Bicycle tree
Encyclopedia
A Bicycle tree or cycle tree or bike tree is an bicycle parking system that resembles a tree in shape. There are a few types that have been developed.
Some are manual, some use mechanical means to move the bike, assisting the bike by raising into a particular spot, they can handle between 5-20 bicycles depending on size. They are made by various companies in Europe and North America. Still others, like the one made by JFE Steel of Japan, are fully automated and computerized and can handle and locate some 9,400 bicycles for example, underneath a major train station or university.
. It can handle one or two dozen bicycles.
, has been developed by JFE Engineering, a unit of JFE Holdings of Japan. The first bike tree of this type became available for public use in 2006, storing 1,476 bicycles using an integrated circuit
based tag system, cleanly stored away above ground in an urban office-like building. Mechanical units have been expanded to hold some 6,480 bicycles, for which retrieval time is 23 seconds, such as in this 15 meter deep underground storage facility. Various municipalities in the Greater Tokyo area run the system or are planning installing them, charging 1800 yen a month for storage or a one time fee of 100 yen.
Some are manual, some use mechanical means to move the bike, assisting the bike by raising into a particular spot, they can handle between 5-20 bicycles depending on size. They are made by various companies in Europe and North America. Still others, like the one made by JFE Steel of Japan, are fully automated and computerized and can handle and locate some 9,400 bicycles for example, underneath a major train station or university.
Manual
Various companies have developed simple bike trees, including ones for sale at a hardware store, such as Harbor Freight Tools, that have hooks to hang 5 bicycles.Mechanical assisted
A Swiss company, Bike Tree International, designed a system whereby a bicycle can be hoisted into a tree-shaped device after lifting the front of the bike and connecting the wheel to a hook by rope. There are plans to deploy this machine in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. It can handle one or two dozen bicycles.
Automated storage and retrieval system
A similar but much larger device, an automated storage and retrieval systemAutomated Storage and Retrieval System
An automated storage and retrieval system consists of a variety of computer-controlled methods for automatically placing and retrieving loads from specific storage locations...
, has been developed by JFE Engineering, a unit of JFE Holdings of Japan. The first bike tree of this type became available for public use in 2006, storing 1,476 bicycles using an integrated circuit
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
based tag system, cleanly stored away above ground in an urban office-like building. Mechanical units have been expanded to hold some 6,480 bicycles, for which retrieval time is 23 seconds, such as in this 15 meter deep underground storage facility. Various municipalities in the Greater Tokyo area run the system or are planning installing them, charging 1800 yen a month for storage or a one time fee of 100 yen.
External links
- Demonstration video of Japanese system on Youtube.
- Demonstration video of Swiss system on Biketree company website