Electronic parking meter and system
First Claim
1. An electronic parking meter comprising:
- (a) a stanchion;
(b) a clam-shaped member, mounted on said stanchion, comprising a front wall and a rear wall, and a hollow area between said walls, a board mounted in said hollow area, a coin slot mounted in said front wall, and a coin chute in said hollow area in communication with said slot;
(c) means, mounted in said chute, for sensing the insertion of said coin in said slot;
(d) means, mounted in said chute, for determining the denomination of said coin, comprising a first pivotable arm and a first Piezo strip in contact with said first pivotable arm;
(e) processing means mounted on said board;
(f) display means, mounted on said board, connected to said processor; and
(g) power source means for providing power to said electronic parking meter.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A low-powered electronic parking meter which can be powered solely by non-rechargeable, commercially available batteries. The meter includes a coin receptor with unique means for coin detection, slug detection, determination of coin denomination, and jam detection, which require very little power. The coin detection and denomination determination are performed using pivotable lever arms in contact with Piezo strips. The slug detection uses a permanent magnet mounted opposite a reed switch and the jam detection is performed by IR diode emitters and photocells. The meter also includes a processor, a liquid crystal display, a sonar transducer for detecting the presence of vehicles, and an IR transceiver enabling parking authority personnel to communicate with the meter. The components of the meter are operated in three conditions or states including an off condition, an inactive condition, and an active condition, to provide further conservation of power so that the meter is entirely battery operated.
74 Citations
42 Claims
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1. An electronic parking meter comprising:
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(a) a stanchion; (b) a clam-shaped member, mounted on said stanchion, comprising a front wall and a rear wall, and a hollow area between said walls, a board mounted in said hollow area, a coin slot mounted in said front wall, and a coin chute in said hollow area in communication with said slot; (c) means, mounted in said chute, for sensing the insertion of said coin in said slot; (d) means, mounted in said chute, for determining the denomination of said coin, comprising a first pivotable arm and a first Piezo strip in contact with said first pivotable arm; (e) processing means mounted on said board; (f) display means, mounted on said board, connected to said processor; and (g) power source means for providing power to said electronic parking meter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A coin receptor for accepting and detecting coins of various denominations comprising:
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(1) a slot; (2) a chute in communication with said slot; (3) means, mounted in said chute, for detecting the insertion of said coins into said slot; (4) means, mounted in Said chute, for determining the denomination of each of said coins; (5) means, mounted in said chute, for detecting the presence of ferrous material in said coins, said means comprising a permanent magnet and a reed switch; and wherein said means for detecting the insertion of said coins comprises a first pivotable lever arm and a first Piezo strip in contact with said first pivotable lever arm. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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- 27. The coin receptor of claim 27 wherein said means for detecting the presence of a jam in said chute comprises at least one IR diode emitter and at least one photo-cell, each one of said at least one photo-cell being mounted opposite a respective one of said at least one IR diode emitter to receive the IR light transmitted by said respective one IR diode emitter.
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36. A low powered electronic parking meter system, accepting coins of various denominations, said system comprising:
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(a) a coin receptor comprising a coin slot, a chute in communication with said coin slot, a coin detector mounted in said chute, first means, mounted in said chute, for determining the denominations of said coins, and for sensing the insertion of said coins in said slot, means for determining the ferrous content of said coins, and second means for determining the presence of a jam in said chute, all of said means generating information in the form of electrical signals, said first means comprising at least one pivotable lever arm and a Piezo Strip in contact with said at least one pivotable lever arm; (b) processing means, connected to said coin receptor, for accepting and processing said information, said processor means further comprising means for storing said processed information; (c) vehicle detection means for detecting the presence of a vehicle at said coin receptor location, said vehicle detection means comprising and ultrasonic transducer responsive to control signals from said processor means; (d) means for communicating said stored information to a hand-held computer; (e) display means connected to said processor means, said display means comprising a liquid crystal display; (f) flasher means for indicating overtime parking by a vehicle at said location; and (g) at least one standard, commercially available non-rechargeable battery for providing the full power requirements of said coin receptor, processor means, vehicle detection means, communicating means, display means and flasher means. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification