WO2001061577A2

WO2001061577A2 - Method and device for delivery and use of a document opposable to third parties

Info

Publication number: WO2001061577A2
Application number: PCT/BE2001/000025
Authority: WO
Inventors: Guy Orens
Original assignee: Minds, Coöperatieve Vennootschap Met Beperkte Aansprakelijkheid
Priority date: 2000-02-21
Filing date: 2001-02-21
Publication date: 2001-08-23
Also published as: AU3715101A; BE1013114A6; WO2001061577A8

Abstract

Method for delivery and use of a document opposable to third parties, characterized in that it at least consists in: sending, by means of the Internet, from a computer (10) a request for obtaining such document to a computerized system (4) which is equipped with a validation system (9); if a document for which the request has been made can be delivered, sending specific data related to the document to be delivered from the computerized system (4) to the caller (6); making the document available by means of the data received at the caller's (6); validating, controlling, respectively, the document at the use thereof, by means of a connection (17) between means (8) to which the document, when used, is presented, and the validation system (9) and/or by means of data originating from the validation system (9).

Description

Method and device for delivery and use of a document opposable to third parties.

This invention relates to a method and device for the delivery, and possibly also the use, of a document which is opposable to third parties.

In the first place, the invention is intended for delivering tickets, in particular entry tickets, more particularly for cinemas, concert halls and such, as well as for other purposes, for example, airplane tickets, but generally it can be applied for delivering a variety of documents which must be opposable to third parties, such as, for example, insurance certificates.

Various methods and devices for the delivery of tickets and other documents are already known which each have their specific disadvantages.

The classical method consists in that a ticket is exchanged for money, ^' possibly at an automatic machine for distributing tickets. It is also known to apply for tickets by means of the internet, whereby after payment, said ticket is sent by mail or^' such or is kept ready at a counter.

The aim of the invention consists in providing an improved method and device which particularly facilitate the provision of documents which are opposable to third parties, for example, in order to obtain tickets in an easy manner. According to a preferred form of embodiment, this will not only be easier between institutions, but also for providing such documents for public use.

To this aim, the invention in the first place relates to a method for delivery and use of a document which is opposable to third parties, characterized in that it at least consists in

- sending, by means of the internet, from a computer a request for obtaining a document, for example, a ticket, to a computerized system (4) which is equipped with a validation system (9);

- if a document for which the request has been made can be delivered, sending specific data related to the document to be delivered from the computerized system to the caller;

- making the document available by means of the data received at the caller's;

- validating, controlling, respectively, the document at the use thereof, by means of a connection between means to which the document, when used or such, is presented, and the validation system and/or by means of data originating from the validation system.

This method has as an advantage that such document can be printed, for example, on a printer at the caller's, which printer, for example, is coupled to his computer, as a result of which the caller no longer has to go to a location where the respective documents are handed over, as well as the institution providing this document no longer has to send it in a material way. The caller's personal computer then functions as a ticket terminal. In the case of an entry ticket, the caller no longer has to stand in a queue which, during a classical ticket sale at a counter or at a vending machine for ticket sale in fact may happen when many people turn up at the same time. In the case of tickets, the aforementioned method also has the advantage that the caller can buy the ticket when he is sitting at his computer and, for example, by means of the internet, consults the surview of the events for which tickets can be requested. Of course, this is also valid for other documents for which a surview, for example, by means of an internet connection, can be obtained.

Due to the fact that the whole is coupled to a validation system, it is excluded that several persons legitimately might use the same documents, for example, by copying them. In the case of tickets, this means that it is excluded that several persons might gain entry by using copied tickets.

Preferably, the whole is designed such that one can work with a personal computer and a classical internet connection.

According to a first possibility, the respective document can be a visually readable document, for example, a document which is printed, for example, on paper or such, which, as mentioned in the aforegoing, is possible by means of a printer.

According to a preferred form of embodiment, the document, for example, the ticket, shall be printed provided with a barcode, and the means to which the document is presented shall comprise at least one unit for reading said barcode.

According to a second possibility, it is also possible to work with a document which does not consist of paper, but which is a so-called electronic document, whereby the data which are made available for the caller then will not be printed, but placed on an information carrier, such as a diskette, cd, magnetic-stripe card at the caller's himself.

Practically, use will be made of a website in which information relating to said documents is provided, and by means of which the request for obtaining a certain document can be made. So, for example, use can be made of a website in which a. surview of items which are accessible by means of tickets is presented and by means of which website the request for obtaining a certain ticket can be made. In this last case, the caller only has to click on the screen for which events or other arrangements or items he wants a ticket, and to indicate, for example, the number of tickets, in order to make the tickets available.

