JP2008090426A - Ticket examination machine and ticket examination method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ticket examination machine and a ticket examination method for facilitating countermeasures to the increase of information quantity, and for achieving the miniaturization and cost reduction of the whole device. <P>SOLUTION: This ticket examination machine is provided with: a reading part 20 for optically reading a two-dimensional code corresponding to ticket examination information necessary for ticket examination processing from a ticket medium input to an input port; a CPU 200 for performing ticket examination processing based on a two-dimensional code read by the reading part; a conveyance mechanism 21 for conveying the ticket medium of the input port along a predetermined conveyance path based on a decision result showing the purport of permitting the passage of a user by ticket examination processing; and a perforating part 22 and a printing part 23 for performing predetermined processing to the ticket medium on the conveyance path. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a ticket gate and a ticket gate method, and more particularly, to a ticket gate machine and a ticket gate method for performing ticket gate processing based on a two-dimensional code such as a QR code corresponding to ticket gate information.

  In recent years, ticket gate machines have been introduced for the purpose of labor saving of ticket gate processing. This ticket gate is a magnetic ticket medium such as an admission ticket, prepaid card, commuter pass, and ticket when a user enters a facility such as a station premises or amusement facility, or enters a facility. The ticket gate processing is performed to determine whether or not to allow the user to pass based on the ticket gate information magnetically recorded on the ticket medium. The taken ticket medium is returned or collected as necessary. In addition, based on ticket gate information in ticket gate processing, traffic is not permitted for reasons such as fare shortage, expiration, boarding outside the sector, ticket ticket information reading error from ticket media, ticket ticket information writing error to ticket media, etc. Based on this determination, the ticket gate closes the ticket gate passage to prevent the user from passing.

  Recently, ticket gates that handle wireless ticket media in addition to magnetic ticket media have been put into practical use. Such a ticket gate performs ticket gate processing using a wireless ticket medium in addition to ticket gate processing using a magnetic ticket medium. That is, such a ticket gate communicates with a wireless ticket medium, and determines whether or not the user can pass based on the ticket information from the wireless ticket medium.

On the other hand, ticket gate machines that perform ticket gate processing using ticket media printed with barcodes corresponding to ticket gate information have also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). According to these ticket gates, a device for optically reading a barcode is provided, which reads the barcode from a ticket medium deceived by a user and performs ticket gate processing based on the corresponding ticket gate information.
JP-A-6-150094 Japanese Patent No. 9-069174

  In particular, a ticket gate installed at an airport boarding gate or the like needs to read ticket information magnetically recorded from a magnetic stripe extending along the longitudinal direction of a large ticket medium such as an air ticket or a boarding ticket. For this reason, the conveyance route in a ticket gate is long, and size reduction and cost reduction of the ticket gate main body are desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to deal with an increase in the amount of information, and to reduce the size and cost of the entire apparatus, and a ticket gate method. Is to provide.

The ticket gate according to the first aspect of the present invention is:
Reading means for optically reading the two-dimensional code corresponding to the ticket gate information necessary for the ticket gate processing from the ticket medium inserted in the slot;
Ticket gate means for performing ticket gate processing based on the two-dimensional code read by the reading means;
A transporting means for transporting the ticket medium at the slot along a predetermined transporting path based on a determination result that the user is allowed to pass through the ticketing process by the ticketing means;
Ticket processing means for performing predetermined processing on the ticket medium on the transport path;
It is provided with.

The ticket gate method according to the second aspect of the present invention comprises:
Optically reads the two-dimensional code corresponding to the ticket gate information necessary for ticket gate processing from the ticket medium inserted in the slot,
Based on the read two-dimensional code, perform ticket gate processing,
Based on the determination result that the user is allowed to pass through the ticket gate process, the ticket medium at the slot is transported along a predetermined transport route in the ticket gate,
It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a ticket checker and a ticket check method that can cope with an increase in the amount of information and that can reduce the size and cost of the entire apparatus.

