MONITORING TICKETS ON TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

• US 20180247230A1
• Filed: 02/28/2017
• Published: 08/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Feng, Kai, Jia, Shuang Shuang, Tang, Yong, Xiang, Jun Long, Zhao, Xin
• Granted Patent: US 10,902,353 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/045 using payment protocols involving tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0457 the tickets being sent electronically
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/352 Contactless payments by cards
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G

Abstract

The present invention provides a computer implemented method, system, and computer program product for monitoring a ticket, the method including receiving credentials by a processing unit from a device via manual presentation of the device to a manual sensor logically coupled to the processing unit, generating a ticket identifier (ID) based on the credentials, transmitting the ticket ID from the processing unit to the device, establishing a wireless connection between the device and the processing unit, checking the wireless connection before each occurrence of an event, checking the wireless connection after each occurrence of the event, and updating a status of a ticket in light of the checking. In an exemplary embodiment, a ticket system includes a processing unit, a manual sensor, a wireless sensor, and a device, where the processing unit transmits the ticket ID, and where the processing unit verifies continued connection at key events.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for monitoring a ticket, the method comprising:

receiving credentials by a processing unit from a device via manual presentation of the device to a manual sensor logically coupled to the processing unit;

generating a ticket identifier (ID) by the processing unit based on the credentials;

transmitting the ticket ID from the processing unit to the device;

establishing a wireless connection between the device and the processing unit;

checking the wireless connection before each occurrence of an event;

checking the wireless connection after each occurrence of the event;

updating a status of an account associated with the ticket ID in light of the checking; and

charging the account a fee based on the status.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the event comprises opening and closing of a door on a vehicle that includes the processing unit.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the checking comprises:

recording a signal strength of the wireless connection; and

comparing the signal strength to a lookup table to determine a distance of the device from the processing unit.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising generating an exception value indicating a loss of the wireless connection during the checking before an occurrence of the event.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the generating comprises charging an account associated with the ticket ID a fee based on the exception value.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the device is a portable electronic device.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining a location of the device via at least one sensor.

8. A system for monitoring a ticket, the system comprising:

a memory; and

a processing unit communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the processing unit performs a method comprising;

receiving credentials by a processing unit from a device via manual presentation of the device to a manual sensor logically coupled to the processing unit;

generating a ticket identifier (ID) by the processing unit based on the credentials;

transmitting the ticket ID from the processing unit to the device;

establishing a wireless connection between the device and the processing unit via manual activation;

checking the wireless connection before each occurrence of an event;

checking the wireless connection after each occurrence of the event;

updating a status of an account associated with the ticket ID in light of the checking; and

charging the account a fee based on the status.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the event comprises opening and closing of a door on a vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes the processing unit.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the checking comprises:

recording a signal strength of the wireless connection; and

comparing the signal strength to a lookup table to determine a distance of the device from the processing unit.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises generating an exception value indicating a loss of the wireless connection during the checking before an occurrence of the event.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the manual activation comprises touching the device to the manual activation sensor.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the device is a portable electronic device.

14. The system of claim 8, further comprising one or more sensors to determine the location of the device.

15. A computer program product for monitoring a ticket, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions readable and executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

receiving credentials by a processing unit from a device via manual presentation of the device to a manual sensor logically coupled to the processing unit;

generating a ticket identifier (ID) by the processing unit based on the credentials;

transmitting the ticket ID from the processing unit to the device;

establishing a wireless connection between the device and the processing unit;

checking the wireless connection before each occurrence of an event;

checking the wireless connection after each occurrence of the event;

updating a status of a ticket associated with the ticket ID in light of the checking; and

charging the account a fee based on the status.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the event comprises opening and closing of a door on a vehicle that includes the processing unit.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the checking comprises:

recording a signal strength of the wireless connection; and

comparing the signal strength to a lookup table to determine a distance of the device from the processing unit.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising generating an exception value indicating a loss of the wireless connection during the checking before an occurrence of the event.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the updating comprises charging an account associated with the ticket ID a fee based on the exception value.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the device is a portable electronic device.