WO1999030285A1

WO1999030285A1 - System for authenticating a public parking electronic ticket

Info

Publication number: WO1999030285A1
Application number: PCT/FR1998/002633
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Perreard
Original assignee: Schlumberger Systemes
Priority date: 1997-12-10
Filing date: 1998-12-04
Publication date: 1999-06-17
Also published as: EP1038276A1; FR2772167B1; FR2772167A1; JP2001526431A

Abstract

The invention concerns a system for authenticating a public parking electronic ticket consisting of a housing (10) comprising: a clock supplying current date and time; a memory wherein is stored a key (K) for identifying a parking operating unit; means for computing an authentication sequence (AS) based on the current date and time, on said identification key (K) and a computational algorithm; means (13) for displaying said authentication sequence (AS). The invention is characterised in that said authentication system comprises a second authentication housing (20) including: a clock supplying current date and time; a memory wherein is stored said authentication key (K); means for computing said authentication sequence (AS'); means (23) for displaying the authentication sequence (AS'), said authentication being carried out by sequences (AS, AS') respectively displayed on the housing (10) and housing (20). The invention is applicable to public parking lots.

Description

ELECTRONIC TICKET AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM

PAID PARKING

The present invenuon relates to an authentication system for an electronic paid parking ticket. The invention finds a particularly advantageous application in the general field of paid parking, and more speci-ally in that of individual parking meters placed inside vehicles, known as dlCPM, acronym of the English term "In-Car By ing-MeterJ We know from French patent application No. 97/15650 an electronic paid parking ticket consisting of an individual portable box comprising, among other things, a clock providing the current date and time. in combination with the number of parking units present in the box and with the applicable tariff regime, calculate the date and time of authorized parking end.

In order to be able to verify the legality of the presence of a vehicle, the chosen tariff regime and the date and time of autoπse parking end are displayed on a display device of the box, which is placed inside of the vehicle behind the windshield, so as to be visible to a parking lot surveillance officer.

However, such an electronic ticket stauonnement must be secure in that we must ensure that ^it is delivered by the operator managing the parking area in question, and that is genuine, that is ie not defrauded by a microprocessor-pirate replacing the microprocessor of the box.

Also, the technical problem to be solved by the object of this invenuon is to propose an authentication system for an electronic paid parking ticket consisting of an individual box. portable comprising, at least, a clock providing the current date and time, system which would make it possible to verify the authenticity of said electronic ucket.

The solution to the technical problem posed consists, according to the present invention, in that said housing also comprises:

- a memory in which is stored an identification key of at least one paying parking operator,

means for calculating an authentication chain from the current date and time, said dentification key and a calculation algorithm,

means for displaying said authentication chain, and in that said authentication system further comprises a second box held by a surveillance agent, said authentication box, identical to the box of the electronic ticket, and including:

- a clock providing the current date and time,

a memory in which said identification key is stored,

- means for calculating said authentication chain. from the current date and time, said idenuficauon key and said calculation algorithm,

- Display means of the authenuficauon chain, said authentication being carried out by comparison by the monitoring agent of the authenuficauon chains respecuvement displayed on the box of the electronic ticket and on the authenuficauon box. Thus, we understand that a positive comparison between the two authentication chains, calculated independently but idenuically, allows us to conclude that the controlled electronic ticket is authentic.

It should also be noted an advantage of the authentication system of the invention which consists in the fact that the authentication box is physically identical to the housing of electronic dckets. It is therefore not necessary to provide a specific device for authenticating electronic tickets.

All the boxes, whether electronic or authenuficauon uckets, are initialized using the same electronic memory card, known as the initiahsauon card, containing in particular the identification key. The insertion of the initialization card into the card readers fitted to said boxes transfers said identification key to the respective memories. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, said means for calculating the box of the electronic ticket carry out the calculation of the authentication chain according to a periodicity of a given period. For example, this periodicity can be 10 minutes. In other words, the same authentication chain is displayed on the electronic ticket box during the 10-minute period.

Correlatively, the invention provides that the means of calculating the authentication box perform the calculation of the authenuficauon chain for the current date and time, as well as a period before and a period after the date and time. This arrangement eliminates the difficulties linked to the difference between the current dates and times indicated by the clocks of the two boxes. Said period therefore appears as the maximum difference tolerated between the two clocks.