  Hereinafter, a ticket gate and a ticket gate method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the ticket gate includes a housing 1. In such a ticket gate, for example, two casings 1 are arranged to face each other, and a ticket gate passage through which a user can pass is formed between them. In addition, one should just form a partition, a plate-shaped member may be sufficient and a pillar, a fence, etc. may be sufficient.

  That is, the case 1 of the ticket gate is provided with a slot 2, a slot 3, a display unit 5, a speaker 7, and the like.

  The slot 2 is provided on the upstream side of the casing 1 in the direction of travel, and can receive a ticket medium inserted when entering the facility or entering the facility. A shutter is provided in the vicinity of the slot 2 to prevent the ticket medium from being inserted. The discharge port 3 is provided on the downstream side in the passage direction of the housing 1 and can discharge the ticket medium received from the input port 2 as necessary.

  The display unit 5 is disposed on the upper surface of the housing 1 and displays various types of guidance information for users, staff, and the like. The speaker 7 outputs sound corresponding to various guidance information to a user, a staff member, or the like. The display unit 5 and the speaker 7 have a function as guide means.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the case 1 of the ticket gate may include a door 90, a passage detector 9 and the like in addition to the above-described configuration. The door 90 is disposed on the side surface of the housing 1 on the side of the ticket gate, and is configured to be openable and closable so as to control the passage of the user. The door 90 opens the ticket gate passage when the user is allowed to pass, and closes the ticket gate passage when the user is prevented from passing. The passage detector 9 is disposed on a side surface portion of the housing 1 on the ticket gate passage side, and outputs an output signal for detecting the passage of the user.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the internal mechanism of the ticket gate, a reading unit 20 is disposed near the insertion slot 2. The reading unit 20 optically reads a two-dimensional code printed on a ticket medium inserted by a user and has a function as a reading unit.

  Between the slot 2 and the outlet 3, a transport mechanism 21 is disposed for transporting the ticket medium inserted from the slot 2 toward the outlet 3 along the forward direction indicated by the arrow a. Yes. The transport mechanism 21 has a transport path defined by various transport belts and transport rollers. The transport mechanism 21 having such a configuration has a function as a transport unit that transports the ticket medium loaded from the slot 2.

  On the transport path, a punching unit 22, a printing unit 23, and the like are provided in order from the input port 2 to the discharge port 3. The punching section 22 forms punching (punching processing) as necessary for the ticket medium transported along the transport path, and has a function as punching means. The printing unit 23 corresponds to the result of the ticket gate processing such as predetermined information such as the date and time and the ticket gate place name as well as the information such as the boarding flight name and the seat number as necessary for the ticket medium transported on the transport route. The predetermined information is printed, and has a function as printing means.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the ticket gate includes a CPU 200 that controls the entire apparatus. The CPU 200 has a function as a ticket gate means for performing ticket gate processing based on ticket gate information possessed by the ticket medium and a control means for controlling driving of each mechanism constituting the ticket gate machine.

  A memory unit 201 is connected to the CPU 200. The memory unit 201 includes a control program, a ROM, a RAM that stores information read from a ticket medium and stores information as a buffer of the control program, a fare memory that records fare information, and the like.

  The CPU 200 is connected to a reading control circuit 202 that controls the reading unit 20. The CPU 200 performs a ticket gate process for determining whether or not the user can pass based on information read from the ticket medium via the reading unit 20.

  Further, the CPU 200 includes a conveyance control circuit 203 that controls the conveyance mechanism 21, a punching control circuit 204 that controls the punching unit 22, a printing control circuit 205 that controls the printing unit 23, a display control circuit 206 that controls the display unit 5, An audio output control circuit 207 that controls the speaker 7 and a communication control unit 208 that controls the exchange of information with the host device are connected.

