电子锁系统外文翻译.docVIP

毕业设计（论文）外文翻译 ELECTRONIC LOCK SYSTEM FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to electronic locks and, in particular, to an electronic lock system for use with a receiver that includes means for receiving and storing money or other materials. Examples of such receivers include parking meters, vending machines, pay telephones, laudromat machines, airline or bus station lockers, and mailboxes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION For an average size city, it has been estimated that up to one million dollars per year of revenue may be lost due to theft from parking meters. Although some thefts are isolated incidents, most of the revenue loss is incurred as a result of systematic theft. Systematic parking meter theft may occur when a person steals a parking meter itself, such as by removing the head of the meter. The parking meter head can then be used to make a master key that is capable of opening other parking meters. Prior attempts to design locks that cannot be reverse engineered have generally been unsuccessful. As a result, there is a long-felt need to a lock system for parking meters and other receiving devices that render such devices immune to systematic theft. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The basic problem with existing designs for parking meters is that the large number of meters in a given city makes it impractical to have a separate key for each lock. Locks must therefore be designed such that a master key can open many locks. As a result, the parking meters are susceptible to systematic theft that results when a person makes or obtains a copy of a master key. Stated in its simplest form; the present invention provides an electronic locking system in which a separate key is in fact provided for each lock. In a preferred arrangement, each individual lock, e.g., each individual parking meter, is assigned a unique identification code and a unique passcode that is numerically unrelated to the identification code. The identification code in effect identifies a pa