Method and system for automated ticketing for events in a venue

• US 20070265892A1
• Filed: 05/15/2006
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: CEATS Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CEATS Incorporated
• Inventors: Valentino, Valeno
• Application Number:
  US11/435,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20070265892A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events

Abstract

A system for providing, by means of the Internet, information to potential patrons about the availability of tickets in sections and for particular seats in a venue, generally for entertainment events, from a real-time data feed. Users of the system may select section objects from an interactive dynamic section map and receive information about the section. The section information may include photographic images of the section, or the view of the venue from that section, or textual information about the section. Each section object in the section map may be pointer-sensitive and linked to a real-time ticket feed based on a back-end database relating to a corresponding section. This system correlates seat and section information with a visual price index which is part of the real-time ticket feed database.

Claims

1. A method for searching for tickets for an event at a venue, the method comprising:

accessing in an interactive venue consolidator a map of the venue and current ticket details and availability for that venue from a database;

combining the ticket availability information with the map of the venue to provide ticket location, availability, and pricing in the interactive venue consolidator;

accessing the interactive venue consolidator from a user'"'"'s computer by means of the global communication network;

enabling section-by-section ticket availability to be visually presented to the user;

displaying the thus provided ticket availability information; and

responding to signals from the user to enable tickets to be chosen for purchase while maintaining the ticket availability information on the user screen display.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the section-by-section ticket availability is displayed by visually contrasting sections on the map of the venue in which no tickets are available and sections in which tickets are available.

3. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising displaying text saying that there are no tickets available selectively in any section the user chooses in which there is no ticket availability.

4. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising displaying all the seats available in a chosen section by row numbers and price range.

5. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising displaying all the seats available in a chosen section by row, quantity, and price per seat.

6. The method according to claim 4, and further comprising displaying all the seats available in a chosen section by row, quantity, and price per seat.

7. The method according to claim 5, and further comprising displaying descriptive information about the available seats in each row.

8. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising providing interactive searching for available seats by price range.

9. The method according to claim 4, and further comprising providing interactive searching for available seats by price range.

10. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising providing interactive searching for available seats by quality categories.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the quality categories are selected from the group consisting of price range, venue level, and view quality.

12. The method according to claim 4, and further comprising providing interactive searching for available seats by quality categories.

13. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising creating a three-dimensional map of the venue.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the map of the venue is a three-dimensional map.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein ticket availability is indicated by highlighting the sections on the map of the venue having available tickets.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein ticket availability is indicated by dimming all sections on the map of the venue in which no tickets are available.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein ticket availability is indicated by dimming all sections on the map of the venue in which no tickets are available and highlighting those sections on the map of the venue having available tickets.

18. The method according to claim 2, wherein visually contrasting is accomplished by making at least a portion of each section in which there are available tickets visually more or less intense.

19. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising showing on the map of the venue all sections having available tickets at a price chosen by the user.

20. The method according to claim 19, and further comprising displaying by alpha numeric means all sections and rows having available tickets at a price chosen by the user.

21. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising color coding groups of sections on the map of the venue.

22. The method according to claim 11, and further comprising rendering the map of the venue to show ticket availability by section revised in accordance with the quality categories selected.

23. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising displaying all the seats available in more than one section by row, quantity, and price per seat.

24. An apparatus, including instructions residing on a computer-readable storage medium, for use in a computer system for searching for tickets for an event at a venue, the apparatus comprising:

a recording medium;

means, recorded on the recording medium, for accessing in an interactive venue consolidator a map of the venue and current ticket details and availability for that venue from a database;

means, recorded on the recording medium, for combining the ticket availability information with the map of the venue to provide ticket location, availability, and pricing in the interactive venue consolidator;

means, recorded on the recording medium, for accessing the interactive venue consolidator from a user'"'"'s computer by means of the global communication network;

means, recorded on the recording medium, for enabling section-by-section ticket availability to be visually presented to the user;

means, recorded on the recording medium, for displaying the thus provided ticket availability information; and

means, recorded on the recording medium, for responding to signals from the user to enable tickets to be chosen for purchase while maintaining the ticket availability information on the user screen display.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said means for enabling visual presentation provides section-by-section ticket availability displayed on the map of the venue by visually contrasting sections in which no tickets are available and sections in which tickets are available.

