JP7680218B2 - Mechanical parking facilities - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a mechanical parking facility that allows the use of a mixture of pallets with different heights from the bottom of the pallet to the road surface.

Conventionally, mechanical parking facilities have been equipped with pallet rotation devices (such as 180-degree rotation type) on the boarding floor and carriers used for entering and leaving the parking lot so that vehicles can drive forward both when entering and leaving the parking lot.

However, even with this type of mechanical parking equipment, there is a demand for barrier-free access by removing obstacles (uneven surfaces) so that wheelchair users can use it. For example, the requirements for barrier-free access in elevator-type parking equipment include making the entire top surface (carriageway surface) of the pallet on which the vehicle is loaded flat, and when this flat-topped pallet is placed on the boarding floor, the difference in level between the surrounding deck and the boarding floor must be small so that wheelchairs can travel through it.

The applicant has therefore filed a patent application for a mechanical parking facility that can store a mixture of normal pallets and pallets with flat driving surfaces, as prior art of this type (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this mechanical parking facility, when a normal pallet is supported at the boarding floor, a swing arm is extended from the fixed pillar into the elevator shaft, and the pallet is supported by a support member attached to the upper end of the swing arm.

JP 2015-113673 A

However, in the invention of Patent Document 1, it is difficult to increase the amount of advance of the swing arm that advances from the fixed column into the elevator shaft, and the support position of the pallet may be limited. For example, in order to change the support position of the pallet further inward (towards the center of the pallet), the structure of the swing arm, etc., becomes large, which may make it difficult to apply.

The present invention aims to provide a mechanical parking facility that can compactly support the road surfaces of pallets with different heights from the supported part to the road surface at the same height.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a mechanical parking facility including a first pallet in which the height of the road surface relative to the supported portion of the pallet is relatively low, a second pallet in which the height of the road surface relative to the supported portion of the pallet is relatively high, an entrance floor for vehicles to enter and leave between the first pallet or the second pallet, and a carrier for raising and lowering the first pallet and the second pallet between a storage unit, the entrance floor is provided with a movable pallet support that retreats to a position that does not prevent the second pallet from descending to a position where the road surface is at the same level as the entrance floor when the second pallet is placed on the entrance floor, and becomes an advanced position when the first pallet is placed on the entrance floor and supports the road surface of the first pallet at the same level as the entrance floor, the movable pallet support being provided at least at the four corners of the elevator shaft and configured to advance to or retreat from the advanced position by rotating horizontally. The "four corners" in this specification and the claims document include a range in which a pallet having a rectangular shape in a plan view can be appropriately supported.

With this configuration, when the first pallet, whose height of the roadway is relatively low, is supported at the boarding floor, the first pallet can be supported at the advanced position where the movable pallet support is advanced into the elevator shaft, and the roadway can be supported at the same level as the boarding floor. When the second pallet, whose height of the roadway is relatively high, is supported at the boarding floor, for example, the movable pallet support can be in the retreated position retreated from the elevator shaft, and the carrier carrying the second pallet can be stopped at a predetermined position to support the roadway at the same level as the boarding floor. In this way, the first pallet, whose height of the roadway is relatively low, is supported by the movable pallet support in the advanced position, and the second pallet, whose height of the roadway is relatively high, is supported by the movable pallet support in the advanced position, and the movable pallet support is retreated to a position that does not prevent the roadway from descending to a position where the roadway is at the same level as the boarding floor, so that the roadway surface of the pallet, whose height from the supported part of the pallet to the roadway surface is different, can be adjusted to the boarding floor of the boarding floor. In addition, methods of supporting the second pallet at the boarding floor include stopping the carriage with the second pallet placed on it (see FIG. 7 described below), as well as supporting it with a pallet receiver other than the movable pallet receiver (see FIG. 8 described below).

The movable pallet support may also be configured to support the road surface of the pallet from below.

With this configuration, the movable pallet support supports the road surface of the pallet from below, so the part closest to the vehicle's tires can be properly supported.

