Vehicle parking control system
First Claim
1. A parking control system in which a mobile telephone can be used to commence and terminate a parking period for a vehicle, wherein a user sends at least one user-specific code to a parking system computer belonging to said parking system at the commencement and termination of a parking period through the medium of a telephone system, wherein the parking system is informed of the parking zone concerned at the commencement of a parking period, wherein a machine-readable vehicle-specific code is stored in said computer and tied to the user-specific code, the parking control system comprising:
- a portable control unit including a reader to read a vehicle-specific code carried by the vehicle and to establish wireless communication with the parking system computer and retrieve information from the parking system computer concerning vehicle identification for vehicles that have commenced but not terminated parking within the parking zone concerned, wherein the parking system computer transmits to the control unit corresponding parked vehicle identification information relating to vehicles parked in at least one additional parking zone that is geographically close to the parking zone concerned at the same time as it sends the requested information to said control unit for the parking zone concerned.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A parking control system in which a mobile telephone is used to commence and to terminate parking of a vehicle within a parking zone. A parking system user sends a user-specific code to a parking system computer at the commencement of and at the termination of a parking period. A vehicle-specific code corresponding with the parked vehicle is stored in the computer upon commencement of a parking period. A portable parking control unit can read the vehicle-specific code from a parked vehicle and can establish communication with the parking system computer, which is informed of the parking zone concerned. When the control unit requests information concerning vehicles parked within a particular parking zone, the computer sends corresponding information relating to one or more additional parking zones that are geographically close to the parking zone in question.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A parking control system in which a mobile telephone can be used to commence and terminate a parking period for a vehicle, wherein a user sends at least one user-specific code to a parking system computer belonging to said parking system at the commencement and termination of a parking period through the medium of a telephone system, wherein the parking system is informed of the parking zone concerned at the commencement of a parking period, wherein a machine-readable vehicle-specific code is stored in said computer and tied to the user-specific code, the parking control system comprising:
- a portable control unit including a reader to read a vehicle-specific code carried by the vehicle and to establish wireless communication with the parking system computer and retrieve information from the parking system computer concerning vehicle identification for vehicles that have commenced but not terminated parking within the parking zone concerned, wherein the parking system computer transmits to the control unit corresponding parked vehicle identification information relating to vehicles parked in at least one additional parking zone that is geographically close to the parking zone concerned at the same time as it sends the requested information to said control unit for the parking zone concerned.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of controlling parking in a parking system having a plurality of parking zones and having a parking system computer that is adapted to store parking-system user, vehicle, and parking time information and to communicate with a portable parking control unit carried by a parking attendant, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) communicating by a parking system user to the parking system computer upon commencement of a parking period a user-specific code, a vehicle-specific code, and a specific parking zone identifier;
b) reading the vehicle-specific code with the portable control unit carried by the parking attendant and transmitting the read vehicle-specific code to the parking system computer along with the specific parking zone identifier; and
c) transmitting from the parking system computer to the portable control unit carried by the parking attendant vehicle identification information relating to vehicles that have properly commenced a parking period within the specific parking zone and within additional parking zones geographically close to the specific parking zone to enable the parking attendant to verify that a particular vehicle had properly commenced a parking period within the parking system. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification