ELECTRONIC TICKET FOR PARKING SUBJECT TO CHARGES

TICKET ELECTRONIQUE DE STATIONNEMENT PAYANT

English Abstract

The invention concerns a public parking electronic ticket consisting of a
portable housing (10) comprising: a first memory storing tariff rates; a
second memory storing parking units; means (11, 12) for selecting a tariff
rate; a clock supplying current date and time; means for computing date and
time of authorised parking termination taking into account the selected tariff
rate, the parking units stored in the second memory, and current date and
time; a display unit (13) for displaying, at least, the selected tariff rate
and date and time of termination of authorised parking; means for consuming
parking units stored in the second memory; means (14) for stopping at will
said ongoing consumption means. The invention is applicable to public parking
lots.

French Abstract

Selon l'invention, ledit ticket électronique est constitué d'un boîtier (10) portable comprenant: une première mémoire de stockage de régimes tarifaires, une deuxième mémoire de stockage d'unités de stationnement, des moyens (11, 12) de sélection d'un régime tarifaire, une horloge fournissant la date et l'heure courantes, des moyens de calcul de la date et de l'heure de fin de stationnement autorisé compte tenu du régime tarifaire sélectionné, des unités de stationnement stockées dans ladite deuxième mémoire, et de la date et de l'heure courantes, un afficheur (13) apte à afficher, au moins, le régime tarifaire sélectionné et la date et l'heure de fin de stationnement autorisé, des moyens pour consommer les unités de stationnement stockées dans la deuxième mémoire, des moyens (14) pour stopper à volonté lesdits moyens de consommation progressive. Application au stationnement payant.

Claims

6
CLAIMS
1 - Electronic parking ticket subject to charges, characterised in that it is
constituted by an autonomous portable individual box (10) including
- ~a first memory for storing tariff rates,
- ~a second memory for storing parking units,
- ~means (11, 12) for selecting a tariff rate stored in said first memory,
- ~a clock supplying the current date and time,
- ~means for calculating the date and the time of the end of authorised
parking, having regard to the selected tariff rate, parking units stored in
said
second memory, and the current date and time,
- ~a display unit (13) for displaying at least the selected tariff rate and
the date and time of the end of authorised parking,
- ~means to gradually consume over a period of time the parking units
stored in the second memory,
- ~means (14) to deliberately stop said means for gradually consuming
the parking units, that it is able to receive the tariff rates from a tariff
updating device (1, 3).
2 - Electronic ticket according to claim 1, characterised in that said display
unit
(13) is also able to display at least one of the following types of
information: amount
paid, time elapsed since the start of parking, and the identity of the parking
operator.
3 - Electronic ticket according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterised in that
it is
able to receive the parking units from a parking unit transfer device (1,2,3).
4 - Electronic ticket according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in
that
said tariff updating device is an electronic smart card (1) known as a
configuration card
able to co-operate with an electronic smart card reader of said box (10).
- Electronic ticket according to claims 3 and 4, characterised in that said
configuration card (1) also constitutes said parking unit transfer device.
6 - Electronic ticket according to claim 4 or 5, characterised in that the
configuration card (1) is able to receive a tariff updating and parking units
from an
i autonomous terminal (30).
7 - Electronic ticket according to claim 6, characterised in that said
autonomous
terminal is a time recorder.

7
8 - Electronic ticket according one of claims 4 or 5, characterised in that
the
configuration card (1) is able to receive a tariff updating of the parking
units from a
non-autonomous terminal.
9 - Electronic ticket according to claims 3 and 4, characterised in that said
parking unit transfer device is a disposable electronic smart card (2) able to
co-operate
with said electronic smart card reader of the box (10).
- Electronic ticket according to any one of claims 3 to 9, characterised in
that
said tariff updating device and said parking unit transfer device is a
disposable
electronic smart card (3), is autonomous and is able to cooperate with said
electronic
smart card reader of the box (10).
11 - Electronic ticket according to claim 3, characterised in that said box
(10) is
fitted with means (11, 12) for the selective transfer of a given number of
parking units
of the parking unit transfer device (1,2,3) to said second storage memory.

