Admission control method and system thereof, and facility reservation confirmation method and system thereof

• US 20040172270A1
• Filed: 11/24/2003
• Published: 09/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sugimoto, Toyokazu, Ito, Atsushi, Ashizawa, Minoru
• Application Number:
  US10/722,331
• Publication Number:
  US 20040172270A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00

Abstract

When an information memory element such as an RF-ID tag is mounted in an admission ticket as buried therein to perform individual identification (ID) control over the admission ticket, smooth gate passage control of a visitor can be realized. A center server or an in-site server controls to the admission or refusal of entrance in a facility on the basis of a relationship between an admission ticket ID printed on one paper sheet of the admission ticket and an element ID unique to the RF-ID tag as well as the current status of the admission ticket ID. And the facility set as reserved can be confirmed by the user on an in-site reservation terminal.

Claims

1. An admission control method for controlling entrance into a site or into a facility installed in the site on the basis of an admission ticket having an information memory element mounted therein with a first identifier capable of being identified by a computer and also having a second identifier marked on one side of the ticket, said method comprising the steps of:

registering said first identifier and facility reservation information generated as associated with said second identifier in a facility reservation DB as associated with each other; and

referring to said facility reservation DB with use of said first identifier corresponding to said admission ticket as a key to control the entrance of the facility installed in said site.

2. The admission control method according to claim 1, wherein said second identifier includes at least a serial number and an additional code, and a combination of said serial number and said additional code inputted following said serial number is authenticated to control the entrance into said facility.

3. The admission control method according to claim 1, wherein an admission ticket DB in which information about at least one of statuses of the admission ticket of already sold, already entered in the site and already reserved the facility is stored is referred to for said each second identifier to control the status of said admission ticket.

4. The admission control method according to claim 1, wherein said facility reservation information contains a reservation facility name and reservation time zone information associated therewith, and a service is offered differently for each user on the basis of private information of the user inputted at the time of registering the facility reservation information.

5. An admission control method for controlling entrance into one or more facilities installed in a site on the basis of an admission ticket having an information memory element mounted therein with a unique first identifier capable of being identified by a computer and also having a unique second identifier marked thereon and capable of being identified by a person, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a display screen to a user terminal connected via a communication network to prompt a user to input the second identifier marked on said admission ticket;

receiving said input second identifier and authenticating the correct user based on the second identifier;

when said authentication is obtained, providing the display screen to said user terminal and prompting the user to input a facility name to be reserved and a reservation time;

registering said input facility name and said input reservation time in a facility reservation DB as associated with said first identifier;

reading said first identifier of said admission ticket carried by the user who wants to enter one of the facilities installed in said site; and

referring to said facility reservation DB with use of said read first identifier as a key and controlling the entrance of one of the facilities installed in the site.

6. The admission control method according to claim 5, wherein, when the reading of the first identifier from said admission ticket ends in a failure, said facility reservation DB and a admission ticket DB are updated with use of the second identifier marked on said admission ticket as a index and reissuing an admission ticket.

7. An admission control system for controlling entrance into a site or into one of facilities installed in the site on the basis of an admission ticket having an information memory element mounted therein with a first identifier capable of being identified by computer and also having a second identifier capable of being identified by a person and marked thereon, comprising:

a facility reservation DB for registering said first identifier and facility reservation information generated when a user operates a user terminal on the basis of said second identifier as associated therewith; and

an admission control device for reading said admission ticket and referring to said facility reservation DB with use of said first identifier as a key to control the entrance when the user enters said site or one of the facilities installed in the site.

8. A facility reservation confirming method for confirming a facility reservation status through a user terminal or through an in-site reservation terminal installed in a site with use of an admission ticket having an information memory element mounted therein with a first identifier capable of being identified by computer and also having a second identifier capable of being identified by a person, comprising the steps of:

registering said first identifier and facility reservation information generated by the user in a facility reservation DB as associated with each other; and

referring to said facility reservation DB with use of said first identifier as a key and outputting a facility reservation status in response to the user operation of said user terminal or the user set of said admission ticket to said terminal installed in the site so that the admission ticket is read by said in-site terminal after the user enters the site.

9. The facility reservation confirming method according to claim 8, wherein said facility reservation status is displayed in the form of a layout map having a current location and facilities installed in the vicinity thereof, already-reserved facilities being displaced together with time information as distinguished from the other facilities.

