Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-13
2004-02-24
Frech, Karl D. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
C235S376000, C235S382000, C235S384000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06695203
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a boarding pass processing unit, a boarding gate reader, a service kiosk for boarding pass (a boarding pass issuing machine), a boarding pass, a person collation unit, and a boarding pass processing method with which security in air ports can be enhanced, and a boarding system having the boarding pass processing device and the boarding gate reader.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been general that a person-to-board (i.e., a person who is expected to board a plane) move in an airport to get on a plane as follows.
A person-to-board registers a check-in at a check-in counter and also checks his/her baggage if necessary. The passenger is allowed to check in under the following condition:
(1) A plane has vacant seats, or
(2) The passenger has already made a reservation.
A person-to-board who has completed his/her check-in procedure is then subjected to magnetic examination of his/her body and X-rays examination of his/her hand baggage which are carried out to prevent passengers from bring dangerous things into planes. Thereafter, the person-to-board passes through a boarding gate and gets on his/her plane.
In order to keep security, the airport (airline company) checks whether any person who does not get on the plane (hereinafter referred to as “non-boarding person”) exists in persons-to-board who have completed their check-in procedures before the plane takes off. Boarding passes (airline tickets) possessed by persons-to-board are used to identify the persons-to-board who have checked in and persons (passengers) who pass through the boarding gate and get on the plane. When there is a non-boarding person, the airline company calls or looks for the non-boarding person in the airport. In this case, the departure of the air plane may be delayed.
However, only contract contents such as the name of a person-to-board, a boarding-scheduled date, a flight No. of an air plane, a destination, the name of a departure air port, a fare, etc. are written on an air ticket. Therefore, only the check of the written matters of the boarding pass is insufficient to accurately identify the person-to-board.
Further, identification of persons-to-board is required to be needed in airports for detection of plane hijacking, boarding procedures (check-in, boarding to air planes, etc.) cancel of boarding passes, alteration of boarding-scheduled air planes, etc. In such cases, it is also required to check whether a person-to-board having a boarding pass is a proper person of the boarding pass concerned. Therefore, a clerk in charge requests persons-to-board to show not only their boarding passes, but also their identification cards (particularly, identification cards having face photographs), or present keywords such as reservation numbers, identification numbers, birthdays or the like which only the persons-to-board know, or credit cards with their names, and check the identification of the persons-to-board by using the means corresponding to the necessity at that time.
However, since no information to identify persons-to-board accurately is recorded on their boarding passes themselves, the clerk in charge waits until the persons-to-board show their identification cards or the like and then check the identifies of the persons-to-board every time the identification is needed. Therefore, much time is needed to check their identifies, and there is a problem that an identification work is not efficiently carried out.
Further, persons-to-board are required to carry their identification cards or the like and show them every time the identification is needed. Therefore, many persons-to-board feel burdensome, and this makes the persons-to-board feel displeased at the services.
Still further, since an automatic boarding identifying gate apparatus used for the boarding work is not provided with any function of identifying persons-to-board, it is possible that a person-to-board delivers his/her boarding pass to another person and a person other than the person-to-board gets on an airplane while posing as the original person-to-board.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has an object to provide a boarding pass processing unit, a boarding pass processing method, a boarding gate reader, a boarding pass, a service kiosk for boarding pass, a person collation unit and a boarding system with which identification of persons-to-board can be easily performed to enhance services to persons-to-board and keep the security.
In order to attain the above object, (1) a boarding pass processing unit of the present invention comprises:
a boarding pass accepting portion for accepting a boarding pass;
a control portion for identifying a person-to-board who is an owner of the boarding pass accepted by the boarding pass accepting portion, and judging whether the person-to-board should be allowed to board;
a face image achieving portion for achieving an face image of the person-to-board who is the owner of the boarding pass accepted by the boarding pass accepting portion;
a face image printing portion for printing the face image of the person-to-board achieved by the face image achieving portion is printed on the boarding pass accepted by the boarding pass accepting portion when the control portion judges that the person-to-board is allowed to board; and
a boarding pass discharge portion for discharging the boarding pass on which the face image is printed by the face image print portion.
According to the above construction, the face image of a person-to-board is printed on a boarding pass accepted by the boarding pass accepting portion. The face image of the person-to-board to be printed on the boarding pass is achieved by the face image achieving portion. The face image achieving portion may achieve the face image of each person-to-board by taking a photograph of each person-to-board with a camera disposed in the neighborhood of the main body of the apparatus or by reading the face image of each person-to-board from an identification card or the like of the person-to-board.
Further, the control portion identifies each person-to-board who is an owner of a boarding pass, and judges whether the person-to-board is allowed to board. This judgment may be carried out, for example, by reading the identification card of the person-to-board and identify the person-to-board from the written matters of the identification card, or by making an operator carry out aural inquiries on persons-to-board, input the contents of the aural inquiries and then identify the persons-to-board from the input contents. Further, the judgment may be carried out by making inquiries about past criminal records, etc. of the persons-to-board to police stations, security companies, etc.
When the control portion judges that boarding is allowed to a person-to-board, the face image print portion prints on the boarding pass the face image of the person-to-board achieved by the face image achieving portion.
Accordingly, the person-to-board whose identification is completed and thus to which the boarding is allowed has a boarding pass on which his/her face image is printed. Therefore, by showing the boarding pass having his/her face image printed thereon to the clerk in charge, the person-to-board can make the clerk in charge identify that he/she is the proper owner of the boarding pass.
When a face image is printed on a boarding pass, a person-to-board having the boarding pass is not required to be identified again because the identity of the person-to-board has been checked.
Further, (2) the face image print portion is equipped with a face image data recording portion for recording on the boarding pass face image data achieved by coding the face image printed on the boarding pass by the face image print portion.
In this construction, the face image data achieved by coding the face image printed on the boarding pass are also recorded on the boarding pass. Therefore, at the boarding gate or the like, the face image data are read out from the boarding pass, a photograph of the fa
Eck Ralph H.
Iki Amehiko
Dickstein , Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky, LLP
Frech Karl D.
Omron Corporation
Walsh Daniel I
LandOfFree
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