JP2001351129A - Automatic ticket examination system and method for distributing home page address by using the system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify announcing of URL and to reduce a cost for operation. SOLUTION: In consideration for that many users pass through automatic ticket examinations at railroad stations by using a commuter's ticket when they go to work or to school, URL data supposed to be accessed by a user is written in a recording medium (IC card 16) such as an IC chip with at least data for specifying the user and data for specifying a riding section recorded thereon or when it passes through an automatic ticket examination system 15 and the card storage medium 16 is read by a terminal device which can be connected to the Internet. The URL data written into the medium 16 is displayed to prompt access to the Web server or to the home page of the URL directly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an automatic ticket gate system and a method of distributing a homepage address using the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, automatic ticket gates using magnetic tickets have been installed at ticket gates at stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area, contributing to smooth ticket gates and ticket collection operations. Currently installed automatic ticket gates insert a ticket or commuter pass on which magnetic data is written, mechanically transport this, read the magnetic data during this transport period, and display a guidance display on the automatic ticket gate. Done.
In order to further increase the speed and smoothness of the conventional automatic ticket gate system, a non-contact type automatic ticket gate system that uses an IC card instead of a magnetic card and enables communication between the IC card and the automatic ticket gate is also proposed. Have been. This I
Since the C card has not only a memory function but also a calculation function, it can be made to function as a prepaid card, and various usage forms are conceivable.

[0003]

On the other hand, the Internet has become widespread and has been used not only in offices but also at home. Recently, the Internet business, which has a web shop built on the Internet and has its own server, or advertises and promotes products on its homepage, and makes payments by placing orders, is booming. By the way, on the business site, the URL (Un
The most important issue is how many users can be notified of the iform Resource Locator (homepage address). However, although we want many users to have access, at present there is no opportunity to inform the URL. . For this reason, registration in a search engine or advertisement in a magazine can be considered, but it is still insufficient as a means for notifying a URL. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of the convenience on the part of the user, the operation of inputting the URL is troublesome, and the user may access another site due to erroneous input. There were challenges.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and many users pay attention to the fact that many commuters and commuters use a commuter pass to pass an automatic ticket gate at a station. URL that the user will access to a card storage medium such as a magnetic card or an IC card in which data for specifying the vehicle and data for specifying the boarding section are recorded.
The data is written in advance or is forcibly written when passing through an automatic ticket gate, the card storage medium is read by a terminal capable of connecting to the Internet, and the URL data written on the card storage medium is displayed. By prompting you to access the web server or directly to the URL homepage,
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic ticket gate system that simplifies URL notification and can be operated at low cost, and a method of distributing homepage addresses using the system.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a terminal which records at least data for specifying a user and data for specifying a boarding section and which can be connected to a communication line. Automatic data transfer between the recording medium, such as an IC card used for a commuter pass or an IC chip built in a mobile phone, capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the recording medium. In an automatic ticket gate system including a ticket gate and a control unit for controlling the automatic ticket gate, the control unit stores a plurality of new data to be written in an IC chip or the like, and transfers these new data from the IC chip or the like. Sorting is performed based on the read data, and the selected new data is written to an IC chip or the like. By this, when selling a card to the user, by writing related new data in advance, or when passing through an automatic ticket gate, forcibly writing related new data to an IC chip, etc. Notification of new data is simplified. Also, the present invention
New data for specifying the access destination of the terminal is written to an IC chip or the like. This allows
When the card is loaded into the terminal, the access destination can be easily notified. Further, when accessing the Internet or the like using a mobile phone as a terminal, the access destination can be similarly notified from the IC chip or the like.

According to the present invention, the new data is data for specifying an access destination of a terminal loaded with a card. Thereby, when selling the card to the user, the related URL data is written in the IC chip in advance, or the related URL data is forcibly written in the IC chip when passing through the automatic ticket gate. This simplifies the notification of the URL, and allows the user to read the card using a terminal capable of connecting to the Internet, thereby displaying the URL data in the card and accessing the home page of the URL. Therefore, it is free from the trouble of reconnecting the Internet due to erroneous input. If the same data is written in an IC chip built in the mobile phone, the same operation can be performed when the mobile phone is used as a terminal to access the Internet or the like.

