ITMI20012533A1 - PERSONALIZED FRUITION PROCESS OF SKI AND SIMILAR INSTALLATIONS - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a method for the personalized use of ski facilities and the like, which allows the user to use the aforementioned facilities in such a way as to optimize the costs incurred.

As is known, users of ski resorts who go to mountain resorts, to take advantage of these facilities, currently purchase a ticket with a predetermined duration that allows them to ski on a network of facilities that can sometimes also extend to facilities of ski resorts affiliated with the station. where the user purchased the ticket or day pass.

However, it seems clear that the use of the card with a predetermined duration by the users is strongly influenced by the atmospheric characteristics of the day on which the user has decided to ski and also by the physical shape that the user has on that given day. In fact, if the weather conditions are such that the user can only take advantage of a part of the ski day, instead wasting the remaining part due to bad weather, for example, the day pass purchased does not in any way allow to obtain an automatic refund. for the hours that the user has not actually skied due to force majeure.

In the same way, regardless of the weather conditions, it may happen that the user, for personal reasons, wishes to ski only part of the day, for example the early hours of the morning, and also in this case the purchase of the day pass does not allow to recover any time not skied, thus entailing a fixed cost for the user, regardless of the actual performance of the ski day.

All this considerably affects the choices that the user makes when deciding to make a ski day, for example it affects the choice of the location, or the choice not to undertake the journey to the mountain resort at all if the weather conditions are not strongly promising.

In this way, on the one hand the user most of the time gives up the possibility of skiing for a few hours in optimal conditions, and on the other hand the ski resort itself loses a considerable number of users, which, for example on a given day when the weather conditions are not comforting, they decide not to travel to reach the slopes.

The main aim of the present invention is to provide a process for optimized use of the ski facilities, which allows the user to be able to actually pay for the time he has skied, thus eliminating the inconvenience of having a prepaid day pass, which therefore involves a cost. fixed regardless of the conditions of the day itself.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for the optimized use of ski facilities, which allows the user to have a personalized charge of the time actually skied, and on the other hand allows the ski resort to guarantee users who otherwise would not have visited that location on a given day.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for optimized use of systems, which allows the user to have a personalized card, to use the systems themselves.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a card which implements the optimized use procedure for the systems.

Not least object of the present invention is to provide a method for the optimized use of plants which is highly reliable, relatively simple to manufacture and at competitive costs.

This task, as well as these and other purposes which will appear better later, are achieved by a procedure for the personalized use of ski resorts and the like, characterized by the fact of understanding the phases which consist in:

detecting the passage of a user, equipped with a card with relative transponder, through an opening of a system equipped with a control unit and access authorization;

reading the card data of said user and verifying the validity of said data;

charging said user an entry right for his first passage at said access control and enabling unit;

count the actual time of use of the system by said user;

charge said effective time of use of the system to the card of said user.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clearer from the description of preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the method according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which figures 1 to 7 illustrate, in the form of flow diagrams, the method according to the present invention.

With reference to the aforementioned figures, the method according to the present invention provides for the following steps.

In the first place, the method according to the invention can be implemented by using a card (smartcard) equipped with a transponder for communication with an access control and authorization unit present at the entrance to a plant.

The card contains a memory medium containing information that is read and evaluated by the access control and authorization unit, to establish whether the card holder has the right to access the service provided or not.

In essence, the information contained on the card can be considered a real access ticket. A card can contain more than one ticket.

The access control and enabling unit present at the entrance to the plant is a device suitable for processing a ticket contained on the card. It consists of a reading / writing unit of the card memory medium, a microprocessor processing unit and a unit that confirms or denies the authorization to pass by the user (for example acoustic, optical signals, barriers mechanical) based on the ticket data on the card and specific configuration parameters.

When the user passes, a processing of the ticket is carried out, the possible updating of the data contained therein, the recording of the information of the successful processing, and the positive signaling of the transaction occurred (for example acoustic, light, release of the mechanical barrier) to allow the user to use the service.

The ticket contains fixed data, i.e. a subset of ticket information that is not altered during the ticket's life cycle. For example, they may indicate information regarding the entity that issued the ticket, the face value and the area or services for which the ticket is valid.

The ticket also contains variable data, that is a subset of ticket information that can be altered at the time of processing the ticket when authorization is requested at the passage gate for access to the system. For example, such variable data can indicate information regarding the remaining credit, the day and time of use, the number of days of use and the like.

The ticket can be a debit ticket, that is a ticket that has a pre-established, prepaid value, which is decreased with the use of the services. Alternatively, the ticket can be on credit, that is, it accumulates a credit, paid in the final balance, which is increased with the use of the services.