Finally, there may be the means of electronic cket display does not make it possible to read the ^chain authenuficauon. This is the case for example of a liquid crystal display having stayed too long behind the windshield of a vehicle in great heat and great sunshine.

To remedy this situaUon, it is proposed by the invention that the box of the electronic ticket further comprises means subsidiary capable of giving information characteristic of the authentication chain, in the event that the display means of the electronic ticket box cannot be read.

By way of example, said subsidiary means include a photo-emissive component, such as a light emitting diode intermittently flashing, the number of flashes being a characteristic number formed from the authentication chain: first digit, sum of the digits, etc. .

The description which follows, with reference to the appended drawings, given in non-limiting examples, will make it clear what the invention consists of and how it can be implemented.

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a authentication system of an electronic pay parking Ucket.

Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the authentication system of Figure 1.

In Figure 1 is shown schematically a pay stall system organized around an electronic ticket 10 whose operation is decπt in the French patent application

No 97 15650 cited above At this stage, it suffices to know that said electronic Ucket is consumed by a box 10 containing a first memory for storing tariff regimes, a second memory for storing parking units, a clock giving the date and time DH current and calculation means, namely essentially a microprocessor, capable of establishing the date and time of the end of authorized parking according to the tariff regime selected using buttons 1 1, 12, of the stalling units stored in said second memory and of the current date and time DH. The date and time of the end of authorized stalling, as well as the chosen tariff regime, are displayed on a display 13 so as to allow control of the parking space by a surveillance officer. At 99/30285 bear in stalling, the microprocessor of boîuer 10 progressively consumes the units of the second storage memory, this consumption can be stopped by the user, by pressing the key 14, if he returns to his vehicle before the end autoπsé stalling.

Associated with this paid stalling system is an authenuficauon system of the electronic Ucket 10 intended to ensure that the booiuer 10 is not fraudulent and that it works well for the stauonnage operator concerned. To this end, an identification key K is stored in a memory of the box 10 of the electronic ticket. In the embodiment shown, this identification key is provided by the operator by means of a card 5 with electronic memory, called an irutialisauon card, configured by a central computer 20. The electronic ticket 10 being provided with 'a card reader, the insertion of the card 5 iniUalisaUon has the effect, in particular, of transferring the key K of idenuficauon in the memory of the box 10. Of course, the key K is specific to the operator and is the same for all the boxes 10 capable of operating in parking lots managed by this operator As can be seen in FIG. 2, said key K of idenuficauon is used, to calculate a chain AS of authenuficauon a parur dn AL calculation algorithm, installed in the microprocessor of box 10, and involving, in addition to the key K, the current date and time DH provided by the clock of said box ^• AS = AL (DH, K). As shown in Figure 1, the autofuuf chain AS is displayed on the screen 13 of the box 10, at least intermittently.

Symmetrically, the authenuficauon system of the invenon provides at least one box 20 of autenuenuauon intended for the surveillance agents, structurally identical to the box 10 of the tickets. electronic. Said box 20 of authenuficauon also receives the same key K of idenuficauon coming from the card 5 of iniUalisauon.

An authenuficauon chain AS 'is calculated by the microprocessor of the box 20 by means of the same algorithm AL of calculation from the authentication key K and the current date and time DH' provided by the clock of the box 20 authentication: AS '= AL (DH', K). The identification chain AS 'thus calculated is displayed on the display 23 of the box 20, thus making it possible to carry out a visual comparison of the two authentication chains AS and AS'. If the comparison is positive, the box 10 of the electronic Ucket is considered authentic and not fraudulent.

In practice, the authentication chain AS is not permanently calculated by the unit 10, but according to a given periodicity of period P, 10 minutes for example. On the other hand, there may arise a difficulty if the current dates and times DH and DH 'of the two boxes are not exactly the same, since these quantities being involved in the calculation of the authentication chains AS and AS', it could occur that said chains are different while the housing 20 is not fraudulent but considered as such by a monitoring agent noting a negative comparison of chains AS and AS '.

