Rotary Car Parking System

It is simple to operate with the driver parking and leaving the vehicle in the system at the ground level. Once the driver leaves the incorporated safety zone the vehicle is automatically parked by the system rotating to lift the parked car away from the bottom central position. This leaves an empty parking space available at the ground level for the next car to be parked on. The parked car is easily retrieved by pushing the button for the relevant position number the car is parked on. This causes the required car to rotate down to ground level ready for the driver to enter the safety zone and reverse the car out of the system.

Except vertical car parking system all other systems use a large ground area, vertical car parking system is developed to utilize maximum vertical area in the available minimum ground area. It is quite successful when installed in busy areas which are well established and are suffering with shortage of area for parking. Although the construction of this system seems to be easy, it will be par from understanding without the knowledge of materials, chains, sprockets, bearings, and machining operations, kinematic and dynamic mechanisms.

Characteristics

• Small footprint, Install anywhere

• Less cost

• Space for parking 3 cars can hold more than 6 to 24 cars

• It adopts rotating mechanism so as to minimize the vibration and noise

• Flexible operation

• No caretaker is needed, key pressing operation

• Stable and reliable

• Easy to install

• Easy to reallocat

Step 1: Mechanical Design and Parts

First the mechanical parts have to be designed and created.

I am providing with the design made in CAD and pictures of each part.

Step 2: Pallet

Pallet is a platform like structure on which the car will stay or lift. It is designed in such way that all car is suitable for this pallet. It is made from mild steel plate and shaped in fabrication process.

Step 3: Sprocket

A sprocket or sprocket-wheel is a profiled wheel with teeth, cogs, or even sprockets that mesh with a chain, track or other perforated or indented material. The name 'sprocket' applies generally to any wheel upon which radial projections engage a chain passing over it. It is distinguished from a gear in that sprockets are never meshed together directly, and differs from a pulley in that sprockets have teeth and pulleys are smooth.

Sprockets are of various designs, a maximum of efficiency being claimed for each by its originator. Sprockets typically do not have a flange. Some sprockets used with timing belts have flanges to keep the timing belt centered. Sprockets and chains are also used for power transmission from one shaft to another where slippage is not admissible, sprocket chains being used instead of belts or ropes and sprocket-wheels instead of pulleys. They can be run at high speed and some forms of chain are so constructed as to be noiseless even at high speed.

Step 4: Roller Chain

Roller chain or bush roller chain is the type of chain drive most commonly used for transmission of mechanical power on many kinds of domestic,industrial and agricultural machinery, including conveyors, wire- and tube-drawing machines, printing presses, cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. It consists of a series of short cylindrical rollers held together by side links. It is driven by a toothed wheel called a sprocket. It is a simple, reliable, and efficientmeans of power transmission.

Step 5: Bush Bearing

A bushing, also known as a bush, is an independent plain bearing that is inserted into a housing to provide a bearing surface for rotary applications; this is the most common form of a plain bearing. Common designs include solid (sleeve and flanged), split, and clenched bushings. A sleeve, split, or clenched bushing is only a "sleeve" of material with an inner diameter (ID), outer diameter (OD), and length. The difference between the three types is that a solid sleeved bushing is solid all the way around, a split bushing has a cut along its length, and a clenched bearing is similar to a split bushing but with a clench (or clinch) across the cut. A flanged bushing is a sleeve bushing with a flange at one end extending radially outward from the OD. The flange is used to positively locate the bushing when it is installed or to provide a thrust bearing surface.

Step 6: ’L’ Shaped Connecter

Connects the pallet to rod using square bar.

Step 7: Square Bar

Holds together, the L shaped connector, bar. Thus holding the pallet.

Step 8: Beam Rod

Used in pallet assembly, connecting pallet to frame.

Step 9: Power Shaft

Delivers power.

Step 10: Frame

It is the structural body which holds the total rotary system. Every component like the assembly of pallet, motor drive chain, sprocket, is installed over it.

Step 11: Pallet Assembly

Pallet base with beams are assembled to create individual pallets.

Step 12: Final Mechanical Assembly

Finally all pallets are connected to frame and motor connector are assembled.

Now it is time for electronic circuit and programming.

Step 13: Electronic Design and Programming (Arduino)

We use ARDIUNO for our program. The electronics parts which we use are given in next steps.

System features are:

• The system consist of a keypad to take inputs (including calibrations).
• The 16x2 LCD display input values and current position.
• The motor is a stepper motor, driven by high capacity driver.
• Stores data on EEPROM for non-volatile storage.
• Motor independent (somewhat) circuit and program design.
• Uses Bipolar stepper.

Step 14: Circuit

The circuit uses an Atmel ATmega328 (ATmega168 also can be used, or any standard arduino board). It interfaces with LCD, keypad and Motor driver using standard library.

The driver requirements are based on the actual physical scaling of the rotary system. Torque required is to be calculated beforehand, and motor has to be selected accordingly. Multiple motors can be driven with same driver input. Use separate driver for every motor. This may be needed for more torque.

The circuit diagram and proteus project is given.

Step 15: Programming

It is possible to configure speed, individual shift angle for each step, set steps per revolution value etc, for different motor and environment flexibility.

Features are:

• Adjustable motor speed (RPM).
• Changeable Steps per revolution value for any bipolar stepper motor to be used. (Though 200 spr or 1.8 degree step angle motor is preferred).
• Adjustable number of stages.
• Individual shift angle for every stage (thus any error in manufacturing can be programatically compensated).
• Bidirectional movement for efficient operation.
• Settable offset.
• Storage of setting, thus adjustment required in first run only.

To program the chip (or arduino), arduino ide or arduino builder (or avrdude) is required.

Steps to program:

1. Download arduino bulider.
2. Open and select the downloaded hex file from here.
3. Select port and proper board (I used Arduino UNO).
4. Upload the hex file.
5. Good to go.

There is a good post at arduinodev about upload hex to arduino here.

Source code of project - Github source, you want to use Arduino IDE to compile and upload.

Step 16: Working Video

Step 17: Costing

Total costing was around INR9000 (~USD140 as per dt-21/06/17).

The component costing varies with time and place. So check your local price.

Step 18: Credits

Mechanical Designer and engineering is done by-

• Pramit Khatua
• Prasenjit Bhowmick
• Pratik Hazra
• Pratik Kumar
• Pritam Kumar
• Rahul Kumar
• Rahul Kumarchaudhary

Electronics circuit is made by-

• Subhajit Das
• Parthib Guin

Software developed by-

• Subhajit Das

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