In the case that documents are concerned for which a payment has to be performed, which will be the case in most of the practical embodiments for which the invention is intended, it is clear that when making a request, whereby a document, such as a ticket, is delivered, also an automatic payment is performed and/or consent is given to deduct the costs of the document from a well-defined account or such, whereby techniques known in themselves for performing a payment by means of the internet can be applied.

For the validation system, preferably use is made of a center which can communicate, directly or indirectly, with said computer as well as with said means to which the document is presented when used. In this manner, a control is made possible between, on one hand, the delivered documents and, on the other hand, the presented documents during the use of these latter. This communication preferably also takes place by means of the inter- net, however, it is clear that a number of communications also can take place in another manner, for example, by means of direct communication lines.

It is noted that with the "use" of documents, it is either intended that the documents are presented at a certain location in order to obtain something, for example, to obtain entry if the document is a ticket, or it is intended that the documents are controlled, for example, in the case of an insurance or licence certificate.

Although not necessarily, preferably one will work with encrypted data. Hereby, it becomes almost impossible for possible counterfeiters of documents to create a falsified document, for example, to generate a barcode for a certain entry, starting from data of, for example, other tickets. More particularly, it is preferred that one works with the system of a "private key" , which is kept in a center, and a "public key", which forms a codification, for example, on paper, whereby both are encrypted in order to come to a unique codification, visually readable and/or electronically verifyable, whether or not printed on paper or placed on a magnetic or electronic carrier.

In a particularly practical form of embodiment, whereby the invention is applied for selling entry tickets, the means to which the tickets are presented when used shall comprise a reading unit which cooperates with an automatic passage system for persons, such that it suffices to put one's ticket into an automatic machine,, whereby, when a ticket is found valid, passage is granted. According to another possibility, use can also be made of documents or tickets which can be scanned at a distance, for example, tickets which are provided with a magnetic stripe, a chip, a responder or such.

According to the invention, said validation system may form part of a center which controls the ticket delivery for different events, whereby this center then has the suitable computer units and software. Also for other documents, this can be performed by means of a centralized system.

The invention also relates to a device for realizing the method described in the aforegoing, with as a characteristic that it at least consists of a computerized system with means which can be consulted by means of the internet and by means of which a document can be requested; means pertaining • to the computerized system which can transmit information such that on the basis thereof, a document can be made available at the caller's; means to which the document can be presented when used; and a validation system pertaining to the computerized system, which validation system cooperates at least with the means which transmit said information and with the means to which the document can be presented when used.

Other characteristics of this device will become clear from the detailed description following hereafter as well as from the appended claims.

With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, hereafter, as an example without any limitative character, a preferred form of embodiment is described, with reference to the sole accompanying figure which schematically shows a device according to the invention.

The form of embodiment described in the following relates to the delivery of documents in the form of tickets. However, it is noted that this is not the only application of the invention and that the general inventive idea can be applied for delivering any kind of document which must be opposable to third parties, either on paper or as an electronic document, or in any other manner .

In the accompanying figure, a device 1 for delivering and using a ticket 2, in this case an entry ticket for a cinema hall of a cinema complex, is represented schematically, whereby the shown blocks 3 each represent a cinema complex.

Hereby, the device 1 substantially consists of a . computerized system 4 comprising means 5 which can be consulted by means of the internet and by means of which such ticket 2 can be requested by a caller 6; means 7 pertaining to the system 4 which can transmit information such that, on the basis thereof, said ticket 2 can be printed or made available in another manner at the caller's; means 8 to which the ticket 2 can be presented when used; and a validation system 9 pertaining to the computerized system 4, which validation system 9 cooperates at least with the means 7, which transmit said information, and with the means 8, to which the ticket 2 can be presented when used.

By caller 6, hereby in the first place an internet user is intended, more particularly individuals having a computer 10, in particular a personal computer, and a printer 11 or another output unit coupled thereto.

In the represented example, the means 5 which can be consulted by means of the internet consist of a website in which a surview is presented of items for which tickets 2 are distributed by means of' said device 1. In this case, these are movies which are shown in the different halls of the cinema complexes 3.

The aforementioned means 7 and the validation system 9 belong to one and the same center 12 which can communicate with callers 6, as well as with the cinema complexes 3 , more particularly with said means 8 to which tickets 2 can be presented.

