KR20000028715A - Electronic parking meter locking system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A locking system is provided to prevent loss or robbery of a device while not using an additional inner circuit and to reduce operation cost. CONSTITUTION: An electronic parking meter includes a microprocessor or a micro-controller, which is connected to a power(14) with a battery back up system and to a real time clock(12). Then, a coin or a paying card is inserted to the meter through an electronic input trigger(11), or an automatic logging system checks additional time. The time and an added amount are recorded in a memory(16) of the meter. Then, a meter representing unit(15) informs the amount of used time to a user. And, an electro mechanic locker(17) is partially controlled by a processor(10) in response to an input, which is received by a telecommunication interface(13).

Description

Electronic parking meter locking system {ELECTRONIC PARKING METER LOCKING SYSTEM}

This application claims priority to 60 / 102,057, filed Sep. 28, 1998, and 09 / 212,542, filed Dec. 16, 1998, which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to electronic parking meters and other types of parking devices, and to protect them from intentional damage or theft.

[Background: Prevention of theft by thieves intentionally damaging the parking meter]

The parking device generally indicates the time the vehicle has stayed within a given parking space and thus receives a fee (e.g., a coin, token or more recently an electronic payment card). These are generally of two types: parking meters and central parking collectors.

The term parking meter, as used herein, is designed to be positioned adjacent to one or more parking spaces, meaning managing only a few vehicles. The parking meter may be located adjacent to each parking space allocated between two adjacent parking spaces, or may be positioned to manage up to four vehicles with one parking meter at a position where two rows of parked vehicles face each other.

On the other hand, the central parking collector is designed to handle multiple parking spaces at one point in the center to manage all the multiple vehicles as one.

These two types of systems differ in many ways (for example, parking meters are generally battery or solar cells, and central parking collectors use external power sources), but both can be safely collected. It is used to provide money, only authorized people can take money out.

Although the use of electronic devices in a parking device reduces the need to manage cash by an electronic payment system, many parking devices still store cash, so that in the design of these parking devices, there is a risk of deliberate damage. Threats are becoming a real problem. The meter is designed to withstand hitting or pinching, but thieves can drill out the locks of the safe to take out the stored cash. This forced manufacturers to use better, more expensive locking devices instead of using others.

Since a lock produced by Medeco is controlled by its own independent electronic circuitry, for example, an electronic device that can only be opened by a key or the like combined with an electronic component such as a pocket computer communicating with the electronic device -Mechanical lock.

[Background: Prevention of Theft by Employees Managing Parking Devices]

In addition to protecting the meter from thieves, various methods have been used to prevent theft by employees when collecting coins from the meter. The meter is typically emptied by an employee who opens and closes the meter and takes out collected coins while walking between the meters. It's easy to hide a lot of small coins, and because there's generally no observer, many residents suspect that much of their taxes are being stolen from the parking meter, but there's no way to prove that claim.

[Electronic parking device accounting settlement / safe door lock system]

The present application includes the use of an electromechanical locking device combination on a parking device safe door. This involves the use of a key controlled lock that is used in conjunction with an electronic controlled lock that interfaces with the electronic circuitry of the parking meter itself.

The present application includes two levels of safety devices. The device used to control the electronically controlled lock can be programmed to automatically transmit the situation of the meter including the amount of cash collected when the coin is removed. This provides an accounting basis that can be used to detect theft of coins by people collecting money from the meter. Low level safeguards do not perform electronic account settlement for opening of safes.

The new forms included in the various embodiments provide one or more of the following advantages.

Safer to take out cash by deliberately damaging the meter.

· Improved discoverability of theft by employees.

Two devices are used to open the meter, making it less dangerous to preserve integrity even if one device is lost or stolen.

The mechanical part of the locking device is less expensive.

You cannot open the safe by drilling a lock.

There is no need to use additional internal circuitry to control the locking device.

There is no need to use additional electronics to operate the lock.

Reduced operating costs

Reduced production costs

1 is a block diagram of an electronic circuit included in a parking meter using a locking device of the present invention.

2A-2D are rear and side views illustrating selected embodiments of electromechanical locking device combinations.

3 is an exploded view of a representative parking meter and safe housing.

4A and 4B are external views illustrating each embodiment of a parking meter safe and various types of electronic keys.

4C is an enlarged view of the wireless communication device used in FIG. 4B.

* Description of the simple symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

10 microprocessor 12 real time clock

34: safe 36: safe door

38: lock

The present invention is described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings, which are hereby incorporated by reference, illustrate the main embodiments of the invention.

