Method for diagnosing malfunction of an apparatus delivering goods or services against payment

0001The present invention relates to a method for diagnosing the malfunction of a device delivering goods or services against payment. The present invention also relates to an apparatus adapted to the implementation of this method as well as possibly a remote management server adapted for this purpose.

0002The present invention relates in particular to the payment terminals used for paid parking of motor vehicles. For many years parking in the city of cars is paying. To be able to leave your vehicle in a parking space, the motorist must prepay an amount corresponding to the chosen parking period. In the absence of such payment, the vehicle is in breach and may be subject to a ticket or fine by supervisory agents.

0003To occupy a paid parking space, the user must pay parking fees to a terminal adapted for this purpose. Such terminals are better known as parking meters or time stamps.

0004The parking meter system consists of a terminal in which the motorist wishing to park must pay (by coins, cards, etc.) for an amount corresponding to the desired parking time. A display mechanism disposed on the terminal then displays an index corresponding to the paid parking time. This index will then disappear as time goes by. The control of such a system is simple since it is sufficient for the monitoring agents to look at the position of the index to know if the vehicle occupying the location controlled by the terminal in question is in violation or not.

0005In the case of timestamps, the user receives in exchange for the payment of the desired parking time (payment made using coins or adapted payment card, etc.) a ticket bearing various printed information and in particular the authorized parking time limit. The user must place this ticket prominently behind the windshield of his vehicle. The surveillance agents then check the presence in the parked cars of the ticket and check the mentioned parking time limit.

0006Whatever the type of payment terminals used: parking meters or time stamps, it is important to be able to identify as soon as possible any malfunction of these terminals, malfunction likely to disrupt the payment of motorists. Such early diagnosis makes it possible to dispatch a maintenance agent quickly and to limit the loss of income.

0007The manufacturers of these terminals have therefore developed numerous tools for diagnosing the operation of the terminals and systems to report any alarms to a remote management center and / or to alert maintenance agents directly. For example, one can cite the control of the stock of tickets, the control of the filling of the safe, the control of eventual blocking of coins in the coin mechanism, etc. An example of such a payment terminal is described in the patent<patcit id="pcit0001" dnum="WO9527242A"><text>WO95 / 27242</text></patcit>. This approach, however, tends to increase the cost of the terminals by multiplying the sensors and associated electronic circuits and is also still today unable to diagnose some non-detectable failures. One can thus cite actions of fraud or vandalism consisting in the closing of the orifices of payment and thus rendering the apparatus out of service.

0008It is indeed difficult to place sensors in all the sensitive areas of a device, to detect metal bodies, non-metallic, liquid solids, etc.

0009The present invention proposes to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a simple method, requiring no additional equipment and to diagnose the malfunction of a terminal.

0010The method for diagnosing the malfunction of a device delivering goods or services against payment, of automatic terminal type, according to the invention is characterized in that it consists in calculating at least one data representative of the operation of the apparatus comparing the calculated value with a predetermined reference value and deriving the occurrence of a malfunction in the event of a predetermined difference between said values.

0011According to another characteristic of the method which is the subject of the present invention, the data representing the operation of the apparatus is a datum representative of the frequency of the payments made on the apparatus.

0012According to another characteristic of the method that is the subject of the present invention, the data representative of the operation of the apparatus consists of the time elapsed since the last date payment made on the apparatus.

0013According to another characteristic of the method that is the subject of the present invention, the data representative of the operation of the apparatus consists of the time elapsed since the last payment made on the device for each of the payment methods accepted by the device. apparatus.

0014According to another characteristic of the method that is the subject of the present invention, the reference value is representative of the average of the values ​​taken by the data representative of the operation of the apparatus.

0015According to another characteristic of the method which is the subject of the present invention, the reference value depends on at least one parameter such as time or the apparatus under consideration.

0016According to another characteristic of the method which is the subject of the present invention, the predetermined distance depends on at least one parameter such as time or the apparatus under consideration.

0017According to another characteristic of the method that is the subject of the present invention, the operations of calculating a datum representative of the operation of the apparatus and of comparing the calculated value with a predetermined reference value, are operated directly by the apparatus.

