GB2199287A

GB2199287A - Displayable parking ticket

Info

Publication number: GB2199287A
Application number: GB08729096A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Colin Johnson
Original assignee: TELPARK
Current assignee: TELPARK
Priority date: 1986-12-15
Filing date: 1987-12-14
Publication date: 1988-07-06
Anticipated expiration: 2007-12-14
Also published as: GB8729096D0; GB2199287B; GB8629880D0

Abstract

A displayable parking ticket is printed with groups of data, for example the date (year (2), month (3) and day (4) i.e., 1 to 31) and numbers (5) representing hours or parts thereof. There may simply be one group of such numbers to indicate "times of arrival" or there may be a second group to indicate "times of departures" (6). The card is provided with scratch-off areas (Fig. 2), or tear-off portions or tabs (Fig. 3) in order to display the relevant data. <IMAGE>

Description

TICKET OR CARD The invention relates to a ticket or card, particularly such a ticket or card for indicating a permitted parking duration for use by motorists and other wheeled vehicle users.

Modern cities are suffering from severe parking problems in their centres caused by long-term on-street parking of vehicles. In many places this problem is a threat to the commercial life of the city and therefore Councils are looking for all sorts of remedies to overcome it.

The first action was to declare the city centre as a "short-term" parking zone and to employ parking attendants to supervise the parked vehicles. However as the cost of supervision is high, parking meters were introduced on the street in order to collect enough money to cover the cost of supervision and to force commuters to use public transport or off street parking. After more than 20 years of utilization of parking meters Councils are looking for new means to control short-term parking because of the following disadvantages 1. Large investment is necessary for purchase and installation of parking meters.

2. More and more meters are damaged through improper use, vandalism and theft.

3. The meters are stumbling blocks for pedestrians on the pavements.

4. The meters bring ugliness to streets and buildings.

5. It is difficult for wardens to catch drivers who purposely damage the meters.

6. Meters require expensive maintenance.

7. Collecting and handling the cash is a difficult and costly operation.

8. The net income from parking is very low compared with expectation.

9. The easy action of meter feeding does not deter drivers from long-term parking.

It is an object of the invention to seek to mitigate these disadvantages.

According to the invention there is provided a parking ticket comprising a ticket or card marked with dates and numbers representina hours or parts thereof, and means for indicating the date and the "time of arrival" at least being provided by producing the ticket or card with a "scratch off" facility.

The ticket or card may have means whereby it can be supported inside, for example, a car for easy viewing.

The numbers representing hours or parts thereof may simply be "time of arrival" or they may be in two appropriately arranged groups, for example, columns or circles, one group being "time of arrival" and the other "time of departure".

Embodiments of the invention are hereinafter described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a plan view of one ticket or card according to the invention Figure 2 is a plan view of a second ticket or card according to the invention; and Figures 3 t9 5 are plan views of third, fourth and fifth tickets or cards according to the invention.

Referring to the drawings (Figure 1), a parking ticket 1 comprises a card provided with a "scratch off" characteristic. In such a card, the card is appropriately printed as will be referred to later and certain panels or areas are obscured with a medium comprising a latex and aluminium dust (silver appearance), or a latex and carbon dust (black appearance). The card may then be overprinted and while this is not essential it is preferred. The "scratch off" surface medium may be a friable medium.

The ticket or card 1 is printed with appropriately arranged groups of data, for example the date (year 2, month 3 and day 4 i.e. 1 to 31) and numbers 5 representing hours or parts thereof.

There may simply be one group of such numbers to indicate "times of arrival".

However, in a card 10 there may be a second group to indicate "times of departures" 6 (see Figure 2). If two groups 5 and 6 are provided it is preferred they be arranged in adjacent parallel columns. (In Figures 1 and 2, like parts are indicated by like reference numerals).

The card 1,10 has a means 7 for attaching it inside, for example, a car so that it can easily be viewed by, for example, a Traffic Warden. Such means may be a suspension configuration or attachment, an adhesive strip, or a fold, score or crease line adjacent an edge of the card whereby a strip of the material of the card can be folded out of the plane of the card to provide a tang or hook whereby to hang the card from the car window.

