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 Art

[0002] Parking lots having a plurality of parking positions for vehicles are already widespread. This type of parking lot can be classified, from the viewpoint of the vehicle conveyance method to the parking position, into a method in which the user drives the vehicle to the parking position by himself / herself and a mechanical type in which a pallet or a cage is mechanically moved to mechanically convey the vehicle to the parking position. Further, the parking lot may be lent to the user free of charge or may be lent for a fee. A paid parking lot can be classified, from the viewpoint of the length of time lent to the user, into monthly rental and time rental (including "daily rental").

[0003] Time rental parking lots can be classified, from the viewpoint of the payment method of the parking fee, into a prepayment type in which the user pays the parking fee prior to the start of parking (however, including the possibility of paying the shortage of the parking fee at the time of departure) and a postpayment type in which the user pays the parking fee at the end of parking.

[0004] Further, time rental parking lots can be classified, from the viewpoint of the management method, into a manned type in which a person in charge of managing and monitoring the parking lot is always present at the site and an unmanned type in which such a person in charge is not always present and is sporadically dispatched to the site.

[0005] As known documents disclosing this type of parking lot and facilities (including a ticket vending machine) installed in the parking lot, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 exist.

[0006] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for managing a parking lot for bicycles that is low in equipment cost, easy to manage, and sufficiently profitable. According to this technique, since it is not necessary to install a device for preventing the departure of a bicycle parked illegally, the equipment cost of the parking lot is reduced.

[0007] Specifically, according to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, after a user parks a bicycle at an available parking space, the user moves to a ticket vending machine, enters their registration number into the ticket vending machine, and further inserts the necessary parking fee. The ticket vending machine records the entered registration number as the registration number for a bicycle for which the parking fee has been settled.

[0008] Furthermore, according to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, a management operator who manages the parking lot reads the registration number from a label attached to a parked bicycle using their mobile terminal. On the other hand, the management operator retrieves the registration number recorded in the ticket vending machine, that is, the registration number for a bicycle for which the parking fee has been settled, from the ticket vending machine.

[0009] After that, the management operator compares the registration number read from the parked bicycle with the registration number retrieved from the ticket vending machine, and based on the result of the comparison, checks whether the parking fee for the parked bicycle has been settled, that is, whether the bicycle has been parked illegally. The management operator attaches a seal urging payment of the fee to a bicycle for which the parking fee has not been settled, thereby notifying the user who is the owner of the bicycle that the parking fee has not been settled.

[0010] Patent Document 2 discloses a prepaid unattended parking lot. In this parking lot, there are installed a card issuing machine that issues a parking card with the recorded permitted parking time for a fee, an entrance gate that is always closed, and an entrance management device installed at the entrance that opens the entrance gate on the condition that the inserted parking card is appropriate when the parking card is inserted. Furthermore, in this parking lot, there are installed an exit gate that is always closed, and an exit management device installed at the exit that opens the exit gate on the condition that the inserted parking card is appropriate when the parking card is inserted.

[0011] According to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, when a user exits 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. If the read information indicates that the actual parking time is expected to exceed the expected parking time, the exit management device charges the user for the additional parking fee. In response to the charge, if the user pays the additional parking fee to the exit management device, the exit gate will open. Unless the user pays the required additional parking fee, the exit gate will not open, thus preventing the user from illegally exiting without paying the additional parking fee.

[0012] Therefore, according to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is possible to prevent illegal parking in a prepaid unattended parking lot without the parking lot manager having to regularly visit the parking lot to discover illegal parking.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0013]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems 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 continuation of illegal parking. However, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to discover illegally parked bicycles, the work manager has to regularly visit the parking lot himself / herself and individually perform the above-mentioned verification using a mobile terminal for all parked bicycles. Also, in order to stop the continuation of illegal parking, the work manager has to individually perform the above-mentioned operation of attaching a seal to the illegally parked bicycle.

[0015] Thus, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to prevent illegal parking, the burden imposed on the work manager is large, and therefore, it has been difficult to reduce the management cost including labor costs for each parking lot.

[0016] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a ticket issuing machine for a parking lot that can easily reduce the management cost of the parking lot.

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

[0019] 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 is a factor that increases the equipment cost of the parking lot (including the device cost and the installation work cost) compared to the case where only a ticket issuing machine is installed in the parking lot. Further, according to this technology, it is necessary for both the entrance management device and the exit management device to have a function of reading information from the parking card. This leads to an increase in the equipment cost of the entrance management device and the exit management device, which is also a factor that increases the equipment cost of the parking lot.

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

[0021] Against the backdrop of the above findings, the present invention is a technology for remotely managing a parking lot using a user's communication device, and an object thereof is to provide a technology that facilitates reducing the facility cost and / or management cost of the parking lot.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0022] To solve the problem, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a parking lot management system for remotely managing a parking lot, which includes in-facility equipment installed in the parking lot, Output the amount of the parking fee as data that can be directly interpreted by the user in the parking lot, and further, the in-facility equipment having an output function of outputting encrypted data as an image to a user in the parking lot, and off-facility equipment installed at a remote location from the parking lot, the off-facility equipment having an acquisition function of acquiring information regarding parking or parking fees related to a user using the parking lot by enabling a communication device of the user in the parking lot to communicate with the off-facility equipment using the output encrypted data, and a management function of managing the parking lot based on the acquired information. The parking lot management system includes: The communication device includes: an input function of inputting the encrypted data by reading the output image using an image reader of the communication device, and a communication function of communicating with the off-facility equipment using the input encrypted data. A parking lot management system including these is provided.

[0023] The following aspects are obtained by the present invention. Each aspect is divided into sections, each section is numbered, and is described in a form that quotes the numbers of other sections as necessary. This is for facilitating the understanding of some of the technical features that the present invention can adopt and combinations thereof, and it should not be construed that the technical features that the present invention can adopt and combinations thereof are limited to the following aspects. That is, it should be construed that it is not prohibited from appropriately extracting and adopting technical features described in this specification but not described in the following aspects as technical features of the present invention.

[0024] Furthermore, it is not necessarily meant that describing each item in a form that cites the numbers of other items prevents the technical features described in each item from being separated and made independent from the technical features described in other items. Instead, it should be interpreted that the technical features described in each item can be appropriately made independent according to their nature.

[0025] (1) A prepaid unattended parking lot for vehicles having a plurality of parking positions, and a ticket vending machine installed to be commonly used for the plurality of parking positions, a printer that prints and issues a parking ticket when a user pays a parking fee to the ticket vending machine, an encryption unit that, when a user pays the parking fee to the ticket vending machine, converts at least one of the payment of the parking fee, the date and time, the amount, and the length of the parking time, which is actual data directly readable by the user, into encrypted data that cannot be decoded by the user but can be uniquely pronounced 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 to be issued by the printer when the user pays the parking fee to the ticket vending machine and includes, a ticket vending machine for a parking lot, wherein if the voice uttered by the user reading out the encrypted data on the parking ticket is transmitted to a parking lot manager at a remote location via a communication device, the parking lot manager can decrypt the encrypted data from the received voice of the user 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. That is, 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 can be decoded by the user and encrypted data that cannot be decoded by the user. The fact that the user cannot decode the encrypted data leads to the fact that the user cannot forge the encrypted data.