If a recording medium such as the above-mentioned IC chip is embedded in a multipurpose IC card with a built-in microcomputer,
The IC card has not only a single function of a ticket and a commuter pass but also a calculation function, so that it can also have the function of a prepayment card. Enriched system construction becomes possible. When the IC chip or the like is mounted on a mobile phone, the mobile phone can operate reliably while receiving power supply from the mobile phone, as well as performing the same operation as when used as an IC card.

[0008] Further, the present invention relates to an automatic ticket gate system, which includes a card inserted into a card or the like inserted into the automatic ticket gate.
Write a homepage address selected by data specifying a user or a boarding section from a plurality of homepage addresses stored in advance on a C chip to prompt access to a web server indicated by the homepage address. did. This allows
URL data that the user is expected to access should be written in advance to a storage medium storing at least data for specifying the user and data for specifying the boarding section, or when passing through an automatic ticket gate. Therefore, URL notification can be simplified and the system can be operated at low cost. Further, according to the present invention, in an automatic ticket gate system, data for specifying an access destination of a terminal into which the card is loaded is written into an IC chip incorporated in a card or the like inserted into the automatic ticket gate. did. This makes it possible to easily notify the access destination when the card is loaded into the terminal. Similarly, when the IC chip is mounted on a mobile phone, the same operation can be performed when the mobile phone is used as a terminal to access the Internet or the like.

Further, according to the present invention, the number of times a homepage address is written on a recording medium by an automatic ticket gate is counted. This not only means a simple term contract,
A contract can be made according to the actual number of sheets actually written on the recording medium, and an advertisement fee can be collected by a method different from that for the mass media.

Further, according to the present invention, when a user of a card or a mobile phone starts up a terminal, a homepage address is displayed to prompt access to a web server. As a result, the data recorded on the recording medium such as an IC chip is read by a device that can be connected to the Internet, and the URL written on the card storage medium is read.
You can either display the data and prompt the web server to access it, or you can go directly to the URL home page. Therefore, a card or the like as a ticket or a commuter pass can be used as a kind of advertising medium, and the notification of the URL can be operated easily and at low cost.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic ticket gate system according to the present invention. The automatic ticket gate system of the present invention uses a host computer 11 as a control center and reads, for example, commuter pass information stored in an IC card 16 and a plurality of IC card reader / writers for reading and writing URL data described later. It is composed of an automatic ticket gate 15 (151 to 15n). Reference numeral 12 denotes an IC card (more specifically, a recording medium such as an IC chip built in a main body having a card-like appearance together with an antenna or the like) 1
6, a commuter pass database (DB) 13 including at least information for specifying a user, data for specifying a boarding section, and data for a validity period.
Is a keyboard display device for inputting URL data to the host computer 11. A dedicated line 14 connects the host computer 11 and a plurality of automatic ticket gates 15, and is a local area network (Local Area Network).
k). Details of the host computer 11 will be described later with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of I passing through the automatic ticket gate shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a communication environment when accessing the Internet with a C card. Specifically, it is a diagram showing a communication environment when the URL data written in the IC card 16 is read by a device connectable to the Internet and the device accesses the Internet. As shown in the figure, a web server 21, 22, 23 corresponding to each of the URL data written on the IC card 16 and personal computers 25, 26 as client terminals are arranged around an Internet network 24, and both of them are provided. TCP / IP
(Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Proto
col) Take a connection form that communicates according to the protocol. The personal computers 25 and 26 use the U
In order to read RL data, each IC card writer 2
7, 28 are provided as peripheral devices.

The IC used in the present embodiment
The card 16 has not only a single function as the above-mentioned non-contact commuter pass but also a built-in microcomputer, and its storage area stores ride history data such as entrance / exit, settlement, etc. in time series,
It is assumed that the automatic ticket gate can perform the ticket gate processing based on the boarding history of the latest time-series position. Also, it is assumed that a designated ticket or a ticket is reserved on the Internet, and this reservation data is written in a free area of the storage area, so that it can be used as an express ticket or a ticket. Since the IC card 16 has a built-in microcomputer, it is possible to add a higher security function than a magnetic card, and it is also possible to add a function as a bank card or a credit card.

