System for and method of automating parking payment by using electronic tags
AssigneesTelecom Italia S.p.A., Pirelli & C. S.p.A.
InventorsClaudio Borean, Maurizio Crozzoli, Daniele Disco, Tiziana Tambosso
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for automating parking payment including user terminals having wireless communication equipment allowing access to a wireless communication network and including readers/writers of electronic tags, electronic tags to be carried by the users on their vehicles and into which the users can input information concerning a parking event by means of their terminals; and a parking service management center connected to said network.
Claims40
A system for automating parking payment by utilising user terminals provided with wireless communication functionalities allowing access to a wireless communication network, comprising:
- readers/writers of electronic tags, said readers/writers being associated with the user terminals;
- electronic tags to be carried on users' vehicles, each tag having electronic circuitry where a respective identification code is stored and into which a user can input information concerning a parking event by means of his/her terminal;
- and
- a parking service management center directly accessible by the user terminals through said network and comprising a data base for storing the electronic tag identification codes as well as information about payments related to a specific tag, wherein the parking service management center comprises a processing unit arranged to receive through the wireless communication network from a user intending to park, the identification code of a tag read by means of the user terminal, together with information about a desired parking duration and possibly a parking location.
A method of automating parking payment, comprising the steps of:
- providing parking service users with user terminals allowing access to a wireless communication network and including electronic tag reading/writing capability, and with electronic tags to be carried on the users' vehicles, each tag having electronic circuitry where a respective identification code is stored;
- writing, by a user intending to park, information concerning a parking event into said tag by means of the user terminal;
- providing a parking service management center directly accessible by the users through said network, with a data base storing the tag identification codes as well as information about payments related to a specific tag;
- reading the tag identification code from the electronic circuitry of the tag by means of the user terminal;
- and
- setting up a communication with the service management center through said network in order to transmit said identification code to the service management center together with information about a desired parking duration and possibly about a concerned parking location.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.