Prepaid ticket, validated by the user, to be used for paying parking services

Abstract

 The invention concerns a prepaid ticket (1) for parking and like, comprised of a print support (2), having first zones (3) for printing the data to be validated and second printing zones (4) for the information and/or advertising, on said support (2) being realized a first print of all the information to be printed in said first (3) and second (4) zones, then a protective layer of the first print being applied on said first printing zones (3) being thus applied a layer of material removable by the user and that does not allow to reuse the ticket (1), on said first printing zones (3) a second print being realized, said second print having features (graphics and/or colour and/or sizes) different with respect to said first print.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a prepaid ticket for parking and like.

[0002] More particularly, the invention relates to a ticket of the above kind that allows to pay the services with the validation by the same user.

[0003] As it is well known, the problem relevant to the parking is one of the most important problems for all the towns.

[0004] The historical centre of the towns is often seat of offices, trade and artisan companies.

[0005] Unavoidably, a limited portion of the town becomes during determined periods the destination of a great number of persons.

[0006] For this reason, the historical centres not only are crowded for the traffic, but also "suffer" for a number of parking clearly not sufficient with respect to the demand and to the needing of the users.

[0007] The main reason of the lack of parking is due to the utilization of the greater portion of the available places by users permanent in the historical centre: employees of the different offices, traders and their employees, artisans and their collaborators.

[0008] In this way, a so called "passive parking" situation is created, this situation not allowing to the "clients" of the historical centre (tourist and citizens) to have access to the centre, stay there for a short time and than go back to their original place.

[0009] In order to avoid the so called "passive parking", the municipal administrations paying more attention to these problems have created parking zones with a time regulation in order that a vehicle cannot utilise the same parking for a long time, but paying a remarkable sum, thus creating a rotation that allows to a greater number of users to use the same parking.

[0010] The systems presently used to obtain the abovementioned rotation of vehicles are different.

[0011] Among these systems, the more used, there is the system that makes compulsory the use of the parking disk, said system allowing to measure the parking time of a vehicle from the moment of the parking until the lapse of the allowed parking time.

[0012] Once that the allowed time is passed, the police can fine the vehicle.

[0013] This system does not provide fixed costs, but is subject to abuses since the user can time by time update the arrival time of the parking disk and thus can remain in the same place for a long time without being fined.

[0014] Furthermore, the system involves high costs for the controls that are not compensated by any income for the administrations.

[0015] Another system widely used is the one providing the parking-meters. For each parking an apparatus is installed, and introducing the coins in the parking-meter, a parking time is paid.

[0016] When the paid period lapses, if the vehicle is not removed or other coins are not introduced, the police can fine the vehicle.

[0017] This system is far more efficient with respect to the one providing the use of the parking disc, but is characterized by high implant, maintenance and coin collection costs, provided that the parking systems are not destroyed by vandals, in this case besides the non receipts of the money due to the out of order condition, the repair costs must be added.

[0018] Still a further known system is the one providing a parking-meter every ten, fifteen cars: this kind of electronic machine allow to withdraw the ticket after insertion of the money, on the ticket being printed the arrival time and the final time of the parking.

[0019] All the other features are similar to those of the first mentioned parking-meter, with the advantage that, instead of installing a parking-meter for each car, a remarkably lower number must be installed.

[0020] As it can be noted, each one of the above solutions has remarkable drawbacks, so that none of them is particularly advantageous.

[0021] In this situation, the Applicants have realized an innovative system that remarkably simplifies the procedures both for the managers and for the users.

[0022] Further, the solution proposed according to the present invention is extremely advantageous under an economical point of view and extremely difficult to be falsified.

[0023] These and other results are obtained, according to the present invention, by the print of a ticket that is prepaid by the user when purchased, exactly as it occurs for a telephone card, upon which, after a first print of data or parameters to be validated, the covering of the same is performed by a silk-screen printing band and than a second superposed print of the data of parameters to be validated is performed.

[0024] The validation occurs by a writing or scraping action on the silk-screen printing band by the user.