The variable data also includes a subset of information on the named remaining or residual credit, ie the value associated with the ticket, which varies during its use. In the case of a debit ticket it represents the value that can still be spent, while in the case of a credit ticket it represents the cumulative expense up to the time of the last use.

In addition, each ticket is associated with a code that identifies the type of customer, for example, child, elderly, adult, student, etc., which is therefore combined with a rate to be applied to the bearer of the ticket. This identification code of the customer type is part of the fixed data on the ticket.

The fixed data also include a code that uniquely identifies the entity that issued the ticket and that has therefore collected a fee in currency for the sale of the ticket.

The control and access enabling unit also includes tables of values that parameterize the behavior of the system, ie the specified parameters indicate, for example, the value of the credit required to access the service, for each type of customer.

The data present in the control and enabling unit also include the right of entry, that is the flat rate cost of the first passage of the user in a day. This value may vary depending on the type of customer, the time and number of days for which the ticket has already been used, and depends on the expected daily rate, which is a code that indicates the price or discount range. discount to be applied to tickets on the day the user arrives at the facility.

The maximum expense allowed indicates the maximum amount of expense that can be charged to each type of customer in a given period of use. Once the maximum expense has been reached, the credit is no longer modified until a pre-established time, i.e. the expiry of the day in the case of the ski resort. This maximum expense can be related to the daily rate.

The expiry of the day mentioned above is the time that is reached without additional expenses when the maximum allowable expense has been spent during the day.

The time of use of the systems by the user is divided into units of time and each unit of time has a duration of minutes of use of the service which corresponds to an expense made.

For each time unit there is therefore an expense to be decreased / increased to the remaining credit of the ticket, corresponding to the purchase with the passage, of a unit of time by the ticket holder. The price of a unit of time may depend on the type of customer.

At the first step of the customer, the aforementioned right of entry is charged in any case, and a minimum purchase of time units is also made, i.e. the purchase of a certain number of time units, which may depend on the type of customer.

Finally, there is a consecutive time limit, i.e. the amount of time elapsed between two consecutive passages of a ticket through the access gate of the plant, within the same day, below which the time not actually used is in any case charged to the ticket and therefore to the user.

The method according to the invention therefore provides for the passage of a user with the aforementioned ticket (i.e. card) through the entry gate of a plant, and in this first phase an immediate charge is made for the right of entry which can be both fixed and related to the weather conditions of the day, or it can be related to the type of customer, or a combination of the three factors mentioned above.

The user then begins to use the services of the facilities in the locality for which his ticket is valid, and, in the case of a discount type ticket, an amount that can be deducted for each unit of time of use of the facilities is deducted. parameterized both on the type of customer and, for example, on the weather conditions of the station on that day.

Therefore, if the conditions are not optimal, an hour of use of the plants may have a lower value than the same hour used in optimal weather conditions.

In this way, the customer, having a credit loaded on the card, that is a certain amount of expected spending, can actually ski for the period he wants, without having to waste the residual credit, as this can be used on any day. later, with possibly different hourly rates.

Alternatively, the ticket sold to the customer can have a sort of "open" account on which the time actually consumed is debited and which, at predetermined deadlines, will be billed to the customer with the relative receipts.

The residual credit that the user may have at the end of a ski day can be used both in a subsequent ski day, and to pay for agreed services, such as meals, equipment rental, ski schools, etc., thus making the ski resort a real and its own tourist village.

The pre-established daily rate for a given ski day may vary as a result of a change in weather conditions and a customer who has started the ski day with a higher rate applied will be credited with the excess value consumed upon subsequent passage through an opening in the railway station.

The method according to the invention is illustrated schematically in Figures 1 to 7, in which the figure illustrates the vehicle cycle of the card held by the user.

In a first phase, 1, the value evaluated on the card is present or not, and if so, phase 2, the ticket is read from the card, the ticket is evaluated, phase 3, and in the event that the evaluation fails , a phase 4 follows in which the ticket is discarded or modified, while in the affirmative a phase 5 follows in which the ticket is updated and sent, phase 6 an consent signal for the mechanical unlocking of the access gate to the system.

Figure 2 illustrates the ticket evaluation phase. In this phase it is evaluated, phase 7, if the fixed data of the ticket are correct, and if so, it is evaluated, phase 8, if the day of validity of the ticket and the time of expiry of the ticket are valid for the current day, and in the negative case a phase 9 of restitution of the right follows, followed by a phase 10 of "new day", a phase 11 of consuming the unit of time, a phase of controlling the maximum expense and a phase 13 of assigning the values .

These steps 9 to 13 are illustrated in detail respectively in Figures 3 to 7.