The movable pallet support may be configured such that at the front of the hoistway, a support portion that directly supports the first pallet rotates from the longitudinal center of the hoistway toward the longitudinal front and extends therefrom, and at the rear of the hoistway, the support portion rotates from the longitudinal center of the hoistway toward the longitudinal rear and extends therefrom.

In this configuration, the movable pallet support supports the four corners at the front and rear ends of the pallet, and the movable pallet support can be stored inside both longitudinal ends of the pallet when it is removed from the elevator shaft.

The movable pallet support may also include a support shaft arranged in the vertical direction, a support member that rotates around the support shaft, and a drive mechanism that rotates the support member around the support shaft, and may also include a control unit that simultaneously drives the drive mechanism to rotate the support member and advance it into the elevator when the first pallet is placed at the boarding floor.

With this configuration, the support members of each movable pallet receiver are advanced into the elevator shaft by synchronously driving the driving machines, so that the support members can appropriately support the pallet in response to its ascending and descending movement.

The driving machine may also have a drive shaft that rotates the support member and faces downward, and the area above the drive shaft may be covered with an airtight cover member.

With this configuration, even if the drive unit is placed inside the pit, the air inside the airtight cover member can prevent the drive unit from becoming submerged when submerged.

According to the present invention, in a mechanical parking facility where the direction of vehicles entering and leaving the facility is the same as the direction of vehicles ascending and descending the elevator shaft on a carriage, it is possible to form a compact configuration that supports the roadway surfaces of pallets with different heights from the bottom end of the pallets to the roadway surface at the same height.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional front view showing a mechanical parking facility according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view taken along the line II-II of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view taken along the line III-III of FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of the movable pallet receiver shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the movable pallet receiver shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the state in which the first pallet is supported at the boarding floor. FIG. 7 is a front view showing the state in which the second pallet is supported at the boarding floor. FIG. 8 is a front view showing another example of a configuration for supporting the second pallet.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiment, a 180-degree rotating elevator-type parking facility 1 with lower entry will be described as an example of a mechanical parking facility. Note that the concepts of front, rear, left and right directions in this specification and claims are assumed to be consistent with the concepts of front, rear, left and right directions shown in FIG. 2.

(Elevator parking facility)
Fig. 1 is a front cross-sectional view showing an elevator-type parking facility 1 according to one embodiment. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view taken along the line II-II shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 2, the carrier 11 and the first pallet 40 are shown by solid lines, and the layout and operation of the movable pallet receiver 60 at the entrance floor 30 are shown in outline.

As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator-type parking facility 1 has a parking tower 2 formed of a steel frame structure. The parking tower 2 is formed in a frame shape by main columns 5 arranged vertically to form the outer shape, and upper beams 3 and other horizontal beams 4 (FIG. 2) arranged horizontally to connect the main columns 5. The parking tower 2 has shelf columns 6 arranged inside the main columns 5, and a parking shelf (storage section) 7 is provided on the shelf columns 6. The parking tower 2 is provided with a control device 80 for the elevator-type parking facility 1. The control device 80 is one example.

A hoistway 10 for raising and lowering carriers 11 is provided in the center of the width of the parking tower 2, and multiple parking shelves 7 are provided to the left and right of the hoistway 10. The parking shelves 7 store a first pallet 40 and a second pallet 50 on which vehicles V are loaded.

The first pallet 40 is a standard pallet with side rises 41 that bend upwards on both sides in the width direction, with a concave roadway 42 on the inside of which the tires of the vehicle V pass, and a central raised portion 43 formed on the inside of that. The part of the first pallet 40 that is supported is below the roadway 42. A horizontal support member 44 extending in the width direction is provided on the bottom of this first pallet 40, and the horizontal support member 44 is supported by the carrier 11.

The second pallet 50 has a roadway deck 56 at the same height as the side rising portion 51 and the central raised portion 53 over the entire length of the concave portion 52 formed in the same manner as the concave roadway surface 42 of the first pallet 40. The lower portion of the concave portion 52 of the second pallet 50 is the supported portion. As a result, the entire upper surface of the second pallet 50 is formed flat. The upper surface of the roadway deck 56 of the second pallet 50 becomes the roadway surface 55. The second pallet 50 has the same cross-sectional shape as the first pallet 40 to give it rigidity, and the roadway deck 56 is a barrier-free pallet with a flat upper surface. A horizontal support member 54 extending in the width direction is also provided at the bottom of the second pallet 50, and the horizontal support member 54 is supported by the carrier 11.

