Apparatus, system and method for electronic ticket management and electronic ticket distribution authentication

• US 7,555,361 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2001
• Issued: 06/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tamai, Hironobu, Murakami, Seiki, Hori, Miyuki, Nakamura, Masakazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Mackey; Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Butler; Michael E.
• Application Number:
  US10/032,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20020116343A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,748 Days
• Field of Search: 700/237, 700/235
• US Class Current: 700/237
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• 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

Abstract

An electronic ticket management system includes an event organizer for planning an event, an electronic ticket seller for distributing electronic ticket information which authenticates the right to attend the event, an information storage chip for storing the electronic ticket information, and an electronic ticket platform center for managing the distribution of the electronic ticket information. The electronic ticket platform center forms an electronic ticket information master based on event information registered by the event organizer, and relates ticket issuing information registered by the electronic ticket seller to the electronic ticket information master. The electronic ticket platform center also issues the tickets by writing the electronic ticket information into the corresponding information storage chip based on ticket issuing information. A determination as to whether the user is permitted to enter the event venue is made according to the integrity of the event information stored in the information storage chip.

Claims

1. An electronic ticket management system comprising:

an event organizer apparatus for generating event information;

an electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus for distributing electronic ticket information via Internet that authenticates a right to attend the event, said electronic information further including a plurality of attendee information;

an information storage chip for storing the electronic ticket information, wherein the information storage chip is mounted on a cellular telephone;

an outputting apparatus for outputting an event seating information sheet;

an electronic ticket platform center for managing the distribution of the electronic ticket information,

wherein the event organizer apparatus configured to registers the generated event information in the electronic ticket platform center, the generated event information including an event location and wherein the event location includes plurality of configurations of seats in the event location;

said electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus configured to authenticates whether the electronic ticket information is to be distributed to the information storage chip by receiving a request for distribution of the electronic ticket information from the cellular telephone, and registers an authentication result in the electronic ticket platform center as ticket issuing information;

said electronic ticket platform center generates an electronic ticket information master based on the event information registered by the event organizer apparatus configured to, and performs ticket issuing processing for writing the electronic ticket information into the information storage chip based on the ticket issuing information, said ticket issuing information being registered in the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus configured to based on the generated ticket information master, wherein the electronic ticket information written to the information storage chip is for a plurality of tickets for attending a specific event; and

said electronic ticket platform center receives a request from the cellular telephone to assign at least a portion of the electronic ticket information to a second information storage chip.

2. An event organizer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the event information further includes a seat master concerning seat information.

3. An electronic ticket management system according to claim 1, wherein the cellular telephone receives an e-mail from the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus, said e-mail contains an address of a download site;

the cellular telephone accesses the download site; and

the cellular telephone downloads the electronic ticket information.

4. An electronic ticket management system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic ticket platform center receives identification information of the second information storage chip from the cellular telephone, reads the at least a portion of the electronic ticket information from the information storage chip, deletes said electronic ticket information from the information storage chip, stores said electronic ticket information and said identification information of the second information storage chip, and distributes said electronic ticket information to the second information storage chip.

5. A method for electronic ticket distribution authentication comprising:

generating event information at an event organizer apparatus, the generated event information including an event location and wherein the event location includes a plurality of configurations of seats in the event location;

registering generated event information in an electronic ticket platform center;

receiving a request, at an electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus, to distribute electronic ticket information via Internet concerning events from a cellular telephone, said cellular telephone including an information storage chip mounted thereon, said electronic ticket information further including a plurality of attendee information;

outputting an event seating information sheet;

performing distribution authentication processing for determining whether the registered electronic ticket information is to be distributed to the requesting cellular telephone;

registering an authentication result in the electronic ticket platform center for managing the distribution of the electronic ticket information as ticket issuing information;

generating an electronic ticket information master and performing ticket issuing processing for writing electronic ticket information into the information storage chip based on the ticket issuing information, said ticket issuing information being registered in the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus based on the generated ticket information master, wherein the electronic ticket information written to the information storage chip is for a plurality of tickets for attending a specific event; and

receiving a request from the cellular telephone to assign at least a portion of the electronic ticket information to a second information storage chip.

6. A method for electronic ticket distribution authentication according to claim 5, wherein an event organizer apparatus for planning an event manages an allocation ratio of the electronic ticket information.

7. A method for electronic ticket distribution authentication according to claim 5, wherein the request to distribute the electronic ticket information from the cellular telephone is sent via a network.

8. A method for electronic ticket distribution authentication according to claim 5, wherein an electronic ticket information distribution store terminal is provided, and the request to distribute the electronic ticket information from the cellular telephone is sent via the electronic ticket information distribution store terminal.

9. A method for electronic ticket distribution authentication according to claim 5, wherein the electronic ticket information includes user information concerning a user of the information storage chip.

10. An event organizer apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the event information further includes a seat master concerning seat information.

11. A method for electronic ticket distribution authentication according to claim 5, wherein the cellular telephone receives an e-mail from the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus, said e-mail contains an address of a download site;

the cellular telephone accesses the download site; and

the cellular telephone downloads the electronic ticket information.

12. A method for electronic ticket distribution authentication according to claim 5, which includes receiving identification information of the second information storage chip from the cellular telephone, reading the at least a portion of the electronic ticket information from the information storage chip, deleting said electronic ticket information from the information storage chip, storing said electronic ticket information and said identification information of the second information storage chip in said electronic ticket platform center, and distributing said electronic ticket information to the second information storage chip.

13. An electronic ticket management system using an information storage chip for storing electronic ticket information which authenticates a right to attend a specific event, the electronic ticket management system comprising:

an electronic ticket information forming unit for forming event information unique to each event, the generated event information including an event location and wherein the event location includes a plurality of configurations of seats in the event location, and for generating electronic ticket information in correspondence with event information, said electronic ticket information forming unit further generating an electronic ticket information master based on the event information;

an information sheet writer for writing an event seating information sheet;

an electronic ticket information writer for writing the electronic ticket information into the information storage chip mounted on a cellular phone via Internet, said electronic ticket information further including a plurality of attendee information;

an electronic ticket information reader installed at an event venue corresponding to the event information, wherein said ticket information reader performs distribution authentication processing for determining whether the electronic ticket information is to be distributed to the information storage chip based on the generated electronic ticket information master, and registers an authentication result in the electronic ticket information writer as ticket issuing information, wherein the electronic ticket information written to the information storage chip is for a plurality of tickets for attending a specific event, and

an electronic ticket assignment terminal for assigning electronic ticket information to a second information storage chip, wherein said electronic ticket information assignment terminal receives a request from the cellular telephone to assign at least a portion of the electronic ticket information to the second information storage chip.

14. An event organizer apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the event information further includes a seat master concerning seat information.

15. An electronic ticket management system according to claim 13, wherein the cellular telephone receives an e-mail from the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus, said e-mail contains an address of a download site;

the cellular telephone accesses the download site; and

the cellular telephone downloads the electronic ticket information.

16. An electronic ticket management system according to claim 13, wherein the electronic ticket assignment terminal receives identification information of the second information storage chip from the cellular telephone, reads the at least a portion of the electronic ticket information from the information storage chip, deletes said electronic ticket information from the information storage chip, stores said electronic ticket information and said identification information of the second information storage chip, and distributes said electronic ticket information to the second information storage chip.