Smart card mechanism and method for obtaining electronic tickets for goods services over an open communications link

• US 6,192,349 B1
• Filed: 09/28/1998
• Issued: 02/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Husemann, Dirk, Kaiserwerth, Matthias
• Primary Examiner(s): Stamber, Eric W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MEINECKE DIAZ, SUSANNA M
• Application Number:
  US09/162,015
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/21, 705/64-78, 705/41, 380/21, 380/24, 380/25
• US Class Current: 705/65
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/045 using payment protocols involving tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40975 using encryption therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

A smart card, (a type of credit card containing storage capacity and processing ability preferably in the form of a microprocessor), is used to store an electronic ticket provided from the service provider'"'"'s computer system to the customer'"'"'s computer over an insecure communications line. Upon the request for a ticket from the customer'"'"'s computer, the service provider'"'"'s system transmits a ticket loading request token T_LR to the customer'"'"'s computer to be loaded into a smart card of the customer. The smart card responds to the ticket loading request token T_LR by producing a ticket loading token T_L containing a hash of the ticket loading request token T_LR; the smart card'"'"'s identifier T_ID; a secret number G_C and ticket loading token T_L′ from the previous transaction of the smart card. The hash signal is attached to the ticket loading token T_L′ from the previous transaction and shipped back to the ticket provider. The ticket provider'"'"'s system then creates the electronic ticket containing the ticket information and a new hash or signature T_S number, formed by hashing the ticket information with the hash number received from the customer, and returns it to the customer'"'"'s computer. The smart card checks the signature T_S of the ticket and if it matches its own calculation of T_S, accepts and stores the ticket. Once the ticket is entered, the smart card changes T_L′ to T_L in preparation for the next transaction.

Claims

1. A method for providing information, goods or services by transmitting an electronic ticket for the information, goods services from a ticket provider to a customer over a public communication interconnection comprising:

a) transmitting a ticket loading request token from the ticket provider to a smart card of the customer over the interconnection upon the request of the customer;

b) generating a loading token in the smart card containing a hash of the ticket loading request token, a previous loading token, and a secret key stored in the smart card and providing the ticket loading token back to the ticket provider;

c) transmitting the ticket, containing ticket information and a hash of the ticket loading token from the ticket provider back to the smart card for use of the smart card and the ticket stored therein for obtaining the information, goods or services; and

d) changing the Previous loading token to the present loading token once the ticket is loaded into the smart card.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the secret key is known by the ticket provider but not the customer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the secret key can be calculated by the ticket provider from a secret master key and the identity of the smart card.

4. The method of claim 3 including providing the ticket to the ticket taker for verification of the electronic ticket when it is offered by the customer.

5. The method of claim 4 including storing a hashing function, the card identification, and the secret key in the smart card.

6. The method of claim 4 including concatenating the ticket information with the first hashed signal prior to generating the second hash by the ticket provider.

7. A smart card for obtaining an electronic ticket for goods or services from a ticket provider on an open communications connection comprising:

processing logic including a hashing function based coding mechanism to generate a ticket loading token containing a secret key coded in a codeword for transmission to the ticket provider;

a storage facility for storage of the electronic ticket containing coded information sent by the ticket provider in response to the ticket loading token;

data stored in the storage facility including;

i) a public identification T^pub_ID for the card;

ii) a private identification for the card T^priv_ID which is not known to the ticket provider; and

iii) the secret key G_C for the card which can be calculated from a secret master key G (known to the ticket provider but not to the customer) by performance of a hash over the concatenation of the master key G and the cards public ID, T^pub_ID or;

8. The smart card of claim 7 wherein the goods or services is a ticket for transportation.

12. The smart card of claim 7 including data for a starting condition

9. A ticket dispenser for use with a smart card to provide a ticket for goods or services to a customer over an open communication connection comprising:

a token provider for providing a token identifying the goods or services to the smart card held by the customer in response to a request from the customer for the goods or services;

a ticket provider for providing a ticket with coded information in response to coded information from the smart card identifying the token and the smart card and containing a codeword not known to a smart card holder, which coded information is a hashed resultant of an information string formed by concatenating the token to a card identifier and the codeword; and

a storage facility for storing the coded information received from the smart card.

10. Apparatus for a ticket provider to transmit an electronic ticket to a customer over a public communication interconnection for the customer to obtain information, goods or services comprising:

a) means for transmitting a token T_LR from the ticket provider to a smart card of the customer over the interconnection upon the request of the customer; and

b) means responsive to a ticket loading token T_L from the customer containing a hash of token T_LR and the identity T_id of the smart card and a secret number to transmit the ticket, said ticket containing ticket information and a hash containing T_L and a secret character string G_C from the ticket provider back to the smart card for use of the smart card with the ticket stored therein to obtain the information, goods or services.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 including the ticket information in a signal T_S.

13. A method for providing an electronic ticket from a ticket provider to a customer over a public communication interconnection comprising:

a) transmitting a ticket loading request token T_LR identifying ticket particulars from the ticket provider to a smart card of the customer over the interconnection upon the request of the customer;

b) generating a loading token T_L in the smart card containing a hash of the ticket loading request token T_LR and a secret key G_C not known by the customer but stored in the smart card and providing the ticket loading token back to the ticket provider along with an identification token T_C for calculation of G_C using a secret master key G known to the ticket provider but not the customer; and

c) transmitting the ticket, containing ticket information and a hash of the ticket loading token and the secret character string G_C from the ticket provider back to the smart card for storing in the smart card.

14. The method of claim 13 including providing the electronic ticket to a ticket taker for verification of the electronic ticket when it is offered by the customer.

15. The method of claim 14 including placing a previous ticket loading token in a present ticket loading token and then changing it to the present ticket loading function once the ticket is loaded into the smart card.

16. The method of claim 15 including concatenating the ticket information with the first hashed signal prior to generating the second hash by the ticket provider.