FIG. 3 shows the host computer 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration in which 1 is functionally captured. According to the present invention, as described above, the bottleneck of the Internet business is to notify the URL and have the user connect to the homepage.
Students pay attention to passing commuter passes through ticket gates every day and intend to use this as an advertising medium. For this, U
An advertiser who wants to disseminate the RL to the user, for example, recruits participating companies, writes the URL of the company into the IC card 6 by contract, reads the IC card on the user's personal computer or other terminal, and connects to the Internet. The UR
L is displayed or a mechanism for prompting an Internet connection is constructed.

At this time, the URL data is written in the IC card 16 in advance and can be read only when the predetermined contract conditions are met. There are two ways of writing. Therefore, the URL registration unit 11 in FIG.
URL data of a company whose URL is to be made known is input using the keyboard display device 13 shown in FIG.
Here, based on a contract with a company that is an advertiser,
RL data and advertisement validity period are URL registration table 11
2 and written to the storage device. 113
Is a database as commuter pass information (hereinafter simply referred to as a commuter pass DB), and includes at least information (name, age, address, etc.) for specifying an individual, and field data of a boarding section and a validity period. In this embodiment, it is assumed that both the host computer 11 and the IC card 16 have the same commuter pass DB, and in the following processing, any of these commuter pass D
It is assumed that B is called to obtain necessary data.

Reference numeral 114 denotes a URL collation / selection unit.
From the plurality of homepage addresses written in the L registration table 112, the personal DB table with URL 1
Based on No. 15, an appropriate site is selected based on data specifying a user or a boarding section. That is, the URL matching / selecting unit 114 matches and selects the most suitable site. For example, the URL of the business information site is used for a person in the business district when the boarding station is in the business district, and the URL of the department store site is used in the case of the shopping district. 16 may be written. Further, by searching the commuter pass DB 113 as a condition for comparing and selecting data such as age and gender, the commuter pass DB 113 is stored in the personal data table 115 with URL.
Then, it determines which URL is appropriate in light of the above, and writes an appropriate URL from the URL data written in the URL registration table 112 to the IC card 16. Each entry constituting the personal DB table with URL 115 is composed of a name, an age, a sex, a boarding section, and at least one or more fields of URL data.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts cited for explaining the operation of the present embodiment.
The operation procedures of the write processing and the read processing of the URL data to the URL are shown. Hereinafter, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

First, the process of writing URL data to the IC card 16 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, a host computer 1 that manages an automatic ticket gate 15
1 reads out the data written in the IC card 16 via the automatic ticket gate 15 and the dedicated line 14 (step S4).
1) It is checked whether the URL data has already been written in the IC card 16 (step S42). Here, if the advertisement has already been written, the advertisement validity period is checked (step S46). If the period is within the period, the process ends. If the period has expired, the URL data is deleted and the process ends (step S47). . On the other hand, if the URL data has not been written, the URL data and the ticket DB 113
The information that identifies the user and the information that identifies the boarding section stored in the URL and the personal DB 115 with URL are analyzed (step S43), and collated by the URL collation / selection unit 114 to select appropriate URL data (step S43). S4
4), write the URL data into the IC card 16 (step S45). Of the processing executed in each of the above steps, processing other than reading and writing can be performed by either the host computer or an individual control computer of the automatic ticket gate, and may be appropriately performed according to the configuration of the automatic ticket gate system. Can be changed.

Next, a process of reading URL data will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the user loads the IC card 16 in which the URL data has been written in advance or through the automatic ticket gate 15 into, for example, a card reader 27 of a personal computer 25. Thereby, the data of the IC card 16 is loaded into the main storage device of the personal computer 25 (step S51), and at the same time, the communication software starts up (step S52). At this time, the personal computer 25 reads the URL data (step S53) and displays an icon based on the URL data on the screen (step S54). Alternatively, the user directly displays the URL data as text to prompt connection to the Internet.
The user directly logs in the URL and logs in (step S55), or logs in by clicking the icon and accesses the web server 21 as the URL destination via the Internet 24. Note that, if necessary, instead of the process of displaying the URL, a setting may be made in which a process of directly linking to the URL is performed.

