Monitoring tickets on transportation systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10902353-B2
Application number	US-201715445353-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2017
Priority date	Feb 28, 2017
Publication date	Jan 26, 2021
Grant date	Jan 26, 2021

Abstract

The present invention provides a computer implemented method, system, and computer program product for monitoring a ticket, the method including receiving credentials by a processing unit from a device via manual presentation of the device to a manual sensor logically coupled to the processing unit, generating a ticket identifier (ID) based on the credentials, transmitting the ticket ID from the processing unit to the device, establishing a wireless connection between the device and the processing unit, checking the wireless connection before each occurrence of an event, checking the wireless connection after each occurrence of the event, and updating a status of a ticket in light of the checking. In an exemplary embodiment, a ticket system includes a processing unit, a manual sensor, a wireless sensor, and a device, where the processing unit transmits the ticket ID, and where the processing unit verifies continued connection at key events.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer implemented method for monitoring a ticket, the method comprising:
receiving credentials by a processing unit from a device via manual presentation of the device to a manual sensor logically coupled to the processing unit on a vehicle;
generating a ticket identifier (ID) by the processing unit based on the credentials;
transmitting the ticket ID from the processing unit to the device;
establishing a wireless connection between the device and the processing unit;
monitoring a signal strength of the wireless connection between the processing unit and the device;
detecting a loss of the wireless connection;
determining, based on the monitoring, that a type of the loss of the wireless connection is an abrupt loss type;
determining, based on the type of the loss, that the loss of the wireless connection was not due to the device moving away from the processing unit;
updating a status of an account associated with the ticket ID in light of the determining that loss of the wireless connection was not due to the device moving away from the processing unit; and
charging the account a fee based on the status.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising monitoring the wireless connection before the vehicle comes to a stop and during the stop.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring comprises:
recording a signal strength of the wireless connection between the processing unit and the device; and
comparing the signal strength to a lookup table to determine a distance of the device from the processing unit.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the device is a portable electronic device.

5. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining a location of the device via at least one sensor.

6. A system for monitoring a ticket, the system comprising:
a memory; and
a processing unit communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the processing unit performs:
receiving credentials by a processing unit from a device via manual presentation of the device to a manual sensor logically coupled to the processing unit;
generating a ticket identifier (ID) by the processing unit based on the credentials;
transmitting the ticket ID from the processing unit to the device;
establishing a wireless connection between the device and the processing unit via manual activation;
monitoring a signal strength of the wireless connection between the processing unit and the device;
detecting a loss of the wireless connection;
determining, based on the monitoring, that a type of the loss of the wireless connection is an abrupt loss type;
determining, based on the type of the loss, that the loss of the wireless connection was not due to the device moving away from the processing unit;
updating a status of an account associated with the ticket ID in light of the determining that the loss of the wireless connection was not due to the device moving away from the processing unit; and
charging the account a fee based on the status.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the monitoring comprises:
recording a signal strength of the wireless connection; and
comparing the signal strength to a lookup table to determine a distance of the device from the processing unit.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processing unit further performs generating an exception value indicating the type of the loss of the wireless connection during the monitoring.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein the manual activation comprises touching the device to the manual activation sensor.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the device is a portable electronic device.

11. The system of claim 6 , further comprising one or more sensors to determine the location of the device.

12. A computer program product for monitoring a ticket, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions readable and executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform:
receiving credentials by a processing unit from a device via manual presentation of the device to a manual sensor logically coupled to the processing unit;
generating a ticket identifier (ID) by the processing unit based on the credentials;
transmitting the ticket ID from the processing unit to the device;
establishing a wireless connection between the device and the processing unit;
monitoring a signal strength of the wireless connection between the processing unit and the device;
detecting a loss of the wireless connection;
determining, based on the monitoring, that a type of the loss of the wireless connection is a gradual loss type;
determining, based on the type of the loss, that the loss of the wireless connection was due to the device moving away from the processing unit;
updating a status of an account associated with the ticket ID in light of the determining that the loss of the wireless connection was due to the device moving away from the processing unit; and
charging the account a fee based on the status.

13. The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform monitoring the wireless connection before a stop and during the stop.

14. The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the monitoring comprises:
recording a signal strength of the wireless connection; and
comparing the signal strength to a lookup table to determine a distance of the device from the processing unit.

15. The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the updating comprises charging an account associated with the ticket ID a fee based on the exception value.

16. The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the device is a portable electronic device.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Feng Kai
• Jia Shuang Shuang
• Tang Yong
• Xiang jun long
• Zhao Xin

Classifications

• G06Q20/327

  Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices · CPC title

• G06Q20/0457

  the tickets being sent electronically · CPC title

• G07B15/02

  taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems (G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24) · CPC title

• G06Q20/352

  Contactless payments by cards · CPC title

• G06Q20/32

  using wireless devices · CPC title