0018According to another characteristic of the method that is the subject of the present invention, the operations of calculating a datum representative of the operation of the apparatus and of comparing the calculated value with a predetermined reference value, are operated for all or part by a server. able to communicate with the device. According to another characteristic of the method that is the subject of the present invention, the apparatus is a parking ticket payment terminal, such as a parking meter or a parking meter.

0019The aims, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following description of an embodiment of the invention, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the appended drawings. wherein :<ul><li>The <figref idref="f0001">figure 1</figref> is a schematic view of a park of timestamps and the management server implementing the method according to the invention;</li><li>The <figref idref="f0002">figure 2</figref> describes the main steps of the process according to the invention.</li><li>The <figref idref="f0003">figure 3</figref> describes the pace of evolution during the day of the average time between the issue, for a given parking meter, of two consecutive parking tickets.</li></ul>

0020On the <figref idref="f0001">figure 1</figref>, where only the elements necessary for the understanding of the invention have been figured, there is shown an automatic payment terminal delivering goods or services. This terminal is, in this case, a time stamp 1. This time stamp 1 belongs to parking lot park 10. This park is managed by an operator such as a private organization or a municipality. The same park may comprise from several tens to several thousand parking meters depending on the size of the city or agglomeration concerned.

0021Of course, the use of pay terminal type of payment is not limiting of the present invention. The invention also applies to parking meters and more generally to any automatic payment terminal delivering goods or services, such as a public telephone or a beverage dispenser.

0022These timestamps are regularly distributed, for example every fifty meters, along the sidewalks of the streets subject to paid parking.

0023The time stamp 1 like the other parking meters of the park 10 conventionally comprises a number of particular elements inherent in a time stamp. In particular, there are display and data acquisition devices, such as a screen, a keypad, as well as payment means comprising a card reader and / or coin collection device, etc. It should be noted that the parking meter can also be equipped with means for the payment of a parking fee from a mobile phone. All of these hardware elements are controlled by a microprocessor equipped with appropriate software that oversees the operation of each element.

0024Among the equipment of the time stamp 1 also include means of communication allowing access to a remote server 5. In fact, to facilitate the management and maintenance of the payment terminals by the operator (municipalities, etc.), the terminals are provided with suitable communication means for communicating with a remote central computer 5 and for transferring data thereto. This central computer 5 intended to operate the supervision of the parking lot park, also called PMS server (English acronym for Parking Management System), periodically receives from each terminal activity reports containing descriptive data of the operation of the parking lot. device or alarms when events requiring the intervention of a maintenance agent occur (full chest of money, no paper to edit the tickets, but also breakdowns or acts of vandalism). Furthermore, the PMS server 5 can operate the download in the terminals, parameter files, tariff tables or updates of programs running the microprocessors of the payment terminals, updates improving programs already in place or introducing new services for users.

0025The telephone network 2 used by the time stamp 1 to access the management server 5 is for example the public switched telephone network (PSTN) type analog telephone network or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) type digital network. This network 2 can also be constituted by a mobile radio network and this, whatever its nature: GSM, CDMA, TDMA, AMPS, D-AMPS, or by the Internet or more generally by any communication network able to transmit data (X25, Ethernet, ..) as well as any combination of such networks.

0026The PMS 5 makes it possible to operate the monitoring of the parking meter park 10. Its function is to exchange with these time stamps information concerning their operation and in particular as will be detailed below with regard to the transactions made by the users. The time stamps and the PMS 5 are therefore equipped with appropriate means of supervision and reception / transmission of information, these means which are in themselves known will not be described in more detail. Among other functions, the PMS 5 transfers to the timestamps the files necessary for their operation, such as tariff tables, configuration parameters, opposition lists or monitoring of the means of payment used (white, black or white lists). gray) or programs running the timestamp microprocessors.

0027The timestamps transmit, for their part, information relating to their use, namely a daily report comprising data relating to the transactions carried out, to the traffic, an alarm report which makes it possible to signal to the PMS 5 the occurrence of incidents or infringements. their integrity, such as a failure on the card reader, etc., so as to provide for the intervention of a monitoring agent.

0028According to a particular embodiment of the invention, timestamp 1 cooperates with software means able to detect the occurrence of malfunctions and therefore able to make self-diagnosis. These software means are implemented in their entirety in the microprocessor of the time stamp 1.

