Parking lot management system

Abstract

To provide a technique to use a communication apparatus of a user to remotely manage a parking lot, which facilitates in reduction of a facility cost and / or a management cost of the parking lot.SOLUTION: A system that remotely manages a parking lot includes: an internal facility installed in a parking lot, and having a function to output encryption data as an image to a user being in the parking lot; and an external facility installed at a remote location from the parking lot. The external facility has: a function to acquire information on parking or a parking fee relating to the user using the parking lot when a communication apparatus of the user being in the parking lot communicates with the external facility by using the output encryption data; and a function to manage the parking lot on the basis of the acquired information. The communication apparatus has: a function to read the output image by using an image reader of the communication apparatus so as to input the encryption data; and a function to communication with the external facility by using the input encryption data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for remotely managing a parking lot using a user's communication device. [Background technology]

[0002] Parking lots with multiple parking positions for vehicles are already in widespread use. In terms of the method of transporting a vehicle to the parking position, these types of parking lots can be classified into a type in which the user drives the vehicle to the parking position, and a mechanical type in which a pallet or cage is mechanically moved to transport the vehicle to the parking position. In addition, such parking lots may be rented to users free of charge or for a fee. In terms of the length of time the parking lot is rented to users, paid parking lots can be classified into monthly parking lots and hourly parking lots (including daily parking lots).

[0003] Hourly parking lots can be classified according to the payment method used for parking fees into prepaid types, where the user pays the parking fee before starting to park (although this includes the possibility of paying any shortfall in the parking fee when leaving the lot), and deferred payment types, where the user pays the parking fee when parking is finished.

[0004] In addition, hourly parking lots can be classified according to the management method used; they can be manned, where a person is always present on-site to manage and monitor the parking lot, or unmanned, where no such person is always present, but is dispatched to the site sporadically.

[0005] For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known documents that disclose this type of parking lot and the equipment (including the ticket issuing machine) installed in the parking lot.

[0006] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for managing bicycle parking lots that requires no equipment costs, is easy to manage, and is sufficiently profitable. This technology reduces the equipment costs of parking lots because it is not necessary to install devices to prevent illegally parked bicycles from leaving the parking lot.

[0007] Specifically, according to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, after parking the bicycle in an available parking space, the user proceeds to a ticket dispenser, enters the user's registration number into the ticket dispenser, and then inserts the required parking fee. The ticket dispenser records the entered registration number as the registration number for the bicycle for which the parking fee has already been paid.

[0008] Furthermore, according to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, a parking lot manager uses his / her mobile terminal to read the registration number from the label attached to the parked bicycle. At the same time, the manager retrieves from the ticket issuing machine the registration number recorded in the ticket issuing machine, i.e., the registration number of the bicycle for which the parking fee has already been paid.

[0009] The management worker then compares the registration number read from the parked bicycle with the registration number captured from the ticket machine, and based on the comparison result, verifies whether the parking fee for the parked bicycle has been paid, i.e., whether the bicycle has been parked illegally. The management worker affixes a sticker reminding the user to pay the fee to any bicycle for which the parking fee has not been paid, thereby notifying the user, who is the owner of the bicycle, that the parking fee has not been paid.

[0010] Patent Document 2 discloses a prepaid unmanned parking lot. This parking lot is equipped with a card issuing machine that issues parking cards that record the time parking is permitted for a fee, an entrance gate that is always closed, and an entrance management device that is installed at the entrance and opens the entrance gate when the parking card is inserted, provided that the parking card is appropriate. Furthermore, this parking lot is equipped with an exit gate that is always closed, and an exit management device that is installed at the exit and opens the exit gate when the parking card is inserted, provided that the parking card is appropriate.

[0011] According to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, when a user leaves the parking lot, the user inserts a parking card into the exit management device. The exit management device reads information from the inserted parking card, and if the information read indicates that the actual parking time exceeds the expected parking time, the exit management device requests the user to pay an additional parking fee. If the user pays the additional parking fee to the exit management device in response to the request, the exit gate is opened. Since the exit gate will not be opened unless the user pays the required additional parking fee, fraudulent behavior in which a user leaves the parking lot without paying the additional parking fee is prevented.

[0012] Therefore, according to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, even in a prepaid unmanned parking lot, illegal parking can be prevented without the need for the parking lot manager to periodically visit the parking lot to detect illegal parking. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0013] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-242537 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2006-146325 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0014] According to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the work manager can discover illegally parked bicycles and stop the continued illegal parking. However, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to discover illegally parked bicycles, the work manager must personally visit the parking lot periodically and perform the aforementioned verification using a mobile terminal on each and every parked bicycle. In addition, in order to stop the continued illegal parking, the work manager must perform the task of affixing the aforementioned sticker to each illegally parked bicycle.

[0015] As such, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 places a heavy burden on the operations manager in order to prevent illegal parking, making it difficult to reduce management costs, including labor costs, for parking lots.

[0016] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a parking lot ticket issuing machine that facilitates reducing the management costs of the parking lot.

[0017] In addition, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the user must input a user identification number into the ticket machine in order to pay the parking fee prior to parking, which is troublesome. Accordingly, the ticket machine must be designed to have a function for inputting a user identification number, a function for recording data representing the input user identification number, and a function for outputting the recorded data to the outside, which places a limit on reducing the equipment cost of the ticket machine.

[0018] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a ticket issuing machine for a parking lot that can reduce the burden on users of the parking lot and can easily reduce the installation costs of the ticket issuing machine or the payment machine.

[0019] Furthermore, according to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to install a card issuing machine, an entrance gate, an entrance management device, an exit gate, and an exit management device in the parking lot. This increases the equipment costs (including equipment costs and installation work costs) of the parking lot compared to when only a ticket issuing machine is required in the parking lot. Furthermore, according to this technology, both the entrance management device and the exit management device are required to have the function of reading information from the parking card. This leads to an increase in the equipment costs of the entrance management device and the exit management device, which also increases the equipment costs of the parking lot.

[0020] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a parking lot ticket issuing machine that can easily reduce the capital costs of the parking lot.

[0021] Based on the above findings, the present invention has been made with the objective of providing a technology for remotely managing parking lots using users' communication devices, which facilitates reducing the equipment costs and / or management costs of the parking lots. [Means for solving the problem]

[0022] In order to solve the problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a parking lot management system for remotely managing a parking lot, comprising: An on-site facility installed in the parking lot outputs the encrypted data as an image to a user in the parking lot. output A function, An off-site facility is installed in a remote location from the parking lot, and a communication device of a user in the parking lot communicates with the off-site facility using the output encrypted data to obtain information regarding parking or parking fees related to the user who uses the parking lot. The parking lot management system has an acquisition function and a management function for managing the parking lot based on the acquired information. Things Including fruit, The communication device includes: an input function for inputting the encrypted data by reading the output image using an image reader of the communication device; A communication function for communicating with the off-site equipment using the input encrypted data; A parking lot management system including the following is provided.

[0023] The present invention provides the following embodiments. Each embodiment is divided into clauses, each clause is numbered, and other clause numbers are cited as necessary. This is to facilitate understanding of some of the technical features that the present invention may employ and their combinations, and should not be construed as limiting the technical features and combinations that the present invention may employ to the following embodiments. In other words, it should be construed that technical features that are not described in the following embodiments but are described in this specification may be appropriately extracted and employed as technical features of the present invention.

[0024] Furthermore, describing each section in a form that refers to the number of other sections does not necessarily mean that the technical features described in each section are prevented from being separated and made independent from the technical features described in other sections, and it should be interpreted that the technical features described in each section can be made independent as appropriate depending on their nature.

[0025] (1) A ticket issuing machine installed in a prepaid unmanned parking lot having a plurality of parking locations for vehicles so as to be used commonly for the plurality of parking locations, comprising: a printer that prints and issues a parking ticket when a user pays a parking fee to the ticket issuing machine; an encryption unit that converts actual data, which indicates at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking fee, and which can be directly deciphered by the user, into encrypted data that cannot be deciphered by the user but can be pronounced uniquely by referring to a preset encryption table, when the user pays the parking fee to the ticket issuing machine; a printer control unit that controls the printer so that the actual data and the encrypted data are printed on the parking ticket that the printer is about to issue when the user pays the parking fee to the ticket issuing machine; Including, This parking lot ticket issuing machine allows the voice produced by a user reading out the encrypted data on the parking ticket to be transmitted via a communication device to a parking lot manager in a remote location, who can then decrypt the encrypted data from the received user's voice and restore the actual data.

[0026] According to this ticket issuing machine, after a user pays the parking fee to the ticket issuing machine, encrypted data is printed on the parking ticket issued by the ticket issuing machine together with actual data regarding at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time. In other words, the same information regarding at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time is printed on the same parking ticket as both actual data that the user can decrypt and encrypted data that the user cannot decrypt. The fact that the user cannot decrypt the encrypted data means that the user cannot forge the encrypted data.

[0027] The encrypted data is printed on the parking ticket not to identify the user who owns the parking ticket, nor to identify the parking ticket itself, but to verify the authenticity of a user's statement regarding information regarding the user's actions, such as at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time, for example, "the user paid a parking fee corresponding to a certain length of parking time to the ticket issuing machine on a certain date and time."

[0028] The encrypted data is data that cannot be deciphered by the user but can be pronounced uniquely, such as numbers, alphabets, kana characters, etc. As long as the encrypted data is the same, the same voice will be generated even if the person pronouncing the encrypted data is different, as long as they have normal literacy.

[0029] Therefore, this ticket issuing machine allows the user to transmit the voice produced by reading out the encrypted data on the parking ticket to a parking lot manager in a remote location via a communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a landline phone, a public phone, or other communication device that is not installed on the ticket issuing machine and is available to the user). The parking lot manager can decrypt the encrypted data from the received user's voice and restore the actual data, because there is a one-to-one relationship between the encrypted data and the actual data, and the actual data can be restored from the encrypted data.

[0030] Therefore, according to this ticket issuing machine, the ticket issuing machine does not have a function for communicating with other devices (e.g., the communication device of the parking lot manager) or a function for mechanically reading the encrypted data printed on the parking ticket, and the user does not have to bring or send the parking ticket to the parking lot manager, or send it by facsimile, and at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time can be confirmed by the parking lot manager in a remote location. As a result, the user can prove to the parking lot manager that his or her actions are not illegal, while reducing the burden on the user.

[0031] Therefore, with this ticket issuing machine, even if the above-mentioned exit prevention device is not installed in a prepaid unmanned parking lot, when a user is required to pay an additional parking fee, and in fact has not paid the additional parking fee at all or has paid only the amount that is short of the requested amount, even if the user claims to a remote administrator via a communication device that he or she has paid the requested amount, the administrator can find out that the claim is false. Therefore, even though it is a prepaid unmanned parking lot, it is easy to prevent fraudulent acts such as users leaving the parking lot despite not paying the additional parking fee at all or having paid only the amount that is short of the requested amount.

[0032] In this section, with regard to the term "at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time" which is directly represented by the actual data, "date and time" means, for example, the date and time when the user paid the parking fee, the start time or end time of the parking time, the time of entering the parking lot, etc., "amount" means, for example, the amount of the parking fee paid by the user, etc., and "length of parking time" means the effective parking time (maximum parking time) corresponding to the amount of the prepaid parking fee described below, the extended parking time corresponding to the amount of the additional parking fee described below, etc.

[0033] Throughout this specification, the term "parking ticket" includes all slips issued by ticket issuing machines installed in parking lots, including, but not limited to, parking tickets and receipts.

[0034] (2) A ticket issuing machine installed in a prepaid unmanned parking lot having a plurality of parking locations for vehicles so as to be used commonly for the plurality of parking locations, comprising: Ticket button and The fee settlement button, a printer that prints and issues a parking ticket indicating that parking has been permitted and a receipt indicating that the parking fee has been settled when the user operates the ticket issuing button after paying a prepaid parking fee to the ticket issuing machine prior to starting parking, and prints and issues the receipt when the user operates the fee settlement button after paying an additional parking fee to the ticket issuing machine after parking is completed; an encryption unit that converts actual data, which indicates at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time and which can be directly deciphered by the user, into encrypted data which cannot be deciphered by the user but can be pronounced uniquely by the user by referring to a preset encryption table when the user pays the prepaid parking fee or the additional parking fee to the ticket issuing machine; a first printer control unit that controls the printer so that, prior to the start of parking by a user, the user pays to the ticket issuing machine a parking fee corresponding to the length of effective parking time that the user wishes to park continuously in the unmanned parking lot as the prepaid parking fee, and then when the user operates the ticket issuing button, the actual data and the encrypted data corresponding to the prepaid parking fee are printed on the receipt that the printer is about to issue; a second printer control unit that controls the printer so that when the actual parking time of the user actually parked exceeds the valid parking time, the user pays a parking fee corresponding to the excess length to the ticket issuing machine as the additional parking fee and then operates the fee settlement button, so that the actual data and the encrypted data corresponding to the additional parking fee are printed on the receipt that the printer is about to issue; Including, This parking lot ticket issuing machine allows the voice produced by a user reading out the encrypted data on the receipt to be transmitted via a communication device to a parking lot manager in a remote location, who can then decrypt the encrypted data from the received user voice and restore the actual data.

[0035] This ticket vending machine makes it possible to distinguish whether the parking fee the user is about to pay is a prepaid parking fee or an additional parking fee, depending on the user's specific action. Furthermore, this ticket vending machine has the same effects as the ticket vending machine according to (1) above.

[0036] (3) The ticket issuing machine does not have the function of mechanically reading the information recorded on the parking ticket, nor the function of communicating with other devices. The parking lot ticket machine described in paragraph (1) is not equipped with a device for mechanically preventing a user from leaving the parking lot without paying the shortfall in the parking fee that the user has paid to the ticket machine.

[0037] (4) Furthermore, a coin slot into which coins are inserted; A display that displays information on a screen; a deposit amount calculation unit that calculates a total amount of coins that the user has deposited up to that point as a deposit amount each time the user deposits a coin into the coin deposit slot; a parking time calculation unit that calculates a parking time corresponding to the amount of coins inserted by a user from the calculated amount of coins inserted into the coin insertion slot; a display control unit that controls the display unit so that the calculated inserted amount and the calculated parking time are displayed on the screen every time a user inserts a coin into the coin insertion slot; A parking lot ticket issuing machine according to any one of items (1) to (3).

[0038] (5) A ticket issuing machine installed in a prepaid unmanned parking lot having a plurality of parking locations for vehicles so as to be used commonly for the plurality of parking locations, comprising: a printer that prints and issues a parking ticket as either a prepaid parking ticket or an additional parking fee ticket when a user pays a parking fee to the ticket machine as a prepaid parking fee before parking or as an additional parking fee after parking beyond a scheduled parking time; an encryption unit that converts actual data, which indicates at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time, and identifies whether the parking ticket is the prepaid parking ticket or the additional parking fee parking ticket, and which can be directly deciphered by the user, into encrypted data that cannot be deciphered by the user but can be pronounced uniquely by referring to a preset encryption table; a printer control unit that controls the printer so that the actual data and the encrypted data are printed on the parking ticket that the printer is about to issue when the user pays the parking fee to the ticket issuing machine; Including, This parking lot ticket issuing machine allows the voice produced by the user reading out the encrypted data on the parking ticket to be transmitted via a communication device to a parking lot manager in a remote location, who can then use a decryptor to decrypt the encrypted data from the received user's voice and restore the actual data.

[0039] This ticket issuing machine enables the parking lot manager to correctly identify whether a parking ticket is a prepaid parking ticket or an additional parking fee ticket, based only on the user's comments regarding the parking ticket, without visually inspecting the actual parking ticket or a copy of the ticket.

[0040] (6) A ticket issuing machine installed in a prepaid unmanned parking lot having a plurality of parking locations for vehicles so as to be used commonly for the plurality of parking locations, comprising: Ticket button and The fee settlement button, a printer that prints and issues a parking ticket indicating that parking is permitted and a prepaid receipt indicating that the prepaid parking fee has been paid when the user operates the ticket issuing button after paying a prepaid parking fee to the ticket issuing machine prior to starting parking, and prints and issues an additional parking fee receipt when the user operates the fee settlement button after paying an additional parking fee to the ticket issuing machine after parking is completed; an encryption unit that encrypts actual data, which indicates at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time, and indicates whether the receipt issued by the ticket issuing machine is the receipt for the prepayment or the receipt for the additional parking fee, and which can be visually deciphered by the user, into encrypted data that cannot be deciphered by the user but can be pronounced uniquely by referring to a preset encryption table; a first printer control unit that controls the printer so that, prior to the start of parking by a user, the user pays to the ticket issuing machine a parking fee corresponding to the length of effective parking time that the user wishes to park continuously in the unmanned parking lot as the prepaid parking fee, and then when the user operates the ticket issuing button, the actual data and the encrypted data corresponding to the prepaid parking fee are printed on the prepaid receipt that the printer is about to issue; a second printer control unit that controls the printer so that when the actual parking time of the user actually parked exceeds the valid parking time, the user pays a parking fee corresponding to the excess length to the ticket issuing machine as the additional parking fee and then operates the fee settlement button, so that the actual data and the encrypted data corresponding to the additional parking fee are printed on the additional parking fee receipt that the printer is about to issue; Including, After the additional parking fee receipt is issued, the voice produced by the user reading out the encrypted data on the prepayment receipt and the additional parking fee receipt is transmitted via a communication device to a parking lot manager in a remote location, and the parking lot manager can use a decryptor to decrypt the encrypted data received as voice and restore the actual data on the prepayment receipt and the additional parking fee receipt, and based on the restored actual data, determine whether the amount already paid by the user as the additional parking fee is insufficient.This is a parking lot ticket issuing machine.

[0041] (7) A ticket issuing machine installed in a prepaid unmanned parking lot having a plurality of parking locations for vehicles so as to be used commonly for the plurality of parking locations, comprising: an operation unit that is operated by a user to select one of a plurality of parking time periods including a parking time period that covers only the nighttime and a parking time period that covers at least a part of the daytime as a time period when the user wishes to use the parking lot; a printer that, when the user pays the parking fee corresponding to the type of parking time slot selected by the user to the ticket issuing machine, prints on a parking ticket the date and time when the user entered the parking lot, the type of parking time slot selected by the user, and the amount of the parking fee paid by the user to the ticket issuing machine, and issues the printed parking ticket to the user; Parking lot ticket issuing machines including.

[0042] (8) A parking lot ticket issuing machine as described in any of (1) to (7) above, wherein the parking ticket is positioned inside the parked vehicle so that the printed contents of the parking ticket can be viewed by a user from outside the vehicle through the window glass of the parked vehicle after it has been issued by the ticket issuing machine.

[0043] The parking ticket issued by this ticket issuing machine prior to parking is placed inside the vehicle that the user intends to park in the prepaid unmanned parking lot so that it can be seen from outside the vehicle. Therefore, the parking lot manager can easily determine whether the vehicle is illegally parked or not by simply visually checking the parking ticket inside the parked vehicle from outside the vehicle. When the parking lot manager finds an illegally parked vehicle, he or she can warn the user who parked the vehicle by, for example, attaching a warning ticket to the vehicle.

[0044] As a result, this ticket issuing machine makes it possible to prevent illegal parking in a prepaid unmanned parking lot without installing the aforementioned exit prevention devices such as exit gates, flap-type, retractable wheel stops, etc. Therefore, this ticket issuing machine makes it easy to prevent illegal parking in a prepaid unmanned parking lot while reducing the facility and management costs of the parking lot.

[0045] Furthermore, with this ticket machine, the function of the ticket machine can be easily simplified because the machine does not need to process data to detect illegal parking, and as a result, the equipment costs of the ticket machine can be easily reduced.

[0046] Furthermore, with this ticket issuing machine, a user who wishes to use a parking lot can have a parking ticket issued prior to parking without having to input a user identification number or vehicle identification information about the user's vehicle, thereby avoiding an increased burden on the user.

[0047] Furthermore, because the ticket issuing machine places the ticket inside the parked vehicle, it cannot be damaged by weather or lost.

[0048] (9) A parking ticket that is printed and issued by a ticket issuing machine installed in a prepaid or postpaid unmanned or manned parking lot having a plurality of parking locations for vehicles so as to be used commonly for the plurality of parking locations when a user pays a parking fee to the ticket issuing machine, On the parking ticket, real data showing at least one of the date and time of payment of parking fee or parking time, the amount, and the length of parking time, which can be directly deciphered by the user, and encrypted data obtained by encrypting the real data, which cannot be deciphered by the user but can be pronounced uniquely, are printed.

[0049] By using this parking ticket, the parking lot manager can objectively determine the authenticity of a user's statement regarding the information written on the parking ticket, based solely on the user's statement regarding the information written on the parking ticket, without having to visually inspect the actual ticket or a copy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0050] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of an unmanned parking lot in which a ticket issuing machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention is installed. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the ticket issuing machine shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ticket issuing machine shown in FIG. 2 with the door open. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a component configuration of the ticket issuing machine shown in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart conceptually showing a ticket issuing and settlement program executed by the computer shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 6(a)-(d) are front views showing a plurality of images displayed on the screen of the display device shown in FIG. [Figure 7]Figure 7(a) is a front view showing an example of a parking ticket and receipt issued by the ticket issuing machine shown in Figure 2 after payment of the advance parking fee, and Figure 7(b) is a front view showing an example of a receipt issued by the ticket issuing machine shown in Figure 2 after payment of the additional parking fee. [Figure 8] FIG. 8(a) is a vertical cross-sectional view of the parking ticket shown in FIG. 7(a) immediately after it has been issued, and FIG. 8(b) is a vertical cross-sectional view of the parking ticket with a portion of it peeled off and folded. [Figure 9] Figure 9(a) is a side cross-sectional view of the parking ticket shown in Figure 7(a) affixed to the back of the windshield of a parked vehicle, and Figure 9(b) is a perspective view of the parking ticket with part of its display sheet peeled off from the separator and folded. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the parking ticket shown in FIG. 7(a) stuck to the back side of the windshield of a parked vehicle. [Figure 11] Figures 11(a)-(c) are diagrams illustrating the structure of an example of encrypted data to be printed on the receipts shown in Figures 7(a) and (b), respectively, the corresponding actual data, and the process of converting the actual data into encrypted data. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is an oblique view to explain how a user uses his or her mobile phone to communicate the encrypted data to be printed on the receipts shown in Figures 7(a) and (b) to a parking lot manager in a remote location, and how the parking lot manager converts the received encrypted data into actual data. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a front view showing a ticket dispenser according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the component configuration of the ticket issuing machine shown in FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a flowchart conceptually showing a ticket issuing and settlement program executed by the computer shown in FIG. [Figure 16]Figure 16(a) is a front view showing an example of a parking ticket and receipt issued by the ticket issuing machine shown in Figure 13 after payment of the advance parking fee, and Figure 16(b) is a front view showing an example of a receipt issued by the ticket issuing machine shown in Figure 13 after payment of the additional parking fee. [Figure 17] Figures 17(a)-(c) are diagrams illustrating the structure of an example of encrypted data to be printed on the receipts shown in Figures 16(a) and (b), respectively, the corresponding actual data, and the process of converting the actual data into encrypted data. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a front view showing an example of a parking ticket for overnight parking issued by the ticket issuing machine shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0051] Hereinafter, a parking lot ticket issuing machine 20 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0052] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a parking lot 10 in which the ticket vending machine 20 is installed and used. The parking lot 10 has a plurality of parking positions (parking spaces) that allow multiple cars to be parked simultaneously. A single ticket vending machine (also generally called a "payment machine") 20 is installed as a centralized ticket vending machine common to the multiple parking positions near the only entrance / exit 12 (which is both an entrance and an exit) of the parking lot 10. The parking lot 10 is unmanned, with no dedicated attendant, and the user, who is the driver, pays the parking fee to the ticket vending machine 20. The ticket vending machine 20 is configured according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] As an added note regarding the definition of the term "vehicle," in this section "Description of Embodiments," the term "vehicle" refers only to automobiles, but elsewhere in this specification, the term "vehicle" should be interpreted as including not only automobiles but also all kinds of moving objects, such as bicycles, motorcycles, etc.