The carriage 11 is raised and lowered by a lifting drive device 13 provided on the boarding floor 30. A movable pulley 12 is provided at the bottom of the carriage 11, and one end of a rope-like body 15 ("rope-like body" refers to "wire rope" or the like) hung on the movable pulley 12 is fixed to the fixed part 8 of the parking tower 2. The other end of the rope-like body 15 is wound around the traction sheave 14 of the lifting drive device 13, and then the counterweight 16 is suspended by the movable pulley. The counterweight 16 reduces the force required to hoist the carriage 11. Therefore, the carriage 11 can be raised and lowered by the movable pulley system by driving the traction sheave 14 to hoist and lower the rope-like body 15. A lateral drive device 18 is provided on the carriage 11, and the pallet 40 (50) is transferred between the carriage 11 and each parking shelf 7 by the lateral drive device 18.

The entrance floor 30 of the parking tower 2 is provided at the same level as the ground surface 9. The entrance floor 30 is provided with an entrance floor 32 that is connected to the vehicle runway surfaces 42, 55 of the pallets 40, 50 that allow the vehicles V to enter and leave the parking lot. A pit 31 is provided facing downwards on the entrance floor 30 so as to be connected to the elevator 10. A slewing drive device 19 is provided within the pit 31 for lifting and rotating the pallet 40 (50) placed on the carrier 11. The slewing drive device 19 lifts the pallet 40 (50) at the entrance floor 30 and rotates it 180°. The traverse drive device 18 and the slewing drive device 19 can be made of known means.

As shown in FIG. 3, which will be described later, a vehicle width sensor P1 is provided on the boarding floor 30 to detect the left and right overhang of the vehicle V. The maximum width of the vehicle V that can be loaded onto the pallet 40 without being detected by this vehicle width sensor P1 is W, and the minimum width of the vehicle that can be loaded onto the pallet 40 is T. In other words, the vehicles V that can be loaded onto the pallet 40 and stored in this parking facility have widths between T and W.

2, the boarding floor 30 is provided with a movable pallet support 60 that supports the vehicle road surface 42 of the first pallet 40 at the same level as the upper surface of the boarding floor 32. The movable pallet support 60 is provided at the four corners of the elevator shaft 10 at the boarding floor 30. When the carrier 11 descends to the boarding floor 30 with the second pallet 50 loaded, the movable pallet support 60 is in a retreat position R retreated from the elevator shaft 10. When the carrier 11 descends to the boarding floor 30 with the first pallet 40 loaded, the movable pallet support 60 is in an advance position F advancing into the elevator shaft 10, and supports the vehicle road surface 42 of the first pallet 40 at the same level as the surface of the boarding floor 32. The configuration of the present invention can also be applied to parking facilities, for example, a 90-degree entry type, in which the direction of the vehicle V when entering and leaving the parking lot is different from the direction of the vehicle V when ascending and descending. In this case, it is the swivel device 19 that lowers the pallet 40 (50) to a position where the vehicle road surface 42 and the boarding floor 32 coincide after turning on the boarding floor 30. When the swivel device 19 lowers the first pallet 40, the movable pallet support 60 advances to support the pallet (Figure 6), and when the second pallet 50 is lowered, the movable pallet support 60 is retracted, and the lifting and lowering of the swivel device 19 with the second pallet 50 placed on it can be stopped at a position where the vehicle road surface 55 of the second pallet 50 is at the same level as the boarding floor 32 (Figure 7).

The movable pallet receiver 60 is configured such that the support member 61 (support portion) rotates horizontally to advance into or retreat from the hoistway 10. At the front of the hoistway 10, the support member 61 is configured to rotate from the longitudinal center of the hoistway 10 toward the longitudinal front to advance. At the rear of the hoistway 10, the support member 61 is configured to rotate from the longitudinal center of the hoistway 10 toward the longitudinal rear to advance. The movable pallet receiver 60 is configured to rotate the support member 61 horizontally, thereby increasing the amount of advance into the hoistway 10 while maintaining a compact configuration. In addition, the support member 61 is configured to retreat to the longitudinal center of the hoistway 10 where a large space can be secured, and to fit inside both longitudinal ends of the pallet 40 (50) in the retreated state.

