GB1437883A - Ticketing system - Google Patents

Abstract

1437883 Ticketing system INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP 17 April 1974 16749/74 Heading G4H A ticketing system comprises means for building up sets of data and means for printing a built-up set of data in the form of a ticket. As described, a railway ticketing system comprises a central processing unit 1, local contollers 5 (each with a store 8) and booking office units 9 &c. containing data entry and display units 11 and a printer 12. Unit 1 has a disc store 2 containing data "pages", including combinations of pairs of station names, routes, valid dates and fare tables, and a data input terminal 3 for updating store 2. Each controller contains a subset of the stored data, viz. that which will be most used by the attached units 9. The pages are arranged in a tree structure, selection of items in a page causing the selection of new pages in the next level of the tree; a displayed page at a unit 9 may be derived directly from the unit's controller, or it may be requested from unit 1. Entry and display unit 11 contains keys arranged next to words to be displayed, as in Fig. 6 which shows the first displayed page. When a ticket (e.g. 2nd class return to Weymouth) is requested (e.g. at Winchester), the booking office clerk operates the TICKET and FROM HERE keys. The next page displays the ticket format at the top (blank in Fig. 6) with FROM WINCHESTER, and TO A, TO B, . . . below (Fig. 7, not shown). The clerk then presses the key by TO W, whereupon all stations beginning with W are displayed below the ticket format (Fig. 8, not shown). The TO WEYMOUTH key is then pressed and the Fig. 6 display returns, when the 2 CL RETURN key is pressed. The ticket format section finally contains FROM WINCHESTER, TO WEYMOUTH, 2 CL RETURN and the fare. A PRINT key is now operated, and printer 12 receives the ticket data and prints the ticket. The data entry unit may contain "local subset" keys LS each causing the display of ticket data corresponding to the tickets most often requested (e.g. 2nd class cheap day return to London), in which case the data does not need to be compiled step by step (Fig. 9, not shown). A description is also given of the local controller 5 (Fig. 2, not shown) and its processing unit (Fig. 3, not shown), and of the data format employed.