Methods of offline fare collection for open-loop and hybrid card systems

• US 8,954,344 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2011
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Evgeny Lishak
• Original Assignee: Evgeny Lishak
• Inventors: Lishak, Evgeny
• Primary Examiner(s): EPSTEIN, BRIAN M
• Application Number:
  US13/757,324
• Publication Number:
  US 20130173357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,175 Days
• Field of Search: 705/13, 705/41, 705/38, 235/380, 235/384, 235/382
• US Class Current: 705/13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/349 Rechargeable cards
• 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 9/21 having a variable access code

Abstract

Interconnected methods of card-based fare collection at computer-based service access validation terminals are disclosed. The first method is characterized by periodically propagating to the validation terminals card transaction data originated at other validation terminals. This method is most pertinent to the public transit fare systems utilizing open-loop payment cards and vehicle-installed terminals. The second method is characterized by actualizing the validation terminals'"'"' data by way of data broadcasting or multicasting. This method makes the first method practical and improves performance of open-loop and closed-loop card systems implementing offline validations.

Claims

1. A system for mass transportation fare collection comprising:

a first fare validation terminal;

said first fare validation terminal being movable or fixed;

said first fare validation terminal configured to process a plurality of fare transactions by receiving, by a first payment instrument scanner for each fare transaction, the first payment instrument scanner including at least one of a magnetic stripe reader, a near-field communication (NFC) reader, an integrated circuit chip reader, a radio-frequency reader, a infra-red reader, a Bluetooth reader, and a barcode reader, a payment instrument unique identifier associated with a payment instrument and generating a validation data component associated with said payment instrument unique identifier;

said validation data component including at least one of a registration time, a station or stop code, a vehicle-identifier, a route-identifier, a fare amount, and a transfer indicator;

said first fare validation terminal configured to assemble said validation data component and said payment instrument unique identifier into fare data;

a central host aggregating computer system configured to receive said fare data from said first fare validation terminal and to aggregate a plurality of validation data components including said validation data component into validation support data;

said central host aggregating computer system further configured to compute a plurality of registration data components including a registration data component into said validation support data, wherein said registration data component includes a prepaid balance and said payment instrument unique identifier;

a data propagation system wirelessly interconnecting said central host aggregating computer system and a moveable fare validation terminal with an infrastructure configured to deliver data, wherein the data propagation system is configured to broadcast or multicast to said moveable fare validation terminal said movable fare validation terminal configured to store at least a portion of said validation support data in a memory;

said data propagation system configured to send said portion of said validation support data including said registration data component to said movable fare validation terminal before said payment instrument reaches said movable fare validation terminal; and

said moveable fare validation terminal configured to receive said portion of said validation support data from said central host aggregating computer system by said data propagation system and to utilize said portion of validation support data for processing an additional fare transaction received by a second payment instrument scanner associated with said payment instrument unique identifier at said movable fare validation terminal;

said processing of said additional fare transaction including determining validity of a trip associated with said movable fare validation terminal based on said portion of validation support data and at least one of;

applying discounts;

calculating an exact fare;

calculating said prepaid balance associated with said payment instrument unique identifier;

calculating discount parameters associated with said payment instrument unique identifier; and

determining a validity of said trip associated with said movable fare validation terminal based on an up-to-date value of said prepaid balance.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data propagation system is configured to broadcast or multicast at least one of the following:

a list of registered payment instruments, a list of valid payment instruments, a list of invalid payment instruments, an instrument characteristic of the payment instrument, a holder characteristic of a payment instrument holder, a fare rate, a discount rate, a route schedule, a route description, a mass transportation characteristics of the system, a fare collection characteristics of the system, and fare validation terminal software application code.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising payment infrastructure for issuing or utilizing said payment instrument identifier, said payment instrument configured for executing payment transactions or transferring funds.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said payment instrument comprises any one of:

credit card, debit card, prepaid card, payment card, gift card, pre-loaded card, loyalty card, electronic purse, or electronic wallet.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said payment instrument comprises any one of:

a smartcard, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, an integrated circuit chip, a magnetic stripe card, a transponder, a contactless card, an electronic pass, an electronic identity document, a barcode tag, a computer scannable graphic image, a computer scannable data storage device, a computer device configured to communicate with fare validation terminals.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said fare data comprises at least one of:

a trip start point, a trip end point, a transfer point, a fare transaction type, a fare transaction date, a fare transaction time, an identifier of a particular fare validation terminal, a transit route number, a transit vehicle number, funds allocated to be spent by a payment instrument associated with said payment instrument identifier, a fare amount, a discount parameter, a fine parameter, a fee parameter, and a loyalty parameter.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least two subsets of said validation support data are propagated to subgroups of a plurality of additional fare validation terminals in order of priority.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the order of priority is determined by at least one of:

payment instrument usage prediction within a given time interval, payment instrument usage prediction within a given subgroup of said plurality of additional fare validation terminals, payment instrument type, data stored on a payment instrument, the geographical location of each additional fare validation terminal of the given subgroup, and the probability of each fare validation terminal of the given subgroup being connected to said data propagation system at a given time.

9. A computer implemented method for collecting fares for a mass transportation fare collection system comprising:

processing a plurality of fare transactions, at a first fare validation terminal, said first fare validation terminal being movable or fixed, by receiving, by a first payment instrument scanner for each fare transaction, a payment instrument unique identifier associated with a payment instrument and generating a validation data component associated with said payment instrument unique identifier;

said validation data component including at least one of a registration time, a station or stop code, a vehicle-identifier, a route-identifier, a fare amount, and a transfer indicator;

assembling, at said first fare validation terminal, said validation data component and said payment instrument unique identifier into fare data;

receiving, at a central host aggregating computer system, said fare data from said first fare validation terminal;

aggregating, at said central host aggregating computer system, said validation data components including said validation data component into validation support data;

computing, at said central host aggregating computer system, a plurality of registration data components including a registration data component into said validation support data, wherein said registration data component includes a prepaid balance and said payment instrument unique identifier;

sending a portion of validation support data including said registration data component by a data propagation system that broadcasts or multicasts said portion to a moveable fare validation terminal from said central host aggregating computer system, wherein the data propagation system wirelessly interconnects the central host aggregating computer system and the moveable fare validation terminal with an infrastructure configured to deliver data;

receiving said portion of validation support data at said moveable fare validation terminal from said central host aggregating computer system before said payment instrument reaches said movable fare validation terminal;

storing said portion of validation support data at said movable fare validation terminal; and

utilizing said portion of validation support data for processing an additional fare transaction received by a second payment instrument scanner at said moveable fare validation terminal;

said processing of said additional fare transaction including determining validity of a trip associated with said movable fare validation terminal based on said portion of validation support data and at least one of;

applying discounts;

calculating an exact fare;

calculating said prepaid balance associated with said payment instrument unique identifier;

calculating discount parameters associated with said payment instrument unique identifier; and

determining a validity of said trip associated with said movable fare validation terminal based on an up-to-date value of said prepaid balance.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 9, further comprising broadcasting or multicasting to said moveable fare validation terminal at least one of the following:

a list of registered payment instruments, a list of valid payment instruments, a list of invalid payment instruments, an instrument characteristic of the payment instrument, a holder characteristic of a payment instrument holder, a fare rate, a discount rate, a route schedule, a route description, a mass transportation characteristics of the system, a fare collection characteristics of the system, and fare validation terminal software application code.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein said payment instrument is configured for executing payment transactions or transferring funds.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 11, wherein said payment instrument comprises any one of:

a credit card, a debit card, prepaid card, a payment card, gift card, a pre-loaded card, a loyalty card, an electronic purse, or an electronic wallet.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 9 wherein at least two subsets of said validation support data are sent to at least two subgroups of a plurality of additional fare validation terminals in order of priority.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 13 wherein the order of priority is determined by at least one of:

payment instrument usage prediction within a given time interval, payment instrument usage prediction within a given subgroup of said plurality of additional fare validation terminals, payment instrument type, data stored on a payment instrument, the geographical location of each additional fare validation terminal of the given subgroup, and the probability of each additional fare validation terminal of the given subgroup being able to receive said validation support data at a given time.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein said fare transaction comprises at least one of the following:

a fare payment, a validation of access to service, fare collection, registering start of service, registering end of service, registering changing routes, and fare-enforcement inspection.