[0027] The encrypted data is not for identifying the user who owns the parking ticket or for identifying the parking ticket, but for proving the authenticity of the user's statement regarding information about the user's act, such as "the user paid the ticket issuing machine a parking fee corresponding to a parking time of a certain length at a certain date and time", 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. It is printed on the parking ticket.

[0028] The encrypted data is data that cannot be decoded 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 is generated even if the person pronouncing the encrypted data is different, as long as they have normal literacy skills.

[0029] Therefore, according to this ticket issuing machine, it is possible for the user to transmit, via a communication device (for example, a mobile phone, a fixed phone, a public phone, etc. that the user can use and is not installed in the ticket issuing machine) the voice uttered by reading out the encrypted data on the parking ticket, to a parking lot manager who is at a remote location. The parking lot manager can decode the encrypted data from the received user's voice and restore the actual data. This is because there is a one-to-one relationship between the encrypted data and the actual data, and it is possible to restore the actual data from the encrypted data.

[0030] Therefore, according to this ticket issuing machine, without having the function of communicating with other devices (for example, the communication device of the parking lot manager) or the function of mechanically reading the encrypted data printed on the parking ticket, and without the user bringing or sending the parking ticket to the parking lot manager or transmitting it using a fax machine, at least one of the payment of the parking fee, the date and time, the amount, and the length of the parking time regarding the parking time can be confirmed by the parking lot manager located in a remote location. As a result, while reducing the burden on the user, the user can prove to the parking lot manager that his / her actions are not fraudulent.

[0031] Thus, according to this ticket issuing machine, even if the above-mentioned inventory blocking device is not installed in a prepaid unattended parking lot, when the user should pay an additional parking fee, in fact, even if the user has not paid the additional parking fee at all or has only paid an amount insufficient to the required amount, but claims to have paid the required amount to the manager located in a remote location via a communication device, it can be determined by the manager that the claim is false. Therefore, it becomes easy to prevent the illegal act of leaving the parking lot while being a prepaid unattended parking lot and the user has not paid the additional parking fee at all or has only paid an amount insufficient to the required amount.

[0032] In this section, regarding the term "at least one of the payment of the parking fee, the date and time, the amount, and the length of the parking time" 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 when entering the parking lot, etc., and "amount" means, for example, the amount of the parking fee paid by the user, etc., and "length of the parking time" means the effective parking time (maximum parking time) corresponding to the amount of the prepaid parking fee described later, the extended parking time corresponding to the amount of the additional parking fee described later, etc.

[0033] Throughout this specification, the term "parking ticket" includes all slips issued by a ticket vending machine installed in a parking lot, for example, but not limited to, parking tickets and receipts.

[0034] (2) A ticket vending machine installed to be commonly used for a plurality of parking positions for vehicles in a prepaid unattended parking lot, a ticket issuing button, a payment settlement button, a printer that, when a user operates the ticket issuing button after paying the prepaid parking fee to the ticket vending machine prior to the start of parking, prints and issues a parking ticket indicating that parking is permitted and a receipt indicating that the parking fee has been settled, and when the user operates the payment settlement button after paying an additional parking fee to the ticket vending machine after the end of parking, prints and issues the receipt; an encryption unit that, when a user pays the prepaid parking fee or an additional parking fee to the ticket vending machine, converts the payment of the parking fee or actual data representing at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the parking time, which is directly readable by the user, into encrypted data that cannot be decoded by the user but can be uniquely pronounced by referring to a preset encryption table; a first printer control unit that controls the printer so that when the user operates the ticket issuing button after paying, as the prepaid parking fee, an amount of parking fee corresponding to the length of the effective parking time the user wishes to continuously park in the unattended parking lot prior to the start of parking by the user, the actual data and the encrypted data corresponding to the prepaid parking fee are printed on the receipt to be issued by the printer; When the user ends parking and the length of the actual parking time that the user actually parked exceeds the effective parking time, after the user pays the parking fee corresponding to the excess length as the additional parking fee to the ticket vending machine, when the user operates the fee settlement button, the printer is controlled by a second printer control unit such 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 from now on. including A ticket vending machine for a parking lot, wherein if the voice uttered by the user reading out the encrypted data on the receipt is transmitted via a communication device to a parking lot manager who is at a remote location, the parking lot manager can decrypt the encrypted data from the received voice of the user and restore the actual data.

[0035] According to this ticket vending machine, it becomes possible to distinguish whether the parking fee that the user is about to pay is a prepaid parking fee or an additional parking fee due to a specific action of the user. Furthermore, according to this ticket vending machine, the same operational effects as those of the ticket vending machine according to item (1) can be obtained.

[0036] (3) The ticket vending machine does not have a function of mechanically reading the information recorded on the parking ticket nor a function of communicating with other devices. In the parking lot, there is no device installed to mechanically prevent the user from taking out his / her vehicle from the parking lot without paying the shortage amount to the ticket vending machine even though the parking fee paid by the user to the ticket vending machine is insufficient. The ticket vending machine for a parking lot according to item (1).

[0037] (4) Furthermore, a coin insertion slot into which coins are inserted, a display for displaying information on a screen, an inserted amount calculation unit that calculates the total amount of coins that the user has inserted so far as the inserted amount each time the user inserts a coin into the coin insertion slot. Each time a user inserts a coin into the coin insertion slot, a parking time calculation unit that calculates a parking time corresponding to the inserted amount from the calculated inserted amount. A display control unit that controls the display so that each time a user inserts a coin into the coin insertion slot, the calculated inserted amount and the calculated parking time are displayed on the screen. The ticket vending machine for a parking lot according to any one of (1) to (3) above, including.

[0038] (5) A ticket vending machine installed so as to be commonly used for a plurality of parking positions for vehicles in a prepaid unattended parking lot, A printer that prints and issues a parking ticket as a corresponding one of a prepaid parking ticket and an additional parking fee parking ticket when a user pays the parking fee to the ticket vending machine as a prepaid parking fee prior to parking or pays the ticket vending machine as an additional parking fee after parking for a time exceeding the planned parking time. An encryption unit that converts, by referring to a preset encryption table, actual data that represents at least one of the payment of the parking fee, the date and time, the amount, and the length of the parking time related to the parking time, and that identifies whether the parking ticket is the prepaid parking ticket or the additional parking fee parking ticket and that is directly decodable by the user into encrypted data that cannot be decoded by the user but can be uniquely pronounced. A printer control unit that controls the printer so that the actual data and the encrypted data are printed on the parking ticket to be issued by the printer each time a user pays the parking fee to the ticket vending machine. Including A ticket vending machine for a parking lot, wherein if the voice uttered by the user reading out the encrypted data on the parking ticket is transmitted via a communication device to a parking lot manager at a remote location, the parking lot manager can decrypt the encrypted data from the received user voice using a decryption device and restore the actual data.