[0054] There are two types of parking spaces on the premises of parking lot 10. These are spaces for renting parking spaces to vehicle users on a daily basis (temporary parking spaces or daily rental spaces), and spaces for renting parking spaces to vehicle users on a monthly basis, subject to a prior contract (monthly parking spaces). Ticket vending machines 20 are used in the temporary parking spaces. Hereinafter, when "parking lot 10" is simply mentioned, it refers only to the temporary parking spaces, i.e., the areas of parking lot 10 where ticket vending machines 20 are used.

[0055] To use parking lot 10, a user, or driver, drives his / her vehicle into entrance / exit gate 12 from an adjacent road, continues driving past ticket dispenser 20, and then drives his / her vehicle to and parks his / her vehicle in any parking space (parking position) selected by the user. After that, the user gets out of his / her vehicle, walks to ticket dispenser 20 at entrance / exit gate 12, and pays the parking fee to ticket dispenser 20.

[0056] Fig. 2 shows the ticket issuing machine 20 in a front view, Fig. 3 shows the ticket issuing machine 20 in a perspective view with the door 24 open, and Fig. 4 shows a block diagram of the components of the ticket issuing machine 20. Fig. 5 shows a conceptual flow chart of the ticket issuing and fare adjustment program executed by the computer 100 in the control board 34 shown in Fig. 4. Figs. 6(a)-(d) show front views of a number of images displayed on the screen of the display 36 shown in Fig. 2.

[0057] In exchange for paying the parking fee, the user receives a parking ticket 80 shown in Fig. 7(a) and Fig. 8 from the ticket issuing machine 20. The user then attaches the parking ticket 80 to the back of the windshield 110 of his / her vehicle (which is an example of the "window glass" in the above paragraph (1), but the "window glass" is not limited to the windshield 110) as shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. The parking ticket 80 is placed inside the parked vehicle, so it will not be exposed to the elements and will not be lost.

[0058] Parking lot 10 is a prepaid unmanned parking lot having a plurality of parking positions, does not have a device (e.g., an exit gate device or a wheel stopper device (e.g., a flap type or a retractable type)) for preventing a vehicle from leaving the parking lot 10, and allows a user to freely select any one of the plurality of parking positions to park his / her vehicle (the selected parking position is not monitored by ticket issuing machine 20). Ticket issuing machine 20 is used for parking lot 10 configured in this manner.

[0059] Here, the ticket dispenser 20 will be described in more detail. This ticket dispenser 20 has a fee settlement function but does not have a change function or a communication function. This ticket dispenser 20 requires the user to pay the parking fee only with coins, not with paper money. In addition, this ticket dispenser 20 does not require the user to input a user identification number, input vehicle identification information about the user's vehicle (e.g., a vehicle number), or specify which of multiple parking locations the user will select.

[0060] As shown in Fig. 2, the ticket issuing machine 20 has a ticket issuing button 70 and a fee settlement button 74. When a user presses the ticket issuing button 70 after paying the prepaid parking fee prior to starting parking, the ticket issuing machine 20 has a ticket issuing function that issues two sheets: a parking ticket 80 (see Fig. 7(a)) indicating that parking has been permitted, and a receipt 81a (see Fig. 7(a)) indicating that the prepaid parking fee has been settled. The ticket issuing machine 20 further has a fee settlement function that issues a receipt 81b (see Fig. 7(b)) indicating that the additional parking fee has been settled, when a user presses the fee settlement button 74 after paying the additional parking fee after parking has ended.

[0061] In this embodiment, receipt 81a constitutes an example of the "prepayment receipt" in the above paragraph (7), and receipt (hereinafter also referred to as the "adjustment receipt") 81b constitutes an example of the "additional parking fee receipt" in the same paragraph. That is, in this embodiment, receipts 81a and 81b are categorized as prepayment receipts and additional parking fee receipts, and receipt 81a is classified in the category of prepayment receipts, whereas receipt 81b is classified in the category of additional parking fee receipts.

[0062] In this embodiment, the two-sheet parking ticket issued after the prepaid parking fee is paid is a set of a parking ticket 80 and a receipt 81a, but the user can separate the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a, leave only the parking ticket 80 in the parked vehicle, and carry the receipt 81a with them. As described below, the receipt 81a has the end time of the valid parking time (the time period during which the user is permitted to park) printed on it, and it is convenient for the user to carry this receipt 81a with them so that they can refer to the end time of the valid parking time at any time when they are away from the parked vehicle.

[0063] As shown in Fig. 3, this ticket vending machine 20 is configured with a vertically long, box-shaped casing 22 having a door 24 attached to one side thereof so as to be able to be opened and closed. Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the internal configuration of this ticket vending machine 20 with the door 24 open. Fig. 4 shows a block diagram of the components of this ticket vending machine 20.

[0064] 3, the ticket issuing machine 20 is configured to have a coin processing unit 30, a safe 32, a control board 34, a display 36, and a printer 40 that prints and issues parking tickets 80 and receipts 81a, 81b. Of these components, only the coin processing unit 30 is attached to the back surface of the door 24, and the remaining components are attached inside the casing 22.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 40 is equipped with a roller 42 on which the continuous sheet before printing is wound and stored. The printer 40 prints on the continuous sheet fed from the roller 42 one sheet at a time. After printing, the printer 40 cuts the continuous sheet with a cutter (not shown) as needed, and separates from the continuous sheet a two-sheet set consisting of a parking ticket 80 and a receipt 81a after the prepaid parking fee has been paid, and a single receipt 81b after the additional parking fee has been paid. However, as shown in FIG. 7(a), a cut line 89 is formed between the two-sheet set of the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a, and the user can easily separate the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a from each other along the cut line 89.

[0066] The cutter has a cutting blade (not shown) and cuts the continuous sheet in the width direction by moving the cutting blade in the width direction of the continuous sheet. The cutter can adopt a method of completely cutting the continuous sheet in the width direction, or a method of cutting the continuous sheet in the width direction while leaving only a part of the continuous sheet in the width direction.

[0067] 2 and 4, the coin processing unit 30 has a coin insertion slot 50, a return lever 52, a coin selector (which determines the type of inserted coin and whether the inserted coin is a counterfeit coin) 54, and a coin return slot 56. Of the inserted coins, those not returned to the user through the coin return slot 56 are stored in the safe 32. As shown in FIG. 4, a control board 34 is connected to the coin selector 54 so as to be capable of data communication, and the control board 34 receives a signal from the coin selector 54 indicating the type of inserted coin (including the denomination of the coin and information on whether the coin is a counterfeit coin) and the number of coins.

[0068] 2, on the front surface of the door 24, there are arranged a transparent window 60 through which display light from the screen of the display 36 (e.g., a liquid crystal display) passes, a coin slot 50, a return lever 52, a coin return slot 56, and an outlet 64 for discharging the parking ticket 80 and receipts 81a, 81b printed and discharged by the printer 40. The transparent window 60 also functions to mechanically protect the display 36 by preventing direct access to the display 36 from the outside.

[0069] The ticket issuing machine 20 is further configured to have the above-mentioned ticket issuing button 70, which is pressed after the user has paid the prepaid parking fee, and the above-mentioned fee settlement button 74, which is pressed after the user has paid the additional parking fee. The ticket issuing button 70 and the fee settlement button 74 are attached to the front of the door 24 of the ticket issuing machine 20, as shown in Fig. 2. The ticket issuing button 70 and the fee settlement button 74 are electrically connected to the control board 34, as shown in Fig. 4.

[0070] The ticket issuance button 70 and the fare settlement button 74 are both configured as actual physical switches, but are not limited to this and may be configured, for example, as virtual switches (e.g., buttons, keys, icons) displayed on the screen of the display 36.

[0071] The control board 34 is mainly composed of a computer 100. This control board 34 has a built-in clock 102, and can always obtain the current date and time (for example, the date and time when the ticket issue button 70 is pressed, or the date and time when the fee settlement button 74 is pressed). This control board 34 also has a built-in memory 104. The memory 104 stores an encryption table, which will be described later, in a state in which it can be rewritten only by an authorized person.

[0072] Additionally, the control board 34 can be configured to realize the same functions as the computer 100 by using a sequencer (sequence control).