The URL data to be written on the IC card 16 has a limited period according to a contract with a customer who is an advertiser. When the period expires, the data may be erased as in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, or may be rewritten to URL data having a next period contract. Also,
Not just a contract based on a period, but actually an IC card 1
It is also possible to make a contract to collect an advertisement fee according to the actual number of sheets written in 6. Also, if a function as a counter for counting the number of times of writing is added to the automatic ticket gate 15,
By using this count value, it is possible to collect an advertisement fee based on the actual result, or to obtain various statistical data. Further, instead of the process of writing the URL on the IC card, characters or image data of an advertisement or the like may be written on the IC card, and the characters or image data may be simply displayed when the IC card is loaded on the personal computer. . Note that the IC card 16 may not be a single function as a commuter pass, but may be compounded or multifunctional as a bank card, a credit card, or the like. That is, the multifunctional IC card 16 has an opportunity to be read into the card reader 27 (28) attached to the personal computer 25 (26) at home as well as when used as a commuter pass. By displaying a unique URL or automatically accessing the URL, the effect of the present invention is remarkably exhibited. Note that I
As an additional function that can be associated even when the C card 16 is used only as a commuter pass, a personal computer 25 (2
From 6), the user can reserve a designated ticket or a ticket using the Internet, write the reservation data into the IC card 16 by the card reader 27 (28), and treat the IC card 16 as an express ticket or a ticket.

As described above, the present invention focuses on the fact that many users use a commuter pass to pass through an automatic ticket gate at a station when commuting or going to school, and at least identify data that identifies the user. And a card storage medium such as a magnetic card or an IC card in which data for specifying a boarding section is recorded,
The URL data that the user is supposed to access is written in advance on the IC chip built into the mobile phone, or is written when passing through an automatic ticket gate, and this storage medium is read by a device that can be connected to the Internet, By displaying the URL data written on the recording medium and prompting access to the corresponding web server, or directly accessing the homepage of the URL, the notification of the URL is simplified and the operation is performed at low cost. It is assumed that. In the embodiment of the present invention, an IC card is described as an example of the above-described recording medium. However, when a conventional commuter pass or ticket which can record magnetic information is passed through a ticket gate, data is written. The same effect can be obtained by loading the information written here to the terminal at any occasion. Further, an IC chip having a function similar to that of an IC chip in which predetermined data or a program as a commuter pass is recorded and which is built in the IC card may be mounted on the mobile phone. In other words, a system in which the user and the boarding section are written on an IC chip mounted on a mobile phone and provided with a function such as a commuter pass is used to pass through a ticket gate or the like as in the case of a commuter pass using an IC card. At this time, URL data or the like may be written, and when the mobile phone is used as a communication terminal, the URL data may be displayed, or the URL may be automatically connected to the corresponding URL. In this case, by connecting a recording medium such as an IC chip to a power supply such as a secondary battery which is indispensable for the mobile phone, the power can be supplied stably and a general non-contact type I / O having no power supply
Data can be transmitted and received more reliably than when applied to a C card.

[0022]

According to the present invention, when a card or a portable telephone is sold to a user, related new data is written in advance, or when a card or a mobile phone passes through an automatic ticket gate, a related new data is forcibly applied. Writing data to the card simplifies the announcement of new data. In addition, when selling cards and mobile phones to users,
By writing RL data or forcibly writing the relevant URL data to the card when passing through an automatic ticket gate, the notification of the URL is simplified,
Further, the user can read the data recorded on the IC chip built in the card or the like using a terminal capable of connecting to the Internet, thereby displaying the URL data in the card and accessing the home page of the URL. Therefore, it is free from the trouble of reconnecting the Internet due to erroneous input. In addition, by applying an IC card, it is possible to have not only a single function of a ticket and a commuter pass but also a function of a prepayment card because it has a calculation function. As a card, it is possible to construct a system with enhanced security functions.