The elevator parking facility 1 is also equipped with a control unit 63 that simultaneously drives the driver 62 (FIG. 3) of the movable pallet support 60 when the first pallet 40 is placed on the entrance floor 30, thereby rotating the support member 61 and advancing it into the elevator shaft 10. The control unit 63 in this embodiment is included in the control device 80 of the elevator parking facility 1.

The control unit 63 has a processor, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, an I/O interface, etc. The synchronized driving of the drive mechanism 62 of the movable pallet support 60 by the control unit 63 is realized by the processor performing calculations using the volatile memory based on a program stored in the non-volatile memory. The control unit 63 synchronously drives the drive mechanism 62 of the movable pallet support 60 based on the fact that the first pallet 40 is being raised and lowered by the carrier 11 and that the carrier 11 has descended to the fixed position P of the boarding floor 30, and advances the support member 61 into the elevator shaft 10.

(Movable pallet holder)
Fig. 3 is an enlarged view taken along the line III-III of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a front view of the movable pallet support 60 shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the movable pallet support 60 shown in Fig. 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the movable pallet support 60 is provided on top of a stand 64 provided in the pit 31. The stand 64 may be configured in any way so long as it is capable of fixing the movable pallet support 60 to its upper surface. By configuring the movable pallet support 60 to be fixed to the stand 64 provided in the pit 31, the movable pallet support 60 can be designed separately from the configuration of the elevator-type parking facility 1 (for example, the structure on the boarding floor 30), allowing for freedom in design.

The movable pallet support 60 is configured to support the roadway surface 42 of the first pallet 40 from below with the support members 61 (support parts). The range (range on either the left or right side) in which the support members 61 of the movable pallet support 60 support the roadway surface 42 of the first pallet 40 from below can be a distance C = (W-T)/2 ± 50 mm inward from the left or right end of the maximum width W described above. This makes it possible for the movable pallet support 60 to support the area directly below the tires of the vehicle V or the area close to the tires.

In addition, in this embodiment, the movable pallet receiver 60 has the drive unit 62 facing downwards, and the part above the drive shaft 65 is covered with an airtight cover member 66. The cover member 66 is structured so that even if the entire drive unit 62 is submerged in water, the area around the drive unit 62 will not be submerged due to the air inside. The cover member 66 can be of a known configuration.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the movable pallet support 60 has a horizontal member 67 fixed to the stand 64, and a vertical member 68 arranged vertically from the horizontal member 67. The horizontal member 67 and the vertical member 68 are fixed integrally. The horizontal member 67 is provided with a driver 62. The driver 62 has a drive shaft 65 attached so that it faces downward. The drive sprocket 72 attached to the drive shaft 65 is provided in the opening 67a of the horizontal member 67.

Support brackets 69 protruding in the horizontal direction are provided at the top and bottom of the vertical member 68. A support shaft 70 is supported in the vertical direction by a bearing 71 provided on the support bracket 69. The support shaft 70 is provided with a support member 61 that rotates integrally with the support shaft 70. A driven sprocket 73 is provided at the lower end of the support shaft 70, and an idle sprocket 74 is provided between the driven sprocket 73 and the driving sprocket 72. A drive chain 75 is hung between the driving sprocket 72, the idle sprocket 74, and the driven sprocket 73. The idle sprocket 74 allows the drive chain 75 to pass through the front and rear positions of the vertical member 68. A stopper 76 is provided on the support bracket 69, and is adapted to abut at a position where the support member 61 advances into the hoistway 10. The support member 61 abuts against the stopper 76 at a rotation angle of approximately 90°. The position where the support member 61 abuts against the stopper 76 is the advanced position F. In addition, a receiving member 77 is fixed to the upper part of the advanced side of the support member 61. The receiving member 77 can be made of, for example, resin, rubber, etc.