[0073] When the ticket issuing and settlement program shown in Fig. 5 is executed by the computer 100, first, in step S1, the initial screen shown in Fig. 6(a) is displayed on the screen of the display 36. Next, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the user has inserted coins, based on a signal from the coin selector 54. If no coins have been inserted, the process returns to step S2, but if a coin has been inserted, in step S3, the total amount of coins inserted by the user up to that point is calculated as the inserted amount.

[0074] Next, in step S4, the parking time corresponding to the calculated inserted amount is calculated as the parking time (if the parking fee paid this time is a prepaid parking fee, it means valid parking time, whereas if the parking fee paid this time is an additional parking fee, it means extended parking time) from the calculated inserted amount. Since the relationship between the inserted amount and the length of parking time, i.e., the hourly fee setting, is known to computer 100, computer 100 can calculate the parking time from the inserted amount in accordance with the fee setting. The fee setting can be set by the parking lot manager, for example, by operating the touch panel of display 36 to input each hourly unit individually.

[0075] According to the above-mentioned example of pricing, the parking time for continuous parking is 300 yen for up to 2 hours, 400 yen for up to 4 hours, 500 yen for up to 6 hours, 1000 yen for up to 12 hours, and 1500 yen for up to 24 hours. Under this example of pricing, for example, as shown in Fig. 7, if a user pays 400 yen as an advance parking fee, computer 100 will calculate 4 hours as the valid parking time. Also, if a user pays 300 yen as an additional parking fee, computer 100 will calculate 2 hours as the extended parking time.

[0076] After that, in step S5, a coin insertion screen shown in Fig. 6(b) is displayed on the display 36. At this time, the calculated inserted amount and the length of the parking time (valid parking time or extended parking time) are displayed.

[0077] Next, in step S6, it is determined whether or not the ticket issue button 70 has been pressed. If the ticket issue button 70 has not yet been pressed, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the fee settlement button 74 has been pressed. If the fee settlement button 74 has not yet been pressed either, the process returns to step S2.

[0078] After coin insertion starts, steps S2-S7 are repeated until either the ticket issuing button 70 or the fee settlement button 74 is pressed. As a result, every time the user inserts coins into the coin insertion slot 50, the total amount of coins inserted by the user from the start of insertion to the current time is calculated as the inserted amount, the parking time corresponding to the inserted amount is calculated from the calculated inserted amount, and the calculated inserted amount and parking time (valid parking time or extended parking time) are displayed on the screen of the display 36.

[0079] When the ticket issuing button 70 is pressed, in step S8, the parking ticket / receipt issuing screen shown in Fig. 6(c) is displayed on the display 36. At this time, the amount of the parking fee confirmed by the user's operation of the ticket issuing button 70 is displayed as the amount of the prepaid parking fee. In this case, the parking time calculated in the preceding step S4 means the valid parking time.

[0080] Next, in step S9, actual data that indicates the time when the user entered the parking lot 10 (or the date and time when the user paid the prepaid parking fee, the time when the parking ticket 80 was issued, the start time of the parking time, etc.) and the length of the valid parking time (or the amount of the prepaid parking fee paid by the user, etc.), which can be directly deciphered by the user, is converted into encrypted data 130 that cannot be deciphered by the user but can be pronounced uniquely by referring to the encryption table. Encryption is performed, and the encrypted data 130 is thereby created.

[0081] In this embodiment, the encrypted data 130 is defined as a nine-digit symbol (the number of digits may be more or less) arranged in a row, as shown in Fig. 11(a). The symbol for each digit is selected, for example, from among ten numbers from 0 to 9 and a number of alphabetic characters. The multi-digit symbol is divided into a number of groups and printed on the receipt 81a, with adjacent groups connected by hyphens, so that the user can pronounce the multi-digit symbol more easily and accurately, with several breaks between them, rather than pronouncing it all at once in one breath.

[0082] An example of a typical configuration of real data (year notation has been omitted to reduce the number of digits in the real data) is the data "Entered at hh:mm on MM / DD / , and the valid parking time is TT hours," as shown in Fig. 11(b). This real data has five elements, as shown in Fig. 11(c), namely, the number MM representing the month, the number DD representing the day, the number hh representing the hour of the time, the number mm representing the minute of the time, and the number TT representing the length of the parking time (if the corresponding receipt is for prepayment, this means the valid parking time, but if the corresponding receipt is for additional parking fees, this means the extended parking time).

[0083] 11(c), the encryption tables include a monthly encryption table referred to for encrypting the number MM representing the month, a daily encryption table referred to for encrypting the number DD representing the day, an hour encryption table referred to for encrypting the number hh representing the hour of the time, a minute encryption table referred to for encrypting the number mm representing the minute of the time, and a time encryption table referred to for encrypting the number TT representing the length of the parking time. Each of the above five elements is encrypted by referring to the corresponding encryption table, thereby generating nine-digit encrypted data 130.

[0084] In this embodiment, the encryption table is updated every day, but it is also possible to adopt a method of updating the encryption table every time a period longer than 24 hours has passed (the encryption table is not updated within the same period), or to adopt a method of updating the encryption table every day within a period longer than 24 hours (the pattern of daily updating of the encryption table is common between a period within one period and a period within another period).

[0085] In one example, when the encryption table is updated daily in the memory 104, the encryption table set, which is one month's worth of encryption tables, is updated monthly. In this case, the encryption table set is updated by the manager, for example, every month, every time the manager visits the parking lot 10.

[0086] Also, in one example, for each of the five elements MM, DD, hh, mm and TT mentioned above, the relationship between the actual data and the encrypted data in the encryption table, i.e., the correspondence between the number before encryption (e.g., "2" for "February") and the code after encryption, is generated by generating a random number for each number before encryption and using that random number as the code after encryption.

[0087] When encryption is completed in step S9 shown in Fig. 5, the parking ticket 80 and receipt 81a are printed and issued by the printer 40 in step S10. On the receipt 81a, as shown in Fig. 7(a), the same information regarding at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time is printed both as actual data that the user can decrypt and as encrypted data 130 that the user cannot decrypt. This completes the current execution of the ticket issuing and settlement program.

[0088] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the parking ticket 80 is printed with the end time of the valid parking time corresponding to the amount of the prepaid parking fee paid by the user, and a display for identifying the location of the parking lot 10. The receipt 81a is printed with the time of entry, the amount of the prepaid parking fee paid by the user, the end time of the valid parking time, and a display for identifying the location of the parking lot 10. The receipt 81a is also printed with encrypted data 130, exemplified by "ABC-DEF-ABC". As shown in the text form in FIG. 11(b), the encrypted data 130 is encrypted real data representing the time of entry (which is equivalent to the time the prepaid parking fee was paid, the start time of the parking time, and the time the parking ticket 80 and receipt 81a were issued) and the length of the valid parking time (which is equivalent to the amount of the prepaid parking fee paid).

[0089] On the other hand, when the fee settlement button 74 is pressed instead of the ticket issue button 70, in step S11, the settlement receipt issuance screen shown in Fig. 6(d) is displayed on the display 36. At this time, the amount of the parking fee confirmed by the user's operation of the fee settlement button 74 is displayed as the amount of the additional parking fee. In this case, the parking time calculated in the preceding step S4 means the extended parking time.

[0090] Next, in step S12, similar to step S9, actual data representing the time when receipt 81b was issued because the user paid the additional parking fee (which is equivalent to the time when the additional parking fee was paid) and the length of the extended parking time (which is equivalent to the amount of the additional parking fee paid) are converted into encrypted data 140 by referring to the encryption table.

[0091] Thereafter, in step S13, receipt 81b is printed and issued by printer 40. As shown in Fig. 7(b), the same information regarding at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time is printed on receipt 81b as both actual data that the user can decipher and encrypted data 140 that the user cannot decipher. This ends the current execution of the ticket issuing and settlement program.

[0092] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the date and time receipt 81b was issued, the amount of the additional parking fee, and an indication for identifying the location of parking lot 10 are printed on receipt 81b.

[0093] Furthermore, the receipt 81b also has encrypted data 140, for example, "123-456-789" printed on it. The encrypted data 140 is the encrypted actual data indicating the date and time when the receipt 81b was issued and the length of the extended parking time.