Description

CA 02308767 2000-04-19
' 1
ELECTRONIC TICKET FOR PARKING SUBJECT TO CHARGES
The present invention concerns an electronic ticket for parking subject to
charges.
The invention is particularly advantageous in the general field of parking
subject
to charges and more particularly in the field relating to individual parking
meters placed
inside vehicles and known as ICPMs ("In-Car Parking-Meters").
There are ICPM type individual parking meter systems made up of two
elements, namely firstly an electronic smart card precharged with parking
units, and
secondly a box able to accommodate said card and comprising a microprocessor
intended, apart from other things, to gradually consume over a period of time
the
to parking units present in the smart card. In addition, said box is fitted
with a display
device indicating the date and time of the end of authorised parking.
This individual parking meter system operates as follows : the motorist
inserts
an electronic smart card, previously obtained from the parking operator or a
distributor,
into the box. After starting the system, the microprocessor of the box
calculates the date
and time of the end of authorised parking according to the units remaining in
the card,
and possibly the current tariff. The box/card unit is then placed behind the
windscreen
of the vehicle. Then a parking operator is able at any moment to check the
validity of
the presence of the vehicle by comparing the current date and time with the
date and
time of the end of authorised parking indicated by the display device of the
box.
2o However, these known type of individual parking meter systems do have the
drawback in that the electronic smart card charged with parking units is
permanently
inserted inside the box and is thus visible from the outside of the vehicle
throughout the
period of parking, which is likely to encourage fraud, it being relatively
simple to know
the units contents of the card by comparing the current date and time with the
displayed
date and time of authorised parking,
Accordingly, the technical problem to be resolved by means of the present
invention is of proposing an electronic parking ticket subject to charges
offering more
security than current known ICPM systems.
According to the present invention, the solution to the technical problem
consists

CA 02308767 2000-04-19
2
in that said electronic ticket is made up of an autonomous portable individual
box
including
- a first tariff rate storage memory,
- a second parking unit storage memory,
- means for selecting a tariff rate stored in said first memory,
- a clock displaying the current date and time,
- means for calculating the date and time of the end of authorised
parking, having regard to the selected tariff rate, the parking units stored
inside said second memory, and the current date and time,
- a display unit able to display at least the selected tariff rate and the
date and time of the end of authorised parking,
- means to gradually consume over a particular period of time the
parking units stored in the second memory,
- means to deliberately stop said progressive parking unit consumption
means.
Thus, the parking electronic ticket subject to charges of the invention
functions
autonomously, the parking units to be consumed being stored in said second
memory of
the box and not in an external card and permanently connected to the box. The
risk of
fraud is thus limited to solely the units contained in the second memory.
2o So as to be able to take account of any modifications of the tariff rate,
the
invention provides that the electronic ticket is able to receive tariff rates
of a tariff
updating device. According to one embodiment of the invention, said tariff
updating
device is an electronic smart card known as a configuration card and is able
to cooperate
with an electronic smart card reader of said box. This configuration card is
initially
issued by the relevant parking operator and, apart from the actual tariff
conditions
(hourly tariff, maximum period) contains information relating to access by
users to
favoured parking tariffs : free time, resident tariff, for example. The
transfer of the tariff
rate of the configuration card to the first storage memory is simply made by
inserting
the card into the reader.
3o Similarly, it is an advantage that the electronic ticket of the invention
can be
charged with parking units or recharged after using up the units contained in
the second
memory. To this effect, according to the invention, the electronic ticket is
provided to

CA 02308767 2000-04-19
3
receive the parking units from a parking unit transfer device. Generally
speaking, said
parking unit transfer device is an electronic smart card compatible with the
card reader
of the box.
According to a particularly advantageous disposition of the invention, said
box is
fitted with means for the selective transfer of a given number of parking
units from the
parking unit transfer device to said second storage memory. The user therefore
is able to
choose the number of units he/she wishes to transfer. For greater security, it
is advisable
to transfer only those units corresponding to the provided period of parking,
the
remaining units being kept in the transfer card retained by the user outside
the box and
1o the vehicle.
In accordance with a particular embodiment of the invention, said
configuration
card also constitutes said parking unit transfer device. In this case, this is
a sole card
able to update the first storage memory of the box and allows for the transfer
of units in
the second storage memory of said box. This configuration card can be updated
concerning the tariff and/or recharged with parking units. To this end, the
configuration
card of the invention is able to receive a tariff updating and parking units
from an
autonomous terminal, such as a time recorder or from a non-autonomous
terminal, such
as a points of sales terminal.
According to a first variant, the configuration card is only intended for
tariff
2o updating and said parking unit transfer device is a disposable electronic
card able to
cooperate with said electronic memory card reader of the box. This disposable
card can
be obtained from sale points approved by the parking operator.
According to a second variant, said tariff updating device and said parking
unit
transfer device constitute a disposable electronic smart card known as an
autonomous
card, able to co-operate with said electronic smart card reader of the box.
This
autonomous card is distributed by the parking operator via his various sale
points.
The following description, relating to the accompanying drawing and given
solely by way of non-restrictive example, gives full details of the invention
and how it
can be embodied.
3o Figure 1 shows a parking ticket 10 constituted by a portable individual box
including a memory for storing tariff rates and known as the first memory.
This
concerns parking tariffs for the different areas of a given town : town
centre, outskirts,

