General features of the CONVEYING MACHINERY (the TENDER)

A transportation vehicle, the TENDER, is used to haul the vehicles up or down the cylindrically shaped building. This TENDER belongs to the group of automatic driver-less vehicles which are, in a variety of shapes and configurations, widely used today in production plants and other industrial situations.

They perform routine tasks in internal company storage and conveying techniques.

Every TENDER consists of either two module (parallel type) or four module (cross-wise type). Each of these modules carries one car, either singly or in two's or four's as the work load demands.

- Type 18/2: A Tender of two modules (parallel type)
- Type 24/4: A Tender of four modules (cross-type)

The TENDER is a moving vehicle, or "truck", which has

- all-wheel drive
- electric motors with brakes and gear mechanism
- solid tires (industrial standard parts for heavy loads)
- a shuttle device for lifting and moving the car automatically
- is driven by its tires along a single track
- is steered by mechanical means
- is operated and controlled solely by computer

Transportation of this TENDER from the bottom of the cylindrical shaped building to the top is achieved by means of a single track formed like a spiral (or auger). The tires of the TENDER run on this track, and when the TENDER revolves, it results in the tires being run up or down the tracks gentle slope. The TENDER twists one way, the tires drive up the track, and the TENDER rises upward. The TENDER twists the opposite way, and the tires roll down the track, and the TENDER descends towards the exit chamber.

Conventional heavy-duty elevators,
slow and prone to failure, are eliminated.

This is a major advantage of GRANDO®, as the full weight of the car is supported by the heavy-duty wheels. Conventional elevator-based car lifting devices are known to have chronic problems with the fine-tuning of end switches. They require frequent service, as the storage level approach has to be performed either empty or with the full load of a car on the lifting device, technically two completely different tasks.

The TENDER, on the other hand, rolls solidly on its tires up or down on the dedicated sloping track. The weight of the car and/or the tender is supported by the wheels, while the storage level approach is achieved in an almost lateral movement, which is technically much easier handling.

Access to each single car storage chamber is possible at any time that the computer commands, as GRANDO® allows full random access to each chamber in the system rather than linear as in elevator operations.