Parking meter

• US 20030128630A1
• Filed: 06/04/2002
• Published: 07/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Agenor Krygler, Alicja Krygler
• Original Assignee: Agenor Krygler, Alicja Krygler
• Inventors: Krygler, Agenor, Krygler, Alicja
• Application Number:
  US10/163,074
• Publication Number:
  US 20030128630A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 368/90
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/02 taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24; car rental systems per se G07B15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/248 Housing construction casings for coin-freed apparatus G07F9/10

Abstract

This invention relates to a parking meter (100, 200) with an input device (34) for paying means and at least one indicating device (20) for indicating the expiration of a paid parking time, the indicating device (20) having at least one optical indicating means respectively for a corresponding number of parking spaces, respectively one actuating means (18) with an indicating means (20) being allocated to each respective parking space, whereby furthermore all indicating means (20), the actuating means (18) and the input device (34) for payment means are connected with a common control device (32), whereby furthermore a signalling device (38) is provided for signalling the paid parking time and the input device (34) for payment means is configured as a chip card actuating device (30, 34). Here, the indicating means (20) allocated to each actuating means (18) is constituted in such a way that this indicating means indicates at least three different conditions which can be read by a checking person, whereby a first condition signalizes to the checking person “paid parking time running”, a second condition “paid parking time expired” and a third condition “paid parking time expired for longer than a predetermined time”.

For such a parking meter (100, 200), a battery saving operation is made possible by the fact that the signalling device (38) comprises an acoustic signal transmitter and/or a display.

Claims

1. A battery-operated parking meter (100, 200) with an input device (34) for paying means and at least one indicating device (20) for indicating the expiration of a paid parking time, the indicating device (20) having at least one optical indicating means respectively for a corresponding number of parking spaces, respectively one actuating means (18) with an indicating means (20) being allocated to each respective parking space, whereby furthermore all indicating means (20), the actuating means (18) and the input device (34) for payment means are connected with a common control device (32), whereby furthermore a signalling device (38) is provided for signalling the paid parking time and the input device (34) for payment means is configured as a chip card actuating device (30, 34) designed for the insertion of chip cards (28) and whereby the indicating means (20) allocated to each actuating means (18) is constituted in such a way that this indicating means indicates at least three different conditions which can be read by a checking person, whereby a first condition signalizes to the checking person “

paid parking time running”

, a second condition “

paid parking time expired” and

a third condition “

paid parking time expired for longer than a predetermined time”

,

characterized in

that the signalling device (38) for reducing the energy consumption of the parking meter (100, 200) comprises an acoustic signal transmitter (44) triggered by the control device (32) and/or a display (46) triggered by the control device (32).

2. A parking meter (100, 200) according to claim 1,

characterized in

that the control device (32) is configured in such a way that, at each insertion of a chip card (28) into the chip card actuating device (30, 34), its debits a predetermined unit from the chip card (28) and correspondingly adds up.

3. A parking meter (100, 200) according to claim 2,

characterized in

that the control device (32) is configured in such a way that the debit of the unit from the chip card (28) is confirmed by a signal of the acoustic signal transmitter (44) and/or of the display (46).

4. A parking meter (100, 200) according to claim 2 or 3,

characterized in

that the predetermined unit corresponds to a parking time of 30 minutes.

5. A parking meter (100, 200) according to the claims 2 to 4,

characterized in

that the control device (32) is configured in such a way that, after a predetermined number of insertions of the chip card (28), no further debit with a predetermined unit ensues or that the chip card actuating device (30, 34) is locked for further insertions of the chip card (28).

6. A parking meter (100, 200) according to any of the claims 2 to 5,

characterized in

that the control device (32) is configured in such a way that, after actuation of an actuating means (18), it allocates a parking time preliminarly added on the base of insertion operations of the chip card (28) to the parking space (14, 15) assigned to this actuating means (18) and triggers the indicating device (20) assigned to this actuating means (18) time controlled correspondingly to the assigned parking time and that the number of defaced units is confirmed by a signal of the acoustic signal transmitter (44) and/or of the display (46).

7. A parking meter (100, 200) according to any of the preceding claims,

characterized in

that the indicating device (20) comprises at least one luminescent diode (22, 24, 26).

8. A parking meter (100, 200) according to claim 7,

characterized in

a luminescent diode (22, 24, 26) is provided for which indicates the three conditions by means of at least two, in particular three, different luminous colours and/or by means of differently intermittent or constant lighting up.

9. A parking meter (100, 200) according to claim 7 or 8,

characterized in

that a luminescent diode (22, 24, 26) is provided for, whereby an intermittent lighting up with a first predetermined frequency or with a first predetermined interval pattern indicates the first condition, an intermittent lighting up with a second predetermined frequency or with a second predetermined interval pattern indicates the second condition and an intermittent lighting up with a third predetermined frequency or a third predetermined interval pattern indicates the third condition.

10. A parking meter (100, 200) according to claim 9,

characterized in

that one of the predetermined frequencies is infinite and corresponds to a continuous lighting up.

11. A parking meter (100, 200) according to claim 7 or 8,

characterized in

that two luminescent diodes (22, 24, 26) of different colours are provided for, a continuous lighting up of the luminescent diode with a first colour indicating the first condition, a continuous lighting up of the other luminescent diode with a second colour the second condition or the third condition and an intermittent lighting up of one of the two luminescent diodes with a predetermined frequency or with a predetermined interval pattern the third condition or the second condition.

12. A parking meter (100, 200) according to claim 7 or 8,

characterized in

that three luminescent diodes (22, 24, 26) with different colours are provided for, a luminescent diode (26) with green colour indicating the first condition, a luminescent diode (24) with red colour the second condition and a luminescent diode (22) with yellow colour the third condition.

13. A parking meter (100, 200) according to any of the preceding claims,

characterized in

that the “

predetermined time”

of the third condition is one hour.

14. A parking meter (100, 200) according to any of the preceding claims,

characterized in

that it shows a layout (12) of the parking spaces (14, 15) assigned to this parking meter (100, 200), the actuating means (18) and indicating devices (20) being arranged and/or marked in the layout in such a way that an actuating means and an indicating device are unequivocally allocated to each parking space of the layout.

15. A parking meter (100, 200) according to claim 14,

characterized in

that a symbol, especially a numeral, is allocated to each parking space (14, 15) in the layout (12) on the parking meter (100, 200), whereby the same symbol, especially the same numeral, is allocated to each actuating means (18) and each indicating device (20) as well as to the corresponding parking space (14, 15).

16. A parking meter according to claim 7,

characterized in

that further luminescent diodes (42) are provided for indicating the early rundown of a chip card (28) and/or of the battery of the parking meter (200).