The means 7 which can transmit information such that on the basis thereof a ticket 2 can be printed, are designed such that tickets 2 can be generated and subsequently be printed at the caller's 6, which tickets are provided with a barcode 13.

The means 8 to which the ticket 2 is presented when used consist, for example, of units which can read the ticket 2 automatically, more particularly, scan it, and are installed, for example, at the entrance of each cinema hall and are connected to a not-represented passage system for persons which lets pass every person who presents a valid ticket 2 to the means 8.

Furhter, in the appended diagram units 14 are represented which pertain to the cinema complexes 3 , more particularly computer units in which the reservations and/or the sale of tickets 2 are registered.

The connections 15, 16 and 17 between the caller 6, the means 5, the center 12 and the units 14 preferably take place solely by means of the internet, although the use of other networks for certain connections is not excluded. A possible example thereof is that certain connections are performed by means of a fixed telephone line. Moreover, it is noted that the connections do not necessarily have to take place as represented, which will be made clear in the following description.

The functioning and use of the aforementioned device 1 substantially are as described in the following.

The different cinema complexes 3 have one or more means 5, in this case, websites, available which can be consulted by the caller 6 and in which information related to the movies which will be shown is available.

The caller 6 can visit this website by means of the represented connection 15, by means of the internet.

When the caller 6 wants to visit a cinema show, then he can apply for a ticket 2, for example, by clicking on data in the aforementioned website.

At that moment, the computerized system 4 verifies whether reservations indeed still are possible, as requested by the caller 6, for example, by means of connections 16 and 17 to one or more of the units 14 comprising the reservation files.

After it has been verified that indeed a ticket 2 can be delivered, the means 7 will transmit the necessary information to the caller 6, by means of the aforementioned connections 16 and 15 and/or a direct connection 18, in order to enable him to print a valid ticket 2. Preferably, this information is encrypted.

By means of this information, the ticket 2, provided with a barcode 13, is printed by means of the printer 11 at the caller's 6. All that is possible with a suitable software, for example, in JAVA. The ticket 2 can be printed, for example, on a sheet of paper of a normal size, for example, A4, together with a contour along which the caller 6 has to cut out the ticket. However, it is clear that this can also be - performed in other ways, for example, by means of ticket blanks which can be passed through a printer.

It is clear that, together with all this, also an automatic payment is performed and/or the consent for deducting the price of the ticket 2 from a certain account or such is granted, for example, to the center 12. Preferably, the payment also takes place by means of the internet, such, for example, according to a technique known in itself.

The data which allow to identify the caller 6 are stored at least until the aforementioned ticket 2 has been validated, such in order to be able to perform a correct control in respect to possible counterfeit tickets.

When the caller 6 goes to the respective cinema complex 3 , he has to present the ticket 2 to the means 8 which are installed at the respective cinema hall , , here the barcode 13 then is read automatically by means of a reading unit pertaining to these means 8. This barcode 13 is immediately controlled and validated by a connection to the validation system 9, after which the caller 6, on condition that the validation is correct, is allowed entry to the respective cinema hall .

As represented in the example, different complexes, in this case cinema complexes 3, may use one and the same center 12 which centralizes all data, delivers the correct information for producing tickets 2 and controls and/or validates all operations. However, it is clear that the center 12 may also be formed by a unit which provides for the delivery of tickets or so-called ticketing of only one cinema complex 3. In that case, this unit may be installed at the administration of this cinema complex 3 itself and may form a whole with said unit 14.

The connections, as aforementioned, do not necessarily have to be realized as represented in the appended diagram. The means 5, for example, can be build up and adapted directly from the cinema complexes 3 , without the necessity of a direct connection to the center 12.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the represen- ted application with tickets and cinema complexes 3 , but can be applied for a variety of purposes where documents have to be delivered, whether or not consisting of tickets and whether or not being related to obtaining an entry.

In fact, it is clear that all aforementioned aspects described in respect to the ticket sale system can be applied analogous in other applications where other kinds of documents than tickets are distributed. Hereby, the control of the documents can take place in any manner, for example, by means of scanners or such.

It is noted that the validation of tickets 2 or other documents in the case of another application does not necessarily have to take place by means of the connection 17. So, for example, the data, which are necessary to control the tickets 2 or other documents, already may be delivered in advance to the cinema complex 3 or another unit, either by completely transmitting these data and subsequently storing them in a file, or by delivering these data on a carrier, for example, a diskette, whereby the validation then is performed on location.