  Next, a ticket medium that can be processed by the ticket gate according to this embodiment will be described. In other words, the ticket media that can be ticketed are printed with a two-dimensional code corresponding to the ticketing information necessary for the ticketing process. The ticketing information includes the user's personal ID, ticket number, purchase price, Information such as valid period, valid section, boarding flight name, seat classification, departure / arrival time, departure / arrival place, seat number, boarding gate, etc. is included. Among these ticket gate information, a part of the information is printed on the ticket surface so that it can be seen by the user and the staff. Such a two-dimensional code can have information in two directions, vertical and horizontal, and can cope with an increase in the amount of information.

  Next, a ticket gate processing method applicable to the ticket gate described above will be described. Here, a ticket processing method using a ticket medium applied when using an aircraft such as an air ticket or a boarding pass will be described.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the CPU 200 controls the reading control circuit 202 based on the insertion of the ticket medium into the insertion slot 2, and reads the two-dimensional code printed on the ticket medium by the reading unit 20. Read (ST1).

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a ticket medium T that can be processed by the ticket gate. The ticket medium T has a size equivalent to, for example, a commuter pass, and the ticket surface is printed with the direction of insertion of the ticket medium T and various types of information, and the two-dimensional code T1 corresponding to the ticket gate information is also printed. In addition, a print area T2 in which information corresponding to the result of the ticket gate process can be printed is secured.

  The CPU 200 determines whether or not the user can pass through the ticket gate based on the read two-dimensional code based on the two-dimensional code read processing from the ticket medium completed by the reading unit 20 (ST2, Y). A ticket gate process is performed (ST3). When the two-dimensional code reading process cannot be performed (ST2, N), the CPU 200 controls the display control circuit 206 to display a screen for guiding the error contents on the display unit 5 and also performs voice output control. The circuit 207 is controlled to guide the error content by voice through the speaker 7 (ST4).

  If the CPU 200 determines that the user is permitted to pass as a result of the ticket gate processing (determination OK) (ST5, Y), the CPU 200 controls the transfer control circuit 203 to drive the transfer mechanism 21 and turn it on. The ticket medium inserted into the mouth 2 is taken into the machine body (ST6). Then, the CPU 200 performs predetermined ticket processing as necessary on the ticket medium T transported along the transport path (ST7). For example, the CPU 200 controls the punching control circuit 204 to drive the punching unit 22 to form punching in the ticket medium T as necessary, and also controls the printing control circuit 205 to drive the printing unit 23. The necessary information corresponding to the result of the ticket gate processing is printed on the transported ticket medium.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of a ticket medium T that has been ticket processed by the ticket gate. On the ticket surface of the ticket medium T, information corresponding to the result of the ticket gate processing, for example, information such as date and time and seat number, is printed in the print area T2, and a perforation T3 is formed.

  On the other hand, in step ST5, if the CPU 200 determines that the passage of the user is not permitted as a result of the ticket check process (determination NG) (ST5, N), the display unit 5 is controlled by controlling the display control circuit 206. A screen for guiding the error content is displayed, and the audio output control circuit 207 is controlled to guide the error content through the speaker 7 by voice (ST4).

  Then, the CPU 200 further conveys the ticket medium along the conveyance path toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction, and detects that the ticket medium discharged from the discharge port 3 has been extracted by the user. Exit the ticket gate process.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the ticket gate machine that performs the ticket gate processing by reading the two-dimensional code corresponding to the ticket gate information is compared with the device configuration in which an expensive wireless communication processing device or magnetic processing device is mounted as in the past. Thus, the introduction cost of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

  In addition, the above-described ticket gate has no consumables such as a magnetic processing apparatus, and the running cost can be reduced. In particular, since the reading unit is provided near the insertion slot, the ticket gate process can be performed in a state where the ticket medium is inserted in the insertion slot. Be transported. On the contrary, when the two-dimensional code cannot be read from the ticket medium inserted into the insertion slot or when it is judged NG by the ticket gate process, the ticket medium is not conveyed and is not taken into the machine body. In ticket gates equipped with a magnetic processing device, even if any ticket medium is inserted, the ticket medium is taken into the machine at least once and attempts to read the magnetic information, and the ticket gate processing is performed based on the read magnetic information. Therefore, the cost for maintaining the magnetic processing apparatus and the transport mechanism may be increased. For this reason, the above-described ticket gate is a configuration that is extremely advantageous for cost reduction.