Phase 9 of restitution of the right includes a phase 14 in which there is a variable indicating the value consumed which is set to zero, followed by a phase 15 in which it is checked whether the ticket has already been used, followed by a phase 16, in the event that the ticket has already been used, in which it is checked whether the user's first passage through the gate of the system was carried out with a more expensive rate than the one currently valid. If so, step 16 is followed by a step 17 in which the amount actually paid and the amount that should have been paid with the current tariff is assessed. Phase 17 is followed by phase 18 in which it is verified whether the amount actually paid is greater or less than the amount that should have been paid with the current rate in force. If the answer to phase 18 is negative, the procedure ends, phase 19, while if so, phase 20 follows in which the residual credit is determined by the value of the residual credit to which the difference between what the user has actually paid and how much he should actually have paid, and the "consumed" variable is equal to the value of the "consumed" variable in phase 14, which is subtracted from the difference between the amount actually paid by the user and the amount he should have paid.

Figure 4 illustrates step 10 of evaluating a new ski day for the user. The routine begins with a step 22 in which it is evaluated if the day of use / validity of the ticket is different from the time read by the system clock. If the answer is affirmative, a phase 23 follows in which the code of the daily rate at the first passage in the day is defined for today's date, read by the system clock, the count of the days of use is increased by one , the expiration time is determined by the current time plus the duration of the single time unit for the minimum number of time units purchased by the user, based on the customer type and the time cursor variable is set to the current time value. Phase 23 is followed by a phase 24 in which the value of the duration of each time unit is evaluated for the minimum number of time units purchased by the user when passing through the system gate following the first passage, and in the event that this overall duration is greater than the current hour, a phase 25 follows in which the daily expense is calculated, followed by a phase 26 for calculating any residual credit, followed by a phase 27 in which updated the variable "consumed" by adding the value of the expense. Finally, a phase 28 follows in which the residual credit is set equal to the credit variable.

In the event that from phase 24 there is an affirmative answer, ie the variable time cursor is less than the duration of each unit of time multiplied by the minimum number of units of time purchased by the user, a phase 30 follows in which the variable " expense ”is set equal to the value of the expense plus the price of each unit of time according to the type of customer and the current time.

Phase 30 is followed by phase 31 in which the variable time cursor is increased by the duration of the unit of time from phase 31 one then returns to phase 24.

Figure 5 illustrates the time unit consumption check routine 11. The routine starts with a step 40 where the current time is compared with the ticket expiry time, and if the current time is greater than the expiration time, the routine ends, step 41, otherwise it goes to a step 42 in which it is evaluated whether the difference between the current time and the expiry time is greater than or equal to the limit of consecutive hours allowed. In the affirmative, a phase 43 follows in which the expiry time is set equal to the current time plus the duration of the time unit followed by a phase 44 in which the "expense" variable is set equal to the expense variable at which the price of the time unit is added (based on the type of customer). A phase 45 of termination of the routine then follows.

In step 42, in the event of a negative response, step 46 follows in which all the elapsed time units are counted, instead of counting just one time unit, as is done in step 43.

Phase 46 is followed by a phase 47 in which it is checked whether the expiry time is less than the current time, and if not, a phase 48 follows in which the expiry time is set equal to the current time and passes then to step 45.

Phase 47 is followed by a phase 49 in which the expiry time is set equal to the expiry time plus the duration of the time unit, then phase 50 follows in which the expense is set equal to the expense plus the price of the unit of time which is based on customer type and current time.

Finally, step 51 follows in which the current time is set equal to the current time plus the duration of the time unit.

Figure 6 illustrates phase 13 of assigning values which includes a first phase 55 in which it is verified whether the credit is less than the expense, and if so, a phase 56 follows in which the credit can exceed the previous credit minus the expense carried out. and then phase 57 follows in which the credit is updated. Step 58 defines the daily expense to which the expense made at that time is added.

Finally, Figure 7 illustrates the routine 12 for controlling the maximum expenditure carried out by the user.

This routine begins with a step 60 in which it is checked whether the expense made by the user is greater than or equal to the maximum expense foreseen for the user's ticket.

In the event of a negative response, phase 61 of the end of the routine follows, and therefore from phase 12 it is possible to return to phase 8 and the user can therefore continue to use the systems. Otherwise, step 62, the "expense" variable is set equal to the maximum expense to which the entry fee is subtracted and from which the daily expense is also subtracted. Finally, phase 63 follows in which the ticket expiry time is set equal to the day's expiry.

