Parking space holder
AssigneeJames G. Gill
InventorsJames G. Gill, Jurgen S. Heimann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A parking space is reserved by raising a chain about three feet above a parking space. The chain is attached to a post, and a weight is attached to the chain to lower the chain along the post and to drag the lowering chain along the parking space toward the post for full access. A motor with a speed reducer turns a shaft with a chain drive gear and an encoder. A signal receiver and control start the motor to raise or lower the chain when one of two buttons is pressed on a key fob by the authorized space user. The encoder is connected to the control to stop the chain when fully up or down. A stop trigger on the chain activates a stop switch when the chain is fully raised.
Claims19
Apparatus comprising a parking space reserver having:
- a flexible barrier for raising to reserve a parking space and lowering to permit access to the parking space,
- a holder positioned above one side of the parking space and connected to one end of the flexible barrier,
- a weight connected to the flexible barrier near the holder for lowering a part of the flexible barrier near the holder,
- a drive unit positioned above another side of the parking space and comprising a drive gear therein connected to a portion of the flexible barrier remote from the holder for selectively driving and pulling in and raising the flexible barrier with the drive unit and paying out and lowering the flexible barrier,
- a control connected to the drive unit for controlling, starting and stopping the drive unit and the pulling in or the paying out of the flexible barrier for respectively raising or lowering the flexible barrier,
- a housing for enclosing the drive unit, and
- a shaped flexible barrier guide having a hole and mounted in the housing which aligns the flexible barrier through the hole with the drive gear when the flexible barrier is driven by the drive gear.
A method comprising:
- providing a parking space reserver,
- providing an elongated flexible barrier,
- providing an electric motor and a speed reducer,
- providing a shaft connected to the speed reducer, and
- providing a flexible barrier drive gear on the shaft and driving the flexible barrier on the gear shaft for selectively pulling in and raising or paying out and lowering the flexible barrier,
- providing a housing and enclosing the drive unit,
- providing a shaped flexible barrier guide having a hole and mounted in the housing and aligning the flexible barrier through the hole with the drive gear when driving the flexible barrier with the drive gear, and
- remotely signaling a receiver, controlling the electric motor, raising or lowering the flexible barrier, and stopping the motor when the barrier is fully raised to a parking space reserving position or fully lowered to a parking space access position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.