CA 02308767 2000-04-19
4
etc. The box 10 also includes a second memory to store parking units expressed
as their
financial value. Said first and second memories can be two separate memories
or two
separate areas of a single given memory.
The choice of a tariff rate is effected with the aid of two scrolling buttons
1 l, 12
able to scroll the list of tariff rates in either direction.
Furthermore, the box 10 is fitted with a microprocessor which, in relation to
the
contents of the first and second storage memories, is able to calculate the
date and the
end of the time of authorised parking according to the selected tariff rate,
the parking
units stored in the second memory and the current date and time provided by a
clock of
1 o the box 10.
The selected tariff rate and the date and time of the end of parking are
displayed
on a display unit 13 of the box 10 so as to enable a parking operator to
inspect the
legality of parking when the electronic ticket is placed behind the windscreen
of a
vehicle. Of course, the display unit 13 can display other types of
information, such as
the amount paid, the time elapsed from the start of parking and the identity
of the
parking operator.
During the parking period, said microprocessor gradually consumes the parking
units stored in the second memory until they are used up, unless the user
returns to his
vehicle before the end of authorised parking and stops the consumption of
units by
2o pressing, for example, on a key 14 for stopping functioning of the
electronic ticket 10.
The units not consumed shall be used subsequently during a period following
parking
subject to charges.
To the extent that the tariff rates are likely to modified over a period of
time, it is
necessary to provide a device for updating the first memory of the electronic
ticket 10.
As shown on figure 1, said tariff updating device can be an electronic smart
card
1 known as a configuration card issued by the parking operator by means of a
computer
20. In this case, the box 10 is fitted with a smart card reader so as to
transfer the tariff
rate ($/h) contained in the configuration card 1 in the first storage memory
of the box
10.
3o Figure 1 also shows that the configuration card 1 can be used as a parking
unit
transfer device ($) in the second storage memory of the box 10. In this
operating mode,
the user obtains a configuration card 1 from the parking operator and inserts
it into the

CA 02308767 2000-04-19
card reader of his electronic ticket 10. The tariff rate ($/h) of the
configuration card is
then transferred into said first memory. The user then has the possibility of
transferring
parking units ($) from the card 1 to said second memory. The number of parking
units
transferred to the box 10 is selected according to the provided period of
parking with the
5 aid of selective transfer means, such as the buttons 11, 12. However, if he
wishes, the
user can transfer all the parking units contained in the configuration card 1.
According to the embodiment of figure l, the configuration card can be brought
up to date as regards tariffs and can be recharged with parking units from an
autonomous terminal, such as a time recorder 30. Said time recorder contains a
memory
to containing the current tariff rate, this memory being updated by the
operator 20 using a
tariff transfer card 4. So as to update and/or recharge his configuration card
l, the user
needs to insert it into a card reader of the time recorder 30. The new tariff
rate ($/h)
contained in the memory of said time recorder is entered on the configuration
card 1. So
as to recharge the card 1 with parking units, the user puts into the time
recorder coins,
notes or even a bank card or smart card or any other payment device accepted
by the
time recorder. The configuration card 1 is then ready to be used in the
electronic ticket
10.
Of course, this updating and/or recharging of the configuration card can also
be
effected with a non-autonomous terminal, such as a sales point terminal, or
with the
2o counters of the operator, for example with the aid of a computer provided
with a card
reader.
In addition to the configuration card 1 shown on figure l, the user can use a
disposable electronic smart card 2 compatible with the reader of the box 10
and intended
solely for the transfer of parking units ($) in the electronic ticket 10. In
this case, the
configuration card 1 strictly needs to be used to transfer the tariff rate
($/h).
Finally, according to another embodiment, the means for updating the tariff
and
the means for transferring parking units is a disposable electronic smart card
3
compatible with the reader of the box 10. This card, which is autonomous, is
also issued
by the operator 20 and is available from his distributors.

Representative Drawing