The tickets would be purchased in the form of booklets, sold, for example, at petrol stations or Newsagents.

When a driver bus, say a booklet of 10 cards he or she effectIvely purchases in advance the right to park a predetermined number of times in controller parking areas.

On arrival at such an area the driver will simply "scratch out" the date and the "time of arrival" panels and leave the ticket on view inside the car.

Thus, a 'arcen will be able readily to see if the allotted time for that parking area has been overstayed.

There may be occasions or parking areas where the driver is required to specify "time of departure" and this again car. be done by "scratching out" the appropriate panel of the card.

The panel of the card 1,10 may be overprinted with indicia representing a day, month and time and the card underneath a particular panel may have an identical lndicia for ease of identification.

Alternatively, the card underneath a scratch-off panel may be blank.

Alternatively, according to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a ticket or card which is marked wit dates and numbers representing hours or parts thereof, and a plurality of means indicating respective particular locations associated with a particular time period.

Thus using a card as hereinbefore described in the immediately preceding paragraph, the indicating means represents a particular parking zone where the ticket or card is used throughout a parking area such as a city which has different parking zones.

The indicating means may be a plurality of tear-off portions or tabs each one representing a particular zone. The tabs may be arranged substantially parallel with one another at one edge or end of the ticket or card, as shown in Figures 3,4 and 5 in which there is shown respectively three different parking tickets 20,30,40 each for a respective parking fee 21,31,41.

The tickets or cards 20,30,40 each have indicating means 8 corresponding to zones, in the embodiments illustrated, each ticket having three tabs or zones 8',8",8"' arranged in series at an end of the ticket.

The driver tears out tabs appropriate to the date and hour and minute of arrival and tears off an indicating means 8',8",8"' to leave as the bottom one the appropriate zone in which the car is parked, and displays as described above for the scratch-off card.

To show that he is validated correctly, the bottom 11 of the tickets 20,30,40 may be torn away to show a torn bottom edge. The zbnes may be separated by tear-off or score lines 12 which may be perforated to facilitate tearing.

It will be understood that in the embodiments shown (Figures 3-5), the tickets have tear-out tabs 9 for the date and time. These could be replaced by scratch-off or friable covering layers as described in the first and second embodiments, Figures 1 and 2.

In Figures 3,4 and 5 the time includes tear-off tabs 13 representing five minute time tranches. This equally can be applied to the "scratch-off" tickets or cards.

Also, it will be understood that the date and time may be indicated by punching-through particular date and time indicating means on the ticket, and this "punch through" system may be combined with zone indicating means of the embodiments of Figures 3,4 and 5.

The zone indicating means may be tear-off tabs 8',8" and 8"' dLstrlbuted around the edges of the ticket or card, and not just at one edge as indicated in Figures 3,4 and 5.

A ticket or card as described herein may be treated to prevent fraudulent use arising out of the reinstatement of one or more "scratched out", torn out or punched through panels. Thus, the parking ticket is rendered secure. According to this aspect of the invention, each card is printed with a bar code in other words a system of lines and spaced representing an alpha numeric coding system.

The ard or ticket is then associated with a scanner or device which reads bar codes, and a data collection unit which is a small probably or possibly hand-held computer for storing information received from the scanner when reading the bar codes. The method of operation would then be as follows, in one example 1.. Cards (tIckets etc.) would be printed (comDuterized print) with sequential (alpha) numeric and matching bar code.

2.. Daily, as the cards are- sold into distributors, the card numbers will be entered into a main computer (valid numbers).

3.. When in use the cards (tickets etc.) would be scanned (infra-red, laser or other devices) and the numbers recorded in the data collection unit.

4.. At the end of each period, maximum one day, the information in the data collection unit will be downloaded into the main computer. The used numbers will be deleted from the valid number list.

5.. It is possible that the computer will detect (a) Numbers which have been sold and previously used, i.e. re-use of the card as forgery.