[0094] 7(a) shows a front view of a two-sheet set of a parking ticket 80 and a receipt 81a, while FIG. 7(b) shows a front view of a receipt 81b. A two-sheet set of a parking ticket 80 and a receipt 81a corresponds to two parking tickets 80, and in the two-sheet set, the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a have the same size and structure. Moreover, the receipt 81b corresponds to one parking ticket 80, and has the same size and structure as the parking ticket 80. In the following, for simplicity, only the structure of the parking ticket 80 will be representatively described.

[0095] Parking ticket 80 is constructed by laminating, in that order, a display sheet (printing paper) 82 as a surface layer, an adhesive layer 83 (glue layer) as an intermediate layer, and a separator (separation sheet, release paper) 84 as a back layer. The adhesive layer 83 is applied to the back surface of the display sheet 82 so as not to be easily peeled off, and when the display sheet 82 is peeled off from the surface of the separator 84, the glue of the adhesive layer 83 does not adhere to the surface of the separator 84.

[0096] 7(a), in one parking ticket 80, the outer periphery of the display sheet 82 is positioned inside the outer periphery of the separator 84. The original roll wound around the roller 42 is configured by adhering a plurality of display sheets 82 (blank) arranged in a row with gaps between them to a continuous separator 84.

[0097] The continuous sheet (continuous separator 84) in the printer 40 is cut by the cutter at the positions of the gaps between the display sheets 82, and no cutting is performed on the display sheets 82. On the other hand, no adhesive is attached to the surface of the portion of the separator 84 that is exposed in the gaps between the display sheets 82.

[0098] Therefore, according to this embodiment, when cutting the continuous sheet, the adhesive of the adhesive layer 83 does not adhere to the cutting edge, and the frequency of maintenance of the cutter by a manager (e.g., a service representative, a worker who patrols multiple parking lots, or a patrol watchman) who is dispatched to the site once or several times a day is reduced, thereby reducing the labor costs for the manager.

[0099] However, in this embodiment, for receipt 81b, separator 84 is completely cut by the cutter to the length of one sheet, whereas for the two-sheet set, separator 84 is completely cut to the length of two sheets. However, as described above, for the two-sheet set, separator 84 is partially cut by the cutter between parking ticket 80 and receipt 81a, as shown in Fig. 7(a), thereby forming cut line 89.

[0100] As shown in FIG. 7(a), the display sheet 82 of the parking ticket 80 further has a cutting line 90 having both ends (not closed) immediately above the character string "Parking ticket". The cutting line 90 exists to allow a user to peel off a part of the display sheet 82 from the separator 84 while the remaining part remains adhered to the separator 84. As shown in FIG. 8(b), when a user peels off a part of the display sheet 82 (the area surrounded by the cutting line 90) from the separator 84 and folds it along the straight line connecting both ends of the cutting line 90, the surface of the resulting folded part 92 (the part of the adhesive layer 83 that is applied to the back surface of the folded part 92) is exposed as an adhesive surface. FIG. 9(a) shows the folded part 92 in a perspective view.

[0101] In this embodiment, in order to prove that the parking by the user is not illegal, the user is required to attach the parking ticket 80 received in exchange for inserting a coin to the back surface of the windshield 110 of the parked vehicle as shown in FIG. 9(b). For this purpose, the user locally peels off and folds a designated portion (an area surrounded by a cutting line 90, which will eventually become a folded portion 92) of the parking ticket 80 as shown in FIG. 9(a), and then attaches the front surface of the folded portion 92 to the back surface of the windshield 110 of the parked vehicle as shown in FIG. 9(b). This makes it possible to visually check the contents of the parking ticket 80 (particularly, information for identifying the end time of the parking time period permitted to the user and an indication for identifying the location of the parking lot 10 where the parking ticket 80 is valid) from the outside at any time as shown in FIG. 10.

[0102] If the actual parking time exceeds the valid parking time, the user is required to pay an additional parking fee. However, as described above, the parking lot 10 is unmanned and does not have a device that prevents the parked vehicle from leaving unless the necessary additional parking fee is paid. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 12, the user is required to notify the parking lot manager at a remote management center that the necessary additional parking fee has been paid from the parking lot 10, the car, or the user's home using a communication device such as a mobile phone or a landline phone.

[0103] At this time, the user is required to read out both the encrypted data 130 printed on the receipt 81a issued upon entry and the encrypted data 140 printed on the receipt 81b issued upon exit, and transmit the audio to the parking lot manager via the communication device.

[0104] Upon receiving the user's voice representing the encrypted data 130, 140, the parking lot manager at the management center operates an input device (e.g., keyboard, touch screen, mouse, etc.) of the decryptor 180 to input symbols corresponding to the user's voice. The encrypted data 130, 140 is then input, and the decryptor 180 restores the input encrypted data 130, 140 to actual data according to a decryption table that matches the encryption table and is installed in the decryptor 180.

[0105] This allows the parking lot manager, while at the management center which is geographically separated from the managed parking lot 10, to know the actual parking time that the user actually parked (for example, the length of time elapsed from the entry time specified by encrypted data 130 to the time the additional parking fee was paid specified by encrypted data 140), and further, the total amount of parking fees paid by the user (for example, the sum of the amount of the prepaid parking fee specified by encrypted data 130 and the amount of the additional parking fee specified by encrypted data 140), and thus can correctly determine whether the total amount of parking fees is sufficient in relation to the actual parking time.

[0106] The decryption table stored in the decryptor 180 cannot be known by anyone, even the parking lot manager, unless authorized to do so, so security for the decryption table is high.

[0107] As is clear from the above description, according to this embodiment, when issuing receipts 81a and 81b, encrypted data 130, 140 are printed on receipts 81a and 81b in symbols that the user can pronounce, and the parking manager can correctly determine whether or not the parking fee is insufficient by simply requesting the user to transmit the encrypted data 130, 140 by voice to the parking manager. Therefore, the user can park beyond the valid parking time without worrying about a large burden, and the usability of parking lot 10 is improved, and the utilization rate is also improved.

[0108] Regardless of whether a parking lot is prepaid or postpaid, and regardless of whether the parking lot is unmanned or manned, there may be cases where a user and a parking lot manager in a remote location need to confirm the information written on a parking ticket, such as a parking ticket issued to a user by a ticket issuing machine in the parking lot.

[0109] In this case, the user can bring the parking ticket itself to the parking lot manager or send it by fax, but this is troublesome. Therefore, if the user and the parking lot manager in a remote location could confirm the contents of the parking ticket using a communication device such as a telephone, the burden on the user would be reduced. However, in this case, the parking lot manager cannot visually inspect the parking ticket itself and is forced to confirm the information written on the parking ticket based only on the user's comments.

[0110] Therefore, it is desirable for a parking lot manager in a remote location to be able to objectively determine the authenticity of a user's statement based only on the user's statement regarding the information written on the parking ticket. Meeting this need is particularly effective in preventing illegal parking in, for example, prepaid unmanned parking lots that are not equipped with the aforementioned exit prevention device.

[0111] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the user transmits the encrypted data 130 and 140 by voice input, however, for example, it is possible to transmit the encrypted data 130 and 140 by data input (e.g., key input using a real or virtual key, image input using an image reader) instead of voice input.

[0112] As is clear from the above explanation, in this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, it is possible to consider that the portion of the control board 34 that executes steps S9 and S12 shown in FIG. 5 constitutes an example of the "encryption unit" in paragraphs (1), (2) and (5) above, the portion of the control board 34 that executes steps S10 and S13 shown in FIG. 5 constitutes an example of the "printer control unit" in paragraphs (1) and (5) above, the portion of the control board 34 that executes steps S6 and S9 shown in FIG. 5 constitutes an example of the "first printer control unit" in paragraph (2) above, and the portion of the control board 34 that executes steps S7 and S12 shown in FIG. 5 constitutes an example of the "second printer control unit" in the same paragraph.

[0113] Furthermore, in this embodiment, for ease of explanation, the portion of the control board 34 that executes steps S2 and S3 shown in FIG. 5 constitutes an example of the "deposit amount calculation unit" in the above paragraph (4), the portion of the control board 34 that executes steps S2 and S4 shown in FIG. 5 constitutes an example of the "parking time calculation unit" in the same paragraph, the portion of the control board 34 that executes steps S2 and S5 shown in FIG. 5 constitutes an example of the "display control unit" in the same paragraph, and both receipts 81a and 81b constitute an example of the "parking ticket" in the above paragraph (6).

