Multistory Car Park

Having road and street surfaces a single digit percentage of city area, the steady invasion of new vehicles into world’s cities lead to traffic congestion and car park problem. The free to park a car policy adopted by many in countries across the globe, have made drivers to run vehicles below vehicle’s economic speed causing the consumption to soar, and pollution of air around urban environment to aggravate.

It is now the right time to introduce multistory car parks. Such car parks take up little land on earth’s surface, but occupy the space above the earth's surface. With multistory car parks in cities across the globe, many  surfaces on earth in cities may be converted to greenery of various sorts to help fight the threat of global warming.

Early multistory car park was established as a highrise building or dwellings, but this innovation introduces the one made out of steel construction to be erected anywhere one like. The advantage of a multistory car park is the need to have little land on the earth’s surface for the foundation, and let rest of unused land be turned to vegetation. By transforming most of car park on earth’s surface to multistory, many unused land on earth  surfaces in cities and the outskirts be transformed into woodlands to improve urban climate where people live. 

A building erected for car park is expensive to built, and cannot be built anywhere one like; it is also costly to maintain and operate. But, the one made of steel construction called: Multistory Car Park of Steel Construction, abbreviated MCPSC, not only cheaper to build , but also easy to erect anywhere one like, and also less expensive to maintain and operate, including to relocate when necessary.

A MCPSC is assembled out of steel C-Channels, or H-Channel, steel pipes, steel plates, etc.; and to be equipped with a mechanical drive system, electrical system, as well as electronic control so anyone can easily park a family car in a multistory car park. 

There are two categories of MCPSC, that is to say: the Multistory Platform Car Park, or simply called:  Multiplatform, and the Multistory Car Park Batteries, or simply called: Multibattery.

Multiplatform 

A Multiplatform put in a garage or a carport, will park two, three, or four, vehicles in multistory car park, as shown in Figure-I.

Figure-I

Multiplatform will help people to avoid park their cars by the road side in a busy neighborhood to ease the flow of traffic. It also helps city dweller of a populous residence to enhance speed of local traffic.

Four steel C-Channels, or H-Channels, will support a Multiplatform on its foundation. A group platforms, called: P-1, P-2, P-3, P-4 depend on number of cars to be parked in multistory are arranged among the four supports. To ascends a platform to a parking altitude, or descends it the other way round, four Lifting Devices, shorten LDs, are arranged. These four LDs are backed by a technology called: 1. Bolt-Nut with Bevel Gear, or 2. Rack-Pinion with Bevel Gear and Worm Gear. And each technology will be driven by a brake induction motor.

The four LDs will in unison move each platform up, or in unison move it down the other way round, synchronously done by a mechanical drive system inside a drive compartment. Having a mechanical system in place, anyone can ascend a platform with a car on it with ease to a parking altitude, on park; or descend it from its parking altitude the other way round on de-park. Each platforms cannot sink by the action of gravity, i.e. the weight of a platform and a car on it, unless being driven by its brake induction motor.

Electric power comes from utility by way of power cable to Multiplatform’s panel, and be distributed to every brake induction motor in each platform with power wiring and a roller. Car’s electricity can also be used to run the brake induction motor with the help of an inverter; or a brake direct current motor inside the platform’s drive compartment to acts as second source of mechanical power. Car’s electricity can also acts as emergency power.

With advent solar panel and wind generator, energies harnessed from the sun and wind can also be used to run a Multiplatform after been converted to electricity. Electricity is needed to run induction motors,  electronic controls, and lighting.

To ascend a platform in a Multiplatform, or descend each platform of them the other way round, a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is used. It is required to interface operator with Multiplatform electromechanical system and the limit switches, push button, remote control, and electrical wiring.

To park a car in a Multiplatform built for three cars, begins with the coming down of all platforms: P-1, P-2 and P-3, until a car (first car) can be driven onto P-1. The latter is elevated to a third height ±. 4 m. As P-1 moves up, P-2 rises up to surface from the bottom. The second car is driven onto it, and the platform is  elevated to a second height ±.2 m. While P-2 moves up, P-3 appear from the bottom. The third car is driven onto the platform, and the latter remain on the surface. 

To depark a cars from Multiplatform built for three cars, starts by taking the car on P-3. P-2 then be driven down to surface be followed by P-3 moves down to enter its storage, then the second car is removed. Finally P-1 will be driven down to surface be followed by P-2 to enter its storage. The first car is removed, and latter platform remain on the surface.

Multiplatform can be marketed as "Car Park Kit", so anybody can assemble a Multiplatform anywhere one like to park family cars.

A dissimilar tune of music accompany each platform on park or depark, so people in the neighborhood will aware of thing being carried out by the owner of a Multiplatform. 

Multibattery

Similar to Multiplatform, a Multibattery is establshed of steel construction with mechanical system, electrical system, as well as system for electronic control and monitor. A Multibattery is in fact a collection of car park batteries built on a foundation. Each battery of a Multibattery comprises of: a Battery Elevator Column (BEC) in the center, will be accompanied with a pair of Battery Park Column (BPC) coming from every  sides of BEC, as is shown in side view of Figure-II.

Figure-II

Number of BPC accompanying BEC from each side, must be divisible by two, while number of batteries brought up to a Multibattery depends on number of cars requiring multistory car park of a particular region of a metropolis. Unlike a Multiplatform with cluster of platforms, a Multibattery requires one platform for each battery; therefore number of platform in a Multibattery equals the number of batteries. Similar to a Multiplatform, every platform in Multibattery has four LDs back by similar technology: 1. Bolt-Nut with Bevel Gear, or 2. Rack-Pinion with Bevel Gear and Worm Gear; to be driven by a brake induction motor. 

The four LDs in each battery will move the platform in unison up, or in unison come down the other way round, synchronously driven by a mechanical drive system in the platform’s compartment. With a mechanical drive system in place, one can easily ascend a platform with a car on it to a parking altitude from the surface, on park; or descend a car the other way round from a parking altitude to surface on de-park. Each platform in Multibattery cannot sinks by the action of gravity, unless being driven by its brake induction motor. 

Electricity comes from utility by power cable to enter Multibattery’s panel, and by way of power wiring it is distributed to each battery panel. From battery panel electricity will be transferred by three phase insulated copper rail to be collected by carbon brushes, to be fed to a brake induction motor. Should utility power fails, a Multibattery emergency power supply will be provided take over.

With advent of solar panel and wind generator, energies harnessed from the sun and wind can run a Multi-batteries after being converted to electricity. Electricity is needed to run brake induction motors, electronic controls and monitors, lighting, as well as data processing.

PLC will be required to interface an operator with the Multibattery electromechanical system along with limit switches, push buttons, and control wiring.

To park a car in a Multibattery means to park it into each one of its battery. To park a car into a battery begins by driving it into a BEC, then onto the platform in waiting. The latter will then be elevated to a target altitude, and be pushed to BPC on one side of BEC, finish.

To de-park a car from a Multibattery means to de-park it from each one of its battery. To de-park a car from a battery begins by removing it from BPC in one side of BEC, to be pushed onto a platform in waiting. The car then been driven down to surface, to be fetch by car owner, finish. 

Multibatteries is designed for a long time car park: days, weeks, months in such places like train station, trade center, office building, commercial establishment, residence, etc.

Multiplatform and Multibattery have been patented in Patent Office of the Republic of Indonesia, in Jakarta, under the title: “Struktur Parkir Mobil Susun Bertingkat, to consist of: “Parting (Multiplatform), and Baparting (Multibattery)”, on November 21, 2002.