Electronic ticket issuing system and electronic ticket issuing method

• US 7,004,388 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2004
• Issued: 02/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Kohta, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Caputo, Lisa M.
• Application Number:
  US10/806,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20040188520A1
• Time in Patent Office: 707 Days
• Field of Search: 235/381, 235/382, 705/5, 705/6, 705/16, 705/18, 705/65
• US Class Current: 235/381
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/10 at least one kind of marking being used for authentication, e.g. of credit or identity cards verification of coded identity or credit cards in mechanisms actuated by them G07F7/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/045 using payment protocols involving tickets
• 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 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4014 Identity check for transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/42 for ticket printing or like apparatus , e.g. apparatus for dispensing of printed paper tickets or payment cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

An electronic ticket issuing system and an electronic ticket issuing method for simplifying authentication procedures by the use of biological information such as a fingerprint and voiceprint. First, a ticket buyer sends a request for ticket purchase to a ticket issuing center using his/her mobile terminal. The ticket issuing center transmits a request for issue of an electronic certificate to request an authentication department to issue an electronic certificate. The authentication department creates an electronic certificate to which the biological information about the ticket buyer is added. The ticket issuing center transmits an electronic ticket including the electronic certificate to the mobile phone. When the ticket buyer participates in an event with the electronic ticket, the ticket buyer transmits the electronic ticket with the biological information to an authentication terminal. In addition, the ticket buyer inputs his/her biological information at the moment into the authentication terminal. Subsequently, the authentication terminal compares the two pieces of biological information for authentication. Since the electronic ticket includes the biological information, the authentication terminal can perform high-security authentication without exchanging the biological information with the authentication department via a network.

Claims

1. An electronic ticket issuing system, comprising:

a mobile terminal including a storage for storing an electronic ticket;

a ticket issuing center;

an authentication department; and

an authentication terminal, wherein;

the mobile terminal, the ticket issuing center, the authentication department, and the authentication terminal are connected to each other via a network, and the authentication terminal is connected to the mobile terminal to perform authentication between a ticket buyer and an electronic ticket;

first biological information which indicates unique physical characteristics of the ticket buyer is registered in advance in the authentication department;

the mobile terminal transmits a request for ticket purchase to the ticket issuing center;

the ticket issuing center transmits a request for issue of an electronic certificate to the authentication department to request the authentication department to issue an electronic certificate which corresponds to the request for ticket purchase transmitted from the mobile terminal and which validates the ticket buyer;

the authentication department creates an electronic certificate including the pre-registered first biological information on the basis of the request for issue of an electronic certificate transmitted from the ticket issuing center, and transmits the electronic certificate to the ticket issuing center;

the ticket issuing center creates an electronic ticket to which the electronic certificate transmitted from the authentication department is added, and transmits the electronic ticket to the mobile terminal;

the mobile terminal stores the electronic ticket transmitted from the ticket issuing center in the storage; and

wherein;

at the time of authentication;

(1) the mobile terminal transmits the electronic ticket stored in the storage to the authentication terminal;

(2) second biological information which indicates unique physical characteristics of the ticket buyer is input into the authentication terminal; and

(3) the authentication terminal performs authentication by comparing the first biological information, which is contained within the electronic certificate added to the electronic ticket, with the second biological information, and outputs a corresponding authentication result.

2. An electronic ticket issuing system as claimed in claim 1, comprising:

in place of the mobile terminal, an information terminal which includes a storage removable from the information terminal for storing the electronic ticket and which is connected to a biological information generating section for generating the first biological information, wherein;

at the time of ticket purchase, the biological information generating section generates the first biological information and transmits the first biological information to the authentication department;

the authentication department creates the electronic certificate including the first biological information transmitted from the information terminal on the basis of the request for issue of an electronic certificate transmitted from the ticket issuing center, and transmits the electronic certificate to the ticket issuing center; and

wherein at the time of authentication, the electronic ticket is input from the removable storage into the authentication terminal.

3. An electronic ticket issuing method performed in an electronic ticket issuing system which comprises a mobile terminal including a storage for storing an electronic ticket, a ticket issuing center, an authentication department, and an authentication terminal, wherein the mobile terminal, the ticket issuing center, the authentication department, and the authentication terminal are connected to each other via a network, and wherein the authentication terminal is connected to the mobile terminal to perform authentication between a ticket buyer and an electronic ticket, comprising:

a first step of registering in advance first biological information which indicates unique physical characteristics of a ticket buyer in the authentication department;

a second step of transmitting a request for ticket purchase from the mobile terminal to the ticket issuing center;