[0114] Next, a ticket issuing machine 190 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. However, since this embodiment has many elements in common with the first embodiment, the same elements will be referred to with the same reference numerals or names to omit redundant explanations, and only the different elements will be described in detail.

[0115] The ticket issuing machine 190 according to this embodiment is different from the ticket issuing machine 20 according to the first embodiment in that it is configured to enable a user to select, as the period during which the user wishes to park in the parking lot 10, either a parking time period that covers only the nighttime (for example, the period from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. the following day) or a parking time period that covers at least part of the daytime (for example, a period during which the entry date and time is before sunset and the exit date and time is after sunrise).

[0116] In other words, the ticket issuing machine 190 is configured to allow the user to select the type of parking ("parking mode") from either nighttime parking, in which the vehicle is parked during parking hours that cover only the nighttime ("night parking mode"), or normal parking, in which the vehicle is parked during parking hours that cover at least part of the daytime ("normal parking mode"), and to prepay the parking fee in an amount that corresponds to the selection.

[0117] Therefore, as shown in Figures 13 and 14, the ticket dispenser 190 is configured to have, as additional parts to the ticket dispenser 20 according to the first embodiment, a night parking button 200 that is pressed and operated by the user to switch the parking mode desired by the user from the default normal parking mode to night parking mode, and a night parking lamp 202 that is turned on to indicate that the night parking mode is currently selected.

[0118] The night parking button 200 is configured as an actual physical switch, but is not limited to this and may be configured as a virtual switch (e.g., a key, an icon) displayed on the screen of the display 36. The night parking button 200 is disposed on the front side of the door 24. The night parking button 200 can be accessed from outside even when the door 24 is closed. Therefore, the night parking button 200 can be operated by the user at all times.

[0119] In summary, in this embodiment, the night parking button 200 constitutes an example of "a real or virtual operating unit that is operated by a user to select one of a plurality of parking time periods, including parking time periods that cover only the nighttime and parking time periods that cover at least part of the daytime, as the time period during which the user wishes to use the parking lot."

[0120] 15 conceptually illustrates, in the form of a flowchart, a ticket issuing / adjustment program executed by computer 100 in control board 34 in ticket issuing machine 190. Computer 100 repeatedly executes the ticket issuing / adjustment program while ticket issuing machine 190 is powered on.

[0121] This ticket issuance and settlement program will be explained in more detail below. However, since this ticket issuance and settlement program has many steps in common with the ticket issuance and settlement program shown in Figure 5, the common steps will be referred to by the same reference numerals to omit redundant explanations, and only the different steps will be explained in detail.

[0122] When this ticket issuing / payment program is executed each time, first, in step S101, the amount of parking fee that the user needs to pay for the default parking mode, i.e., normal parking (see the above-mentioned fee setting example), is displayed on the screen of the display 36. In this step S101, the initial screen shown in Fig. 6(a) is also displayed.

[0123] Next, in step S102, based on the output signal of the night parking button 200, it is determined whether or not the user has pressed the night parking button 200 to switch the active parking mode from the normal parking mode to the night parking mode.

[0124] If the night parking button 200 is not pressed, the determination in step S102 becomes NO, and steps S2-S5 are executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. After that, if the ticket issuing button 70 is pressed, the determination in step S6 becomes YES, and then step S8 is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

[0125] Next, in step S106, actual data that indicates the time when the user entered the parking lot 10 (or the date and time when the user paid the prepaid parking fee, the time when the parking ticket 80 was issued, the start time of the parking time, etc.) and the length of the valid parking time (or the amount of the prepaid parking fee paid by the user, etc.), and also indicates that the current receipt 81a is classified into the category of a prepaid receipt, and which the user can directly decipher, is converted into encrypted data 210 that the user cannot decipher but can uniquely pronounce, as shown in Fig. 16(a), by referring to the encryption table. Encryption is performed, and the encrypted data 210 is created.

[0126] In the example shown in Fig. 16(a), the actual data specifically indicates that "the entry time is 13:20 on Feb. 13, 2011, the valid parking time is until 17:20 on Feb. 13, 2011, and the receipt 81a is classified into the category of prepaid receipt (the title of the receipt 81a is simply printed as "Receipt"). "Here, "the valid parking time is until 17:20 on Feb. 13, 2011" is equivalent to "the valid parking time is four hours."

[0127] Therefore, an example of a typical configuration of this actual data (the year notation has been omitted to reduce the number of digits in the actual data) is data that indicates, as shown in Figure 17(b), "The entry time is MM / DD / hh:mm, the valid parking time is TT hours, and the receipt category is classified as category XX (prepaid receipt or additional parking fee receipt)."

[0128] In this embodiment, the encrypted data 210 is defined by symbols of 11 digits (more or fewer digits may be used) arranged in a row as shown in Fig. 17(a). The symbols of each digit are selected, for example, from among the ten numbers from 0 to 9 and a number of alphabetic characters. The symbols of the multiple digits are divided into a number of groups and printed on the receipt 81a, with adjacent groups connected by hyphens, so that the user can pronounce the symbols of the multiple digits more easily and accurately, with several breaks between them, rather than pronouncing them all at once in one breath.

[0129] To explain the general structure of this real data, as shown in Figure 17(c), this real data has six elements: the number MM representing the month, the number DD representing the day, the number hh representing the hour of the time, the number mm representing the minute of the time, the number TT representing the length of parking time (if the parking fee paid this time is a prepaid parking fee, this means valid parking time, and if the parking fee paid this time is an additional parking fee, this means extended parking time), and the number XX representing the receipt category.

[0130] As shown in Fig. 17(c), the encryption tables in this embodiment include a monthly encryption table referred to for encrypting the number MM representing the month, a daily encryption table referred to for encrypting the number DD representing the day, an hourly encryption table referred to for encrypting the number hh representing the hour of the time, a minute encryption table referred to for encrypting the number mm representing the minute of the time, a time encryption table referred to for encrypting the number TT representing the length of the parking time, and a category encryption table referred to for encrypting the number XX representing the receipt category. Each of the six elements described above is encrypted by referring to the corresponding encryption table, and 11-digit encrypted data 210 is generated.

[0131] When encryption is completed in step S106 shown in Fig. 15, in step S10, the parking ticket 80 and receipt 81a are printed and issued by the printer 40 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. On the receipt 81a, as shown in Fig. 16(a), at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time, and the same information regarding the receipt category (in this case, belonging to the category of prepaid receipts) are printed as both actual data that the user can decrypt and encrypted data 210 that the user cannot decrypt.

[0132] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16(a), the parking ticket 80 is printed with the end time of the valid parking time corresponding to the amount of the prepaid parking fee paid by the user, and a display for identifying the location of the parking lot 10.

[0133] Also printed on the receipt 81a are the entry time, the amount of the prepaid parking fee paid by the user, the end time of the valid parking time, an indication for identifying the location of the parking lot 10, and the category of the receipt 81a (in this example, the title "Receipt" means that the receipt 81a is classified into the category of prepaid receipts). Additionally, encrypted data 210, exemplified by "ABC-DEF-ABC-XX", is also printed on the receipt 81a.

[0134] Thereafter, the printed parking ticket 80 and receipt 81a are discharged through the discharge port 64, and the parking ticket 80 and receipt 81a are received by the user. Next, in step S107, a turn-off command is issued to the night parking lamp 202, so that if the night parking lamp 202 is on, the night parking lamp 202 is turned off. This ends the current execution of the ticket issuing and settlement program.

[0135] On the other hand, when the fee settlement button 74 is pressed instead of the ticket issue button 70, in step S11 of Fig. 15, the settlement receipt issuance screen shown in Fig. 6(d) is displayed on the screen of the display 36. At this time, the amount of the parking fee confirmed by the user's operation of the fee settlement button 74 is displayed as the amount of the additional parking fee.

[0136] Next, in step S108, actual data representing the time when receipt 81b was issued because the user paid the additional parking fee (which is equivalent to the time when the additional parking fee was paid), the length of the extended parking time (which is equivalent to the amount of the additional parking fee paid), and the category of receipt 81b (in this case, it belongs to the category of receipt for additional parking fees) are converted into encrypted data 140 by referring to the encryption table.