The movable pallet support 60 can rotate the support members 61 around the support shaft 70 by rotating the drive machine 62. When placing the first pallet 40 on the boarding floor 30, the control unit 63 simultaneously drives the drive machines 62 to rotate all of the support members 61 and advance them into the elevator shaft 10.

In this embodiment, the method for rotating the support member 61 by the driver 62 is a chain drive system, but a link drive system using a link member can also be used, and a configuration for rotating the support member 61 other than this embodiment can also be adopted.

In addition, in this embodiment, the movable pallet support 60 is unitized from the horizontal member 67 that is fixed to the stand 64 up to the upper part. By unitizing the movable pallet support 60, workability during transportation and assembly can be improved.

(Operation of movable pallet receiver)
Fig. 6 is a front view of the state in which the first pallet 40 is supported on the boarding floor 30. Fig. 7 is a front view of the state in which the second pallet 50 is supported on the boarding floor 30. The carrier 11 in these figures is illustrated with lateral travel rollers 21 that support from below the loading horizontal member 44 (54) provided in the width direction of the underside of the pallet 40 (50) and move it laterally, and side rollers 22 that guide the loading horizontal member 44 (54) from the front and rear directions.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the first pallet 40 is lowered toward the boarding floor 30 by the carriage 11, when the carriage 11 reaches a position a predetermined height above the boarding floor 32, the driver 62 (FIG. 3) of the movable pallet support 60 is driven, and the support member 61 is rotated about the support shaft 70. As a result, the support member 61 is advanced toward the elevator shaft 10 and stops at the advanced position F (FIG. 6).

The carrier 11 is then lowered further, and the underside (supported portion) of the road surface 42 at the four corners of the first pallet 40 is supported by the support members 61 (supporting portion). Even after the first pallet 40 is supported by the support members 61, the carrier 11 is lowered from the boarding floor 32 down to a fixed position P and stopped. This allows the first pallet 40 to be supported by the support members 61 of the movable pallet support 60, with the road surface 42 of the first pallet 40 supported at the same level as the boarding floor 32.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, when the second pallet 50 is lowered toward the boarding floor 30 by the carrier 11, the driving machine 62 of the movable pallet support 60 is not driven, and the carrier 11 is lowered to the fixed position P. With the carrier 11 lowered to the fixed position P, the vehicle runway surface 55 of the second pallet 50 placed on the carrier 11 can be supported at the same level as the boarding floor 32.

In this way, the first pallet 40 (standard pallet) with a relatively low height of the vehicle road surface 42 is placed on the carrier 11 and transported to the boarding floor 30, where it is supported by the support member 61 of the movable pallet support 60 that can move back and forth. The carrier 11 then descends to a fixed position P that is lower than this and stops. The second pallet 50 (barrier-free pallet) with a relatively high height of the vehicle road surface 55 stops at the fixed position P while being placed on the carrier 11 and transported to the boarding floor 30. That is, the carrier 11 that transports the first pallet 40 and the second pallet 50 to the boarding floor 30 stops at the fixed position P in either case, but the first pallet 40 and the second pallet 50 can be supported with their respective vehicle road surfaces 42, 55 at the same level as the upper surface of the boarding floor 32.

Moreover, by configuring the movable pallet support 60 supporting the first pallet 40 so that the support member 61 rotates horizontally, the amount of advancement into the hoistway 10 can be increased in a small space on the boarding floor 30, and the movable pallet support 60 can be formed compactly. Note that a part of the movable pallet support 60 may be in the hoistway in the retracted position of the movable pallet support 60, as long as it is in a position that does not interfere with the lifting and lowering of the pallets 40, 50 or the carrier 11. In this case, for example, the movable pallet support 60 may be configured to support the second pallet 50 in the retracted position. In this case, at least one of the supported part and the supporting part may be different from when supporting the first pallet 40, and the vehicle road surface 55 when supporting the second pallet 50 may be configured to be at the same level as the upper surface of the boarding floor 32.