[0039] According to this ticket issuing machine, the parking lot manager can correctly identify whether the parking ticket is a prepaid parking ticket or an additional parking fee ticket only from the user's statements regarding the parking ticket without visually inspecting the physical ticket or its copy.

[0040] (6) A ticket issuing machine installed to be commonly used for a plurality of parking positions for vehicles in a prepaid unattended parking lot, a ticket issuing button, a fee settlement button, when the user operates the ticket issuing button after paying the prepaid parking fee to the ticket issuing machine prior to the start of parking, it prints and issues a parking ticket indicating that parking is permitted and a prepaid receipt indicating that the prepaid parking fee has been paid. On the other hand, when the user operates the fee settlement button after paying the additional parking fee to the ticket issuing machine after the end of parking, it is a printer that prints and issues a receipt for the additional parking fee, when the user pays the prepaid parking fee or the additional parking fee to the ticket issuing machine, it represents at least one of the payment of the parking fee, or the date and time, amount, and length of the parking time related to the parking time, and the receipt issued by the ticket issuing machine is encrypted into encrypted data that cannot be decoded by the user but can be uniquely pronounced, which is actual data indicating whether it is the prepaid receipt or the receipt for the additional parking fee and is readable by the user visually, by referring to a preset encryption table. An encryption unit, before the start of parking by the user, after the user pays the parking fee corresponding to the length of the effective parking time the user wishes to continuously park in the unattended parking lot as the prepaid parking fee to the ticket issuing machine, when the user operates the ticket issuing button, the first printer control unit controls the printer so that 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. When the user ends parking and the length of the actual parking time during which the user actually parked exceeds the effective parking time, after the user pays the parking fee corresponding to the excess length as the additional parking fee to the ticket vending machine, when the user operates the fee settlement button, the printer is controlled by a second printer control unit such that the actual data and the encrypted data corresponding to the additional parking fee are printed on the receipt for the additional parking fee that the printer is about to issue. including After the receipt for the additional parking fee is issued, if the voice read out and emitted by the user of the encrypted data on the pre-paid receipt and the receipt for the additional parking fee is transmitted via a communication device to a parking lot manager at a remote location, the parking lot manager can use a decryption device to decrypt the encrypted data received as voice and restore the actual data on the pre-paid receipt and the receipt for the additional parking fee, and based on the restored actual data, determine whether the amount already paid by the user as the additional parking fee is insufficient. A ticket vending machine for a parking lot.

[0041] (7) A ticket vending machine installed to be commonly used for a plurality of parking positions for vehicles in a pre-paid unattended parking lot, an operation unit operated by the user to select any one of a plurality of parking time zones including a parking time zone covering only the night time and a parking time zone covering at least a part of the daytime as the time zone when the user wants to use the parking lot; a printer that prints on a parking ticket the date and time of entry of the user's vehicle into the parking lot, the type of the parking time zone selected by the user, and the amount of the parking fee paid by the user to the ticket vending machine, and issues the printed parking ticket to the user when the user pays the parking fee corresponding to the type of the selected parking time zone to the ticket vending machine; A ticket vending machine for a parking lot, comprising.

[0042] (8) After the parking ticket is issued by the ticket vending machine, it is arranged by the user inside the vehicle to be parked so that the printed content of the parking ticket can be visually recognized from outside the vehicle through the window glass of the parked vehicle. The ticket vending machine for a parking lot according to any one of (1) to (7).

[0043] The parking ticket issued by this ticket vending machine prior to parking is arranged by the user inside the vehicle of his own that intends to park in the prepaid unattended parking lot so that it can be visually seen from outside the vehicle. Therefore, the parking lot manager can easily determine whether the vehicle corresponds to an illegally parked vehicle just by the simple operation of visually observing the parking ticket inside the parked vehicle from outside the vehicle. When the parking lot manager discovers an illegally parked vehicle, for example, the manager can warn the user of the vehicle by pasting a warning ticket on the vehicle.

[0044] As a result, according to this ticket vending machine, it becomes possible to prevent illegal parking without installing an exit blocking device such as the aforementioned exit gate, flap type, retractable wheel stopper, etc. in the prepaid unattended parking lot. Therefore, according to this ticket vending machine, in the case of a prepaid unattended parking lot, it becomes easy to prevent illegal parking while reducing the equipment cost and management cost of the parking lot.

[0045] Furthermore, according to this ticket vending machine, since the ticket vending machine does not need to perform data processing for discovering illegal parking, it becomes easy to simplify the function of the ticket vending machine, and as a result, it becomes easy to reduce the equipment cost of the ticket vending machine.

[0046] Furthermore, according to this ticket vending machine, for a user who intends to use the parking lot, in order to issue a parking ticket prior to parking, the user does not need to input a user identification number nor vehicle identification information about the user's vehicle, so the burden on the user does not increase.

[0047] Furthermore, according to this ticket vending machine, since the parking ticket is placed inside the parked vehicle, it is neither damaged nor lost due to the weather.

[0048] (9) A prepaid or postpaid unmanned or manned parking lot for vehicles having a plurality of parking positions, when a user pays a parking fee to a ticket vending machine installed to be commonly used for the plurality of parking positions, a parking ticket printed and issued by the ticket vending machine, on the parking ticket, there are printed actual data representing at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or parking time, which is directly readable by the user, and encrypted data obtained by encrypting the actual data, which cannot be decoded by the user but can be uniquely pronounced.

[0049] By using this parking ticket, the parking lot manager can objectively determine the authenticity of the user's statement regarding the description on the parking ticket only from the user's statement regarding the description on the parking ticket without visually inspecting the physical parking ticket or its copy.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0050]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

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

[0052] Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a parking lot 10 where the ticket issuing machine 20 is installed and used. The parking lot 10 has a plurality of parking positions (parking spaces) that enable multiple automobiles to park simultaneously. Near the only entrance / exit 12 (which is both an entrance and an exit) of this parking lot 10, one ticket issuing machine (generally also referred to as an "automatic toll collector") 20 is installed as a centralized ticket issuing machine commonly for a plurality of parking positions. This parking lot 10 is unmanned, and the user, who is the driver, pays the parking fee to the ticket issuing machine 20. This ticket issuing machine 20 is configured according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] Regarding the definition of the term "vehicle", it should be noted that in this "Mode for Carrying Out the Invention" section, the term "vehicle" means only automobiles, but in other parts of this specification, the term "vehicle" should be interpreted as a term that includes not only automobiles but also all kinds of moving bodies such as bicycles and motorcycles.

