Passenger Transportation System and Method for Obtaining Tickets in Such a System

• US 20080215380A1
• Filed: 08/02/2005
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Graeber, Frank
• Granted Patent: US 8,027,872 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: G06Q 2240/00 Transportation facility access, e.g. fares, tolls or parking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0284 Time or distance, e.g. usage of parking meters or taximeters
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 11/00 Apparatus for validating or cancelling issued tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/02 taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24; car rental systems per se G07B15/00

Abstract

A method for obtaining tickets for journeys in a passenger transportation system (VSY) which comprises stations (S11 . . . S00) for entering and/or leaving transport means (VM1, VM2) of the system (VSY) for journeys between the stations (S11 . . . S00), wherein at least one station (S11 . . . S00) of the system (VSY) is assigned at least one contactlessly readable data carrier (T11 . . . T00) and/or at least one transport means (VM 1, VM2) of the system (VSY) is assigned at least one contactlessly readable data carrier (T10, T20), wherein the contactlessly readable data carriers (T11 . . . T00; T10, T20) contain ticket information items (IN11, IN23, INOO), and one of the contactlessly readable data carriers (T11 . . . T00; T10, T20) is read by a mobile reader (MOD) in at least one station (S11 . . . S00) and/or in at least one transport means (VM1, VM2), and the corresponding ticket information item or items (IN11, IN23, IN00) is/are stored in the mobile reader (MOD).

Claims

1. A method for obtaining tickets for journeys in a passenger transportation system which comprises stations for entering and/or leaving transport means of the system for journeys between the stations

wherein at least one station of the system is assigned at least one contactlessly readable data carrier and/or at least one transport means of the system (VSY) is assigned at least one contactlessly readable data carrier

wherein the contactlessly readable data carriers contain ticket information items

wherein one of the contactlessly readable data carriers is read by a mobile reader in at least one station and/or in at least one transport means and

wherein the corresponding ticket information item or items is/are stored in the mobile reader.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one contactlessly readable data carrier assigned to a station and/or to a transport means contains station-specific or transport means-specific ticket information items which uniquely identify the respective station or the respective transport means and the ticket information items read by the mobile reader are used to calculate a fare.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein

a) in a departure station, a contactlessly readable data carrier assigned to said station is read and the corresponding, first ticket information items are stored in the mobile reader and

b) in an arrival station, a contactlessly readable data carrier assigned to said station is read and the corresponding, second ticket information items are at least buffer-stored in the mobile reader, and

c) a fare for the journey is determined from the first and second ticket information items.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein, if no ticket information items of a contactlessly readable data carrier of an arrival station are available to determine the fare, a fixedly predefined fare is determined.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the determination of the fare from the ticket information items is carried out in the mobile reader.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ticket information items at least buffer-stored in the mobile reader are transmitted to a remote calculation server in order to determine the fare.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ticket information items are stored in a secure memory of the mobile reader.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein passive contactlessly readable data carriers are used in and assigned to the stations and/or transport means.

9. A passenger transportation system which comprises stations for entering and/or leaving transport means of the system for journeys between the stations wherein at least one station of the system and/or at least one transport means is assigned at least one contactlessly readable data carrier which contains at least readable ticket information items.

10. A system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the at least one contactlessly readable data carrier assigned to a station and/or to a transport means contains station-specific or transport-means-specific ticket information items which uniquely identify the respective station or the respective transport means.

11. A system as claimed in claim 9, which comprises at least one calculation server for determining fares based on the ticket information items of the contactlessly readable data carriers which are transmitted from a mobile reader.

12. A system as claimed in claim 9, wherein access barriers which are coupled to the contactlessly readable data carriers are provided in the stations and an access barrier is opened to allow entering or leaving of the station only after a contactlessly readable data carrier as been read.

13. A system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the contactlessly readable data carriers are passive data carriers.

14. A calculation server for a system as claim 9, wherein the calculation server is designed to receive ticket information items of the contactlessly readable data carriers which are read by a mobile reader and to determine fares on the basis of these ticket information items.

15. A mobile reader comprising:

means for reading ticket information items which are contained in contactlessly readable data carriers

means for storing the corresponding ticket information item or items and

means for determining a fare from the ticket information items or means for transmitting the stored ticket information items to a remote calculation server which determines a fare.

16. A timetable in which, fixed in a position at which a name of a station or of a transport means appears or at which another symbolic representation of this station or of this transport means is arranged, there is a contactlessly readable data carrier which contains station-specific or transport-means-specific ticket information items which uniquely identify the respective station or the respective transport means.