A system is described having a plurality of vehicles, the use of which is available to a number of individuals. An identification and information system is provided for regulating vehicle access, recording the time any individual uses a vehicle, and also the extent of use so that billing and other control functions can be performed at a central processing facility. In this system the access to a vehicle is controlled by a credit card or the like in possession of a user. Vehicle identification and mileage are recorded in the vehicle and upon command are transmitted by a sonic or electromagnetic radiation link to a receiving antenna from which these data and the user identification are transmitted by phone lines to a central processing station. The potential user's credit is verified and, if approved, the vehicle is permitted to leave the rental site.
An ultrasonic tracking and locating system in which an identification code number is programmed on a console keyboard to activate an encoder which transmits a plurality of coded pulses to a plurality of transceiver units located in the rooms of a building where surveillance is desired. A transducer in the transceiver transmits a coded, ultrasonic digital signal which is dispersed throughout the room. Portable pocket unit transceivers carried by persons to be located receive the transmitted ultrasonic signals and decode the signals to determine if they correspond to the pocket unit's identification code. If the signal corresponds to the pre-programmed code, the pocket unit transmits a single ultrasonic pulse which is received by the room transceiver and is transmitted back to the console, where a display converter activates a digital readout display to provide a visual, numerical indication of the location of the person.
A system is disclosed for reading a code established by a surface acoustic wave device. The system has a first antenna connected to a supply for transmitting a signal, a second antenna for receiving said signal and supplying it to a first transducer on a surface acoustic wave device, the first transducer converting the signal into surface acoustic waves, a second transducer on the surface acoustic wave device for converting the surface acoustic waves to a coded signal, a third antenna for transmitting the coded signal, and a fourth antenna for receiving the coded signal and connected to a receiver for providing an output dependent upon the coded signal. This system is particularly useful for access control systems.
A passenger-carrying vehicle (for example a bus) in a passenger transport system is equipped with a ticket reader (18) capable of optically reading information printed on a ticket (10) in bar-code and determining whether or not the ticket is valid. A ticket-printer (16) is provided for issuing bar-coded tickets, and both the reader (18) and the printer (16) are microprocessor-based and associated with a memory (14). Fare-table data is stored in the memory (14a), for reference by the ticket-issuing means, data is stored in the memory (14b) for reference by the ticket-checking means, and both the issuing means and the checking means can communicate information to the memory (14c) and (14d) to enable data concerning tickets handled to be stored for subsequent retrieval for management purposes.
In a motor vehicle sharing system for managing motor vehicles parked in a parking area and renting the motor vehicles to users, the motor vehicle is provided with a detector for detecting the start and end of motor vehicle rental, and a usage data measuring section for starting and completing measurements for motor vehicle usage data. The detector contains a position detector for detecting the parking area. The motor vehicle is further provided with a membership list in which user information is recorded, a charge list, a rentability judging section for judging whether the motor vehicle is rentable, and a charging data generating section for making charging data by referring to the motor vehicle usage data measured by the usage data measuring section and the charge list Thus, it is possible to perform the rental and return operation without relying on a control center.
A highly automated car-rental system based on a specially equipped fleet of cars for hire and one or more control stations. An authorized subscriber can enter any car of the fleet which is free for hire at any location, and use it for a desired period of time, parking it at the end of the hire period at any authorized parking place. Cars are equipped with customer, identification means, means enabling use of tile car or refusing such use, monitoring means for the main subsystems and other parameters of the car and means for conveying such information to central control. There is also provided a system for monitoring in real time car position, and if desired, for displaying such information also on a monitor in the car, thus informing control on tile position of the car at any instant of time.
