Patent ID: 7898439
Filing Date: 2011-03-01
Classification: B62H,G06Q,G07B,G07C,G07F,H02S,Y02E,Y04S,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A bicycle rental station adapted for use in conjunction with a payment station, the bicycle rental station comprising: a solar panel; a trigger mechanism configured for activation by user action; an energy storage device coupled to receive energy from the solar panel; a wireless transmitter operable in a low-power consumption mode and a higher-power consumption mode; and a plurality of bicycle docks, each bicycle dock comprising an electronic element operable in the low-power consumption mode and the higher-power consumption mode, wherein, each electronic element and the wireless transmitter are coupled to receive energy from the energy storage device; and the bicycle rental station is configured to, in response to activation of the trigger mechanism, place at least one of the electronic elements and the transmitter in the higher-power consumption mode from the low-power consumption mode to transmit information from the bicycle dock to the payment station.