US-12623637-B2 - Vehicle display systems and methods

Abstract

A vehicle auction facility has a plurality of turntables on which vehicles may be displayed for auction. Each turntable is associated with at least one doorway through which a line of vehicles may drive onto and off the turntable one at a time. Once a vehicle is driven onto the turntable, the turntable may rotate the vehicle as it is being auctioned. Such rotation may position the vehicle for exiting the facility through the same doorway in which it entered while the next vehicle in the same line of vehicles is being driven to the turntable. Thus, vehicles can be quickly showcased and auctioned while avoiding many safety concerns and collision risks. In addition, the plurality of turntables can be arranged in a curved fashion so that bidders in a central area of the facility can clearly see several vehicles being auctioned at the same time.

Inventors

• Kevin Wilson
• Brad Huddleston
• Brandon Derrick
• Paul Rettenmaier
• Marianne Simshauser
• Todd Richardson

Assignees

• United Auto Delivery and Recovery, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240401

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A system for displaying vehicles for auctions, comprising: a plurality of auction bays of a facility, each of the auction bays having a turntable on which a vehicle may be positioned for auctioning, wherein the turntable is configured to rotate, thereby rotating the vehicle during an auction of the vehicle, wherein each auction bay has a doorway through which vehicles may enter and exit the respective auction bay, and wherein the plurality of auction bays is arranged in a curved fashion; and at least one controller for controlling the turntable.
2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to control the turntable to rotate the vehicle by an angle greater than 180 degrees.
3. 3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to control the turntable to rotate the vehicle by an angle between 230 degrees and 250 degrees.
4. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the auction bays has an auction block.
5. 5 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a user input device configured to receive a user input, wherein the at least one controller is configured to commence rotation of the turntable for an auction in response to the user input.
6. 6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to rotate the turntable by a predefined angle in response to the user input.
7. 7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to control a display device in response to the user input such that the display device begins to display information pertaining to a vehicle on the turntable for the auction.
8. 8 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the user input device comprises a button for receiving the user input.
9. 9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the auction bays has a barrier that separates the turntable from a bidding area in which bidders for bidding on the vehicle are located.
10. 10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein each vehicle of a plurality of vehicles simultaneously in each of the auction bays is visible to a bidder in the bidding area.
11. 11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the barrier has a bollard extending from a floor of the facility, and wherein the barrier has a guardrail mounted on the bollard.
12. 12 . A method for displaying vehicles for auctions, comprising: positioning a plurality of vehicles in auction bays of a facility, each of the auction bays having a turntable on which a respective one of the plurality of vehicles is positioned, wherein the plurality of auction bays includes at least a first auction bay having a first turntable on which a first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles is positioned, a second auction bay having a second turntable on which a second vehicle of the plurality of vehicles is positioned, and a third auction bay having a third turntable on which a third vehicle of the plurality of vehicles is positioned, and wherein the positioning comprises driving the first vehicle through a first doorway of the facility for the first auction bay, driving the second vehicle through a second doorway of the facility for the second auction bay, and driving the third vehicle through a third doorway of the facility for the third auction bay; rotating the first turntable with at least one controller, thereby rotating the first vehicle, during an auction of the first vehicle; rotating the second turntable with the at least one controller, thereby rotating the second vehicle, during an auction of the second vehicle; rotating the third turntable with the at least one controller, thereby rotating the third vehicle, during an auction of the third vehicle; driving the first vehicle out of the first auction bay through the first doorway; driving the second vehicle out of the second auction bay through the second doorway; and driving the third vehicle out of the third auction bay through the third doorway, wherein the plurality of auction bays is arranged in a curved fashion.
13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the at least one controller includes a first controller, a second controller, and a third controller, and wherein the method further comprises: controlling rotation of the first turntable with the first controller; controlling rotation of the second turntable with the second controller; and controlling rotation of the third turntable with the third controller.
14. 14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the rotating the first turntable comprises rotating the first turntable by an angle greater than 180 degrees.