10. A facility reservation confirming method for confirming a facility reservation status through one of reservation terminals installed in a site on the basis of an admission ticket having an information memory element mounted therein with-a unique first identifier capable of being identified by computer and also having a unique second identifier capable of being identified by a person, comprising the steps of:

receiving the second identifier inputted by a user through a user terminal and authenticating the authorized user of the admission ticket based on said second identifier;

when the authentication is obtained, prompting the user to input a facility name to be reserved and a reservation time on the basis of a display screen appearing on said user terminal;

registering said facility name and said reservation time inputted by the user who operates said user terminal in a facility reservation DB as associated with said first identifier; and

referring to said facility reservation DB with use of said first identifier as a key and displaying a facility reservation status on the display screen in response to the user operation of said user terminal or the user set of said admission ticket to said in-site terminal installed in the site so that the admission ticket is read by said in-site terminal after the user enters the site.

11. A facility reservation confirming system for confirming a facility reservation status with use of an admission ticket having an information memory element mounted therein with a first identifier capable of being identified by computer, comprising:

a facility reservation DB for registering said first identifier and facility reservation information generated by a user as associated therewith; and

an in-site reservation terminal for referring to said facility reservation DB with use of said first identifier as a key and outputting a facility reservation status of the admission ticket corresponding to said first identifier.

12. An admission ticket having an information memory element mounted therein with a unique first identifier capable of being identified by computer and also having a unique second identifier marked on the ticket and capable of being identified by a person, wherein use of one or more facilities installed in a site enterable based on said admission ticket is reserved on the basis of the second identifier marked on said admission ticket inputted by a user who holds the admission ticket through a user terminal.

13. The admission ticket according to claim 12, wherein entrance in the site or in one of the facilities in the site is controlled on the basis of said first identifier associated with said second identifier.

14. An admission ticket for use in a facility reservation method for making reservation of one or more facilities installed in a site enterable based on the admission ticket, wherein said admission ticket has an information memory element mounted therein with a unique first identifier capable of being identified by computer and also having a unique second identifier capable of being identified by a person, and said first identifier is read by a reader at least when the user enters one of the facilities.

15. A reservation control system for controlling entrance reservation in a site or in one of facilities installed in the site on the basis of an admission ticket, comprising:

an ID management database for storing a first identifier stored in an information memory element mounted in said admission ticket, said first identifier being capable of being identified by computer, and a second identifier marked on one sheet side of the admission ticket as associated with each other;

a facility reservation database for storing reservation statuses of said facilities;

authenticating means, when a user wants to make reservation of said facility using said admission ticket, for authenticating said admission ticket on the basis of said second identifier;

searching means, when the authentication results in that the reservation can be made with the admission ticket, for searching said facility reservation database for a blank time for said facility to be reserved;

screen generating means, when a blank time is present as the result of the searching, for generating a display screen to make reservation of said facility; and

database updating means, when the user selects the facility to be reserved and a time zone thereof on said reservation screen, for updating contents of said facility reservation database according to the selected contents.

16. The reservation control system according to claim 15, further comprising:

entrance monitoring means, when the user enters said facility, for referring to said facility reservation database with use of said first identifier of said admission ticket as a key and when the reservation by the admission ticket is correct, for admitting entrance in said facility.

17. The reservation control system according to claim 16, wherein, when said entrance monitoring means admits the entrance of said facility, contents of said ID management database is updated with use of the first identifier of said admission ticket as a key.

18. The reservation control system according to claim 15, wherein said ID management database includes information indicative of an already-sold status, an already-site-entered, and already-facility-reserved status of the admission ticket on the basis of the first identifier of the admission ticket.

19. A computer program product to be executed in an admission control system for controlling entrance in a site or in one of facilities installed in the site on the basis of an admission ticket having an information memory element mounted therein and capable of being identified by computer and a second identifier marked thereon and capable of being identified by a person, said program comprising the codes for performing the steps of:

prompting a user to enter the second identifier marked on said admission ticket;

receiving the entered second identifier and authenticating the correct user on the basis of the second identifier;

when said authentication is obtained, providing a display screen to said user terminal an prompting the user to enter a facility name to be reserved and a reservation time therefore;

registering said entered facility name and reservation time in a facility reservation database as associated with said first identifier;

when the user enters one of the facilities installed in said site, reading said first identifier of said admission ticket carried by the user; and

referring to said facility reservation database with use of the read first identifier as a key and controlling the entrance in one of the facilities installed in the site.

20. The computer program product according to claim 19, said program further comprising the codes for performing:

the step, when the reading of the first identifier from said admission ticket ends in a failure, of updating said facility reservation database and said admission ticket DB with use of the second identifier marked on the admission ticket as a key and reissuing an admission ticket.