On-line bar-coded ticket for transient parking, which requires a server connection only at either entrance or exit, but not both

• US 20090179076A1
• Filed: 01/10/2008
• Published: 07/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Amano McGann, Inc. (Amano Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Amano McGann, Inc. (Amano Corporation)
• Inventors: McGann, Brian T.
• Application Number:
  US12/008,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20090179076A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/384
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• 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

Abstract

An on-site system for calculating a transient parking fee. The system includes a ticket and a machine-readable storage device. The machine-readable storage device is disposed on, and is machine-readable from, the ticket, contains data necessary to compute the transient parking fee at exit of the transient parking without any further need to utilize a rate calculation engine, and is a bar code. A server communicates a rate structure to the machine-readable storage device, and looks forward from an entrance date and time to determine breakpoint times by minutes where there is a change in a fee and then encodes that data onto the machine-readable storage device on the ticket. Only either an entrance device or an exit device must be on-line, but not both.

Claims

1. An on-site system for calculating a transient parking fee, comprising:

a) a ticket; and

b) a machine-readable storage device;

wherein said machine-readable storage device is disposed on said ticket;

wherein said machine-readable storage device is machine-readable from said ticket; and

wherein said machine-readable storage device contains data necessary to compute the transient parking fee at exit of the transient parking without any further need to utilize a rate calculation engine.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said machine-readable storage device is a bar code.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a server;

and

wherein said server communicates with said machine-readable storage device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said server has a rate structure;

wherein said rate structure of said server includes breakpoint times; and

wherein said server looks forward from an entrance date and time to determine said breakpoint times by minutes where there is a change in a fee and then encodes that data onto said machine-readable storage device on said ticket.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said breakpoint times of said rate structure of said server include:

a) a grace period;

b) a first hour fee;

c) each additional hour fee; and

d) a daily maximum fee.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said rate structure of said server includes:

a) an early-bird fee;

b) a night-rate fee; and

c) a weekend rate fee.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein said server once per minute runs a given period of forward-looking minutes through a rate-calculation engine and notes where said breakpoint times occur.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein said rate structure of said server further includes validations occurring subsequent to the entrance date and time;

and

wherein said validations of said rate structure of said server are encoded in said machine-readable storage device on said ticket.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the validations of said rate structure of said server include:

a) a reduction in price;

b) a time-off; and

c) a rate change.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said machine-readable storage device requires 4,500 bytes of storage occupying 78% of available space of said ticket.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a) an entrance device; and

b) an exit device;

wherein either said entrance device or said exit device must be on-line, but not both.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said exit device is a handheld fee computer utilized as a POS device;

and

wherein said handheld fee computer is a network-unconnected exit device.