According to a deviating form of embodiment, the invention also relates to a method whereby the transmission of the document does not take place as a consequence of a call by means of a computer, but starts from the institution itself which wants to deliver the respective document by means of a computer.

Finally, it is noted that by the computerized system 4, a network or a combination of networks is intended, together with the computer apparatus' connected thereto, by means of which the aforementioned documents, for example, tickets 2, can be obtained and are controlled, whereby the validation system forms a link thereof which can be situated at any location.

The present invention is in no way limited to the form of embodiment described by way of example and represented in the figure; on the contrary may such method and device be realized according to different variants while still remaining within the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims .

1.- Method for delivery and use of a document opposable to third parties, characterized in that it at least consists in:

- sending, by means of the internet, from a computer (10) a request for obtaining such document to a computerized system (4) which is equipped with a validation system (9);

- if a document for which the request has been made can be delivered, sending specific data related to the document to be delivered from the computerized system (4) to the caller (6);

- making the document available by means of the data received at the caller's (6);

- validating, controlling, respectively, the document with the use thereof, by means of a connection (17) between means (8) to which the document, when used, is presented, and the validation system (9) and/or by means of data originating from the validation system

⁽⁹⁾.

2. - Method according to claim 1 , characterized in that the aforementioned computer (10) is a personal computer.

3.- Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that for the document, use is made of a visually readable document.

4.- Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the document is printed by means of a printer (11), which preferably is coupled to said computer (10).

5.- Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the document is printed, provided with a barcode (13), and that the means (8) to wich the document is presented when used, comprise at least a unit for reading the aforementioned barcode (13).

6.- Method according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that for the document, use is made of a so-called electronic document, whereby the data are placed on an information carrier, such as a diskette, cd, magnetic- stripe card or such.

7.- Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that use is made of a website in which a surview is presented of events for which documents are provided and/or in which information thereon is given and by means of which the request for obtaining a well- defined document can be made.

8.- Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that when a request takes place whereby a document is delivered, also an automatic payment is performed and/or agreement is given to deduct the costs connected to obtaining the document from a well-defined account or such.

9.- Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that for the validation system (9), use is made of a center (12) which can communicate, directly or indirectly, with the aforementioned computer (10) as well as with the aforementioned means (8) to which the document is presented when used.

10.- Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the- validation system (9) communicates, by means of the internet, with the computer (10) and/or with the means (8) to which the document is presented when used.

11.- Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that encrypted data are used.

12.- Method according to claim 11, characterized in that a system with a so-called "private key" and a "public key", whereby both are encrypted, is used in order to come to a unique codification, visually readable and/or electronically verifyable, whether or not printed on paper or placed on a magnetic or electronic carrier.

13.- Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is applied for the sale of tickets ( 2 ) , more particularly entry tickets .

14.- Method according to claim 13, characterized in that the ticket (2) is an entry ticket and that the means (8) to which the ticket (2) is presented when used, comprise a reading unit which cooperates with an automatic passage system for persons.

15.- Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said validation system (9) forms part of a center (12) which controls the delivery of documents, more particularly tickets (2) for different events, and^' more particularly of different buildings (3).

16.- Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is applied for selling entry tickets for cinemas and/or concert halls.

17.- Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that data which allow to identify the caller (6) are stored at least until said document is validated.

18.- Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, instead of delivering a document as a consequence of a request by means of a computer, the sending of the document takes places from the institution itself which wants to deliver the respective document by means of computer.

19.- Device for realizing the method of one of more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it at least consists of a computerized system (4) with means (5) which can be consulted by means of the internet and by means of which a document can be requested; means (7) pertaining to the computerized system (4) which can transmit information, such that, based thereon, a document can be made available at the caller's; means (8) to which the document can be presented when used; and a validation system (9) pertaining to the computerized system, which validation system at least cooperates with the means (7) which transmit said information and with the means (8) to which the document can be presented when used.

20.- Device according to claim 19, characterized in that the means (5) which can be consulted by means of the internet, consist of a website in which a surview of items, for which the respective documents can be delivered, is presented.

21.- Device according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that the means (7) which can transmit information such that on the basis thereof a document can be printed, generate a barcode (13) and transmit the information for printing this barcode (13) to the caller (6), whereby the means (8) to which the document is presented when used, comprise at least a reading unit for reading said barcode (13).

22.- Device according to claim 19 to 21, characterized in that it comprises means for performing a payment by means of the internet.

23.- Device according to any of the claims 19 to 22, characterized in that it forms part of a system for selling entry tickets.