15. 15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein rotating the first turntable comprises rotating the first turntable by an angle between 230 degrees and 250 degrees.
16. 16 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising receiving a user input with a user input device, wherein the rotating the first turntable is performed in response to the receiving the user input.
17. 17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the rotating the first turntable comprises rotating the first turntable by a predefined angle in response to the user input.
18. 18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising initiating display on a display device of information pertaining to the first vehicle in response to the user input.
19. 19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the user input device comprises a button for receiving the user input.
20. 20 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the first auction bay has a barrier that separates the first turntable from a bidding area in which bidders are located.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/466,940, entitled “Vehicle Display Assembly,” and filed on May 16, 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference. RELATED ART Vehicles are typically auctioned at large facilities having rows of several parallel lanes through which vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, etc.) are driven. At each lane, there is often an auction block where an auctioneer calls out and takes bids from bidders attending the auction. The vehicle being auctioned in a given lane is typically driven down the lane and stopped near the auction block so bidders at or near the auction block can see the vehicle as bids are taken. The floor at an auction can be chaotic and loud with multiple auctions occurring at the same time over several lanes. A bidder at one lane often is unable to see the vehicle being auctioned at another lane, particularly as the distance between the lanes of interest increases, thereby making it difficult for the bidder to know when vehicles of interest across multiple lanes are being offered. If a bidder at one lane wishes to bid on a vehicle auctioned at another lane, the bidder typically must walk across one or more lanes to the lane at which the vehicle of interest is being auctioned. Noting that auctions can be attended by large numbers of bidders, such as hundreds or even thousands of bidders, the environment at an auction facility is often dangerous with people and cars frequently moving through and across the lanes at unpredictable times. A malfunctioning vehicle, such as a vehicle with a stuck throttle, can be particularly dangerous to unsuspecting bidders crossing the lanes. In addition, the difficulty in seeing vehicles being auctioned in multiple lanes may cause confusion as to when a vehicle of interest is being auctioned. Indeed, some bidders may frequently cross lanes in search of vehicles of interest and, in some cases, run across lanes without taking adequate safety precautions to avoid vehicles that may be moving in the lanes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Furthermore, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a facility having a system for auctioning vehicles. FIG. 2 is a top view illustrating a plurality of auction bays in a facility, such as is depicted by FIG. 1. FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of a section of a barrier for an auction bay, such as is depicted by FIG. 1. FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of an auction block for an auction bay, such as is depicted by FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a system for controlling a turntable of an auction bay, such as is depicted by FIG. 1. FIG. 6A is a top view of an auction bay before vehicles from a line of vehicles are driven into the bay for auctioning. FIG. 6B is a top view of the auction bay of FIG. 6A after a vehicle in the line of vehicles has driven into the auction bay and is positioned on a turntable before rotation. FIG. 6C is a top view of the auction bay of FIG. 6B after the vehicle in the auction bay has been rotated counterclockwise. FIG. 6D is a top view of the auction bay of FIG. 6C after the vehicle in the auction bay has been further rotated counterclockwise. FIG. 6E is a top view of the auction bay of FIG. 6D after the vehicle in the auction bay has been further rotated counterclockwise. FIG. 6F is a top view of the auction bay of FIG. 6B after the vehicle in the auction bay has been fully rotated, and the turntable is stopped so that the vehicle may exit the auction bay. FIG. 6G is a top view of the auction bay of FIG. 6F after the vehicle has exited the auction bay. FIG. 7A is a side view of the auction bay of FIG. 6C. FIG. 7B is a side view of the auction bay of FIG. 6D. FIG. 7C is a side view of the auction bay of FIG. 6E. FIG. 7D is a side view of the auction bay of FIG. 6F. FIG. 7E is a side view of the auction bay of FIG. 6G. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure generally relates to vehicle display systems and methods for displaying vehicles at auctions. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a vehicle auction facility has a plurality of turntables on which vehicles may be displayed for auction. Each turntable is associated with at least one doorway through which a line of vehicles may drive onto and off the turntable one at a time. Once a vehicle is driven onto the turntable, the turntable may be configured to rotate, thereby rotating the vehicle as it is being auctioned. Such rotation may position the vehicle for exiting the facility through the same doorway in which it entered. In some embodiments, the vehicle is positioned at an angle so that it