[0054] The site of the parking lot 10 has two types of parking sections. They are a section for renting out parking spaces on a daily basis to users of each vehicle (temporary storage section or daily rental section), and a section for renting out parking spaces on a monthly basis to users of each vehicle on the premise of a prior contract (monthly parking section). The ticket vending machine 20 is used for the temporary storage section. Hereinafter, when simply referring to "parking lot 10", it means only the temporary storage section in this parking lot 10, that is, the area where the ticket vending machine 20 is used.

[0055] To use the parking lot 10, the user, who is a driver, drives his own vehicle, enters through the entrance / exit 12 from the adjacent road, then continues driving and passes through the ticket vending machine 20, and further drives his own vehicle to any parking space (parking position) he selects and parks there. After that, the user gets out of his own vehicle and walks to the ticket vending machine 20 at the entrance / exit 12, and pays the parking fee to the ticket vending machine 20 there.

[0056] In FIG. 2, the ticket vending machine 20 is shown in a front view, in FIG. 3, the ticket vending machine 20 is shown in a perspective view with the door 24 open, and in FIG. 4, the component configuration of the ticket vending machine 20 is shown in a block diagram. FIG. 5 conceptually shows the ticket issuing and settlement program executed by the computer 100 in the control board 34 shown in FIG. 4 in a flowchart. In FIGS. 6(a)-(d), a plurality of images displayed on the screen of the display 36 shown in FIG. 2 are shown in a front view.

[0057] In exchange for paying the parking fee, the user receives the parking ticket 80 shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 8 from the ticket vending machine 20. After that, the user attaches the parking ticket 80 to the back surface of the front glass 110 of his own vehicle (which is an example of the "window glass" in the above item (1), but the "window glass" is not limited to the front glass 110) as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. Since the parking ticket 80 is placed inside the parked vehicle, it will not be exposed to rain or wind and will not be lost.

[0058] The parking lot 10 is a prepaid unattended parking lot having a plurality of parking positions, and does not have a device (for example, an exit gate device or a wheel stopper device (for example, a flap type or a retractable type)) for preventing the vehicle from leaving the parking lot (preventing the vehicle from exiting the parking lot 10), and a user can freely select any one of the plurality of parking positions to park his / her own vehicle (the selected parking position is not monitored by the ticket vending machine 20). The ticket vending machine 20 is used for the parking lot 10 configured in this way.

[0059] Here, the ticket vending machine 20 will be described in more detail. This ticket vending machine 20 has a fare settlement function but does not have a change function or a communication function. This ticket vending machine 20 requires the user to pay the parking fee only in coins, not in banknotes. Also, this ticket vending machine 20 does not require the user to input a user identification number, input vehicle identification information (for example, a vehicle number) about the user's vehicle, or specify which one of the plurality of parking positions the user selects.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 2, the ticket vending machine 20 has a ticket issuing button 70 and a fare settlement button 74. When the user presses the ticket issuing button 70 after paying the prepaid parking fee prior to the start of parking, the ticket vending machine 20 has a ticket issuing function of issuing a parking ticket 80 (see FIG. 7(a)) indicating that parking is permitted and a receipt 81a (see FIG. 7(a)) indicating that the prepaid parking fee has been settled, in a two-sheet bound form. Further, when the user presses the fare settlement button 74 after paying an additional parking fee after the end of parking, the ticket vending machine 20 has a fare settlement function of issuing a receipt 81b (see FIG. 7(b)) indicating that the additional parking fee has been settled.

[0061] In this embodiment, the receipt 81a constitutes an example of the "prepaid receipt" in item (7) above, and the receipt (hereinafter also referred to as the "settlement receipt") 81b constitutes an example of the "additional parking fee receipt" in the same item. That is, in this embodiment, as categories of the receipts 81a and 81b, there are a prepaid receipt and an additional parking fee receipt. The receipt 81a is classified into the category of prepaid receipt, while the receipt 81b is classified into the category of additional parking fee receipt.

[0062] In this embodiment, the two - sheet parking ticket issued after the payment of the prepaid parking fee is a two - sheet combination of the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a. However, the user can separate the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a from each other, place only the parking ticket 80 inside the parked vehicle, and the receipt 81a can be carried. As will be described later, the end time of the valid parking time (the time period during which the user's parking is permitted) is printed on the receipt 81a. In order for the user to be able to refer to the end time of the valid parking time at any time at a place away from the parked vehicle, it is convenient for the user to carry this receipt 81a.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 3, this ticket vending machine 20 is configured such that a door 24 is attached to a vertically long box - shaped casing 22 so as to be openable and closable on one side thereof. In FIG. 3, the internal configuration of this ticket vending machine 20 is shown in a perspective view with the door 24 open. In FIG. 4, the component configuration of this ticket vending machine 20 is shown in a block diagram.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 3, this ticket vending machine 20 is configured to have a coin - handling unit 30, a safe 32, a control board 34, a display 36, and a printer 40 that prints and issues the parking ticket 80 and the receipts 81a and 81b. Among these components, only the coin - handling unit 30 is attached to the back 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 around which a continuous sheet before printing is wound and stored. The printer 40 performs printing on the continuous sheet fed one by one from the roller 42. After the printing is completed, the printer 40 cuts the continuous sheet at any time with a cutter (not shown), and separates two sheets of a parking ticket 80 and a receipt 81a after payment of the prepaid parking fee, and separates one receipt 81b after payment of the additional parking fee from the continuous sheet. However, a cutting line 89 is formed between the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a which are in a two-sheet binding, as shown in FIG. 7(a), and the user can easily separate the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a from each other along the cutting line 89.

[0066] The cutter has a cutting blade (not shown), and moves the cutting blade in the width direction of the continuous sheet to cut the continuous sheet in the width direction. Also, 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 leaving only a part in the width direction.

[0067] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the coin processing unit 30 has a coin insertion slot 50, a return lever 52, a coin selector 54 (which discriminates the type of the inserted coin and whether the inserted coin is a counterfeit coin), and a coin return slot 56. Among the inserted coins, those not returned to the user from 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 in a data communicable manner, and the control board 34 receives a signal representing the type (including the unit of the coin and information on whether it is a counterfeit coin) and the number of the inserted coins from the coin selector 54.