[0025] This kind of step, due to the removal of part of the silk-screen printing band, allows to obtain the impossibility of reusing the ticket, being the same thus disposable.

[0026] The solution according to the invention is very simple and the ticket can be validated by any available means: a pen, a key or simply a nail.

[0027] It is therefore a specific object of the present invention a prepaid ticket for parking and like, comprised of a print support, having first zones for printing the data to be validated and second printing zones for the information and/or advertising, on said support being realized a first print of all the information to be printed in said first and second zones, then a protective layer of the first print being applied on said first printing zones being thus applied a layer of material removable by the user and that does not allow to reuse the ticket, on said first printing zones a second print being realized, said second print having features (graphics and/or colour and/or sizes) different with respect to said first print.

[0028] Preferably, according to the invention, said printing support is made up of paper based material.

[0029] Further, according to the invention, said protective layer for the first print is made up of a paint layer having such properties to prevent the adhesion of said removable layer on said first print.

[0030] Always according to the invention, said removable material layer is made up of a silk-screen printing band.

[0031] Still according to the invention, said removable layer can be made up of a coloured film.

[0032] It is further an object of the invention a process for the manufacture of a ticket of the above kind, comprising the steps of:

• making a first print on said printing support;
• applying a protective layer on said first print;
• applying a removable material layer, particularly a silk-screen printing band; and
• making a second print of the data covered by said removable layer having features (graphics and/or colour and/or sizes) different.

[0033] The present invention will be now described for illustrative but not limitative purposes according to its preferred embodiments, with particular reference to the figures of the enclosed drawings, wherein:

figure 1 shows a ticket according to the invention before the utilization; and

figure 2 shows the ticket of figure 1 validated.

[0034] Observing now the enclosed figures, it is shown a ticket 1 according to the invention comprising a support 2 realized by paper or like, having first printing zones 3 upon which the data to be validated are printed, and second printing zones 4, upon which other information are printed, e.g. the specific king of the data to be validated, the data relevant to the use, advertising information, etc.

[0035] Said first printing zones 3 are covered by a silk-screen printing band, e.g. a silver-plated or gold-plated band, and then the same information are again printed above them, with a different colour.

[0036] The ticket so obtained is the one shown in figure 1.

[0037] When the ticket 1 according to the invention must be used, the silk-screen printing band is removed from the printing zones 3 bearing the specific information, e.g. scraping the silk-screen printing band or by different systems.

[0038] The ticket 1 will be now as shown in figure 2, with the chosen information appearing of a different colour with respect to the others, so that they are easily identified.

[0039] Further, in this situation, the ticket 1 cannot be reused, since in case the silk-screen printing band is removed from other printing zones 3, this fact would be immediately visible.

[0040] The present invention has been described for illustrative but not limitative purposes, according to its preferred embodiments, but it is to be understood that modifications and/or changes can be introduced by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the enclosed claims.

Claims

1. Prepaid ticket for parking and like, characterized in that it is comprised of a print support, having first zones for printing the data to be validated and second printing zones for the information and/or advertising, on said support being realized a first print of all the information to be printed in said first and second zones, then a protective layer of the first print being applied on said first printing zones being thus applied a layer of material removable by the user and that does not allow to reuse the ticket, on said first printing zones a second print being realized, said second print having features (graphics and/or colour and/or sizes) different with respect to said first print.

2. Prepaid ticket according to claim 1, characterized in that said printing support is made up of paper based material.

3. Prepaid ticket according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said protective layer for the first print is made up of a paint layer having such properties to prevent the adhesion of said removable layer on said first print.

4. Prepaid ticket according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said removable material layer is made up of a silk-screen printing band.

5. Prepaid ticket according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that said removable layer is made up of a coloured film.

6. Process for the manufacture of a prepaid ticket according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of:

• making a first print on said printing support;

• applying a protective layer on said first print;

• applying a removable material layer, particularly a silk-screen printing band; and

• making a second print of the data covered by said removable layer having features (graphics and/or colour and/or sizes) different.

7. Prepaid ticket according to each one of the preceding claims 1-5, substantially as illustrated and described.

Drawing