Ticket booking and issuing system and method for the same

• US 7,363,241 B1
• Filed: 12/13/1999
• Issued: 04/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Dong, Wuping
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilligan; C. Luke
• Assistant Examiner(s): PASS, NATALIE
• Application Number:
  US09/458,820
• Time in Patent Office: 3,053 Days
• Field of Search: 701/201, 345/763, 705/5, 705/6, 705/8, 705/14, 705/26, 705/80, 713/202, 235/383, 235/472.02, 707/1, 707/3, 707/10, 709/224
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events

Abstract

A ticketing method that permits a plane ticket or the like to be easily obtained via an in-house system. A ticket booking service request is sent to a net server from a PC through a LAN. Then, an airline company selection screen is sent from the net server to the PC in response. When an airline company is selected from among the airlines displayed on the PC, a connection is established to a ticket reservation system of the selected airline company through the Internet. Data for the ticket booking is sent to the net server from the PC. The ticket booking data is sent to a ticket booking and issuing terminal from the net server, and then to the reservation system through a dedicated line. The booked ticket is issued from a ticket issuing printer on the basis of the ticket issuing data supplied from the reservation system.

Claims

1. A booking and issuing method of an intranet ticket booking and issuing system including a net server and an issuing terminal interconnected to said net server via a local area network, said issuing terminal being interconnected to external reservation systems which accept ticket booking requests via at least one communication line, and a personal computer being interconnected to said net server via said local area network and having an Internet connection function, comprising:

a booking step for making a booking from said personal computer to one of said external reservation systems, said booking step including;

addressing a user'"'"'s ticket booking commencement request to said net server from said personal computer;

sending home page addresses of said external reservation systems from said net server to said personal computer via said local area network in accordance with said ticket booking commencement request;

storing, in said personal computer, the home page addresses sent from said net server into a memory and displaying information corresponding to the home page addresses relating to said external reservation systems on a screen for selection by the user;

receiving, in said personal computer, a selection of one of said external reservation systems by the user and reading out the home page address of the selected external reservation system from said memory;

connecting said personal computer to a website of the selected external reservation system via the Internet and displaying a reservation screen of a web site provided by the selected external reservation system;

completing, without the aid of said net server, a booking through said website provided by the selected external reservation system, between said personal computer and the selected external reservation system, by transmitting and receiving information data including a booking number via the Internet; and

generating, in said personal computer, booking data of a predetermined format by compiling predetermined data included in the information data and sending the booking data of the predetermined format to said net server via said local network, the booking data of the predetermined format including the booking number; and

an issuance step for issuing a booked ticket by said issuing terminal, said issuance step including;

receiving, in said net server, the booking data of the predetermined format;

storing a received booking data in said net server, and sending said booking number included in the received booking data to said issuing terminal from said net server;

transmitting said booking number from said issuing terminal to the selected external reservation system via said at least one communication line, and

receiving, in said issuing terminal, ticket issuing data from the selected external reservation system to issue the ticket booked in the selected external reservation system.

3. A booking and issuing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

converting, in said net server, the booking data received from said personal computer into data of a predetermined hypertext language to generate data for fare adjustment; and

storing the data for fare adjustment in said net server.

5. A booking and issuing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

a step of receiving instructions for the predetermined data format,

wherein the generating step generates, in response to the instructions, booking data of a common data-format using data displayed on the reservation screen of the selected external reservation system and sends the booking data of the common data-format to said net server via said local area network, the common data-format being a data-format common to computers connected to said local area network.

2. A ticket booking and issuing system including a plurality of external reservation systems for accepting ticket booking requests via at least one communication line, a net server and an issuing terminal interconnected to said net server via a local area network, said issuing terminal being interconnected to said external reservation systems via said at least one communication line and a personal computer interconnected to said net server via said local area network and having an Internet connection function, comprising:

addressing means for addressing a user'"'"'s ticket booking commencement request to said net server from said personal computer;

sending means for sending home page addresses of said reservation systems from said net server to said personal computer via said local network in accordance with said ticket booking commencement request;

storing means for storing, in said personal computer, the home page addresses sent from said net server;

display means for displaying information corresponding to the home page addresses on a screen for selection by the user;

receiving means for receiving, in said personal computer, a selection of one of the external reservation systems by the user and for reading out of said from said storage means the home page address of the selected external reservation system;

transmitting and receiving means for connecting said personal computer to a website provided by the selected external reservation system and displaying a reservation screen thereof on said display means, and for transmitting and receiving information data including a booking number via the Internet between said personal computer and the selected external reservation system to complete, without the aid of said net server, a booking through said website provided by the selected external reservation system between said personal computer and the selected external reservation system;

generating means for generating, in said personal computer, booking data of a predetermined format by compiling predetermined data within the information data transmitted and received in said transmitting and receiving means into a predetermined form and sending the booking data of the predetermined format to said net server via said local area network, the booking data of the predetermined format including the booking number;

means, provided in said net server, for storing a received booking data and for sending said booking number included in the received booking data to said issuing terminal;

means for transmitting, upon receiving said booking number included in the booking data from said net server to the selected external reservation system via said at least one communication line; and

means, provided in said issuing terminal, for receiving ticket issuing data from the selected external reservation and for issuing the ticket booked in said the selected external reservation system.

4. A booking and issuing system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a converter provided in said net server for converting the booking data received from said personal computer into data of a predetermined hypertext language to generate data for fare adjustment; and

a memory provided in said net server for storing the data for fare adjustment.

6. A booking and issuing system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a step of receiving instructions for the predetermined data format,

wherein the generating means generates, in response to the instructions, booking data of a common data-format using data displayed on the reservation screen of the selected external reservation system and sends the booking data of the common data-format to said net server via said local area network, the common data-format being a data-format common to computers connected to said local area network.