Automated parking garage

A method of parking in an automated parking garage, comprising the steps of:

• providing a multi-floor building having a plurality of vehicle storage racks in a storage area for storing a loaded pallet or an unloaded pallet;
• providing an entry/exit station (EES) on an entrance-level floor of the building for receiving a vehicle, the EES having an exterior entrance through which the vehicle is driven and, an opposing interior entrance that provides access to the storage area and through which the loaded pallet is transported, the loaded pallet and unloaded pallet adapted to be positioned at floor level in the EES;
• transporting the loaded pallet in the storage area with a transport system, which transport system includes:
• a lower carrier assembly movable over a lower carrier aisle for removing from and inserting into the EES the loaded pallet, including a turntable that rotates the loaded pallet in a horizontal plane once in the storage area,
• a vertical lift conveyor that interfaces with the lower carrier assembly and conveys the loaded pallet vertically between the entrance-level floor and a non-entrance-level floor, and
• an upper carrier assembly movable over an upper carrier aisle of the non-entrance-level floor that interfaces with the vertical lift conveyor and transports the loaded pallet between the vertical lift conveyor and a storage rack,
• maintaining the unloaded pallet for use in the EES with a pallet stacking station, which pallet stacking station includes:
• a pallet vertical lift for vertically processing the unloaded pallet, and
• a pallet stack support mechanism for supporting the unloaded pallet, and
• moving a pallet shuttle over a shuttle aisle to a first position under the EES and to a second position under the pallet stacking station, which pallet shuttle traverses the shuttle aisle to facilitate transportation of the unloaded pallet therebetween.