(b) Numbers which have not been sold, i.e. forgery.

6.. If any fraudulent numbers are detected they will be downloaded into the individual data collection units.

7.. If the same numbers are read again the data collection unit will advise the operator, by say a bleep, who can then advise the police.

The bar code may be arranged so as to identify a particular area where a ticket or card is purchased; for example, if a card is bought for use in one Local Authority area, such as a Borough, and is used in another, the coding details will enable the Warden to check whether the ticket or card is being used in the correct area or Borough. In other words if a parking ticket is bought for use in the Borough of Camden, fraudulent use in the Borough of Islington can readily be detected and appropriate action taken. Also, funds can then be transferred to the correct recipient.

Furthermore, the securing system may not be reliant on the use of bar codes. A numerical system can be used whereby a number is physically punched on the card and these numbers can then be directly read or checked later. Such tickets or cards could be used at sporting stadia, theatres etc., for checking or forged tickets as they are presented by a holder seeking to gain admission. The tickets or cards thus provide a security system for sequentially numbered or coded Items.

The Invention may be modified, for example, the method of reading the security device, the bar code reader, may comprise a hand held bar code reader (used by say a Traffic Warden), or static or fixed bar code reader (as would be applicable in a ticket office). Moreover, there are various "methods" of security, including within the scope of the invention : (i) Printing in metallic ink (characters, spots, bars etc.) and using a magnetic character reader (as in cheques etc).

(ii) A form of printing (of characters, spots, bars etc.) and the use of an optical character reader.

(iii) A system in which a person monitoring reads the number on the ticket and physically enters it into a keypad or keyboard, portable or fixed.

Claims

1. A ticket or card marked with dates and numbers representing hours or parts thereof, and means for indicating a date and "time of arrival".

2. A ticket or card according to Claim 1, the indicating means comprising a layer of removable material.

3. A ticket orcard according to Claim 2, including overprinting in the removabie material.

4. A ticket or card according to Claim 2 or 3, the indicating means comprising a plurality of tear off tabs.

5. A ticket or card according to Claim 4, the indicating means comprising a plurality of means indicating respective particular locations associated with a particular time period.

6. A ticket or card according to Claim 5, the indicating means representing particular zones where theçticket or card is used in an area which has different zones.

7. A ticket or card according to Claim 6, the zones being parking zones.

8. A ticket or card according to Claim 6 or Claim 7, the indicating means comprising a plurality of tear-off portions or tabs.

9. A ticket or card according to Claim 8, the portions or tabs being arranged substantially parallel with one another at one edge of the ticket or card.

10. A ticket or card according to Claim 9, there being three portions or tabs connected with one another at an end of an oblong ticket or card.

11. A ticket or card according to Claim 1, the indicating means being a "punch-through" area or areas of the ticket or card.

12. A ticket or card according to any preceding claim, including security means whereby attempted re-use of a previously used ticket or card is monitorable.

i3. A ticket or card according to Claim 12, the security means being a bar code.

14. A ticket or card according to Claim 12, the security means comprising an application of a metallic ink or similar carrier.

15. A ticket or card according to Claim 12, the security means comprising means susceptible of being read by an optical character reader.

16. A ticket or card according to Claim 12, comprising a number or legend particular to each ticket or card.

17. A ticket or card according to any one of Claims 12 to 16, in combination with a device for monitoring the particular security means utilized.

18. A ticket or card according to Claim 17, the device being hand held and/or portable.

19. A ticket or card according to either of Claims 17 or 18, the device being adapted to interface with a main data storage device.

2G. A ticket or card according to Claim 19, the main data storage device being a computer.

21. A ticket or card according to any preceding claim,including means to display the ticket or card at a point of use.

22. A ticket or card according to Claim 21, the display means comprising a foldable edge, or a tang.

23. A ticket or card according to any preceding claim, put up for use with a plurality of similar ones in a block, pad or book.

24. A ticket or card, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

25. A ticketing system, including a ticket or card according to any preceding claim, and a device for monitoring use of the ticket or card.