first upper surface sized to accommodate a vehicle and a tray transportation mechanism comprising a lifting mechanism operable between a lowered position and a raised position. In embodiments, in the lowered position, the lifting mechanism may not engage the tray, and, in embodiments, in the raised position, the lifting mechanism may extend to raise the tray. In embodiments, the parking system may comprise a parking bay. In embodiments, the parking bay may comprise a front wall, a rear wall opposite the front wall, and a pair of side walls. In embodiments, the front wall may comprise a front opening formed in the front wall and sized to accommodate a width of a vehicle. In embodiments, the rear wall may comprise a rear opening formed in the rear wall and sized to accommodate the width of the vehicle. In embodiments, the pair of side walls may extend between the front wall and the rear wall. In embodiments, the parking bay may further comprise a sloped floor provided between the front wall and the rear wall. In embodiments, the sloped floor may define a tray-receiving opening sized to contain a tray. In embodiments, the sloped floor may comprise an upper surface defining a slope between the front wall and the rear wall. In an embodiment, a method for orienting a tray within a parking bay on a slope may comprise positioning, by a tray transportation mechanism, a tray within a tray-receiving opening defined by a sloped floor of the parking bay and sized to contain the tray, wherein the sloped floor is provided between a front wall and a rear wall of the parking bay and wherein the tray enters the tray-receiving opening through a rear opening formed from the rear wall of the parking ba