Various novel techniques of the present application are described with reference to selected embodiments. It should be borne in mind, however, that this is just an embodiment providing only a few examples of the numerous advantages that can be obtained using the novel techniques herein. In general, the description set forth in the specification of this application should not be construed as limiting the various claimed invention. In addition, some descriptions apply only to some new shapes and not others.

[summary]

The parking meter (or central parking machine) using the system of the present invention represents a path for storing and storing physically paid fees and an electronic circuit for controlling the parking device, i. Must have electronic circuitry.

Electronic payments may be made by a smart card, which is typically a stored memory card the size of a credit card. These cards contain stored programming and user data and are becoming increasingly common in financial processing. In the parking meter, the physical fee payment can be used for tokens, but coins are generally used, and for central parking machines, bills can also be used. In the following, payments in other physical (except electronic) forms are collectively referred to as coins.

In the present specification, although it may have various forms, a part of a housing for storing coins is referred to as a safe and an opening through which cash can be taken out of the device is referred to as a safe door. Means must be additionally provided for communicating with the parking device when an authorized person opens the vault door and withdraws cash from the device.

1 shows a block diagram of an example of an electronic parking meter in accordance with the present invention. The meter includes a microprocessor (μP) 10 (e.g., 8048 or 8051) or a microcontroller (μC) connected to both a power supply 14 with a battery backup system and a real time clock 12.

A form of payment, i.e., a coin or a payment card, is inserted into the meter through a coin or electronic input trigger 11 of the parking space user, or is used to pay the road fee without stopping an automatic logging system; Similar to the system being used). The time and charge are recorded in the memory 16 provided in the meter by μC or μP. The meter display unit 15 informs the user of the amount of use time. The communication interface 13 provides a means for converting the programming or telling the meter is working. An electromechanical locking mechanism 17 is at least partially controlled by the processor 10 in response to an input received by the communication interface 13.

The system can be used with two grades of safety. In a first class of high stability, the system manager programs the communication device to act as an electronic key, ie to unlock the electronically controlled part of the locking device. At the same time, safety control information can be introduced, for example, to limit the amount of time a communication device is available, to control the location or number of processes the device is used, or to provide an employee password that must be entered before use. The communication device is set to transmit identification information of the meter, journal, time, employee identification information, and any other necessary information. This prevents employees from stealing coins when they collect them.

If this level of safety is not required, the communication device can only be used to simply open the electronically controlled lock without the accounting function being performed. In both cases, the safe can be opened with a mechanical key once the electronic control of the locking device is opened.

[Housing and Locking Device: First Embodiment]

A selected embodiment for meters that can use both coins and smart cards is shown in FIG. 4A. The outer housing 30 of the parking meter includes an independent safe 34 for holding a coin container holding a coin inserted after the coin has been inserted and a mechanical housing 32 for receiving the operation of the meter. The square vault door 36 is hinged on its lower edge and can be opened outward to open the coin barrel. The electromechanical locking device 38 holds the safe door in the closed position.

In selected embodiments, the electronic control of the locking device is a solenoid control piston and is interfaced with the operation of the regular mechanical locking device shown in FIGS. 2A-2D in the rest position. 2A and 2B are rear and side views, respectively, of the locking mechanism in the locked position. In the normal locking condition, the locking mechanism is rotated when the appropriate key is inserted into the locking device 22. This movement moves the pin 24, which pushes the sliding mechanism 26 inward and outward. However, in the figure, the piston 28 is engaged in the sliding mechanism so that even if the appropriate key is inserted, the sliding portion does not move and the locking mechanism does not rotate. The slide will remain unmoved even if the locking device 22 is drilled, which provides an additional level of protection.

2C to 2D are rear and side views showing the same locking device as in the opening procedure. The electronic key is activated and the solenoid retracts the piston so as not to block the sliding mechanism. The locking device is now freely rotatable and moves the slides sequentially so that the door is opened.

Since the safe door of the present embodiment is formed in a rectangular shape and the lock is subsequently positioned near the upper end of the safe, the electromechanical lock provides additional protection against attempts to major in the instrument housing directly above the safe. to provide.

HOUSING: OPTIONAL EXAMPLE

3 is an exploded view of an m housing with a safe and a lockable safe door; This figure shows an alternative embodiment of the vault door, where the door is held in place by a protrusion on its lower end that mates inside the vault. In this embodiment, the door must be removed from the meter each time it is opened.

HOUSING: OPTIONAL EXAMPLE

In the selected embodiment shown in FIG. 4B, the safe 34 ′ has a somewhat rounded shape and the safe door 36 ′ is circular and must be removed from the meter when opened. Although the above embodiment provides additional protection against puncturing, the position of the locking device 38 'in the center of the door does not provide additional protection.

