what is in the car park machine?

Question

Hi there,

Can anyone tell me or give me a link on how an automatic car park machine works? where a person takes a card initially and then he pays for the parking fee at a nearby booth (paying and inserting the card), and finally he needs to return the card on leaving the gate.

I dont really understand the basics behind it and how does it manipulates the card to indentify the user..

Answer 1

Try this link http://www.directpark.de/en/product/function.htm if you want to know how a machine can take your car and put it away all by itself.

If you want to know how they know how much to charge by comparing two timestamps look at the previous answer.

Answer 2

I think the card records what time and date you parked on a magnetic strip and later when you come back, the machine compares that time with the current time. Using an algorithm it finds the amount you need to pay. The card doesn't identify the user; just what time you parked.
Then you pay with change.