0029This embodiment is not limiting of the invention. Thus, according to another embodiment, the software means are distributed in the microprocessor of the time stamp and in the remote server 5. Thus, according to another embodiment, the software means are entirely in the remote server which allows in particular to take into account information from other parking meters.

0030The method underlying the invention is based on the statistical analysis of at least one characteristic of the operation of the device and in particular the frequency of payments.

0031More precisely, the object of the present invention is to detect the abnormal operations by comparing the real behavior of the time stamp 1 with a predetermined nominal behavior.

0032Indeed, the use of certain information related to payment such as the time interval since the last payment (but also the number of valid tickets, the occupancy rate, etc.) can diagnose malfunctions.

0033Suppose that the payment terminal 1 is put out of service. This may be the case, for example, following a screen covered with paint. Or the fact that the slot (s) of payment, for coins or cards, is (are) clogged (s). Or again, because the terminal was torn off. Such failures are today difficult to diagnose by specific means of control except to resort to expensive dedicated sensors.

0034This decommissioning of the parking meter diverts the users of this terminal and therefore causes the payments to stop. The number of valid tickets (or the occupancy rate) will therefore decrease (if the failure occurs during the day) or will not take off (if the failure occurred before the paid parking area). The observation of (non) payments will lead to identify a problem and thus generate one or more alarms. The parking lot operator then triggers the removal of a maintenance agent to identify and solve the problem.

0035It should be noted that the consolidation of payments (number of valid tickets or occupancy rate) to all payment terminals of the same street or sector can further refine the diagnosis. Indeed, the unavailability of a terminal logically leads to a postponement at least partially of the activity on the other neighboring terminals if there are any. The neighboring landmarks thus see their occupancy rate grow beyond normal. Thus, the concomitant occurrence of a drop in payments on a given terminal and an increase in payments on the neighboring terminal (s) indisputably reflects the malfunction of this terminal. On the other hand, if the fall in the occupancy rate affects not one terminal but all the terminals of the same street, it is possible to consider other assumptions than the failure of these terminals, including the closure of the street to traffic following work, etc. It is then possible to carry out checks with, for example, road services before moving the maintenance agent.

0036According to the invention, the microprocessor of the time stamp 1 is therefore equipped with a program for monitoring the transactions made by the users during the day.

0037This transaction tracking program is particularly interested in calculating at least a significant magnitude of the transaction flow. This quantity is, for example, the time T which has elapsed since the delivery of the last ticket. According to one embodiment of the invention, this quantity is calculated for each means of payment. Indeed, one mode of payment can be vandalized and not another.

0038In the case where the parking meter has a card reader as well as a coin mechanism, two quantities are calculated: the time Tm for coin payments and the time Tc for card payments. We could also distinguish the payment by magnetic card from the smart card or by credit card type Visa / Mastercard and the electronic wallet type Moneo, and to the extent that each type of payment but implemented specific means likely to fail.

0039In the remainder of the description and for simplicity, only a time T corresponding to a given means of payment will be considered.

0040This time T is periodically calculated by the microprocessor as the difference between the present moment and the moment at which the last transaction occurred in date for the means of payment considered.

0041This time T is then compared to a stored threshold value Tmax and if exceeded, an alarm is triggered.

0042In accordance with the <figref idref="f0002">figure 2</figref>, the program implemented by the microcontroller of the terminal 1 is therefore to calculate the Tréel-i number of valid tickets at a given time ti and this regularly for the duration of the parking fee, for example from 9h to 19h.

0043The Treal-i number is calculated from the stored information relating to each of the elementary transactions effected on the terminal 1 for the payment method in question. Each payment gives rise to the recording in an appropriate memory zone of its instant of occurrence Tp-n not figured.

0044Treal-i is then calculated as the difference between the value of the time ti present value supplied by the internal clock of the microprocessor during the iteration i, and Tp-n where n is the last payment date. Tréel-i therefore measures the duration between the last payment in date for the payment method in question and the present moment. The calculation frequency of Tréel-i will be adapted to the capabilities of the microprocessor. For example, one can trigger this Tréel-i calculation every minute. The value of Tp-n is, it, updated with each payment.

