Computer-assisted system for ticketing management
First Claim
1. A revenue control system for management and pricing of elapsed time events in a parking garage, comprising a multi-part pre-printed ticket which can be severed to provide a plurality of ticket portions one of which serves as a claim check which is provided to a customer after check in at the beginning of the elapsed time event and which is re-used during check out at the end of the elapsed time event, said claim check being provided with pre-printed machine readable ticket indicia;
- scanning means for scanning and inputting said ticket indicia from said claim check each of which uniquely identifies one elapsed time event;
data entry means for entering auxiliary input indicia, using said scanning means, each of which further defines one of said elapsed time events;
computer means programmed to check-in and validate each pre-printed machine readable ticket indicia on a claim check at the commencement of each elapsed time event, and to check out, meter and price the associated elapsed time event by reading said pre-printed machine readable ticket indicia on said claim check when the customer returns with the claim check at the termination of the elapsed time event, with storage of said ticket and auxiliary input indicia occuring at both check-in and check-out; and
printer means for inprinting selected data on each ticket at both the commencement and termination of each elapsed time event, and for printing reports which included selected output data, whereby check-in and check-out can normally be effected only with the claim check which is always in the customer'"'"'s possession thereby preventing an attendant from checking out before the customer returns with said claim check.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer-assisted ticketing device, such as for garages, provides the necessary functions to allow check in and check out, computing the price, printing tickets, displaying appropriate information on a monitor and producing selected reports. The input to the system is produced by the reading of ticket information from specially designed tickets imprinted with bar code data. Additional information is entered into the system by reading bar code data representing, for example, the make of the vehicle, its color, the pricing schedule, etc. All the information is checked for validity and stored in the system'"'"'s memory, including the time of day and date. System passwords may be used to prevent unauthorized access to the stored information or the unauthorized printing of reports.
63 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A revenue control system for management and pricing of elapsed time events in a parking garage, comprising a multi-part pre-printed ticket which can be severed to provide a plurality of ticket portions one of which serves as a claim check which is provided to a customer after check in at the beginning of the elapsed time event and which is re-used during check out at the end of the elapsed time event, said claim check being provided with pre-printed machine readable ticket indicia;
- scanning means for scanning and inputting said ticket indicia from said claim check each of which uniquely identifies one elapsed time event;
data entry means for entering auxiliary input indicia, using said scanning means, each of which further defines one of said elapsed time events;
computer means programmed to check-in and validate each pre-printed machine readable ticket indicia on a claim check at the commencement of each elapsed time event, and to check out, meter and price the associated elapsed time event by reading said pre-printed machine readable ticket indicia on said claim check when the customer returns with the claim check at the termination of the elapsed time event, with storage of said ticket and auxiliary input indicia occuring at both check-in and check-out; and
printer means for inprinting selected data on each ticket at both the commencement and termination of each elapsed time event, and for printing reports which included selected output data, whereby check-in and check-out can normally be effected only with the claim check which is always in the customer'"'"'s possession thereby preventing an attendant from checking out before the customer returns with said claim check. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
- scanning means for scanning and inputting said ticket indicia from said claim check each of which uniquely identifies one elapsed time event;
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29. A method of controlling and managing revenue and pricing of elapsed time events in a parking garage, by using a multi-part pre-printed ticket which can be severed to provide a plurality of ticket portions one of which serves as a claim check which is provided to a customer after check in at the beginning of the elapsed time event and which is re-used during check out at the end of the elapsed time event, said claim check being provided with pre-printed machine readable ticket indicia, comprising the steps of scanning and inputting said ticket indicia from said claim check each of which uniquely identifies one elapsed time event;
- entering auxiliary input data each of which further defines one of said elapsed time events;
checking in and validating each pre-printed machine readable ticket indicia on a claim check at the commencement of each elapsed time event, and checking out, metering, and pricing the associated time event by reading said pre-printed machine readable ticket indicia on said claim check when the customer returns with the claim check at the termination of the elapsed time event;
storing said ticket and auxiliary input indicia during both check-in and check-out; and
printing reports which include selected output data, whereby check-in and check-out can normally be effected only with the claim check which is always in the customer'"'"'s possession thereby preventing an attendant from checking out before the customer returns with said claim check.
- entering auxiliary input data each of which further defines one of said elapsed time events;
Specification