Further, URL data which is considered to be accessed by the user is previously written in a card storage medium such as a magnetic card or an IC card in which at least data for specifying the user and data for specifying the boarding section are recorded. Or write it when passing through an automatic ticket gate, thus simplifying the URL announcement,
Can be operated at low cost. Further, not only a mere contract but also a contract can be made according to the actual number of cards written, so that an advertisement fee different from that of the mass media can be collected. In addition, by reading the card with a device that can be connected to the Internet, the URL data written on the card storage medium can be displayed to prompt access to the web server, or the user can directly access the URL homepage. Therefore, the card as a ticket or a commuter pass can be used as a kind of advertising medium, and the notification of the URL can be operated easily and at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic ticket gate system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a communication environment when accessing the Internet with an IC card passed through the automatic ticket gate shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration when the host computer shown in FIG. 1 is functionally captured;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure (write processing to an IC card) of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure (IC card read processing) of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 host computer, 12 commuter pass DB, 13
Keyboard display device, 14 ... dedicated line, 15 ...
Automatic ticket gate, 16 IC card, 21 (22, 23) ...
Web server, 24 ... Internet network, 25 (26)
… Terminal (PC), 27 (28)… Card reader,
111 URL registration unit 112 URL registration table
113: Commuter pass DB, 114: URL collation / selection unit, 1
15 ... Personal DB with URL

Claims (12)

[Claims] At least data for identifying a user,
A recording medium on which data specifying a boarding section is recorded and which can exchange data with a terminal which can be connected to a communication line, and an automatic ticket gate which exchanges data with the recording medium And a control unit for controlling the automatic ticket gate, wherein the control unit stores a plurality of new data to be written in the recording medium, and reads the new data from the previous recording medium. An automatic ticket gate system, wherein the selected new data is written on the recording medium. 2. At least data for identifying a user,
A recording medium on which data specifying a boarding section is recorded and which can exchange data with a terminal which can be connected to a communication line, and an automatic ticket gate which exchanges data with the recording medium An automatic ticket gate system comprising: a control unit for controlling the automatic ticket gate; wherein the control unit transmits and receives data between the automatic ticket gate and the recording medium, and An automatic ticket gate system characterized by writing new data for specifying a password to the recording medium. 3. The recording medium has a function of enabling non-contact communication with the ticket gate, and has a card-like appearance.
3. The automatic ticket gate system according to claim 1, wherein the automatic ticket gate system is an IC chip built in a C card. 4. The recording medium has a function of enabling non-contact communication with the ticket gate, and is an IC chip mounted on a mobile phone and connected to a common power supply with the mobile phone. The automatic ticket gate system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 5. The automatic ticket gate system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit counts the number of times of writing new data to the recording medium. 6. The automatic ticket gate system according to claim 1, wherein the controller writes new data to the recording medium only for a predetermined period. 7. In an automatic ticket gate system, for a recording medium for exchanging data with an automatic ticket gate, data that specifies a user or a boarding section from a plurality of homepage addresses stored in advance. A homepage address distribution method using an automatic ticket gate system, in which a homepage address selected by the homepage address is written, and access to the web server indicated by the homepage address is prompted. 8. In an automatic ticket gate system, for a recording medium for exchanging data with an automatic ticket gate, data for specifying an access destination of a terminal to which data recorded on the recording medium is loaded. The method of distributing homepage addresses, characterized by writing 9. The recording medium has a function of enabling non-contact communication with the ticket gate, and has a card-like appearance.
9. The automatic ticket gate system according to claim 7, wherein the automatic ticket gate system is an IC chip built in a C card. 10. The recording medium is an IC chip that has a function of enabling non-contact communication with the ticket gate, is mounted on a mobile phone, and is connected to a common power supply with the mobile phone. The automatic ticket gate system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein: 11. The method according to claim 7, wherein the automatic ticket gate counts the number of times the homepage address is written. 12. The method according to claim 7, wherein when the user of the card starts up a terminal, the homepage address is displayed to prompt access to the web server. Delivery method of homepage address.