26. The apparatus according to claim 24, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for displaying text saying that there are no tickets available selectively in any section the user chooses in which there is no ticket availability.

27. The apparatus according to claim 24, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for displaying all the seats available in a chosen section by row numbers and price range.

28. The apparatus according to claim 24, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for displaying all the seats available in a chosen section by row, quantity, and price per seat.

29. The apparatus according to claim 27, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for displaying all the seats available in a chosen section by row, quantity, and price per seat.

30. The apparatus according to claim 28, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for displaying descriptive information about the available seats in each row.

31. The apparatus according to claim 24, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for providing interactive searching for available seats by price range.

32. The apparatus according to claim 28, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for providing interactive searching for available seats by price range.

33. The apparatus according to claim 24, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for providing interactive searching for available seats by quality categories.

34. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein quality categories are selected from the group consisting of price range, venue level, and view quality.

35. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein quality categories are selected from the group consisting of price range, venue level, and view quality.

36. The apparatus according to claim 24, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for creating a three-dimensional map of the venue.

37. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the map of the venue is a three-dimensional map.

38. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein ticket availability is indicated by highlighting the sections on the map of the venue having available tickets.

39. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein ticket availability is indicated by dimming all sections on the map of the venue in which no tickets are available.

40. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein ticket availability is indicated by dimming all sections on the map of the venue in which no tickets are available and highlighting those sections on the map of the venue having available tickets.

41. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein visually contrasting makes at least a portion of each section in which there available tickets visually more or less intense.

42. The apparatus according to claim 24, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for showing on the map of the venue all sections having available tickets at a price chosen by the user.

43. The apparatus according to claim 42, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for displaying by alpha numeric means all sections and rows having available tickets at a price chosen by the user.

44. The apparatus according to claim 24, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for color coding groups of sections on the map of the venue.

45. The apparatus according to claim 34, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for rendering the map of the venue to show ticket availability by section revised in accordance with the quality categories selected.

46. The apparatus according to claim 28, and further comprising means, recorded on the recording medium, for displaying by alpha numeric means all sections and rows having available tickets at a price chosen by the user.

47. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said recording medium comprises a disc.

48. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said recording medium comprises a tape.

49. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said recording medium comprises a carrier wave.

50. A system to enable a user to search for tickets for an event from a database at a selected venue and using the Internet, the system comprising:

a memory having a multiplicity of maps of venues stored therein, including the selected venue;

an interactive venue consolidator coupled to said memory and to said database, said interactive venue consolidator combining ticket availability information from said database and said memory;

a user terminal selectively coupled through the Internet to said interactive venue consolidator, wherein the user selects a venue and event by means of said terminal, whereby said interactive venue consolidator provides a display of the selected venue with indications at the user'"'"'s terminal of sections having available tickets.

51. A system to enable a user to search for tickets for an event from a database at a selected venue and using the Internet, the system comprising:

memory means having a multiplicity of maps of venues stored therein, including the selected venue;

interactive venue consolidator means for accessing a map of the selected venue from said memory means and current ticket details and availability for the selected event at that venue from said database;

means for combining the ticket availability information with the map of the venue to provide ticket location, availability, and pricing in said interactive venue consolidator;

means for accessing said interactive venue consolidator from a user'"'"'s computer by means of the global communication network;

means for enabling section-by-section ticket availability to be visually presented to the user;

means for displaying the thus provided ticket availability information; and

means for responding to signals from the user to enable tickets to be chosen for purchase while maintaining the ticket availability information on the user screen display.

52. The system according to claim 51, wherein said means for enabling visual presentation provides section-by-section ticket availability displayed by visually contrasting sections in which no tickets are available and sections in which tickets are available.

53. The system according to claim 51, and further comprising means for displaying all the seats available in a chosen section by row numbers and price range.

54. The system according to claim 53, and further comprising means for displaying all the seats available in a chosen section by row, quantity, and price per seat.

55. The system according to claim 54, and further comprising means for displaying descriptive information about the available seats in each row.

56. The system according to claim 53, and further comprising means for providing interactive searching for available seats by price range.

57. The system according to claim 53, and further comprising means for providing interactive searching for available seats by quality categories.

58. The system according to claim 51, and further comprising means for creating a three-dimensional map of the venue.