[0068] As shown in FIG. 2, on the front surface of the door 24, there are arranged a transmission window 60 through which display light from the screen of a display 36 (for example, a liquid crystal display) passes, a coin insertion slot 50, a return lever 52, and a coin return slot 56, and a discharge port 64 for discharging a parking ticket 80 and receipts 81a, 81b printed and discharged by a printer 40. The transmission window 60 also has a function of mechanically protecting 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 aforementioned ticket issuing button 70 that is pressed after a user pays a prepaid parking fee, and the aforementioned fee settlement button 74 that is pressed after the user pays an additional parking fee. As shown in FIG. 2, the ticket issuing button 70 and the fee settlement button 74 are mounted on the front surface of the door 24 of the ticket issuing machine 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the ticket issuing button 70 and the fee settlement button 74 are electrically connected to a control board 34.

[0070] Both the ticket issuing button 70 and the fee settlement button 74 are configured as existing physical switches, but are not limited thereto. For example, they may be configured as virtual switches (for example, 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 incorporates a clock 102 and can always acquire the current date and time (for example, the date and time when the ticket issuing button 70 is pressed, the date and time when the fee settlement button 74 is pressed). This control board 34 further incorporates a memory 104. An encryption table described later is stored in the memory 104 in a state where only authorized persons can rewrite it.

[0072] It should be noted that the control board 34 can be in a form that realizes the same functions as the computer 100 by 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, based on the signal from the coin selector 54, it is determined whether or not the user has inserted coins. If no coins have been inserted, the process returns to step S2, but if coins have 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] Subsequently, in step S4, from the calculated inserted amount, the parking time corresponding to that inserted amount is calculated as the parking time (when the parking fee paid this time is a prepaid parking fee, it means the valid parking time, while when the parking fee paid this time is an additional parking fee, it means the extended parking time). Since the relationship between the inserted amount and the length of the parking time, that is, the fee setting per unit time, is known to the computer 100, the computer 100 can calculate the parking time from the inserted amount according to that fee setting. Regarding the fee setting, for example, the parking lot administrator can input it individually for each time unit by operating the touch panel of the display 36.

[0075] According to an example of the above fee setting, the continuous parking time is 300 yen up to 2 hours, 400 yen up to 4 hours, 500 yen up to 6 hours, 1000 yen up to 12 hours, and 1500 yen up to 24 hours. Under the fee setting of this example, for example, as shown in the example of FIG. 7, when the user pays 400 yen as the prepaid parking fee, the computer 100 will calculate 4 hours as the valid parking time. Also, when the user pays 300 yen as the additional parking fee, 2 hours will be calculated as the extended parking time.

[0076] Thereafter, in step S5, the coin insertion in - progress screen shown in FIG. 6(b) is displayed on the screen of 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] Subsequently, in step S6, it is determined whether or not the ticket issuing button 70 has been pressed. If the ticket issuing button 70 has not yet been pressed, then in step S7, it is determined whether or not the fare settlement button 74 has been pressed. If the fare settlement button 74 has not yet been pressed either, the process returns to step S2.

[0078] After the start of coin insertion, the execution of steps S2 - S7 is repeated until either the ticket issuing button 70 or the fare settlement button 74 is pressed. As a result, each time the user inserts a coin 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, a parking time corresponding to the calculated inserted amount is calculated, 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 screen of the display 36. At this time, the amount of the parking fee determined 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] Subsequently, in step S9, actual data representing the time of entry 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 is directly readable by the user, is converted into encrypted data 130 that cannot be decoded by the user but can be uniquely pronounced by referring to the encryption table. Encryption is performed, and thereby, the encrypted data 130 is created.

[0081] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11(a), the encrypted data 130 is defined by symbols arranged in a row with nine digits (it may also have more or fewer digits). Each digit symbol is selected, for example, from among the ten numbers from 0 to 9 and a plurality of alphabets. The symbols of multiple digits are divided into multiple groups and printed on the receipt 81a, and adjacent groups are connected by hyphens. As a result, the user can pronounce the symbols of multiple digits with some pauses rather than pronouncing them all at once in one breath, making it easier and more accurate to pronounce.

[0082] An example of the general configuration of the actual data (omitting the notation of the Gregorian calendar to reduce the number of digits of the actual data) is, as shown in FIG. 11(b), the data "Stored at hh:mm on DD day of MM month, and the length of the valid parking time is TT hours." This actual data, as shown in FIG. 11(c), has five elements: the number MM representing the month, the number DD representing the day, the number hh representing the hour among the time, the number mm representing the minute among the time, and the number TT representing the length of the parking time (when the corresponding receipt is for prepayment, it means the valid parking time, while when the corresponding receipt is for additional parking fees, it means the extended parking time).

[0083] As shown in FIG. 11(c), the encryption table includes a monthly encryption table referenced for encrypting the number MM representing the month, a daily encryption table referenced for encrypting the number DD representing the day, an hourly encryption table referenced for encrypting the number hh representing the hour among the time, a minute-based encryption table referenced for encrypting the number mm representing the minute among the time, and a time encryption table referenced for encrypting the number TT representing the length of the parking time. The above five elements are each encrypted by referring to the corresponding encryption table, thereby creating the nine-digit encrypted data 130.

[0084] In this embodiment, the encryption table is updated daily, but a method of updating it every time a period longer than 24 hours elapses (the encryption table is not updated within the same period) can be adopted, or a method of updating the encryption table daily within the same period with a period longer than 24 hours as one cycle (the pattern of daily updating of the encryption table is common between the periods within one cycle and the periods within another cycle) can be adopted.

[0085] In one example, in the memory 104, when the encryption table is updated daily, an encryption table set, which is the encryption table for one month, is updated every month. In this case, the encryption table set is updated by the administrator, for example, every time the administrator goes to the parking lot 10 every month.

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

[0087] When the encryption ends in step S9 shown in FIG. 5, in step S10, the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a are printed and issued by the printer 40. As shown in FIG. 7(a), the receipt 81a is printed with 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 as both actual data that the user can decrypt and encrypted data 130 that the user cannot decrypt. Thus, the execution of this ticket issuance and settlement program ends this time.

[0088] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(a), on the parking ticket 80, 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 specifying the location of the parking lot 10 are printed. Also, on the receipt 81a, the storage time, the amount of the prepaid parking fee paid by the user, the end time of the valid parking time, and a display for specifying the location of the parking lot 10 are printed. Further, on the receipt 81a, the encrypted data 130 exemplified by "ABC-DEF-ABC" is also printed. As shown in the text form in FIG. 11(b), this encrypted data 130 is obtained by encrypting the actual data representing the storage time (which is equivalent to the time when the prepaid parking fee was paid, the start time of the parking time, and the time when the parking ticket 80 and the 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 payment settlement button 74 is pressed instead of the issuance button 70, in step S11, the payment 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 determined by the user's operation of the payment 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] Subsequently, in step S12, in the same manner as in step S9, the actual data representing the time when the receipt 81b was issued (which is equivalent to the time when the additional parking fee was paid) due to the user paying the additional parking fee and the length of the extended parking time (which is equivalent to the amount of the additional parking fee paid) is converted into encrypted data 140 by referring to the encryption table.