(Other Modifications)
The mechanical parking facility is not limited to the elevator type parking facility 1 in the above embodiment. For example, the present invention can be applied to a mechanical parking facility such as an intermediate entry type where the parking shelf 7 is located below the entrance floor 30, and the position of the entrance floor 30 is not limited to the above embodiment.
Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8, the configuration in which the second pallet 50, which has a relatively high height from the supported portion to the vehicle road surface 55, is supported on the boarding floor 30 may be such that the second pallet 50 is supported by a movable or fixed pallet support 80 different from the movable pallet support 60 that supports the first pallet 40.

The arrangement of the lifting drive device 13 that raises and lowers the carrier 11 is also one example, and the lifting drive device 13 may be an upper drive type arranged above the upper beam 3, and the arrangement of the lifting drive device 13 is not limited to the embodiment described above.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned embodiment shows only one example, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment.

(Summary)
As described above, according to the elevator-type parking facility (mechanical parking facility) 1, the movable pallet support 60 that supports the first pallet 40 at a predetermined height on the boarding floor 30 can be configured compactly, which makes it possible to improve the degree of freedom in designing the boarding floor 30. For example, even in a configuration in which the lifting drive device 13 that raises and lowers the carrier 11 is disposed on the boarding floor 30, it is possible to easily provide the movable pallet support 60.

This makes it possible to configure a compact elevator-type parking facility (mechanical parking facility) 1 that can be used with a mixture of pallets 40, 50 that have different heights from the bottom end of the pallet to the vehicle road surface 42, 55.

1. Elevator-type parking facilities (mechanical parking facilities)
7 Parking shelf (storage area)
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Hoistway 11 Carriage 13 Hoisting drive device 14 Traction sheave 15 Cable-like body 30 Boarding floor 31 Pit 32 Boarding floor 40 First pallet 42 Car road surface 50 Second pallet 55 Car road surface 60 Movable pallet support 61 Support member (support portion)
62 Driving machine 63 Control unit 66 Cover member 80 Control device
F Advance position
R Retreat position
P Fixed position
Vehicle

Claims (5)

A first pallet in which the height of the road surface relative to the supported portion of the pallet is relatively low, and a second pallet in which the height of the road surface relative to the supported portion of the pallet is relatively high;
an entrance floor for allowing a vehicle to enter and leave the vehicle between the first pallet and the second pallet;
A carrier that raises and lowers the first pallet and the second pallet between a storage unit and the first pallet;
a hoistway through which the carriage ascends and descends;
A pit disposed below the boarding floor and connected to the elevator;
A stand disposed in the pit;
a movable pallet support that is fixed on the platform, and that, when the second pallet is placed on the boarding floor, is retracted to a position that does not prevent the second pallet from descending to a position where the vehicle road surface is at the same level as the boarding floor, and, when the first pallet is placed on the boarding floor, is in an advanced position and has a support member that supports the vehicle road surface of the first pallet at the same level as the boarding floor,
The movable pallet support is provided at least at the four corners of the elevator shaft in a plan view, and is configured to advance to the advanced position or retreat from the advanced position by rotating the support member in a horizontal direction.
A mechanical parking facility characterized by: The movable pallet support has a support shaft extending in a vertical direction, the support member rotating around the support shaft, a drive unit for rotating the support member, and a horizontal member supporting the support shaft, the support member, and the drive unit and fixed to the stand, and the support shaft, the support member, the drive unit, and the horizontal member are unitized.
2. A mechanical parking facility according to claim 1. The movable pallet support includes a first movable pallet support disposed at the front of the hoistway and a second movable pallet support disposed at the rear of the hoistway, the first movable pallet support being configured such that the support member directly supporting the first pallet rotates from the longitudinal center of the hoistway toward the longitudinal front to advance, and the second movable pallet support being configured such that the support member rotates from the longitudinal center of the hoistway toward the longitudinal rear to advance.
A mechanical parking facility according to claim 1 or 2. A control unit is provided for simultaneously driving the movable pallet support to rotate the support member and advance the support member into the elevator when the first pallet is placed on the boarding floor.
A mechanical parking facility according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The driving machine has a drive shaft that rotates the support member that protrudes downward,
The movable pallet receiver has an airtight cover member that covers an area above the drive shaft of the drive machine.
3. A mechanical parking facility according to claim 2.

Images