To remedy this drawback, it is provided, as shown in FIG. 2, that at each period P, the box 20 of authenuficauon not only calculates the chain AL (DH ', K) at the current date and time DH ', but also the chains AL (DH'-P, K) and AL (DH' + P, K), respecuvation a period P before and a period P after DH '. The chain AS 'is therefore made up of the three chains AL (DH'-P, K), AL (DH', K) and AL (DH '+ P, K) which are successively displayed on the screen 23 of the housing 20. In this way, if the difference between the current dates and times DH and DH 'is at most equal to the period P, a box O 99/30285 ι u non irauduieux will indicate one of the three authentication chains displayed on the box 20 of authentificauon.

In summary, and in general, we see that, writing the authenuficauon strings in the form: AS = AL (DH, K)

AS '= {AL'(DH'-P, Kl, AL '(DH', K "), AL '(DH' + P, K"),

.so :

either AL ≠ AL ′, the box 10 of the electronic ticket is not lawful since it is loaded with an algorithm different from that of the box 20 for identification,

- either K ≠ K ', the key of the box 10 of the electronic ticket is not that of the operator whose surveillance agent performs the authentication, - or DH g [DH'-P, DH' + P] , the difference between DH and DH 'is not acceptable.

In all cases, the supervisor must verbalize. It will be understood that the authentication system of the invention is based on a visual comparison between the two chains AS and AS '. However, it may happen that the reading of the display 13 of the housing 10 is impossible, this for several reasons, in particular a blackening of a liquid crystal screen due to excessive sunshine for example. This is why it is envisaged that the box 10 is provided with subsidiary means capable of giving information characteristic of the AS authenuficauon chain. These subsidiary means can be a photo-emissive component of the flashing type, placed on the housing 10 and the flashing of which constitutes said characteristic information. For example, it can be agreed that the flashing is repetitive, each sequence forming a number characteristic of the AS chain, such as the first digit, the sum of all the digits in the chain, etc.

These subsidiary means can be triggered by the unit 10 upon detection of the reading anomaly and give the characteristic information permanently. They can also be triggered by remote control of the monitoring agent, for example by sending, using a lamp, a light front on a photosensitive sensor, such as a photodiode of the housing 10, the detection of this light front triggering the operation of the photo-emissive component, light-emitting diode for example.

Claims

1 - Authenuficauon system of an electronic pay stauc ucket cons ue of an individual portable box (10) comprising, at least, a clock providing the current date and time (DH), characterized in that said housing (10) also includes ^•

- a memory in which is stored a key (K) for idenuficauon of at least one paying parking operator,

means for calculating an authentication chain (AS) from the current date and time (DH), said identification key (K) and a calculation algorithm (AL),

- means (13) for displaying said chain (AS) from to the authentication, and in that said authentication system further comprises a second box (20) held by a surveillance agent, said box of 'authenuficauon, identical to the box (10) of the electronic ticket, and comprising:

- a clock providing the current date and time (DH ^,

- a memory in which said idenuficauon key (K) is stored,

- means for calculating said channel (AS ^ of authenuficauon Parur to the current date and Iheure (DH ") of said key (K) ^of said algoπthme idenuficauon and (G) for calculating,

- Means (23) for displaying the chain (AS ^ of authenuficauon, said authentication being carried out by comparison by the agent for monitoring chines (AS, AS ") of authenuficauon respecuvement displayed on the box (10) of the electronic ucket and on the box (20) of authenuficauon.

2 - System according to claim 1, characterized in that said means for calculating the housing (10) of the electronic ticket carry out the calculation of the authentication chain (AS) according to a given periodicity of period (P).

3 - System according to claim 2, caractéπsé in that the calculating means of the housing (20) authenuficauon perform the calculation of the chain (AS ^* ) authentication for the current date and time (DH "), as well as 'a period (P) before and a period (P) after the current date and time (DH ").

4 - System according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the box (10) of the electronic ticket comprises, in open, subsidiary means capable of giving information characteristic of the authentication chain (AS), if it is impossible to read the means (13) for displaying the electronic ucket box.

5 - System according to claim 4, characterized in that said subsidiary means are capable of giving said characteristic information permanently.

6 - System according to claim 4, characterized in that said subsidiary means are controlled remotely.

7 - System according to claim 6, characterized in that said subsidiary means are controlled by detection of a light front by a photosensitive sensor of the box of the electronic ticket.

8 - System according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that said subsidiary means comprise a photo-emissive component.