[0137] Thereafter, in step S13, receipt 81b is printed and issued by printer 40. As shown in Fig. 16(b), receipt 81b has at least one of the date and time of parking fee payment or parking time, amount, and length of parking time, and the same information regarding the receipt category printed as both actual data that the user can decipher and encrypted data 140 that the user cannot decipher. This completes the current execution of the ticket issuing and settlement program.

[0138] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 16(b), the date and time when the receipt 81b was issued, the amount of the additional parking fee, an indication for identifying the location of the parking lot 10, and the category of the receipt 81b (in this example, the title "Adjusted Receipt" means that the receipt 81b is classified into the category of receipts for additional parking fees) are printed on the receipt 81b. Furthermore, encrypted data 140, exemplified by "123-456-789-YY", is also printed on the receipt 81b. This encrypted data 140 is actual data that indicates the date and time when the receipt 81b was issued, the length of the extended parking time, and the category of the receipt 81b, which have been encrypted.

[0139] Thereafter, the printed receipt 81b is discharged through the discharge port 64, and the receipt 81b is received by the user. Next, in step S107, a turn-off command is issued to the night parking lamp 202, so that if the night parking lamp 202 is on, the night parking lamp 202 is turned off. This ends the current execution of the ticket issuing and settlement program.

[0140] The above describes the execution contents of the ticket issuance and settlement program shown in Figure 15 when coins are inserted into the ticket issuing machine 190 without pressing the night parking button 200. However, if the user presses the night parking button 200 before inserting a coin in order to switch the parking mode from normal parking mode to night parking mode, the determination in step S102 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S103.

[0141] In step S103, by referring to the current time indicated by the clock 102, it is determined whether it is currently nighttime, specifically, whether it is the time period from 6:00 PM to 8:00 AM the following day. If it is currently nighttime, the determination in step S103 becomes YES, and in step S104, the nighttime parking lamp 202 is turned on to indicate that the nighttime parking mode has been selected. Then, in step S105, the content displayed on the screen of the display 36 is switched from the parking fee for normal parking to the parking fee for nighttime parking.

[0142] According to an example of overnight parking fee setting, the fee is a flat rate of 100 yen regardless of the length of parking time from after 6:00 p.m. on the current day until 8:00 a.m. the next day. Under this fee setting example, for example, as shown in the example of Fig. 18, when a user pays 100 yen as a parking fee in advance, the computer 100 calculates the time from the entry time to 8:00 a.m. the next day as the valid parking time.

[0143] However, the amount of the additional parking fee is determined based on the fee setting for normal parking described above. Therefore, for example, if a user pays 300 yen as an additional parking fee, 2 hours will be calculated as the extended parking time.

[0144] Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S2, where the insertion of coins of the amount equal to the currently displayed parking fee for overnight parking is awaited.

[0145] On the other hand, if the night parking button 200 is pressed but it is not currently nighttime, i.e., if the night parking button 200 is pressed during a time period when operation is not permitted, the determination in step S103 is NO, steps S104 and S105 are skipped, and the process proceeds to step S2. In this case, the current operation of the night parking button 200 is an erroneous operation, so it is invalidated, and as a result, the amount of the parking fee displayed is maintained at the amount of the parking fee for normal parking, and the night parking lamp 202 remains off. Therefore, in step S2, the insertion of coins in an amount equal to the parking fee for normal parking currently displayed is awaited.

[0146] When coins are inserted after the overnight parking mode is selected and then the ticket issuing button 70 is pressed, steps S3-S6, S8, S106 and S10 are executed, and as a result, the printer 40 prints and issues a parking ticket 80 for overnight parking, as shown in Fig. 18. This parking ticket 80 differs from the parking ticket 80 for normal parking shown in Fig. 16(a) only in the printed content, and the other elements are the same.

[0147] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 18, the word "night" is printed on a parking ticket 80 for night parking to indicate that the parking ticket 80 is for night parking. Furthermore, the parking ticket 80 also has printed thereon the end time of the parking time period permitted to the user, i.e., the end time of the valid parking time, which is 8:00 PM the following day.

[0148] Moreover, the receipt 81a has encrypted data 210 printed thereon, and unlike normal parking, the encrypted data 210 does not include data indicating the length of the valid parking time, but data indicating that the parking is overnight. In the case of overnight parking, the end time of the valid parking time is fixed regardless of the time of departure, so the length of the valid parking time for each overnight parking is not necessarily an integral multiple of one hour, whereas in the example of normal parking shown in FIG. 17, the parking time TT is calculated in hours.

[0149] When the manager goes to the parking lot 10 and notices that an overnight parking ticket 80 is placed inside a parked vehicle, the manager determines whether the current time is before the end time of the valid parking time printed on the parking ticket 80. If the current time is before the end time of the valid parking time, the manager determines that the parked vehicle is not illegally parked.

[0150] As is clear from the above explanation, according to this embodiment, the encryption codes 130, 140 are generated and printed on the receipts 81a and 81b so that the corresponding receipt categories can be distinguished as either prepayment receipts or additional parking fee receipts. The background and effects of taking such measures will be explained below.

[0151] If the actual parking time exceeds the valid parking time, the user is required to pay the additional parking fee to the ticket dispenser 20 when leaving the parking lot, and then to press the fee settlement button 74 instead of the ticket dispenser button 70. This time, the user is required to have the ticket dispenser 20 issue an additional parking fee receipt 81b instead of a prepayment receipt 81a.

[0152] However, due to the performance of the ticket issuing machine 20, even if a user presses the ticket issuing button 70 by mistake, the ticket issuing machine 20 cannot nullify the erroneous operation.

[0153] In contrast, according to this embodiment, encryption codes 130, 140 are generated and printed on receipts 81a and 81b, respectively, so as to distinguish whether the corresponding receipt category is a prepayment receipt or an additional parking fee receipt.

[0154] In response to the user's payment of the additional parking fee, the ticket issuing machine 20 prints and issues a parking ticket belonging to any category, and then the user transmits the encrypted data printed on the parking ticket together with the encrypted data 130 printed on the prepaid receipt 81a obtained at the time of entry to the parking lot manager via a communication device by vocalizing the encrypted data.

[0155] The parking lot manager can decode the voice received from the user and, based on the result of the decoding, determine whether the parking ticket currently issued to the user (the parking ticket currently purchased by the user) is the additional parking fee receipt 81b and whether the amount of the additional parking fee paid by the user when leaving the parking lot was appropriate. In other words, the parking lot manager can accurately determine whether the user purchased the wrong parking ticket and whether the user paid an inappropriate amount of additional parking fee without visually inspecting the parking ticket itself.

[0156] In addition, if the parking lot manager determines that the user has purchased the wrong parking ticket, the parking lot manager can point out to the user that the parking ticket purchased by the user is incorrect. This allows the parking lot manager to make the user aware that there was an error in the purchase operation this time, and can prevent the user from repeating the same mistake. In addition, the parking lot manager can warn the user not to illegally park by illegally using the parking ticket 80 issued together with the mistakenly purchased prepayment receipt 81a.

[0157] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, these are merely examples, and it is possible to embody the present invention in other forms that incorporate various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, including the aspects described in the "Summary of the Invention" section above.

Claims

1. A parking lot management system that remotely manages a parking lot, an on-site facility installed in the parking lot, the facility having an output function for outputting the encrypted data as an image to a user present in the parking lot; An off-site facility installed in a remote location from the parking lot has an acquisition function for acquiring information regarding parking or parking fees related to users who use the parking lot by having a communication device of a user in the parking lot communicate with the off-site facility using the output encrypted data, and a management function for managing the parking lot based on the acquired information. Including, The communication device includes: an input function for inputting the encrypted data by reading the output image using an image reader of the communication device; A communication function for communicating with the off-site equipment using the input encrypted data; Parking management system including.

2. A parking lot management system as described in claim 1, wherein the acquisition function includes a function in which the off-site equipment acquires the information by communicating with the communication device using the encryption data after the encryption data is input into the communication device.

3. A program for causing a computer of the on-site facility to function as the output function according to claim 1.

4. A program for causing a computer of the off-site facility to function as the acquisition function according to claim 1 or 2.

5. A program for causing a computer of the communication device to function as the input function and the communication function according to claim 1.

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