BICYCLE RENTAL SYSTEM AND STATION
First Claim
1. A bicycle rental station comprising:
- a solar panel;
a trigger mechanism;
an energy storage device coupled to receive energy from the solar panel; and
a plurality of bicycle docks, each bicycle dock comprising an electronic element, wherein,each electronic element is coupled to receive energy from the energy storage device; and
the station is adapted, in response to activation of the trigger mechanism, to power on at least one of the electronic elements to transmit information to the payment station.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A bicycle rental system and automated station that may be integrated with an automobile parking payment and management system. Users may pay for parking and/or rent and pickup bicycles at the station. The station has a meter, bicycle docks, and power plant. Transaction formalities for parking payment and rental may be handled at the meter. The bicycle docks each are adapted to secure a bicycle. The power plant uses a solar panel to collect power and stores it in energy storage device. Low-power operation may be achieved by placing some electronics in a low-power mode. Each bicycle dock may have a trigger mechanism that when activated powers on associated electronics. The bicycle docks may be divided among a number of bicycle modules. The bicycle modules provide flexibility and modularity so that the number of bicycle docks at a station may be changed.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A bicycle rental station comprising:
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a solar panel; a trigger mechanism; an energy storage device coupled to receive energy from the solar panel; and a plurality of bicycle docks, each bicycle dock comprising an electronic element, wherein, each electronic element is coupled to receive energy from the energy storage device; and the station is adapted, in response to activation of the trigger mechanism, to power on at least one of the electronic elements to transmit information to the payment station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of operating a bicycle rental station comprising:
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placing a portion of the station in a low-power consumption mode; storing solar energy collected by a solar panel in an energy storage device; powering on the portion of the station from the energy storage device in response to activation of a trigger mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of operating a bicycle rental/parking payment meter comprising:
displaying, on a display, selectable options, the selectable options comprising a bicycle rental mode and a parking payment mode. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
Specification