  In addition, for ticket media having a large amount of ticket information such as air tickets and boarding passes, such ticket information is converted into a two-dimensional code that can cope with an increase in the information amount, and the ticket is processed by reading this two-dimensional code. In the ticket gate, the conveyance path can be shortened and the apparatus main body can be downsized as compared with the ticket gate configured to read the ticket information from the magnetic stripe of the conventional large ticket.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the gist of the invention in the stage of implementation. Further, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component covering different embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration example in which the reading unit is arranged in front of the transport mechanism and the ticket medium is not transported by the transport mechanism except when the determination is OK has been described, but as illustrated in FIG. In the configuration in which the reading unit 20 is arranged on the conveyance path and the ticket medium is reversely conveyed toward the insertion slot 2 when the two-dimensional code cannot be read by the reading unit 20 or when the determination is NG by the ticket gate process. There may be.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ticket gate machine that performs the ticket gate processing based on the two-dimensionally coded ticket gate information has been described. However, these may be replaced with an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the appearance of a ticket gate according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing an example of the appearance of the case of the ticket gate shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing the external appearance of another case of the ticket gate shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an internal structure applicable to the ticket gate shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the control system of the ticket gate shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a ticket gate method applicable to the ticket gate shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a ticket medium before a ticket gate applicable to the ticket gate shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a ticket medium after a ticket gate applicable to the ticket gate shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing another internal structure example applicable to the ticket gate shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  T ... ticket medium 1 ... housing 2 ... insertion port 3 ... discharge port 5 ... display unit 7 ... speaker 20 ... reading unit 21 ... transport mechanism 22 ... punching unit 23 ... printing unit 200 ... CPU 201 ... memory unit 202 ... reading control Circuit 203 ... Conveyance control circuit 204 ... Punch control circuit 205 ... Print control circuit 206 ... Display control circuit 207 ... Audio output control circuit 208 ... Communication control unit

Claims (6)

Reading means for optically reading the two-dimensional code corresponding to the ticket gate information necessary for the ticket gate processing from the ticket medium inserted in the slot;
Ticket gate means for performing ticket gate processing based on the two-dimensional code read by the reading means;
A transporting means for transporting the ticket medium at the slot along a predetermined transporting path based on a determination result that the user is allowed to pass through the ticketing process by the ticketing means;
Ticket processing means for performing predetermined processing on the ticket medium on the transport path;
A ticket gate characterized by comprising   2. The ticket gate according to claim 1, further comprising guide means for guiding an error content based on a determination result indicating that a user is prevented from passing through the ticket gate processing by the ticket gate means.   2. The ticket processing means according to claim 1, further comprising a printing means for printing predetermined information corresponding to a result of the ticket gate processing on a ticket medium, and a punching means for forming a punch in the ticket medium. Ticket machine. Optically reads the two-dimensional code corresponding to the ticket gate information necessary for ticket gate processing from the ticket medium inserted in the slot,
Based on the read two-dimensional code, perform ticket gate processing,
The ticket medium at the entrance is transported along a predetermined transport route in the ticket gate based on the determination result that the user is allowed to pass through the ticket gate processing.
A ticket gate method characterized by that.   5. The ticket gate according to claim 4, wherein the ticket gate process guides the error contents without taking the ticket medium at the entrance into the ticket gate based on the determination result indicating that the passage of the user is blocked. Method. Furthermore, the predetermined information corresponding to the result of the ticket gate process is printed on the ticket medium transported along the transport route,
Forming perforations in the ticket medium,
The ticket gate method according to claim 4, wherein:

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