| PRODUCTS AND SERVICES | PROJECTS | DOWNLOADS | COMPANY PROFILE |

Lifts

The lifts that form the heart of the automated multi-storey parking lot are subject to the most rigorous demands. They have to transport and, in particular, position large loads at high speed. For these purposes, Dolphin Parking has developed a lift that meets the requirements.

The lift platform is electrically propelled with great precision up and down along guide columns without the need for cables or hydraulic cylinders, which makes it possible to execute precision positioning independent of the load. 

This construction also makes the lifts very safe, eliminating the risk of freefall. In addition, the lifts are equipped with parking and emergency brakes that are applied as soon as the speed reaches 1.15 times the set speed. Sensors at each floor monitor the lifts. The simple construction makes the lifts very safe and almost maintenance-free.

A further advantage the Dolphin Parking lift offers is that it is self-supporting. There is no need for a roof frame or a pit, except for a safety well of 0.75 m beneath the lowest level for the mechanic. The lifts require no engine room since the controls for the lifts can be integrated with the controls for the other parts of the multi-storey parking lot.

Shuttles

Shuttles transport the cars horizontally from the lift to their parking space using a transport system to take the car from or place the car in its parking bay. Depending on the configuration, there will be a shuttle at each lift or at each level. The shuttle allows the car park to always have direct access to each car in the system. This enhances the speed of the system.

The shuttles are electronically driven shuttles and sensors at each parking space monitor them. A tower car park will always have a shuttle at the lift. This shuttle can rotate with a short stroke so that all the parking bays around the lift can be attended.

Drive-in boxes  

Plenty of light and space make the boxes pleasant safe areas. The drive-in bays offer sufficient room to get out of the car comfortably. Each drive-in box is a chamber with, on one side, an inner wall door behind which is the parking lot mechanism and, on the other side, an outer wall door to the public road. When a person is present in a box, access to the parking mechanism is mechanically blocked, eliminating any risk of the driver driving on through the inner wall door.

Unoccupied drive-in boxes are clearly indicated by a mini parking guidance system; gone are the days of having to drive around searching for a space. To park, the driver drives into a drive-in bay on the transport system. The inner door is then closed and signals help the driver to position the car correctly. After the car occupants have left the box, a signal is given and the outer door is closed.

Apart from the clear signs and instructions shown in both picture and text form, the drive-in box is equipped with many safety features. A patented invention monitors whether or not the handbrake has been applied. Sensors check whether the driver has actually left the vehicle and once the outer door has been closed, for the presence of persons in the bay. And the rest of the parking procedure is taken care of by the car park.

On entry the car is measured to check that its height does not exceed the maximum limit for cars (including roof racks, etc.). Once the car is in position, the length and width of the car are checked, and even here any trailer, tow-hook or caravan mirrors are checked. If the car fails to comply with the maximum permissible dimensions, the driver is requested to leave the drive-in box.

Parking bays 

All parking bays are equipped with a transport system that is driven mechanically from the shuttles. The advantage of this technique is that the parking spaces are inactive when the shuttle is not adjacent to the bay. The car can not, therefore, ever drive off on its own. To enhance the effect of this, the bays are on a slight incline so that the car can never roll towards the lift shaft but only towards a mechanical barrier at the other end of the parking space.

The design of the parking lot has intentionally avoided use of a pallet system because of the time and technique necessary to dispatch empty pallets. In our own opinion is the transport system much more secure than pallet systems. 

Beneath each bay there is a trough to collect any leaking oil, water or other pollutant so that the car in the parking bay below is protected. 

The fire security of the parking bays for each location is adapted to suit the local municipality and insurance conditions.

Drive-out boxes  

The parking ticket retained by the driver shows clearly the number of the box where his car is parked. So there is no need to go searching any more. The drive-out bays also have an inner and outer door. The inner door is always closed as soon as persons in the drive-out bay are able to move. Before the inner door opens, the outer door must be closed, and the space is monitored by sensors to detect the presence of anybody in the bay. Drive-out bays offer sufficient room to get in to the car comfortably, and the car is always positioned in the drive-out position for the driver.

It is possible to combine and switch drive-in and drive-out bays with one or more drive-in and/or drive-out bay(s).

Depending on the situation and customer preference, drive-in and drive-out bays may also be equipped with ticket machines, access codes or a remote control facility which can be operated from, for example, an apartment building.

Controls 

The car park works fully automatically, 24 hours a day, which makes the need for an operator, in theory, unnecessary. An emergency power unit can provide the solution to power loss.

Computer control makes everything, in principle, possible. Spaces can be reserved on the Internet. Cars can be placed in a buffer close to the exit at any specific moment. A remote control function enables a request to be made for the car from either the office or from home.

Steel structure

The steel construction is self-supporting. The floors are integrated with the transport system and are, therefore, quite thin. This means that the height of the floors can be kept within limits. 

The steel construction, and consequently the car park, can be dismantled and reconstructed in a different location. In other words, we are talking about a mobile car park.

The steel construction also allows a multi-story car park to be built into an existing building.

 Dolphin Parking Solutions . Furkapas 8 . NL-5624 MD . Eindhoven .  T. +31(40)2647301 . F. +31(40)2548422 . E. mailto:info@dolphinparking.n