[0091] Thereafter, in step S13, the receipt 81b is printed and issued by the printer 40. As shown in FIG. 7(b), the receipt 81b is printed with at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of parking fees or parking time as both real data that can be decoded by the user and encrypted data 140 that cannot be decoded by the user. With this, the execution of this ticket issuance and settlement program is completed.

[0092] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the receipt 81b is printed with the date and time when the receipt 81b was issued, the amount of the additional parking fee, and a display for specifying the location of the parking lot 10.

[0093] Furthermore, the encrypted data 140 exemplified by "123-456-789" is also printed on the receipt 81b. This encrypted data 140 is obtained by encrypting the real data representing the date and time when the receipt 81b was issued and the length of the extended parking time.

[0094] FIG. 7(a) shows a front view of a two-sheet binding of the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a, while FIG. 7(b) shows a front view of the receipt 81b. The two-sheet binding of the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a corresponds to two copies of the parking ticket 80. In this two-sheet binding, the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a have the same size and configuration. Also, the receipt 81b corresponds to one copy of the parking ticket 80 and has the same size and configuration as the parking ticket 80. Hereinafter, for simplicity of explanation, only the configuration of the parking ticket 80 will be typically described.

[0095] The parking ticket 80 is composed of a display sheet (printing paper) 82 as the surface layer, an adhesive layer 83 (glue layer) as the intermediate layer, and a separator (separation sheet, release paper) 84 as the back layer, which are laminated in that order. The adhesive layer 83 is applied to the back surface of the display sheet 82 so as not to be easily peeled off. In a state where 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] As shown in FIG. 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 web wound around the roller 42 is configured by adhering a plurality of display sheets 82 (in a blank state) arranged in a row with a gap to the continuous separator 84.

[0097] The continuous sheet (continuous separator 84) in the printer 40 is cut by the cutter, and the cutting is performed at the position of the gap between the display sheets 82, and the display sheets 82 are not cut. On the other hand, no glue adheres to the surface of the portion of the separator 84 that is exposed in the gap between the display sheets 82.

[0098] Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the continuous sheet is cut, the glue of the adhesive layer 83 does not adhere to the cutting blade, and the frequency of maintenance of the cutter by the administrator (for example, a service person, an operator who patrols multiple parking lots, a monitoring inspector) dispatched to the site once or several times a day is reduced, and as a result, the labor cost borne by the administrator is reduced.

[0099] However, in the present embodiment, for the receipt 81b, the separator 84 is completely cut by the cutter at the length of one sheet, while for the double-sided binding, the separator 84 is completely cut by the cutter at the length of two sheets. However, as described above, for the double-sided binding, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the separator 84 is partially cut by the cutter between the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a, thereby forming a cut-off line 89.

[0100] As shown in Fig. 7(a), on the display sheet 82 of the parking ticket 80, there is further a (non-closed) cutting line 90 with both ends, immediately above the string "Parking Ticket". That cutting line 90 exists to enable the user to peel off a part of the display sheet 82 while the remaining part remains adhered to the separator 84 and peel it off from the separator 84. As shown in Fig. 8(b), when the user peels off a part of the display sheet 82 (the area surrounded by the cutting line 90) from the separator 84 and bends it along the straight line connecting both ends of the cutting line 90, the surface of the resulting bent portion 92 (the portion of the adhesive layer 83 applied to the back surface of the bent portion 92) is exposed as the adhesive surface. In Fig. 9(a), the bent portion 92 is shown in a perspective view.

[0101] In this embodiment, in order to prove that the parking by the user is not illegal parking, the user is required to paste the parking ticket 80 received in exchange for coin insertion on the back surface of the front glass 110 of the parked vehicle, as shown in Fig. 9(b). Therefore, as shown in Fig. 9(a), the user locally peels off and bends a designated portion (the area surrounded by the cutting line 90 and finally becoming the bent portion 92) of the parking ticket 80, and then pastes the surface of the bent portion 92 on the back surface of the front glass 110 of the parked vehicle, as shown in Fig. 9(b). Thereby, as shown in Fig. 10, the content of the parking ticket 80 (particularly, the information for specifying the end time of the permitted parking time zone for the user and the display for specifying the location of the parking lot 10 where this parking ticket 80 is valid) can be visually observed from the outside at any time.

[0102] When the actual parking time by the user 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 to prevent the parked vehicle from leaving the lot 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 the remote management center, who is located at a remote location by means of a communication device such as a mobile phone or a fixed phone, from places such as the parking lot 10, inside the vehicle, or at home, of the fact that the necessary additional parking fee has been paid.

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

[0104] When receiving the voice representing the encrypted data 130 and 140 uttered by the user, the parking lot manager at the management center operates the input device (for example, keyboard, touch screen, mouse, etc.) of the decryption device 180 to input the symbol corresponding to the user's voice. It is to input the encrypted data 130 and 140. Then, the decryption device 180 restores the input encrypted data 130 and 140 into actual data according to the decryption table mounted on the decryption device 180, which is a decryption table conforming to the encryption table.

[0105] As a result, the parking lot manager can know the length of the actual parking time (for example, the length of the elapsed time from the entry time specified by the encrypted data 130 to the time when the additional parking fee was paid, which is the time when the user actually parked) while being at the management center located away from the parking lot 10 to be managed. Further, the total amount of the parking fees paid by the user (for example, the sum of the amount of the prepaid parking fee specified by the encrypted data 130 and the amount of the additional parking fee specified by the encrypted data 140) can also be known. As a result, it is possible to correctly determine whether or not the total amount of the parking fees is insufficient in relation to the length of the actual parking time.

[0106] Since the decryption table stored in the decryption device 180 cannot be known even by the parking lot manager without permission, the security for the decryption table is high.

[0107] As is clear from the above description, according to the present embodiment, at the time of issuing the receipts 81a and 81b, the encrypted data 130 and 140 are printed on each of the receipts 81a and 81b in symbols that the user can pronounce, and further, the user is only required to transmit the encrypted data 130 and 140 to the parking lot manager by voice. Then, the parking lot manager can correctly determine whether there is a shortage of parking fees. Therefore, the user can safely park beyond the effective parking time without being burdened greatly, and the usability and thus the operation rate of the parking lot 10 are improved.

[0108] Incidentally, regardless of whether the parking lot is prepaid or postpaid, and regardless of whether the parking lot is unmanned or manned, there may be a case where it is necessary for the user and the parking lot manager located at a remote location to confirm the contents of a parking ticket such as a parking ticket issued to the user by a ticket vending machine in the parking lot.

