FR3060175A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A RESPONSE TO A QUESTION PASSED THROUGH A VOTING TERMINAL - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a system for managing a response to a question posed via a voting terminal, the question being on a support placed on the voting terminal and visible to the voter. The present invention: reads (E501) an identifier associated with the question and included in the medium, - captures (E502) a response to the question and memorizes the answer in association with the identifier associated with the question, - transfers ( E503) a message to a server, the message comprising information representative of at least one response and the identifier associated with the question, - associates (E505) with the question asked, the information representative of the response to from the identifier associated with the question, - transfers (E506) a message comprising the information representative of the at least one answer and the question asked to a remote device.

Description

® FRENCH REPUBLIC

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY © Publication number: 3,060,175 (to be used only for reproduction orders)

©) National registration number: 16 62295

COURBEVOIE

©) Int Cl ⁸ : G 06 Q 50/10 (2017.01), G 06 Q 30/02

A1 PATENT APPLICATION

(22) Date of filing: 12.12.16. ©) Applicant (s): QOWISIO Société par actions simpli- © Priority : trusted - FR. © Date of availability of the request: 15.06.18 Bulletin 18/24. ©) Inventor (s): REYNAUD JEAN-SAMUEL and LEFLOCH CYRILLE. (56) List of documents cited in the preliminary search report: See the end of this brochure © References to other related national documents: ©) Holder (s): QOWISIO Simplified joint-stock company. o Extension request (s): ©) Agent (s): LE GUEN & ASSOCIES Professional civil society.

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A RESPONSE TO A QUESTION POSED THROUGH A VOTING TERMINAL.

FR 3 060 175 - A1

The invention relates to a method and a system for managing a response to a question asked via a voting terminal, the question being on a support placed on the voting terminal and visible to the voter. The present invention:

- reads (E501) an identifier associated with the question and included in the support,

- capture (E502) a response to the question and storage of the response in association with the identifier associated with the question,

- transfers (E503) a message to a server, the message comprising information representative of at least one response and the identifier associated with the question,

- associates (E505) with the question asked, the information representative of the response from the identifier associated with the question,

- transfers (E506) a message comprising the information representative of the at least one response and of the question asked to a remote device.

The present invention relates to a method and a system for managing a response to a question asked via a voting terminal.

A voting machine allows you to obtain a rate of satisfaction with a service offered in places welcoming the public or people.

A voting terminal, also called an interaction terminal with users, is conventionally placed in a public place and offers people who have benefited from a service or a service to give their opinion on a question asked through the voting machine.

Some voting terminals have a screen that allows you to view the question asked, others have a removable paper-type physical medium to present the question asked.

When the questions asked are on a removable medium, it is difficult to guarantee that an answer corresponds unequivocally to a question.

Indeed, it may be that when replacing the removable medium, the response counting system is not updated and continues counting responses considering that they correspond to a question previously asked and which is not of actuality.

The object of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing a method and a system for managing an answer to a question posed via a voting terminal in which the question can be viewed by a voting on a removable support placed on the voting terminal which guarantees that each response captured by the voting terminal corresponds to the question asked on the removable support.

To this end, according to a first aspect, the invention proposes a system for managing a response to a question asked via a voting terminal, the question being on a removable support placed on the voting terminal and visible to the voter, characterized in that the system includes:

- means of reading, included in the voting terminal, an identifier associated with the question and included in the removable medium,

- means for capturing, included in the voting terminal, an answer to the question and memorizing information representative of the answer in association with the identifier associated with the question,

means of transfer, included in the voting terminal, of a message intended for a server, the message comprising at least one item of information representative of at least one response and the identifier associated with the question,

- means of reception, included in the server, of the message comprising the at least one item of information representative of the at least one response and the identifier associated with the question,

- means of association, included in the server, of the question asked to the at least one item of information representative of the at least one answer from the identifier associated with the question,

- means of transfer, included in the server, of a message comprising the information representative of the at least one response and the question posed to a remote device.

The present invention also relates to a method for managing a response to a question asked via a voting terminal, the question being on a removable support placed on the voting terminal and visible to the voter, characterized in that that the process includes the steps of:

- reading by the voting terminal, of an identifier associated with the question and included in the support,

- capture by the voting terminal, of an answer to the question and memorization of information representative of the answer in association with the identifier associated with the question,

- transfer, by the voting machine, of a message to a server, the message comprising at least one item of information representative of at least one response and the identifier associated with the question,

- reception by the server of the message comprising the at least one piece of information representative of the at least one response and the identifier associated with the question,

- association, by the server, of the question asked with the at least one piece of information representative of the at least one answer from the identifier associated with the question,

- transfer, by the server, of a message comprising the at least one piece of information representative of the at least one answer and the question asked to a remote device.

Thus, the present invention guarantees that each response captured by the voting terminal corresponds to the question asked on the removable support.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the identifier is stored in an electronic chip.

Thus, it is possible to guarantee that each response captured by the voting machine corresponds to the question asked on the removable medium.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the message comprising the at least one item of information representative of the at least one response and the identifier associated with the question is transferred via a wide area network with long range.

Thus, the present invention takes advantage of the low cost of subscribing or using long-distance wide area networks.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the message comprising the at least one piece of information representative of the at least one answer and of the question posed to a remote device is transferred by a communication network different from the wide area network with long range.

As a result, the server can communicate with remote devices that are unable to communicate over a wide area wide area network.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the means for capturing the or each response to the question consist of two keys, a first key for a positive response to the question and a second key for a negative response to the question.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the voting terminal comprises means suitable for replacing the removable support with another removable support comprising another question and the other removable support comprises another identifier.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the system includes means of association, included in the server, of the question asked with the identifier associated with the question.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the at least one item of information representative of at least one response describes all of the responses to the question asked since the first placement of the removable medium comprising the question asked.

Thus, the present invention guarantees that if a message is lost, the at least one piece of information included in the message will not be lost.

The invention also relates to computer programs stored on an information medium, said programs comprising instructions making it possible to implement the methods described above, when they are loaded and executed by a computer system.

The characteristics of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, said description being made in relation to the accompanying drawings, among which:

Fig. 1 represents a system for managing a response to a question asked via a voting terminal according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a voting terminal according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 shows an example of architecture of an electronic module of a voting terminal according to the present invention;

Fig. 4 shows an example of the architecture of a server according to the present invention;

Fig. 5 shows an example of an algorithm executed according to the present invention.

Fig. 1 shows a system for managing a response to a question asked via a voting terminal according to the present invention.

The system for managing a response to a question asked via a voting terminal 20a or 20b comprises a server 10 and a device for viewing the result of the votes in response to a question.

The voting terminals 20a and 20b are linked to the server 10 via a wide area network with long range.

WAN is a technology that allows connected objects to exchange small data at low speed, for example 16 bytes. This technology uses both the 868 MHz free radio frequency and the Internet. Low in flow and energy, it has the advantage of being very economical for the end user and has, in addition, an excellent penetration capacity of buildings, cellars and basements.

The wide area network with long range is for example a network as proposed by the company Qowisio. It integrates the Internet of Things domain (batch or IoT) through the Machine to Machine communication field, in English Machine to Machine (M2M).

The server 100 is for example connected to a result viewing device for example by means of a conventional Internet type network.

Fig. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a voting terminal according to the present invention.

The voting terminal 20 comprises a removable support SA on which a question asked is printed and which comprises an electronic chip ID comprising a unique identifier associated with the question asked.

The voting terminal 20 includes an electronic module 25 which is capable of obtaining from the electronic chip ID the unique identifier associated with the question asked and which is capable of capturing each response to the question asked.

The means for capturing the or each response to the question asked consist of two keys Bl and B2, a first key Bl for a positive response to the question and a second key B2 for a negative response to the question. Of course the present invention is applicable for a larger number of keys.

Users of the metering terminal receive a removable SA support for each question they wish to ask and can freely change the removable support by placing it in or on the voting terminal 20.

Fig. 3 shows an example of architecture of an electronic module of a voting terminal according to the present invention.

The electronic module 20 includes:

- a processor, microprocessor, or microcontroller 300;

- a volatile memory 303;

- a non-volatile memory 302;

- a network interface 305;

a connection interface 306 with the electronic chip of the support SA;

- a vote capture interface 307 connected to the buttons B1 and B2;

a communication bus connecting the processor 300 to the ROM memory 303, to the RAM memory 303, to the connection interface 306 and the vote capture interface 307.

The processor 300 is capable of executing instructions loaded into the volatile memory 303 from the non-volatile memory 302, from an external memory (not shown), from a storage medium such as an SD card or the like, or a communication network. When the voting terminal 20 is powered up, the processor 300 is able to read instructions from the volatile memory 303 and execute them. These instructions form a computer program which causes the processor 300 to implement part of the method described in relation to FIG. 5.

All or part of the process described in relation to FIG. 5 can be implemented in software form by execution of a set of instructions by a programmable machine such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor in English or Digital Signal Processing Unit in French) or a microcontroller or be implemented in hardware form by a machine or a dedicated component, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gâte Array in English or Field Programmable Door Matrix in French) or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit in English or Integrated Circuit Specific to an Application in French).

Fa Fig. 4 shows an example of the architecture of a server according to the present invention.

Fe server 10 includes:

- a processor, microprocessor, or microcontroller 400;

- a volatile memory 403;

- a non-volatile memory 402;

- an interface with a first network 405 as proposed by the company Qowisio;

- an interface with a second network 406 such as an Internet network;

a communication bus connecting the processor 400 to the ROM memory 403, to the RAM memory 403, to the network interfaces 405 and 406.