Locking Device: Optional Embodiment

In an alternative embodiment, the mechanical lock and the electromechanical lock are completely separate from each other and do not interact with each other.

Electronic Key: First Embodiment

4b shows an embodiment of a communication device used for a coin-only meter. In this embodiment, a pocket processor 40 having a keypad 42 and a display portion 44 is attached to an infrared probe 48 by a cable 46. When the infrared probe is coupled to the coin slot, communication with the internal circuit can be established via the IR linkage shown enlarged in FIG. 4C. This type of communication device is already being used to collect data relating to the use of the meter from the meter or to inform the situation, so adding a protocol to unlock the meter is a matter of programming rather than adding hardware. Of course, this type of communication is not limited to infrared technology, nor can it only communicate via coin slots, for example using radio frequency (FR) or other electromagnetic signals, or through the windows of a smart card slot or housing. The circuit can also be accessed.

Electronic Key: Second Embodiment

Alternate embodiments may be used with meters that can use both coins and electronic fare payment schemes such as smart cards. The master smart card acts as an electronic key and is programmed to operate the electronically controlled lock. This is a low cost solution because it can perform the same function including collecting accounting information without using an expensive communication device as described above.

Electronic Key: Optional Embodiments

Of course, other forms of communication are also possible. As an example, a probe may be used to mechanically connect to a circuit inside a coin slot or smart card slot.

Optionally, contactless cards are widely used for the passage of buses and subways, and cards of this type can also be used in parking meter systems. Because these contactless readers require high power, they usually cannot be left running all the time. However, by allowing a user to insert a contactless card into a slot, this operation can be performed in an extremely close range to the transmitter and receiver in the slot. This requires very little power because the card is accurately positioned very close to the card reader.

Some of the various means of communication devices are disclosed in US Patent 5,614,892, issued March 25, 1997, and US Patent Application 08 / 847,428, filed April 24, 1997, to which other patent applications are incorporated and referenced herein. It is further mentioned in the application, which is owned by the applicant of the present application.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the novel concepts described in this application may be modified and varied over an enormous range of applications, and therefore the scope of the claimed subject matter may be modified by the specific illustrative techniques described. It should not be limited.

In an alternative embodiment, the electromechanical locking device may take a different form than the piston and solenoid mentioned.

Optionally, the safe may be integrally formed with the rest of the parking meter housing or may be designed in a different shape or size.

Claims (14)

An input device for receiving charges, An electronic circuit connected to the input device to check the charge and calculate the usage time; A safe connected to the input device, the charge being stored, and having a safe door for access from outside; With a mechanical lock to secure the safe in the closed position. And an electronically controlled lock that secures the safe door in a closed position and is controlled by the electronic circuit. 2. The parking device of claim 1, wherein the electronically controlled lock prevents opening of the mechanical lock in the absence of power. The parking device of claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit comprises a microcontroller. The method of claim 1, further comprising a smart card, When the parking device is opened using the smart card, the parking device starts transmitting information from the parking device. Electronic circuitry connected to the tariff vessel to indicate usage parking time and to recognize the tariff received; A safe connected to the charge container and having a safe door for storing charges received by the parking device and allowing access to the contents thereof from the outside; And an electromechanical locking device that is at least partially controlled by a signal from the electronic circuit. A parking device according to claim 5, which is a parking meter for one parking space. 6. The parking device of claim 5, wherein a pocket transmitter is used to connect to the electronic circuit to release the electromechanical lock. 6. The parking device of claim 5, wherein a smart card is used to access the electronic circuit to release the electromechanical lock. Programming the electronic circuitry to recognize the fee received and to display an allowable parking time in response to receipt of the fee; Storing the electronic circuit in a housing including a safe having a safe door for access from the outside and storing received charges; And locking the safe door having both an electronically controlled lock and a mechanical lock at least partially controlled by the electronic circuit. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the safe door is rectangular. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the locking step includes installing the electronically controlled lock to interface with the action of the mechanical lock. Using the electronic circuitry to recognize the charge received by the parking device and display a corresponding usage parking time; Storing at least a portion of the fee in a safe area of the parking device having a safe door for access from outside; Locking the safe with a mechanical lock and an electronically controlled lock controlled by a signal from the electronic circuitry, while keeping the safe door locked in a non-powered position. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising opening the electronically controlled lock with a communications device that triggers the transmission of information from the parking device. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the locking step includes installing the electronically controlled lock to disrupt operation of the mechanical lock.