Method of selecting and storing airline ticket data

• US 20050091088A1
• Filed: 10/22/2004
• Published: 04/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stanley K. Peterson
• Original Assignee: Stanley K. Peterson
• Inventors: Peterson, Stanley K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,017,806 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• 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

A method is provided for receiving a data stream of an airline ticketing reservations computer, striping-away data bits included for the ordering and identifying and reading and writing of the data stream on magnetic media and selecting and converting the remaining data into multi-dimensional symbology or bar code for printing onto airline ticket and/or boarding documents.

Claims

1. A method of receiving a data stream for recording onto magnetic media from a central reservation computer offering passenger air travel information to multiple airlines and for selecting and converting said data stream into multi-dimensional symbology for printing onto airline documents comprising the steps of:

receiving from a shared central reservation computer a data stream containing data for recording onto a magnetic media,

selecting from said data stream at least a portion of said data for recording onto said magnetic media to provide a selected data stream,

converting said selected data stream into a multi-dimensional symbology data set, and

printing said multi-dimensional symbology data set onto an airline document.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said printing of said multi-dimensional symbology data is at a second location on said airline document that is different from a first location identified in said data stream from said shared central reservation computer.

3. A method of receiving a data stream formatted for recording onto magnetic stripe media from a shared central reservation computer offering passenger air travel information to multiple airlines and selecting and converting said data stream into multi-dimensional symbology for printing onto airline documents comprising the steps of:

receiving from a shared central reservation computer a data stream containing formatting codes to allow recording of said data stream onto a magnetic stripe media,

selecting from said data stream at least a portion of said data for recording onto said magnetic media to provide a selected data stream,

identifying said formatting codes of said selected data stream,

removing said formatting codes from said selected data stream to provide second data stream,

converting said second data stream into a multi-dimensional symbology data set, and

printing said multi-dimensional symbology data set onto an airline document to provide an airline document containing a printed multi-dimensional symbology data set.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising the step of compressing said second data stream prior to said converting step.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising the step of printing said second data stream as alphanumeric information onto an airline document.

6. The method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising the steps of:

scanning said airline document containing a printed multi-dimensional symbology data set to provide a scanned data set image,

storing said scanned data set image into a computer memory register,

converting said scanned data set image into a data stream suitable for comparison with a data stream formatted for recording onto magnetic stripe media from a shared central reservation computer.

7. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said printing of said multi-dimensional symbology data is at a second location on said airline document that is different from a first location identified in said data stream from said shared central reservation computer.

8. The method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising the step of converting a digital photograph of an airline passenger into a multi-dimensional symbology data set and printing said multi-dimensional symbology data set containing said digital photograph onto an airline document.

9. A printer for receiving a data stream containing print data and magnetically recordable data said data stream for printing and recording onto airline tickets and boarding documents the printer comprising:

a print head for printing alpha-numeric text,

a print head for printing multi-dimensional symbology, and

a processor to select a magnetically recordable datum from the data stream and to convert said magnetically recordable datum into a multi-dimensional symbology computer code and to direct said print head for printing multi-dimensional symbology to print said multi-dimensional symbology computer code onto an airline document.

10. The printer as claimed in claim 9 wherein a single print head contains said print head for printing alpha-numeric text and said print head for printing multiple dimensional symbology.

11. The printer as claimed in claim 9 wherein said processor compresses said magnetically recordable datum prior to converting said magnetically recordable datum into a multi-dimensional symbology computer code.