Bicycle rental system and station
First Claim
1. A bicycle rental station adapted for use in conjunction with a payment station, the bicycle rental station comprising:
- a solar panel;
a trigger mechanism configured for activation by user action;
an energy storage device coupled to receive energy from the solar panel;
a wireless transmitter operable in a low-power consumption mode and a higher-power consumption mode; and
a plurality of bicycle docks, each bicycle dock comprising an electronic element operable in the low-power consumption mode and the higher-power consumption mode, wherein,each electronic element and the wireless transmitter are coupled to receive energy from the energy storage device; and
the bicycle rental station is configured to, in response to activation of the trigger mechanism, place at least one of the electronic elements and the transmitter in the higher-power consumption mode from the low-power consumption mode to transmit information from the bicycle dock to the payment station.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Reexamination
Accused Products
Abstract
A bicycle rental system and automated station that may be integrated with an automobile parking payment and management system. Users may pay for parking and/or rent and pickup bicycles at the station. The station has a meter, bicycle docks, and power plant. Transaction formalities for parking payment and rental may be handled at the meter. The bicycle docks each are adapted to secure a bicycle. The power plant uses a solar panel to collect power and stores it in energy storage device. Low-power operation may be achieved by placing some electronics in a low-power mode. Each bicycle dock may have a trigger mechanism that when activated powers on associated electronics. The bicycle docks may be divided among a number of bicycle modules. The bicycle modules provide flexibility and modularity so that the number of bicycle docks at a station may be changed.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A bicycle rental station adapted for use in conjunction with a payment station, the bicycle rental station comprising:
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a solar panel; a trigger mechanism configured for activation by user action; an energy storage device coupled to receive energy from the solar panel; a wireless transmitter operable in a low-power consumption mode and a higher-power consumption mode; and a plurality of bicycle docks, each bicycle dock comprising an electronic element operable in the low-power consumption mode and the higher-power consumption mode, wherein, each electronic element and the wireless transmitter are coupled to receive energy from the energy storage device; and the bicycle rental station is configured to, in response to activation of the trigger mechanism, place at least one of the electronic elements and the transmitter in the higher-power consumption mode from the low-power consumption mode to transmit information from the bicycle dock to the payment station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of operating a bicycle rental station, the method comprising:
- placing a portion of the bicycle rental station in a low-power consumption mode, the portion comprising electronics configured to operate in the low-power consumption mode and a higher-power consumption mode;
storing solar energy collected by a solar panel in an energy storage device;
powering the electronics of the portion of the bicycle rental station from the energy storage device in the higher-power consumption mode in response to activation of a trigger mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
- placing a portion of the bicycle rental station in a low-power consumption mode, the portion comprising electronics configured to operate in the low-power consumption mode and a higher-power consumption mode;
Specification