a third step of transmitting a request for issue of an electronic certificate from the ticket issuing center to the authentication department to request the authentication department to issue an electronic certificate which corresponds to the request for ticket purchase transmitted from the mobile terminal and which validates the ticket buyer;

a fourth step of creating an electronic certificate including the pre-registered first biological information on the basis of the request for issue of an electronic certificate transmitted from the ticket issuing center, and transmitting the electronic certificate from the authentication department to the ticket issuing center;

a fifth step of creating an electronic ticket to which the electronic certificate transmitted from the authentication department is added, and transmitting the electronic ticket from the ticket issuing center to the mobile terminal;

a sixth step of storing the electronic ticket transmitted from the ticket issuing center in the storage of the mobile terminal;

a seventh step of transmitting, at the time of authentication, the electronic ticket stored in the storage from the mobile terminal to the authentication terminal;

an eighth step of inputting second biological information which indicates unique physical characteristics of the ticket buyer into the authentication terminal; and

a ninth step of performing authentication by comparing the first biological information added to the electronic ticket with the second biological information, and outputting a corresponding authentication result.

4. An electronic ticket issuing method as claimed in claim 3, which is performed in an electronic ticket issuing system comprising, in place of the mobile terminal, an information terminal which includes a storage removable from the information terminal for storing the electronic ticket and which is connected to a biological information generating section for generating the first biological information, wherein:

in the first step, the first biological information is generated in the biological information generating section connected to the information terminal, and transmitted to the authentication department at the time of ticket purchase; and

in the fourth step, the electronic certificate including the first biological information transmitted from the information terminal is created on the basis of the request for issue of an electronic certificate transmitted from the ticket issuing center, and transmitted from the authentication department to the ticket issuing center.

5. An electronic ticket issuing system, comprising:

a mobile terminal including a storage for storing an electronic ticket;

a ticket issuing center;

an authentication department; and

an authentication terminal, wherein;

the mobile terminal, the ticket issuing center, the authentication department, and the authentication terminal are connected to each other via a network, and the authentication terminal is connected to the mobile terminal to perform authentication between a ticket buyer and an electronic ticket;

said authentication department storing first biological information which indicates unique physical characteristics of the ticket buyer, said first biological information registered in advance in the authentication department in association with the identity of the mobile terminal;

wherein, upon transmission by the mobile terminal of a request for ticket purchase to the ticket issuing center, the ticket issuing center transmits a request for the first biological information registered in association with the identified mobile terminal to the authentication department, and the authentication department retrieves the stored first biological information associated with the identified mobile terminal and forwards the retrieved biological information to the ticket issuing center,

the ticket issuing center creates an electronic ticket which includes the first biological information added thereto and transmits the electronic ticket with the added biological information to the mobile terminal;

the mobile terminal stores the electronic ticket and the biological information transmitted from the ticket issuing center in the storage; and

wherein;

at the time of authentication;

(1) the mobile terminal transmits the electronic ticket including the first biological information stored in the storage to the authentication terminal;

(2) second biological information which indicates at least one unique physical characteristic of the ticket buyer is input into the authentication terminal; and

(3) the authentication terminal performs authentication by comparing the first biological information, which is added to the electronic ticket and received from the mobile terminal storage, with the second biological information, and outputs a corresponding authentication result.

6. An electronic ticket issuing method performed in an electronic ticket issuing system which comprises a mobile terminal including a storage for storing an electronic ticket, a ticket issuing center, an authentication department, and an authentication terminal, wherein the mobile terminal, the ticket issuing center, the authentication department, and the authentication terminal are connected to each other via a network, and wherein the authentication terminal is connected to the mobile terminal to perform authentication between a ticket buyer and an electronic ticket, comprising the steps of:

registering in the authentication department first biological information which indicates unique physical characteristics of a ticket buyer in association with an identity of the mobile terminal used by the ticket buyer;

transmitting a request for ticket purchase from the mobile terminal to the ticket issuing center;

transmitting a request from the ticket issuing center to the authentication department for the first biological information associated with the identified mobile terminal;

transmitting from the authentication department to the ticket issuing center the first biological information stored in association with the identified mobile terminal;

creating an electronic ticket to which the first biological information is added, and transmitting the electronic ticket from the ticket issuing center to the mobile terminal;

storing the electronic ticket and the first biological information transmitted from the ticket issuing center in the storage of the mobile terminal;

transmitting, at the time of authentication, the electronic ticket and the first biological information stored in the storage from the mobile terminal to the authentication terminal;

inputting second biological information which indicates at least one unique physical characteristic of the ticket buyer into the authentication terminal; and

performing authentication by comparing the first biological information added to the electronic ticket with the second biological information, and outputting a corresponding authentication result.