0045The program then compares this Treal-i number with a predetermined threshold value Tmax-i.

0046If Tréel-i is lower than Tmax-i then no malfunction is diagnosed, if on the contrary Tréel-i is higher than Tmax-i, then we consider the occurrence of a malfunction and an alarm is triggered in the form of a suitable signal sent to the server 5. The server 5 then controls the sending of a maintenance agent to intervene on the terminal 1.

0047As an alternative embodiment, the terminal 1 could directly send an alarm message to a maintenance agent equipped with appropriate communication means and can intervene on the spot quickly.

0048Concerning the initial moment, i = 0, one can define tp-0 as being worth 9:00 insofar as 9:00 marks the beginning of the paid parking DO.

0049According to a particular embodiment of the invention, Tmax-i is obtained experimentally and mapped in a memory of the microprocessor of the terminal 1. This data is stored after downloading from the server 5 or even during a maintenance operation on the site.

0050According to another particular embodiment of the invention, the value Tmax-i is deduced from that of Tnom-i which is the mean value observed at the instant ti between two consecutive payments for the payment method and for timestamps considered. We have Tmax-i equal to Tnom-i multiplied by an appropriate coefficient Coeff-i which can for example depend on the type of distribution (Poisson distributions, normal laws) observed during the measurement of the values ​​Tnom-i (test of χ2) . Thus, we can take a constant coefficient Coeff-i adjusted to allow to take into account 95% of the values ​​observed and avoid multiplying the false alarms compared to a threshold placed too low. This coefficient Coeff-i can also be modified during the day from experimental analyzes. Curves of<figref idref="f0003">figure 3</figref> as non-limiting examples.

0051These curves Tnom and Tmax can be determined with more or less precision by considering a more or less important number of factors. Thus, the curves can be identical for all time stamps. The curves can also be specific and adapted to each time stamp. There may, in fact, be differences in attendance between parking meters because of their location, the parking is different in residential area and office area or in commercial area.

0052Likewise, curves can be considered constant regardless of the day of the week. They can also be adapted to each day of the week, to see every day of the year, to take into account seasonal variations and in particular periods of holidays.

0053Similarly Tnom can be taken constant whatever the time of day or even depend on the time of the day as illustrated in the <figref idref="f0003">figure 3</figref>. The curve Tnom illustrated at<figref idref="f0003">figure 3</figref> is a curve called two bumps: the duration between two successive ticket sales for a given payment mode grows in the morning to reach a maximum value and then down for the beginning of the afternoon, this number then increases in the after -Midi then down to the end time of paid parking. This curve highlights peak hours: at the beginning of the day, in the middle and at the end of the day (the tickets taken at the end of the day last the next day after 9am of the amount paid the day before).

0054The curves Tnom, Tmax are obtained by statistical analysis of the raw data observed directly on the time stamp 1 or even on all or part of the park timestamps. These curves can be developed directly by the timestamp or by the PMS server 5.

0055According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the implementation of the method is operated not by the single time stamp 1 but from the server 5 thanks to appropriate information sent by the time stamp 1.

0056The electronic circuit of the parking terminal, in this case the parking meter 1, therefore cooperates with software means dedicated to the implementation of the remote collection of information to the management server PMS 5.

0057This program implemented by the microcontroller is for example to periodically transmit to the server 5, the state of payments made according to each of the payment methods of the terminal. The server 5 then deduces the time elapsed since the last payment for each of the payment methods and when this time becomes abnormal, and possibly after examination of the behavior of neighboring timestamps, triggers an alarm for programming a maintenance operation.

0058The decision of the manager to intervene or not on the terminal having issued the surveillance alarm can also depend on the consolidation of the different data sent by the time stamps of the same zone.

0059Of course, the illustrated embodiments are not limiting of the present invention.

0060Thus, the invention is not limited to terminals connected to a remote management server but also relates to the terminals able to simply send an alarm signal to a maintenance center.

0061Of course, the present invention is not limited to the detection of an abnormal operation of a payment terminal from only the analysis of the time T which has elapsed since the issuance of the last ticket. The present invention covers the detection of abnormal operation from the analysis of one or more characteristic data of the operation of the payment terminal.