WO2000060544A1

WO2000060544A1 - A parking ticket printer system

Info

Publication number: WO2000060544A1
Application number: PCT/SE2000/000621
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fredrik Vastad
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-04-01
Filing date: 2000-03-30
Publication date: 2000-10-12
Anticipated expiration: 2001-10-01
Also published as: WO2000060544A8; AU3993900A; SE9902961D0

Abstract

In a ticket system for a parking lot a camera, preferably a digital camera, is provided for taking a photograph of a vehicle to be parked. A scanner is provided for scanning the identity of the owner/driver and a ticket printer is provided for printing a ticket comprising the scanned identity and an image of the parked vehicle. By means of using the ticket printer system as described herein the risk for vehicle theft is reduced significantly. This is due to that a check that the vehicle, driver and ticket belong together easily can be performed upon exit.

Description

A PARKING TICKET PRINTER SYSTEM

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a system for vehicle check at a parking lot. In particular, the invention relates to a system which makes theft of vehicle more difficult in a parking lot.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When parking a vehicle at a large public parking lot, such as at airports etc. it is a common problem that these are stolen while the owner is away.

In many cases there is a long period of time before the theft is noted. This can for example be the case when a person parks his car at an airport parking before going on a longer trip abroad. In this case it is usually not possible to issue a description of the car until the fact is reported, i.e. when the owner returns home and finds out that the car is stolen.

Furthermore, the Belgian Patent Application BE 1010751 describes a system for stopping theft of vehicles from a parking lot. According to the system described in BE 1010751 an image is taken of a vehicle entering a parking lot . From this image certain information is extracted and is coded and stored as a code on the ticket . When exiting a new image of the vehicle is taken. If the code printed on the ticket corresponds to the code generated in the exit check, the exit is approved. However, such a system has several drawbacks. For example, if the vehicle is covered with ice when entering the parking lot, different codes will be generated at entrance and exit, respectively, and exit is not approved despite that the correct ticket is used. Also, in other circumstances the codes generated at entrance and exit, respectively, will be different, for example if the vehicle is damaged during the time it is parked on the parking lot .

Thus, there is a great need for a system reducing the risk for theft of vehicles from public parking lots and which does not have the drawbacks associated with the prior art .

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system reducing the risk for theft of vehicles from public parking lots .

This object is obtained by a ticket system comprising a camera, preferably a digital camera, provided for photographing the vehicle which is to be parked, and, in a preferred embodiment, a scanner provided to scan the identity of the owner/driver and a ticket printer provided to output a ticket comprising an image of the scanned identity and the parked vehicle .

In a preferred embodiment the image can also be stored centrally in a computer memory together with the ticket number. At exit the stored image is shown to a parking officer when the ticket number is read by the computer system. In this way the image does not need to be printed to the ticket, which can save time and costs in some applications.

By means of using such a ticket printer system and image storing system the risk for vehicle theft is reduced significantly. This is due to that a manual check of that the vehicle, the driver and the ticket belong together easily can be performed at exit from the parking lot .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Fig. 1 is a general view of the parts in a ticket printer system.

- Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating steps performed when parking a vehicle .

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In Fig. 1 different parts of a ticket system are shown. Thus, the system preferably comprises a digital camera 101 connected to a central control unit 103. The central control unit 103 can for example be implemented by a server. Furthermore, the system preferably also comprises a scanner 105 and a ticket printer 107.

When a car is parked at a parking lot equipped with a ticket printer system as shown in Fig 1, a photograph is taken of the vehicle which is to be parked by means of the camera 101 in conjunction with printing of a parking ticket. This photograph is printed on the ticket.

If the customer so desires he/she can also place an identity on the scanner 105. In this case the identity is also copied to the parking ticket. Thus, if the customer also has placed his identity in the scanner, the ticket printer 107 prints a ticket, which also shows a photograph of the parked vehicle and a copy of the identity of the customer, besides the normal data such as entrance time etc .

Upon exiting the parking officer easily can perform a check that ticket, vehicle and customer corresponds. If there is a suspicion that the car is stolen the parking officer can call the police.

In Fig. 2, a flowchart illustrating the steps performed by the ticket printer system in Fig. 1 when a ticket is printed is shown.

First, in step 201, a photograph in a suitable angle, for example at an angle from behind of the vehicle to be parked is taken so that the registration number and vehicle model clearly is seen and this photograph is fed, preferable in a digital form, to a central unit. Thereupon it is checked if the customer wants his identity printed on the ticket, step 203. If this is the case the identity is read and written to the central unit, step 205.

Finally a ticket is printed which, besides conventional data, also comprises a photograph of the parked vehicle and possible also a copy of the identity of the customer, step 207.

The system can also be provided with a function making it possible for the customer to give up the ticket to another person. This can be practical if another person than the person who has parked the vehicle is to pick it up.

In another preferred embodiment the image can also be stored centrally in a computer memory together with the ticket number. Upon exit, the image stored in the computer memory is shown to a parking officer when the ticket number or other ticket identity is read to the computer system, for example the driver sticks the ticket into a ticket reader. In such a case the image does not need to be printed on the ticket, which can save time and costs in some applications .

Furthermore, the ticket system as described herein can be connected to access points of the parking lot so that only persons carrying a valid ticket is given access to the parking lot area .

In the case when an automatic recognition process of the vehicle is provided at exit an image taken using digital X-ray or some other suitable 3-dimensional scanning can be taken upon entrance. An infrared camera together with an infrared emitting light element can possible also be provided in order to make it possible to register the registration number of the vehicle even when it is very dirty.

By means of using the ticket printer system as described herein, the risk for vehicle theft is significantly reduced. This is the case since a check that the vehicle, driver and ticket belong together is made at exit .

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above but can be modified without deviating from the scope of the invention which is only limited by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A system for printing parking tickets at a parking lot comprising a ticket printer, characterised in that the system is arranged to print a photographic image of a vehicle being parked onto a printed ticket .

2. A system according to claim 1, characterised in that the system is arranged to also print a copy of the identity of the driver of the vehicle onto the ticket .

3. A system according to claim 1 or 2 , characterised in that the image is taken by a digital camera provided to photograph a vehicle entering the parking lot at an angle so that the registration number can be seen on the image .

4. A system according to any of claims 1-3, characterised in that the image instead is stored in a computer memory together with a ticket number or some other identity by means of which a ticket and a corresponding image can be connected together .

5. A system according to claim 4 , characterised in that the system is arranged to show an image corresponding to a particular ticket number or identity information on an image screen when the corresponding ticket number or identity is entered into the system.

6. A system according to any of claims 1-5, characterised in that a digital X-ray image also is taken of the vehicle, which image is stored in a memory in the system together with other data relating to the printed ticket .