AUTOMATIC FEE DETERMINING SYSTEM FOR PARKING GARAGES

• US 3,775,593 A
• Filed: 05/14/1971
• Issued: 11/27/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GTE Airfone Incorporated (GOGO Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Carl K. Gieringer, Paul A. Singer, Thomas J. Schinner, Vernon T. Kleimeyer
• Inventors: Gieringer, Carl K., Kleimeyer, Vernon T., Schinner, Thomas J., Singer, Paul A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilbur, Maynard R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gnuse, Robert F.
• Application Number:
  US05/143,300
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 194/4,DIG.23,DIG.21,DIG.22,DIG.24 340/51,43,80,82 235/61.8A,92TC
• US Class Current: 235/378
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/04 comprising devices to free a barrier, turnstile, or the like turnstiles with registering means G07C9/10; coin-freed aspects G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/52 about horizontal axes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/145 for revolving doors or turnstiles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 194/902 Check-operated device for controlling parking lot

Abstract

A parking fee is automatically computed on the basis of elapsed time between the issuing of a ticket to a customer upon entry to the facility and the surrendering of the ticket by the customer upon departure from the facility. The tickets are in the form of reusable plastic cards embossed with permanent encoded information representative of a specified time interval during a given day. The customer is issued, upon entry to the facility, a ticket bearing information corresponding to his time of entry. A ticket dispenser having an indexable magazine with compartments corresponding to different periods of time throughout the day is sequentially indexed by a clock to issue the proper ticket at the proper time. Upon departure, the ticket is surrendered to a card reader which compares the time of surrender with the issue time encoded upon the card and a fee is displayed based on the computed elapsed time. Cash in the amount due when deposited at a pay station adjacent the card reader opens the exit gate. The cards are embossed with bar coded information which is read by scanning the underside of the card with feeler fingers which engage in the depressions of the underside of the code bars to advance switches to positions which decode the encoded information.

Claims

1. An automatic fee computing system for a parking facility comprising:

a. a clock;

b. a ticket dispenser including 1. an indexable storage magazine having a plurality of ticket storage compartments, 2. each of said compartments corresponding to a different period of time, 3. each of said compartments containing a supply of tickets encoded with identifying information unique to the supply of tickets within that compartment, 4. means for selecting the one of said compartments corresponding to the reading of said clock, and 5. means for dispensing a ticket from said selected one of said compartments;

c. ticket reading means including 1. a ticket reader for deriving the encoded identifying information from a received ticket, and 2. means for comparing the derived information with the output of said clock and for generating a signal from the result of the comparison in accordance with the time elapsed between the dispensing of the ticket and the real time of said clock; and

d. means responsive to said comparison signal for transforming the elapsed time information into a monetary fee.

2. An automatic fee computing system according to claim 1 further comprising:

cash receiving means; and

means for signalling the receipt of said monetary fee by said cash receiving means.

3. each of said compartments containing a supply of tickets encoded with identifying information unique to the supply of tickets within that compartment,

4. An automatic fee computing system according to claim 3 wherein said ticket receiving means includes means for receiving cash as payment of the monetary fee and in response thereto authorizing the departure of the motorist from said area.

5. means for dispensing a ticket from said selected one of said compartments;

c. ticket reading means including

6. A system according to claim 1 wherein said ticket reader comprises:

means for edgewise receiving an embossed card;

a plurality of switches, each including two sets of contacts, one set including a plurality of contacts and the contacts of one set being movable with respect to the other;

a plurality of feeler means, one connected to each of the movable sets of contacts, and each positioned with respect to the card receiving means to scan the surface of the inserted card along different paths, and each adapted to engage a depression in the surface of said card encountered along said paths so that the fingers, once engaged in the depressions, will be displaced by the insertion of said card so as to move the movable set of contacts connected to the feeler to position the switch to compelte a path between a unique pair of contacts of the different sets;

some of the contacts of each of said sets corresponding to unique items of information, and others of the contacts corresponding to different ones of the switches, the unique information contacts of each of the switches being connected in series with the contacts of other switches corresponding to that given switch.

7. A system according to claim 6 wherein the information encoded upon the cards is conventional bar coded decimal information.

8. An automatic parking system comprising:

a clock;

a supply of reusable pre-coded tickets including plural groups of tickets, each group corresponding to a different period of time;

each of the tickets of any given group being encoded with identifying information unique to the tickets within that group;

a ticket dispenser, said ticket dispenser including means for storing separately each of said groups of tickets, and means controlled by said clock (means) for selectively dispensing a ticket from the one of said groups which corresponds to the period of time indicated upon said clock;

a ticket reader for reading the information encoded upon said ticket;

means for comparing the information with the time indicated upon said clock to compute the time elapsed between the dispensing of the ticket and the time indicated by the clock;

means for computing a monetary feed based upon said elapsed time computation;

cash receiving means; and

means for indicating the receipt of said monetary fee by said cash receiving means.

9. A system according to claim 8 wherein said reading means includes a code reader comprisIng:

means for edgewise receiving an embossed card;

a plurality of switches, each including two sets of contacts, one set including a plurality of contacts and the contacts of one set being movable with respect to the other;

a plurality of feeler means, one connected to each of the movable sets of contacts, and each positioned with respect to the card receiving means to scan the surface of the inserted card along different paths, and each adapted to engage a depression in the surface of said card encountered along said paths so that the fingers, once engaged in the depressions, will be displaced by the insertion of said card so as to move the movable set of contacts connected to the feeler to position the switch to complete a path between a unique pair of contacts of the different sets;

some of the contacts of each of said sets corresponding to unique items of information, and others of the contacts corresponding to different ones of the switches, the unique information contacts of each of the switches being connected in series with the contacts of other switches corresponding to that given switch.

10. A system according to claim 9 wherein the information encoded upon the cards is conventional bar coded decimal information.