Fe processor 400 is capable of executing instructions loaded in volatile memory 303 from non-volatile memory 402, from external memory (not shown), from a storage medium, such as an SD card or the like , or a communication network. When the server 10 is powered up, the processor 400 is capable of reading instructions from the volatile memory 403 and executing them. These instructions form a computer program which causes the processor 400 to implement part of the method described in relation to FIG. 5.

All or part of the process described in relation to FIG. 5 can be implemented in software form by execution of a set of instructions by a programmable machine such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor in English or Digital Signal Processing Unit in French) or a microcontroller or be implemented in hardware form by a machine or a dedicated component, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gâte Array in English or Field Programmable Door Matrix in French) or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit in English or Integrated Circuit Specific to an Application in French).

Fa Fig. 5 shows an example of an algorithm executed according to the present invention.

In step E500, the question asked and printed on the SA medium is associated with the identifier included in the SA medium. Association is carried out during the production of the support SA and is memorized by the processor 400 in the server 10.

In step E501, the processor 300 of the electronic module 25 reads the unique identifier of the support SA. The reading of the unique identifier is for example carried out when positioning the SA support on the voting terminal.

In step E502, the processor 300 of the electronic module 25 captures a response to the question asked and stores information representative of the response in association with the identifier associated with the question. It should be noted here that the reading of the unique identifier can be carried out each time a response to the question is captured.

In step E502, the processor 300 of the electronic module 25 controls the transfer of a message to the server, the message comprising at least one item of information representative of at least one response and the identifier associated with the question asked.

Fe transfer is, for example, daily or weekly, or at each change of removable media and includes the number of positive votes, the number of negative votes captured since the first placement of the removable media.

In step E504, the processor 400 of the server 10 receives the message comprising the at least one item of information representative of the response and the identifier associated with the question.

In step E505, the processor 400 of the server 10 associates each question asked with the at least one item of information representative of the at least one answer from the identifier included in the message.

In step E505, the processor 400 controls the transfer of a message comprising the at least one piece of information representative of the at least one answer and of the question posed to the remote device 30 which is for example a smart phone, a computer or a touch pad.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described here, but encompasses, quite the contrary, any variant within the reach of ordinary skill in the art.

Claims (9)

1) Method for managing an answer to a question posed via a voting terminal, the question being on a removable support placed on the voting terminal and visible to a voter, characterized in that the method comprises the stages of: - reading (E501) by the voting terminal, of an identifier associated with the question and included in the removable medium, - capture (E502) by the voting terminal, of an answer to the question and memorization of information representative of the answer in association with the identifier associated with the question, - transfer (E503), by the voting terminal, of a message to a server, the message comprising at least one item of information representative of at least one response and the identifier associated with the question, - reception (E504), by the server, of the message comprising the at least one item of information representative of the at least one response and the identifier associated with the question, - association (E505), by the server, of the question asked to the at least one item of information representative of the at least one answer from the identifier associated with the question, - transfer (E506), by the server, of a message comprising the at least one piece of information representative of the at least one answer and the question asked to a remote device. 2) System for managing a response to a question posed via a voting terminal, the question being on a removable support placed on the voting terminal and visible to a voter, characterized in that the system comprises : - means of reading, included in the voting terminal, an identifier associated with the question and included in the removable medium, - means for capturing, included in the voting terminal, an answer to the question and memorizing information representative of the answer in association with the identifier associated with the question, means of transfer, included in the voting terminal, of a message intended for a server, the message comprising at least one item of information representative of at least one response and the identifier associated with the question, - means of reception, included in the server, of the message comprising the at least one item of information representative of the at least one response and the identifier associated with the question, - means of association, included in the server, of the question asked to the at least one item of information representative of the at least one answer from the identifier associated with the question, - means of transfer, included in the server, of a message comprising the at least one item of information representative of the at least one response and the question posed to a remote device. 3) System according to claim 2, characterized in that the identifier is stored in an electronic chip. 4) System according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the message comprising the at least one piece of information representative of the at least one answer and the identifier associated with the question is transferred via a long-distance extended network scope. 5) System according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the message comprising the at least one piece of information representative of the at least one response and the question posed to a remote device is transferred by a communication network different from the extended long range network. 6) System according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the means for capturing the or each answer to the question consist of two keys, a first key for a positive answer to the question and a second key for a negative answer to the question. 7) System according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the voting terminal comprises means suitable for replacing the support viewing the question with another removable support and in that the other removable support includes a other identifier. 8) System according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the system comprises means of association, included in the server, of the question asked with the identifier associated with the question. 5 9) System according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the at least one item of information representative of at least one response describes all of the responses to the question asked since the first placement of the removable support comprising the question asked. 3060 1/3 Server L Voting result visualization / 20a L Polling station Polling station 3060 2/3