The following identifiers are used for the above flowcharts

Variable Description

Memorized in the ticket

VCreditoResiduo Credit

VDay Validity Day of use / validity VTimeExpiry Time of expiration

VDaysCumulati Account of the days of use VReduced Rate Code of the day

at the first passage during the day

Memorized in the opening

Today Today's date, read from the system clock T Now Hour, minutes and seconds read from the system clock System configuration

CUnit Duration

CLimiteOreConsecutive

C Price Right Value of entry fee C Expense Maximum daily maximum expense C Deadline Daily

CPpriceTimeUnit

CTariffreduction

Temporary variables

consumed, expense,

time.cursor,

law.a, law.b

Basically, therefore, the user has a ticket at his disposal that allows him to use the facilities as he wishes, with the following advantages.

1.11 ticket has a pre-established credit (or an "open '<1> account)

2.11 credit, spent a little at a time, entitles the customer to use a service for a predetermined amount of time without additional expense and data updates.

3.The service provider guarantees a minimum income by applying an entry fee to the first passage and / or by applying a minimum charge of units of time.

4. Within the same day, the periods of time in which no passages have been made through the gates can still be charged to the user.

5. The rates applied vary according to the type of customer and the pre-established rate of the day (but not only limited to these two variables). The problem of promotional and subsidized fares shifts from the moment the ticket is sold (current state of the art) to when the user actually uses the services (novelty).

6. The customer is protected unlike common tickets - points / scalar - as there is a maximum spending limit for one day.

7. The customer does not have to decide in advance how long he will use the services provided during the day.

8. The rate applied for the current day can be changed at any time by the service provider. A customer who has started the day with a higher rate applied will be credited with the excess value consumed at the next step (i.e. no real-time communication of the rate change applied to all gates is required).

9. The most loyal customer can obtain discounted expenses - the more days of use have been made with the same ticket, the more the rate applied (or the right of entry or the maximum expense) can be reduced.

10. It is not necessary to "stop the clock" on an opening to stop shopping, as in the example of parking lots. The service expires automatically after a set time, without having to make an exit.

In order to obtain the above services, the ticket must contain at least the following information: (in addition to the fixed data that establish whether, regardless of the existing credit, the ticket can use the services provided).

- Credit

- Day of use / validity

- Expiration time in the day or time of the last charge

- Account of the days of use

- Shopping done during the day, excluding the right of entry

- Entry fee paid on the same day

- Code of the rate of the day at the first passage in the day Or

- Credit

- Day of use / validity

- Expiration time in the day or time of the last charge

- Account of the days of use

- Number of time units purchased during the day

- Time of the first pass

- Code of the rate of the day at the first passage in the day Some of this information can be represented in an alternative way, in order to obtain a parameter by calculating it from others. For example, knowing the time of the first passage is equivalent to knowing what the paid entrance fee is, together with the code of the rate of the day. Furthermore, the amount spent during the day can also be recalculated from the number of time units purchased, since the time of entry, the cost of each unit of time and the right of entry are known.

In addition, the system works in a completely similar way if the expiry time is shown on the ticket (ie the time after which a new charge operation will be effective) or the time of the last debit operation carried out. These parameters are mutually dependent, as the duration of a time unit is a known constant (hour of last operation duration unit of time = hour of next operation). Hence the representations mentioned are completely equivalent.

In practice it has been found that the method according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, in that it allows the user a personalized use of ski resorts and the like.

The process thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept. Furthermore, all the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

Claims (9)

CLAIMS 1. Process of personalized use of ski resorts and the like, characterized by the fact of understanding the phases that consist of: detecting the passage of a user, equipped with a card with relative transponder, through an opening of a system equipped with a control unit and access authorization; reading the card data of said user and verifying the validity of said data; charging said user an entry right for his passage in correspondence with said access control and enabling unit; count the actual time of use of the system by said user; charge said effective time of use of the system to the card of said user. 2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the steps which consist in applying the tariff differentiated according to the type of user, the type of meteorological conditions of the day in which the user uses the plant. 3. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the phase which consists in counting the actual use time of said plant on the basis of a predetermined rate of the day, which can be modified during the same day 4. Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises the step which consists in charging a maximum daily expense limit for said user. 5. Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises the step which consists in determining a maximum time of use of said plant by said user. 6. Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a step which consists in dividing the time of use of said plant into time units that can be purchased by the user and determining a minimum number of time units to be compulsorily purchased from part of said user. 7. Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a step which consists in providing said user with a card with a ticket with predefined credit. 8. Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a step which consists in providing said user with a card with an open account ticket. 9. Control and authorization system for access to a ski resort, characterized in that it comprises a card equipped with a transponder capable of containing information intended to be read and evaluated to establish whether the holder of said card is authorized to access said system, at least one reading / writing unit of said card, at least one microprocessor processing unit and at least one unit able to authorize or deny the passage permit on the basis of the information of said card and configuration parameters.