Parking facility access control

• US 6,157,314 A
• Filed: 07/09/1998
• Issued: 12/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pepsipark U S A Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Pepsipark U S A Incorporated
• Inventors: Loftus, Patrick David
• Primary Examiner(s): Horabik, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hornsby, III, Alton
• Application Number:
  US09/112,963
• Time in Patent Office: 880 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.31, 340/928
• US Class Current: 340/5.2
• 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 17/24 for parking meters
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0045 with a code reader for reading of an identifying code of the article to be registered, e.g. barcode reader or radio-frequency identity [RFID] reader

Abstract

Method and apparatus for controlling access to or from a parking lot associated with a retail or other sales facility. The parking lot has an automatically operated, normally closed access gate and an optical scanner. Patrons may access the parking lot free of charge by displaying purchased merchandise such that the scanner reads a bar code inscribed upon the merchandise. Data corresponding to the scanned bar code is compared to data entered into the memory of an automated data processing device. If that comparison results in establishing a correlation between data from the scanned merchandise and data entered into memory corresponding to merchandise stocked by the sales facility for vending, then a control signal is generated and transmitted to the access gate. The access gate then opens and allows the vehicle submitting merchandise for scanning to access the parking facility.

Claims

1. An automatically controlled commercial premises, having an access barrier that selectively allows motor vehicles to access the parking facility, comprising:

a parking facility having a normally closed access gate and an access barrier controller;

a sales facility for stocking and vending consumer merchandise bearing identifying data, wherein the consumer merchandise has a purpose independent of its identifying data bearing function; and

a control system configured to automatically operate the access barrier controller, the control system comprising;

a sensor configured to sense identifying data borne by consumer merchandise stocked within the sales facility,

a memory device configured to store identifying data borne by merchandise stocked within the sales facility,

a data processor programmed to compare sensed identifying data with identifying data stored in the memory device, and

the data processor further comprising a signal generator configured to generate a control signal and to transmit the control signal to the access barrier controller upon correlation by the data processor of sensed identifying data with identifying data stored in the memory device.

2. The automatically controlled commercial premises according to claim 1, wherein the sales facility comprises a vending machine.

3. The automatically controlled commercial premises according to claim 1, wherein the identifying data borne by merchandise is in the form of indicia visible from the exterior of the merchandise, and wherein said sensor is an optical scanner capable of reading the indicia.

4. The automatically controlled commercial premises according to claim 3, wherein the sales facility comprises a vending machine.

5. A method of controlling access to or from commercial premises including a sales facility and a parking facility associated with the sales facility, comprising the steps of:

(a) entering into the memory of an automated data processing device identifying data correlating to the identifying data borne by consumer merchandise available for vending, wherein the consumer merchandise has a purpose independent of its identifying data bearing function;

(b) operating an automatically controlled access gate of a parking facility having an automatically controlled access gate controlling access to or from the parking facility;

(c) sensing identifying data borne by consumer merchandise;

(d) comparing sensed identifying data with identifying data entered into the memory of the automated data processing device; and

(e) automatically opening the access gate responsive to the establishment of a correlation between sensed identifying data and identifying data entered into memory.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the identifying data borne upon merchandise is indicia visible from the exterior of the merchandise, said step c) further comprising a step of:

f) scanning the indicia by an optical scanner.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising a step of:

g) operating a sales facility vending merchandise bearing data detectable by a sensor.

8. A method of controlling access to or from commercial premises including a sales facility and a parking facility associated with the sales facility, comprising the steps of:

(f) operating a sales facility vending consumer merchandise bearing identifying data in the form of a bar code visible from the exterior of the merchandise, wherein the consumer merchandise has a purpose independent of its identifying data bearing function;

(g) operating a parking facility having an automatically controlled access gate controlling access to or from the parking facility and an optical scanner disposed proximate the access gate;

(h) entering into the memory of an automated data processing device identifying data correlating to the bar coded identifying data borne upon merchandise available for vending;

(i) optically scanning the bar code visible from merchandise as the merchandise is being removed from the parking facility in a motor vehicle and converting scanned bar code into a form which can be processed by the automated data processing device;

(j) communicating scanned and converted data to the automated data processing device and operating the automated data processing device to compare identifying data obtained by scanning with identifying data entered into the memory of the automated data processing device; and

(k) automatically opening the access gate responsive to establishing correlation between identifying data obtained by scanning and identifying data previously entered into memory.