Parking meter control dispatch and information system and method
First Claim
1. An electronic parking meter system for use with parking enforcement personnel and a plurality of parking meters, the system comprising:
- parking meter units, each associated with a respective parking meter;
at least one data unit for collecting data from the parking meter units;
a first communication link for transmitting data between the parking meter units and the data unit, the first communication link being unidirectional;
at least one parking enforcement unit associated with the parking enforcement personnel; and
a second communication link for transmitting data between the data unit and the parking enforcement unit.
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Abstract
An electronic parking meter system is used with parking enforcement personnel and a plurality of parking meters. The system may include parking meter units associated with a respective parking meter, a data unit for gathering data from the parking meter units, a first communication link for transmitting data between the parking meter units and the data unit, at least one parking enforcement unit associated with the parking enforcement personnel, and a second communication link for transmitting data between the data unit and the parking enforcement unit. The first communication link may be a unidirectional link, allowing the meter units to include a transmitter and be free of a receiver circuit or receiving functionality. In this manner, the meter units may be made relatively inexpensive, thus significantly reducing the overall cost of the system when connected with many meters.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An electronic parking meter system for use with parking enforcement personnel and a plurality of parking meters, the system comprising:
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parking meter units, each associated with a respective parking meter;
at least one data unit for collecting data from the parking meter units;
a first communication link for transmitting data between the parking meter units and the data unit, the first communication link being unidirectional;
at least one parking enforcement unit associated with the parking enforcement personnel; and
a second communication link for transmitting data between the data unit and the parking enforcement unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for enforcing parking ordinances comprising:
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providing a unidirectional communication link between at least one parking meter and a data unit;
transmitting data from the at least one parking meter on the unidirectional communication link;
receiving the data at a data unit;
transmitting the data from the data unit to a parking enforcement unit;
determining parking ordinance violations based on the data; and
issuing a citation to vehicles in violation of the parking ordinance. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification