ITFI20030004U1 - SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTION OF TICKETS FOR EVENTS (ENTRANCE OR TRAVEL TICKETS) VIA THE INTERNET BY USING BAR CODES AND THEIR FOLLOWING CONTROL BY SCANNING THESE CODES BY MEANS OF BAR CODE READERS - Google Patents

Description

1. SUMMARY ABOUT THE INVENTION

The present invention uses bar code readers within a system, consisting of a complex of electronic equipment and software, to securely dispense tickets for events (theatrical, cinematographic, etc., etc.); matches; travel by trains, airplanes, ships, etc. etc.) through the Internet, with the following two characteristics:

(1) the system allows those who buy tickets to receive them immediately from home, and allows those who sell them to quickly and safely check their validity. The user has two options: print the ticket with his own printer or receive an image on his mobile phone. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or in general electronic device equipped with memory, computer and display. In both options, you must show the ticket (the printed sheet or the image received on your electronic device) to the ticket control staff.

(2) The ticket control staff, with the aid of a special equipment that includes one or more barcode readers (one for each controller), quickly, automatically and securely establishes that the ticket has actually been dispensed, and was precisely dispensed for the user who comes up with that.

Associating the ticket with the user is essential because, otherwise, any user who shows up with the printed ticket should be allowed to enter the event, and therefore it would be easily possible to forge the ticket simply by printing multiple copies of it. Instead, by checking the identity, you can check that only hey who bought the ticket can access the event.

This invention envisages two ways to associate a ticket to the user who purchased it using a barcode: (1) using two barcodes, one relating to the user and one relating to the ticket; when the ticket is checked, by reading the two codes it is checked that a ticket has actually been dispensed, and has been precisely dispensed for the user who shows up with it. This method assumes that users register for the service. (2) By associating a code to each ticket and associating the data of the user who purchased it to that code, then having the ability to check the identity of those who show up with that ticket.

The advantage brought by the invention is that you can buy and immediately have a ticket valid for revento: the systems currently in use provide instead that the ticket, even purchased on the Internet, be delivered by post, or you have to go and collect it from an office. or - as happens for trains - 10 must be printed at the self-service distributors at the railway station. The invention also allows you to book numbered seats within events: a certain seat within a theatrical event, or in a railway car, etc. etc.

2. CURRENT STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE

The barcode is a system that allows you to enter and store information about a code that can be easily printed. Barcode readers are devices that allow you to read the information encoded in the barcode.

The Internet is a rather used medium to buy products and services on the Net As for the so-called e-commerce, the user connects to the site, buys the product, pays for it (by credit card or other similar systems), then after a some time he receives it at home; or he buys it, receives it at home and at the same time pays for it (cash on delivery or other similar systems). On the other hand, as regards the issue of tickets for events from the Internet (film screenings; theatrical performances, sports ...; travel by train, plane ...; etc. etc.), the process presents problems at present. Take the example of the Italian Railways: at the moment it is possible to buy a ticket from the site. However, the purchase is not complete: you have to go to one of the self-service distributors located at the stations and print the ticket purchased from the Internet. This, in addition to being a complication and a waste of time for the user, also prevents them from buying tickets very close to departure: having to go through the self-service machine, it is not possible to know for sure if there will be people in the queue before us and how many will be (Trenitalia has recently set up a service that allows you to access the car without going through the self-service distributors, but reserved for first class only - the service is not automated like the one object of the invention and does not use code readers bar).

As for cinemas, theaters and stadiums, it would be very useful to have a system that would allow you to buy the ticket for the event online and then allow you to skip the queue at the box office arriving directly from the staff responsible for checking the presence and validity of the ticket. ticket. The present invention uses the barcode and the barcode readers to provide this new service, giving the barcode readers a new functionality: at the moment these are used to read the price and other fundamental data encoded in a code in the products. bars, or in shops and supermarkets to quickly read the price of products and in warehouses to trace the exact route, origin and characteristics of a certain product. By means of this invention, barcode readers can also be used to quickly and securely establish the validity of a ticket for an event issued via the Internet according to two particular systems, object of the invention.

3. PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention makes use of a barcode: the user who prints his ticket prints a barcode, the user who receives the image on his mobile phone, or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), receives the image of a barcode; the staff responsible for checking scans that code using a special portable reader. The machine assigned to control (the portable reader itself or the computer to which it is connected, see the following chapter "Composition of the invention") must be set up to emit two answers: "YES" or "NO" (green light / red light, high tone / low tone etc. etc.).

3.1. DOUBLE CODE SYSTEM

Two barcodes are used, one relating to the user and one relating to the ticket; at the time of ticket control, by reading the two codes it is checked that a ticket has actually been dispensed, and has been precisely dispensed for the user who presents himself with that This system assumes that the user registers for the service: upon registration you will receive a user name, a password and a barcode (your user code). The user, optionally, instead of just the code can be provided with a card that, in addition to the code, shows their personal data and / or their photo. When the user wishes to buy a ticket, he connects to the site and logs in using his username and password. When purchasing the ticket, he receives a barcode to be printed (the ticket code) or receives the image of this code directly on his mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

When the user wants to access the event, he presents the user code and the ticket code to the staff responsible for checking.

The staff quickly scans both codes: a check is made automatically in real time to determine if the two codes match, that is, if that ticket has actually been issued for that user. If the answer is yes (or green light, etc. etc.) the user can access the event.

The check of the ticket, i.e. reading of the two codes and instant validity check, can be carried out in a few seconds since it is completely automatic: the checker only has to scan the two codes, user and ticket, in sequence and wait for the answer.

In summary, therefore, the process takes place in the following steps:

(1) the user registers for the first time on the site, receives his / her own username, password and barcode; (2) the user connects to the website of the entity for which he wants to buy the ticket (a cinema, a theater, a stadium, a train ticket, an airplane.) And logs in using a username and password; (3) the user buys his ticket from the site, by credit card or by any other system set up by the body that issues the ticket; if the established service allows you to buy tickets by reserving a specific seat, the seat number is printed on the ticket and stored in the database. (4) the user prints the ticket or, if enabled for the service through a mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant, receives the image of the ticket on their device; (5) the user shows up at the place of the event with a ticket printed by him or an image of the ticket on the viewer of the mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant, and together with his / her user bar code; (6) the staff in charge of ticket control (entrance inspector in the case of cinemas, theaters or stadiums; vehicle controller in the case of the train; check-in personnel in the case of airplanes; etc. etc.) reading the user barcode and the ticket; (7) the reader device immediately issues a "YES" or "NO" verdict, the user is admitted to the event or not (in the case of the train, the user can safely continue their journey or receive the treatment reserved for those traveling without a ticket: fine, ticket issued in the car with surcharge ...); the ticket is marked as already used; (8) if the established service allows you to buy tickets by booking a specific seat, the user occupies the seat indicated on the ticket. In the event of disputes, the staff in the hall or in the car by reading the barcode will be able to unequivocally establish the seat assigned to the user by connecting to the database.

An application of this system, reserved for the service with a mobile phone or PDA, consists in having the user code memorized in the electronic device in question. The device viewer then, when showing the ticket, shows the user code and the ticket code in the ticket; therefore the user does not have to keep any paper code, further simplifying the use of the device. The software to operate this variant is also mentioned in the "Composition of the invention" chapter.

It is possible to set up a centralized ticket purchasing service, which can be joined by different entities. The user registers only once and receives userame, password and user code. This data can be used to purchase different tickets: for cinemas, theaters, sporting events, etc. etc.

You will also have to set up a system to give your user code back to those who have lost it (for example, by sending it on request to the e-mail address provided by the user at the time of registration), in order to prevent an attacker from using it abusively. (the old code is marked on the database as lost, whoever shows up with it is immediately discovered).

3.2. SYSTEM WITH SINGLE CODE

When the ticket is purchased via the Internet, the ticket is sent, to be printed or stored on a mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant. This ticket contains a barcode that uniquely identifies the ticket. At the same time as the purchase, a form is presented, which must be filled in, by means of which the user sends his / her data (name, surname and all the others that the seller of the ticket deems appropriate) to the entity that issues the ticket.

When the user shows up for the event, they will be asked for their personal data to prevent the ticket from being reproduced in multiple copies and therefore more people show up with the same ticket. The reading of the barcode provides as an answer (on a display) the name of the user connected to that ticket, the staff responsible for checking the tickets must therefore check that the data provided by the user at the time of verification (possibly proven by a identity document) coincide with those obtained in response from reading the barcode.

The verification of tickets issued according to this system is more laborious than the verification of tickets issued with the double code system (here you have to ask the user for your data, just scanning two barcodes is enough); on the other hand, the provision in this case has the advantage of not needing registered users for the service: anyone can go to the site and buy immediately.

3.3. COMPOSITION OF THE INVENTION

The invention consists of: (1) a server, or a series of servers, connected to the Network. (2) User registration and management software, resident on the server, capable of allowing those who wish to use the service to register ( this only if you choose the option with double barcode, which requires registration, otherwise it is only a user management software, without registration) and to provide the service: log-in using user-name and password , select the desired tickets, instantly pack a ticket that the user can download and print or send it to the user's mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant, update the database. (3) A database that contains the data (users and tickets) of the event. (4) Bar code reader capable of emitting “YES” or “NO” response (green light / red light, high tone / low tone etc. etc.). If the established service allows you to buy tickets by reserving a specific seat, the reader must also be able to specify, on a display, the seat reserved by the user, so that the controller can check, at the entrance or in the hall, if the reserved seat and the one printed on the ticket are the same. (5) Optionally, computers to which the bar code readers are connected (via cable or wireless connection): multiple readers can be connected to each computer; if these computers are not used, the readers can be connected directly to the central database. (6) Software able to manage the readings of the barcode readers, query the database (according to the operation explained below) and issue a "YES" or "NO" response. It resides on the reader or, if present, on the computer to which it is connected, or finally directly on the central server.

Three configurations are possible: (1) the readers are connected directly to the central computer where the central database resides; (2) the readers are connected to local computers, which in turn are connected to the central computer where the central database resides; (3) the readers are connected to a local computer where a local database exclusively related to the event has been copied. In this case, the invention is also composed of software by means of which the data of a certain event are copied from the central database to local computers, forming local databases.

In all three configurations, each reader connected to the same machine reads and updates the same database, local or central.

If you also want to provide a service via mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant, two systems are possible: (1) send the image of the ticket each time; (2) download special software for mobile phones or Personal Digital Assistant that allows you to build the ticket through the data sent: the alphanumeric code of the ticket is sent to the device, and the device shows the barcode built on the data from the viewer sent. In this case the software is part of the components. <'> The software can also be prepared to run on a computer. This software combines security (only the ticket code is sent) with simplicity (the user code is printed on the ticket, stored locally and not on the server, and is sent when the ticket is dispensed, and the ticket code).

3.4. SAFETY

Here are some possible illegal attempts and their resolution (the solution indicated is not the only possible one).

3.4.1. Case with double code

Cases covered: (1) the attacker steals the ticket code: at the checkpoint he is discovered because he cannot present the user code together. (2) The attacker steals the user code: at the control he is discovered because he cannot present the ticket code together. (3) The attacker steals the user code and the ticket code: at the control it is discovered if the user makes a timely report (the codes in question are marked as stolen as soon as a report is made). The user can file a complaint directly from the site by logging in (there will be a specific link). (4) The attacker steals username, password, ticket code, and user code. The user can block everything by sending an email with username and password from their email address. The e-mail address can only be changed by sending a fax of your identity card. (5) The attacker distributes copies of his user code and the ticket code (this fraud is not possible if the user code is contained in a special card): the first person who shows up with the codes is allowed to access the event ; the second person who shows up with them will be recognized and will not be allowed in. The user is reported as suspicious on the database.

3.4.2. Case with single code

Cases covered: (1) the attacker steals the ticket: if the ticket has been duly reported (with a specific link on the site), it can be discovered when it shows up at the event; (2) The attacker buys a ticket and photocopies it by distributing abusive copies: if personal data is requested, proven by an identity document, whoever shows up with a ticket assigned to another user is immediately discovered; otherwise the first user who shows up with the ticket is let in, the second will be immediately discovered (you will be faced with someone who has illegally given a copy of their ticket to others or to someone who has received such an illegal copy).

3.5. TICKETS S.I.A.E.

For all shows in Italy, spectators must have a regular S.I.A.E. The ticket printed by users with their own printer, or the image sent to the mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), do not yet represent a S.I.A.E. valid.

As an immediate solution to the problem, each spectator who shows up at the show can be given a regular S.I.A.E. at the same time as checking the ticket purchased via the Internet. Later they can, eventually, be studied with the S.I.A.E. different solutions: for example, the control of how many tickets have been sold can be carried out not on the basis of the stamped tickets issued but by secure interrogation of the server with an expressly dedicated procedure. Another possible solution is to enter the S.I.A.E. among the information contained in the ticket barcode itself, in a manner that may be established with the body.

3.6. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The attached drawing shows an application of the invention in which the central server is connected to a series of local computers in turn connected to a certain number of barcode readers. We are therefore faced with a system of a certain complexity, which could represent the case of a database that manages events of different types: cinemas, theaters, etc .; each computer is located in a cinema, or a theater, etc., each person in charge of checking the tickets is equipped with a reader connected to the computer in operation in the business in which he works. Or it could represent the case in which a server is dedicated to a single event; for the rest, exactly as in the previous case, the local computers are connected to the server and the readers are connected to the computers.

The drawing refers to a system with double bar code, user code and ticket code.

When a user is presented with a ticket dispensed through the system, their user and ticket codes are read in sequence. The checks on the validity of the ticket explained above are then carried out automatically. Then the system (the reader itself, or the computer to which it is connected) returns the result of the ticket check: that is, whether the user can enter or cannot.

4. EXEMPLIFICATION OF THE OPERATION OF THE INVENTION

This chapter exemplifies what has been described so far by dividing the process into three phases (Registration, Ticket Purchase and Dispensing, Ticket Control) and referring to the components of the invention used in each phase of the process.

4.1. CASE WITH DOUBLE CODE

Since the two sub-cases (the one in which a local database is used linked to a specific event connected to a central database in which the data of different events are contained, and the one in which a single database is used exclusively linked to a event) coincide almost completely, the present example is valid for both; only in point (1) of chapter 4.1.3 are the two processes slightly different, and in that case the difference is contemplated.

4.7.7. User registration

The user registration and management software is used in this process. Stages of the process: (1) The user connects to the site and provides their personal data (name, surname, social security number, e-mail ...). (2) The user receives a user name, a password and a user code: to be printed and kept or kept on their mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant. If you decide to enter the user code also in the ticket received (see last point of the next chapter "Ticket purchase and dispensing"), the user code is not given at the time of registration but at the time of the ticket delivery, every time a ticket is issued (always the same user code for all tickets). (3) The database is updated with user data: the user is associated, in an exclusive manner, with his own code (only one code for each user, only one user for each code).

4.1.2. Purchase and ticket dispensing The registration and user management software is used in this process. Stages of the process: (1) The user connects to the site and logs in using a user name and password. (2) The user selects the ticket to purchase. (3) The user buys the ticket, by credit card or through any system set up by the issuer of the ticket. (4) A ticket is created instantly that the user can download and print or, if the user is enabled for the service through a mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant, the ticket is sent to the device. (5) The database is updated with the ticket data; the user is associated, in an exclusive manner, with the purchased ticket.

4.1.3. Ticket control

In this process the barcode readers are used, the software for their management and connection to the database and, if present, the software by means of which the data of a certain event is copied from the central database to the local computers. Phases of the process: (1) If a local database linked to a specific event is used, the data of which is contained in a central database in which the data of different events are contained, the database (containing all the users who have purchased tickets for the event and tickets purchased) of the event on the local computer. If, on the other hand, a single database exclusively linked to an event is used, the computers to which the readers are connected are directly connected to the central server. (2) The ticket control staff, for each user who shows up with a ticket issued by the system, checks that: [a] the ticket and the user exist (by scanning the user code and ticket code), [b] the user and the ticket are correctly associated, ie that the user actually bought that ticket. The checks are carried out by automatic querying of the database: two scans of the barcodes are carried out by reading the user and ticket codes; the software controlling the reader at that point carries out a series of queries to the database aimed at establishing what is indicated above in [1] and [2]. Then the software, based on the outcome of the checks, sends a "YES" or "NO" response. (3) If the ticket is valid, the user is let in and the ticket is marked as already used. If the ticket is not valid, different cases may have occurred (see chapter "Security"): the user has an unregistered ticket, the user has a ticket that has already been checked and purchased, the user does not exist, the user is it is presented with a user code that has previously been reported as lost etc. etc. In all these cases, which must be adequately screened, appropriate procedures can be established to be studied case by case: for example, a database of suspicious users can be created, the user can be asked to show an identity document (also this problem was dealt with in 3.4).

4.2. CASE WITH SINGLE CODE

4.2.1. Purchase and delivery of tickets

User management software is used in this process. Stages of the process: (1) The user selects the ticket to purchase. (2) The user purchases the ticket, by credit card or through any system set up by the issuer of the ticket. (3) The user provides his personal data: in the database the user these data are associated with the ticket. (4) A ticket is instantly created that the user can download and print or the ticket is sent to the mobile phone o Personal Digital Assistant.

4.2.2. Ticket control

In this process the barcode readers and the software for their management and connection to the database are used. Stages of the process: (1) The staff responsible for checking tickets, for each user who comes with a ticket issued by the system and printed on their own, checks that: does] the ticket exists (by scanning the ticket code), [ b] the user and the ticket are correctly associated, ie that the user actually bought that ticket. The checks are carried out by asking the user to present their personal data for the event to prevent the ticket from being reproduced in multiple copies and for more people to show up with the same ticket. The reading of the barcode provides as an answer (on a display) the name of the user connected to that ticket, the staff responsible for checking the tickets must therefore check that the data provided by the user at the time of verification (possibly proven by a identity document) coincide with those obtained in response from reading the barcode. (3) If the ticket is valid, the user is let in and the ticket is marked as already used. If the ticket is not valid, two cases may have occurred: the user has a ticket that has already been used or has a ticket that has not been issued (see the "Security" chapter); it will be possible to establish adequate procedures to be studied on a case-by-case basis.

5. NOTES ON RAILWAY TICKETS

What has been said in the example also applies in large part to the provision of train tickets. The main difference, as regards the aspect of ticket delivery and control, is that a journey is an event in which users can be admitted at different times (each station where the train stops) and that each user has a ticket valid for a fraction of the event (the journey from one station to another station, two successive stations are the minimum case and the whole journey is the maximum case). Therefore, at each station, the event database must be updated: the tickets of the passengers who have disembarked are no longer valid and those of the passengers who get on begin to be valid. Each barcode reader must connect to the database to update its data and, if appropriate, also to update the database with its data (users who have made the paid trip, users who did not show up, irregular users). The connection to the database of the computer to which the reader is connected can take place via wireless connection or using the currently existing network that allows data to be exchanged between train and station. Finally, as regards Γ equipment, the computer that reads the database (and to which the reader is connected) must be portable and manageable; a practical solution is for the computer to be integrated into the player itself.

As far as security is concerned, the best solution (although not the only possible one) is to equip each user, enabled for the complete ticket dispensing service through the Internet, with a card with his own photo and user bar code; this, also because railway users are already used to having cards linked to a particular railway service.

The reader must also be able to specify to the controller the seat number possibly reserved by the user, so that the controller can verify that the seat is correctly occupied.

The system allows you to reserve seats in the vehicle, but it is also possible to issue tickets that are not linked to a specific reserved seat.

Claims (3)

CLAIMS 1) Complex of machinery and programs that allow the delivery, via the Internet to registered users, of tickets for any type of event (shows, travel, etc.) by means of barcodes and the control of their validity by means of a code reader. bars. The complex consists of: a series of servers connected to the Internet; user registration and management software; a database that contains the event data; a barcode reader; a software able to manage the readings of the barcode readers and, based on those, issue a response on the validity of the ticket and, if the function has been activated, on the seat reserved by the user for the event. The complex can also optionally be composed of: software for copying the data of an event from the central database to a local one, software (for mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistant ... also for personal computers) for the construction of the ticket starting from the data sent by the server. Each ticket is associated with the user who purchased it, users interested in the service must therefore first register for that service. 2) System, used in the complex indicated above in point 1, for Γ identification of users, and tickets for events purchased by users, using two barcodes, one relating to the user and one relating to the ticket. The user code is issued via the Internet when the user is registered, the ticket code is issued when the ticket is purchased. The user code may also be issued within a card which may also contain the user's data (name, surname, photo ...). 3) System, used in the complex indicated above in point 1 as an alternative to the system claimed in point 2, for the identification of users, and tickets for events bought by users, by means of a barcode relating to the ticket that is issued via the Internet to when buying the ticket. In the database, relating to the event for which the ticket is purchased, that code is also associated with the data (name, surname ...) of the user who purchased the ticket 4) Variant, of the system claimed in point 2, for electronic devices equipped with memory and viewer (mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistant ...): the user code is stored in the memory of the electronic device, the ticket code is sent at the time of purchase; when showing the ticket, both the user code and the ticket code are shown on the display by means of special software.