[0109] In this case, the user can bring the parking ticket or send it by facsimile to present the parking ticket itself to the parking lot manager, but it is troublesome. Therefore, if the user and the parking lot manager located at a remote location can confirm the contents of the parking ticket using a communication device such as a telephone, the burden on the user is reduced. However, in this case, the parking lot manager cannot visually verify the parking ticket itself and has to confirm the contents of the parking ticket relying only on the user's statement.

[0110] Therefore, it is desirable for the parking lot manager located at a remote location to be able to objectively determine the authenticity of the user's statement even from only the user's statement regarding the contents of the parking ticket. Meeting this requirement is particularly effective, for example, in preventing illegal parking in a prepaid unmanned parking lot where the above-described inventory blocking device is not installed.

[0111] Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the user transmits the encrypted data 130 and 140 by voice input. However, for example, instead of the voice input, it is possible to perform the transmission by data input (for example, key input using an actual or virtual key, image input using an image reader).

[0112] As is clear from the above description, in the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the part of the control board 34 that executes steps S9 and S12 shown in FIG. 5 constitutes an example of the "encryption unit" in the above items (1), (2), and (5). Also, the part of the control board 34 that executes steps S10 and S13 shown in FIG. 5 constitutes an example of the "printer control unit" in the above items (1) and (5). Further, the part 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 the above item (2). Also, it is possible to consider that the part 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 item.

[0113] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the part of the control board 34 that executes steps S2 and S3 shown in FIG. 5 constitutes an example of the "input amount calculation unit" in the above item (4). Also, the part 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 item. Further, the part 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 item. Also, it is possible to consider that both the receipts 81a and 81b constitute an example of the "parking ticket" in the above item (6).

[0114] Next, the ticket issuing machine 190 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. However, since this embodiment has many elements in common with the first embodiment, for the common elements, the same reference numerals or names will be used for citation, and the overlapping explanations will be omitted. Only the different elements will be described in detail.

[0115] Unlike the ticket vending machine 20 according to the first embodiment, the ticket vending machine 190 according to this embodiment is configured such that a user can select any one of a parking time zone that covers only the night (for example, the time zone from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. the next day) and a parking time zone that covers at least a part of the day (for example, the time zone when the entry date and time is before sunset or the time zone when the exit date and time is after sunrise) as the time zone during which the user wants to park in the parking lot 10.

[0116] That is, the ticket vending machine 190 is configured such that a user can select either night parking ( "night parking mode") in a parking time zone that covers only the night or normal parking ( "normal parking mode") in a parking time zone that covers at least a part of the day as the type of parking ( "parking mode"), and pay in advance the parking fee in an amount corresponding to the selection result.

[0117] Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, as additional components to the ticket vending machine 20 according to the first embodiment, the ticket vending machine 190 includes a night parking button 200 that is pushed and operated by the user to switch the parking mode desired by the user from the default normal parking mode to the night parking mode, and a night parking lamp 202 that is lit 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 thereto, and may be configured as a virtual switch (for example, a key, an icon) displayed on the screen of the display 36, for example. The night parking button 200 is disposed on the front surface of the door 24. The night parking button 200 can be accessed from the outside even when the door 24 is closed. Therefore, the night parking button 200 can always be operated by the user.

[0119] In short, in this embodiment, the night parking button 200 constitutes an example of "an actual or virtual operation unit that is operated by the user to select any one of a plurality of parking time zones including a parking time zone that covers only the night as the time zone when the user wants to use the parking lot and a parking time zone that covers at least a part of the daytime."

[0120] FIG. 15 conceptually shows, in a flowchart, a ticket issuing / settlement program executed by the computer 100 in the control board 34 within the ticket vending machine 190. The computer 100 repeatedly executes the ticket issuing / settlement program while the power of the ticket vending machine 190 is on.

[0121] Hereinafter, this ticket issuing / settlement program will be described in more detail. Since this ticket issuing / settlement program has many steps in common with the ticket issuing / settlement program shown in FIG. 5, for the common steps, the same reference numerals will be used and the overlapping explanations will be omitted, and only the different steps will be described in detail.

[0122] Each time this ticket issuing / settlement program is executed, first, in step S101, the default parking mode, that is, the amount of parking fee that the user needs to pay for normal parking (refer to the above example of fee setting), 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 the user has pressed the night parking button 200 to switch the effective parking mode from the normal parking mode to the night parking mode.

[0124] If the night parking button 200 has not been pressed, the determination in step S102 is NO, and hereinafter, steps S2 - S5 are executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. After that, when 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] Subsequently, in step S106, the actual data that represents the storage time when the user enters the parking lot 10 (or the date and time when the user pays the prepaid parking fee, the time when the parking ticket 80 is issued, the start time of the parking time, etc.) and the length of the effective parking time (or the amount of the prepaid parking fee paid by the user, etc.), and that indicates that the current receipt 81a is classified into the category of prepaid receipt and is directly decodable by the user, by referring to the encryption table, as shown in FIG. 16(a), is converted into encrypted data 210 that cannot be decoded by the user but can be uniquely pronounced. Encryption is performed, and thereby, the encrypted data 210 is created.

[0126] In an example shown in FIG. 16(a), the actual data specifically represents "the storage time is 13:20 on February 13, 2011, the effective parking time is until 17:20 on February 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 effective parking time is until 17:20 on February 13, 2011" is equivalent to "the length of the effective parking time is 4 hours."

[0127] Therefore, an example of the general configuration of this actual data (omitting the notation of the Gregorian calendar for reducing the number of digits of the actual data) is, as shown in FIG. 17(b), data that represents "the storage time is hh:mm on DD of MM, the length of the effective parking time is TT hours, and the category of the receipt is classified into category XX (prepaid receipt or additional parking fee receipt)."

[0128] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17(a), the encrypted data 210 is defined by symbols arranged in a row with 11 digits (it may have more or fewer digits). Each digit symbol is selected from, for example, any of the 10 numbers from 0 to 9 and a plurality of alphabets. The symbols of multiple digits are divided into a plurality of groups and printed on the receipt 81a, and adjacent groups are connected by hyphens. Thus, the user can pronounce the symbols of multiple digits not in one go but with some breaks, making it easier and more accurate to pronounce.

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

[0130] As shown in FIG. 17(c), the encryption table in this embodiment includes 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 among the time, a minute - unit encryption table referred to for encrypting the number mm representing the minute among the time, a time - specific encryption table referred to for encrypting the number TT representing the length of the parking time, and a category - specific encryption table referred to for encrypting the number XX representing the category of the receipt. The above - mentioned six elements are each encrypted by referring to the corresponding encryption table, thereby creating the 11 - digit encrypted data 210.

[0131] When the encryption ends in step S106 shown in FIG. 15, in step S10, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the parking ticket 80 and the receipt 81a are printed and issued by the printer 40. As shown in FIG. 16(a), on the receipt 81a, at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or parking time, and the category of the receipt (in this case, belonging to the category of pre-paid receipt) are printed as both real data that can be decoded by the user and encrypted data 210 that cannot be decoded by the user.

