Electronic parking meter operating system

• US 5,805,083 A
• Filed: 04/28/1997
• Issued: 09/08/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Duncan Parking Technologies, Inc. (Navient Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Duncan Industries Parking Control Systems Corp.
• Inventors: Sutton, Joseph H., Rodgers, J. Michael, Carmen, Ralph H.
• Primary Examiner(s): TONG, NINA C
• Application Number:
  US08/848,559
• Time in Patent Office: 498 Days
• Field of Search: 340/932.2, 340/309.15, 340/539, 340/825.31, 340/825.5, 340/825.51, 340/825.52, 340/825.54, 194/205, 194/217, 194/318, 194/902, 194/216, 194/317, 368/7, 368/90
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/24 for parking meters

Abstract

An electronic parking meter operating system comprising a microprocessor mounted within a meter housing, a semiconductor disc memory having at least 8K memory bytes, and a plurality of programs stored in the disc memory. A meter event such as the deposit of a coin will cause interrogation of an auxiliary program module map to determine if one of the plurality of programs should be used to substitute for or augment a program which is provided in the microprocessor to normally carry out meter functions. If substitution or augmentation is called for, an address table in the memory disc is used to locate the selected program, to load it into the microprocessor, and to execute the program.

Claims

1. A method for operating an electronic parking meter wherein said meter includes a housing, a microprocessor located within said housing for controlling parking meter functions in response to an event, an independent semiconductor disc memory having at least 8K memory bytes connected to said microprocessor, and an auxiliary program module map, the method comprising the steps of storing programs in said disc memory, interrogating said module map upon occurrence of a meter operation event to determine if one of said programs is to be used when that event occurs, and loading said one program in said microprocessor and executing said one program if the program is to be used;

wherein said one program either is a substitute for a parking meter function otherwise controlled by the microprocessor or augments a parking meter function controlled by the microprocessor;

wherein said disc memory programs include a directory, said module map being included in said directory, providing an address table for auxiliary programs to substitute for and augment said parking meter functions, and including the further steps of assigning a map bit to each said event, referring to said address table if said one program is to be used, obtaining the address in the disc memory for said one program, and then loading and executing the one program.

2. An electronic parking of the type having a housing and including a microprocessor provided within the housing for controlling parking meter functions, an independent semiconductor disc memory having at least 8K memory bytes connected to said microprocessor, an auxiliary program module map, a plurality of programs stored in said disc memory, means for interrogating said auxiliary program module map upon occurrence of a meter operating event to determine if one of said plurality of programs is to be used, and means for loading said one program in said microprocessor and executing said one program if the program is to be used;

said plurality of programs comprise substitutes for programs in said microprocessor and augmentations of programs in said microprocessor;

wherein said plurality of programs include a directory, said auxiliary program module map forming part of said directory, and an auxiliary program file address table forming part of the directory, said address table forming part of the means for loading said one program in said microprocessor;

wherein said directory is located in the first sector of the memory disc, auxiliary programs are located in the sectors following the first sector, and additional programs are located in the last sectors of the disc memory.

3. A method for operating an electronic parking meter wherein said meter includes a housing, a microprocessor located within said housing for controlling parking meter functions in response to an event, an independent semiconductor disc memory having at least 8K memory bytes connected to said microprocessor, and an auxiliary program module map, the method comprising the steps of storing programs in said disc memory, interrogating said module map upon occurrence of a meter operation event to determine if one of said programs is to be used when that event occurs, and loading said one program in said microprocessor and executing said one program if the program is to be used;

partitioning said semiconductor disc memory into two separate data sets, one addressed at location 0 and the other at a binary address consisting of all 1'"'"'s, thus enabling unique and transparent access to the separate data sets independent of the size of the disc memory.

4. An electronic parking of the type having a housing and including a microprocessor provided within the housing for controlling parking meter functions, an independent semiconductor disc memory having at least 8K memory bytes connected to said microprocessor, an auxiliary program module map, a plurality of programs stored in said disc memory, means for interrogating said auxiliary program module map upon occurrence of a meter operating event to determine if one of said plurality of programs is to be used, and means for loading said one program in said microprocessor and executing said one program if the program is to be used;

wherein said semiconductor disc memory is partitioned into two separate data sets, one addressed at location 0 and the other at a binary address consisting of all 1'"'"'s, thus enabling unique and transparent access to the separate data sets independent of the size of the disc memory.