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

• US 8,892,453 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2003
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• 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: Nakamura, Masakazu, Tamai, Hironobu, Hori, Miyuki, Murakami, Seiki
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen, Akiba
• Application Number:
  US10/700,014
• Publication Number:
  US 20040093309A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,033 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/5, 705/6, 705/26, 705/7.11, 705/7.13, 705/26.1, 235/381
• US Class Current: 705/5
• 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 method comprising:

(a) providing;

(i) an event organizer apparatus;

(ii) an electronic ticket platform center which is separate from the event organizer apparatus; and

(iii) an electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus;

(b) causing the event organizer apparatus to form event information unique to an event;

(c) causing the event organizer apparatus to form seller information authorizing the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus to sell electronic tickets to the event;

(d) causing the event organizer apparatus to register the event information and the seller information in the electronic ticket platform center;

(e) causing the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus to receive a request to distribute electronic ticket information concerning a plurality of electronic tickets for the event from a first user of a first information storage chip, which is mounted on a first portable device;

(f) causing the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus to determine whether the electronic ticket information is to be distributed to the first user by performing distribution authentication processing;

(g) causing the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus to register an authentication result in the electronic ticket platform center as ticket issuing information;

(h) causing the electronic ticket platform center to form an electronic ticket information master based on the event information registered by the event organizer apparatus;

(i) causing the electronic ticket platform center to relate the ticket issuing information registered by the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus to the electronic ticket information master; and

(j) causing the electronic ticket platform center to write the electronic ticket information concerning a plurality of electronic tickets for attending the event into the first information storage chip based on the ticket issuing information by performing ticket issuing processing; and

(k) causing the electronic ticket platform center to;

(i) receive identification information of a second information storage chip, which is designated at the first information storage chip as specified by the first user of the first information storage chip, and receive a password, which is designated at the first information storage chip as specified by the first user of the first information storage chip to be entered by a second user of the second information storage chip, for writing at least one of the plurality of electronic tickets from the first information storage chip mounted on the first portable device into the second information storage chip which is separate from the first information storage chip and mounted on a second portable device which is different from the first portable device;

(ii) assign the at least one of the plurality of electronic tickets from the first information storage chip to at least the second information storage chip;

(iii) delete or nullify the at least one of the plurality of electronic tickets from the first information storage chip in response to said at least one of the plurality of electronic tickets being assigned from the first information storage chip to the second information storage chip; and

(iv) write the at least one of the plurality of electronic tickets to the second information storage chip after the user of the second information storage chip enters the password specified by the user of the first information storage chip and after the electronic ticket platform center authenticates the user of the second information storage chip using the password and the identification information specified by the user of the first information storage chip,

wherein the first information storage chip is mounted on the first portable device that performs non-contact communication, and the second information storage chip is mounted on the second portable device that performs non-contact communication.

2. The electronic ticket management method of claim 1, wherein the seller information:

(a) authorizes a plurality of electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatuses; and

(b) includes the number of electronic tickets to be handled by each of the plurality of electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatuses.

3. The electronic ticket management method of claim 1, which includes distributing the first information storage chip as a membership card according to a membership registration via the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus.

4. The electronic ticket management method of claim 1, which includes providing a predetermined time period between the distribution authentication processing performed by the electronic ticket distribution authentication apparatus and the ticket issuing processing performed by the electronic ticket platform center.

5. The electronic ticket management method of claim 1, which includes:

(a) sending the request to distribute the electronic ticket information from the first user; and

(b) causing the electronic ticket platform center to perform the ticket issuing processing via a network.

6. The electronic ticket management method of claim 1, which includes:

(a) sending the request to distribute the electronic ticket information from the first user; and

(b) causing the electronic ticket platform center to perform the ticket issuing processing via an electronic ticket information distribution store terminal.

7. The electronic ticket management method of claim 1, which includes causing the electronic ticket platform center to require authentication processing when the electronic ticket information is written into the first information storage chip.

8. The electronic ticket management method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electronic tickets written to the first information storage chip correspond to a plurality of consecutive seats for the same event.

9. The electronic ticket management method of claim 1, further comprising:

before assigning the at least one of the plurality of electronic tickets from the first information storage chip to the second information storage chip, causing the electronic ticket platform center to;

(b) request the second user of the second information storage chip to input an authentication password for writing the at least one of the plurality of electronic tickets into the second information storage chip;

(c) receive the authentication password;

(d) authenticate the authentication password input by the second user of the second information storage chip with the password specified by the first user of the first information storage chip.

10. The electronic ticket management method of claim 1, further comprising:

before receiving the identification information of the second information storage chip specified by the first user of the first information storage chip, and before receiving the password, specified by the first user of the first information storage chip, for writing the at least one of the plurality of electronic tickets into the second information storage chip, causing the electronic ticket platform center to;

receive a login ID and a login password associated with first information storage chip, and

authenticate the login ID and the login password associated with the first information storage chip,

wherein the login ID is separate from the identification information of the second information storage chip specified by the first user of the first information storage chip, and the login password is separate from the password, specified by the first user of the first information storage chip, for writing the at least one of the plurality of electronic tickets into the second information storage chip.