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

[0133] Also, on the receipt 81a, the storage time, the amount of the pre-paid parking fee paid by the user, the end time of the valid parking time, a display for specifying 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 pre-paid receipt) are printed. Further, the 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 pass through the discharge port 64 and are discharged, and these parking ticket 80 and receipt 81a are received by the user. Subsequently, in step S107, a turn-off command is issued to the night parking lamp 202, and thereby, if the night parking lamp 202 is lit, the night parking lamp 202 is turned off. Thus, the execution of this ticket issuance and settlement program ends this time.

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

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

[0137] Thereafter, in step S13, the receipt 81b is printed and issued by the printer 40. As shown in FIG. 16(b), on the receipt 81b, at least one of the date and time, amount, and length of the parking time related to the payment of the parking fee or the parking time, and the same information related to the category of the receipt are printed as both the actual data that the user can decrypt and the encrypted data 140 that the user cannot decrypt. Thus, the execution of this ticket issuing and settlement program ends this time.

[0138] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16(b), on the receipt 81b, the date and time when the receipt 81b is issued, the amount of the additional parking fee, the display for identifying the location of the parking lot 10, and the category of the receipt 81b (in this example, the title "payment receipt" means that the receipt 81b is classified into the category of the receipt for the additional parking fee) are printed. Further, the encrypted data 140 exemplified by "123 - 456 - 789 - YY" is also printed on the receipt 81b. This encrypted data 140 is the encrypted form of the actual data representing the date and time when the receipt 81b is issued, the length of the extended parking time, and the category of the receipt 81b.

[0139] Thereafter, the printed receipt 81b passes through the discharge port 64 and is discharged, and the receipt 81b is received by the user. Subsequently, in step S107, a turn-off command is issued to the night parking lamp 202, and thereby, if the night parking lamp 202 is lit, the night parking lamp 202 is turned off. Thus, the execution of this ticket issuance and settlement program for this time is completed.

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

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

[0142] According to an example of the fee setting for night parking, from 6:00 PM on the current day to 8:00 AM the next day, regardless of the length of the parking time, it is uniformly 100 yen. Under the fee setting of this example, for example, as shown in the example of FIG. 18, when the user pays 100 yen as the prepaid parking fee, the computer 100 calculates the time from the entry time to 8:00 AM the next day as the valid parking time.

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

[0144] After that, the process proceeds to step S2, and the insertion of coins of the same amount as the currently displayed night parking fee is awaited.

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

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

[0147] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, in the parking ticket 80 for night parking, the character "night" is printed in order to indicate that this parking ticket 80 is for night parking. Further, in this parking ticket 80, it is also printed that the end time of the parking time zone permitted to the user, that is, the end time of the valid parking time, is 8:00 PM the next day.

[0148] In addition, the receipt 81a has the encrypted data 210 printed thereon. Unlike the case of normal parking, the encrypted data 210, as data related to the length of the valid parking time, does not represent the length of time but represents data indicating night parking. In the case of night parking, regardless of the departure time, since the end time of the valid parking time is fixed, in each case of night parking, the length of the valid parking time is not necessarily an exact multiple of 1 hour. On the other hand, in the example of normal parking shown in FIG. 17, the parking time TT is calculated in time units.

[0149] When the administrator goes to the parking lot 10 and notices that the parking ticket 80 for night parking is placed inside the parked vehicle, the administrator 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 administrator determines that the parking of the parked vehicle is not illegal parking.

[0150] As is clear from the above description, according to the present embodiment, the encrypted codes 130 and 140 are generated and printed on the receipts 81a and 81b, respectively, so as to be able to distinguish whether the category of the corresponding receipt is a prepaid receipt or an additional parking fee receipt. Hereinafter, the background and effects of taking such measures will be described.

[0151] When the actual parking time of the user exceeds the valid parking time, the user is required to pay the additional parking fee to the ticket vending machine 20 at the time of departure and then press the fee settlement button 74 instead of the ticket issuing button 70. This is because, this time, the ticket vending machine 20 is requested to issue an additional parking fee receipt 81b instead of the prepaid receipt 81a.

[0152] However, due to the performance of the ticket vending machine 20, even if the user accidentally presses the ticket issuing button 70, the ticket vending machine 20 cannot invalidate the incorrect operation.

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

[0154] In response to the payment of the additional parking fee by the user, the ticket vending machine 20 prints and issues a parking ticket belonging to any one of the categories. Thereafter, the user pronounces 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 storage, and transmits it to the parking lot manager via the communication device.

[0155] The parking lot manager decodes the voice received from the user, and based on the decoding result, can determine whether the parking ticket issued to the user this time (the parking ticket purchased by the user) is the additional parking fee receipt 81b, and whether the amount of the additional parking fee paid by the user at the time of leaving the warehouse is appropriate. That is, the parking lot manager can accurately determine the presence or absence of the fact that the user has purchased an incorrect parking ticket and the presence or absence of the fact that the user has paid an inappropriate amount of additional parking fee without visually inspecting the parking ticket itself.

[0156] In addition, when the parking lot manager determines that the user has purchased an incorrect parking ticket, the parking lot manager can point out to the user the fact that the parking ticket purchased by the user is incorrect. Thereby, the parking lot manager can make the user recognize that there is an error in the current purchase operation, and can prevent the user from repeating the same mistake. In addition, the parking lot manager can warn the user not to use illegally the parking ticket 80 issued together with the prepaid receipt 81a that the user has purchased incorrectly for illegal parking.

[0157] As described above, some embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, these are merely examples, and the present invention can be implemented in other forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, starting from the aspects described in the column of [Summary of the Invention].

Claims

1. A parking lot management system for remotely managing a parking lot, which includes in-parking equipment installed in the parking lot, the in-parking equipment having an output function of outputting the amount of parking fees as data that can be directly decoded by a user in the parking lot, and further outputting encrypted data as an image to the user in the parking lot, and off-parking equipment installed at a remote location for the parking lot, the off-parking equipment having an acquisition function of acquiring information regarding parking or parking fees related to a user using the parking lot by enabling a communication device of the user in the parking lot to communicate with the off-parking equipment using the output encrypted data, and a management function of managing the parking lot based on the acquired information. The parking lot management system includes: The communication device has: an input function of inputting the encrypted data by reading the output image using an image reader of the communication device; and a communication function of communicating with the off-parking equipment using the input encrypted data. The parking lot management system includes the above.

2. The acquisition function of the parking lot management system according to Claim 1 includes a function in which the off-parking equipment acquires the information by communicating with the communication device using the encrypted data after the encrypted data is input to the communication device.

3. A program for causing a computer of the in-parking equipment to function as the output function according to Claim 1.

4. A program for causing a computer of the off-parking equipment 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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