Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Method for increasing the efficiency of trade
The invention relates to a method for increasing the
efficiency of trade, whereby the customer, in order to
obtain a physical substitute needed for acquisiti-
on/exploitation or like of a product, service and/or
like, gets contact by his/her own data processing
apparatus, such as a personal computer, a data com-
municator or like via open data communications, such
as through intranet, Internet, modem or like with a
server, whereby after getting connection, chooses,
confirms and pays the desired product, service and/or
like, whereafter the server, after verification of
personal, communications, credit information and/or
like confirms correctness of the trade occasion and
transmits a receipt or like to the customer giving
evidence at least of validity of the trade occasion.
The type of principle as described above is working
nowadays in sale of tickets e.g. of different kinds of
traffic companies or e.g. of service suppliers arran-
ging entertainment occasions, whereby the customer may
get contact by his/her own computer via Internet with
the service suppliers server and reserve, pay and on
the other hand also receive a receipt giving right to
the actual ticket. Nowadays exploitation of the actual
service being bought, such as of a ticket enabling
access to the entertainment occasion, requires howe-
ver, that the customer goes to get the ticket, that
has been reserved, in advance. A crucial disadvantage
of this type of activity is the fact, that the custo-
mer must first of all still go to get the actual
ticket separately and on the other hand the fact, that
the service supplier must first of all mail the ticket
to the customer and on the other hand keep also those
customers queuing, that have already reserved the
tickets in advance, that is why the quality of custo-
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2
mer service suffers disproportionately much only
because of a two-stage sale of tickets.
On the other hand e.g. in application document DE 196
34 169 or patent US 5,239,480 there has been represen-
ted a system, which comprises separate self-service
terminals, that are connected by a closed net (US
5,239,490) or e.g. by a modem (DE 196 34 169) with
certain servers, e.g. with organizers of different
kinds of sports, theatre, musical occasions or the
like. Each terminal has first of all devices required
for the purchase occasion as well as printers so, that
the customer may choose and pay the tickets for the
desired occasion from the sources being connected to
the net and print the same for himself/herself in
order to enable access to the occasion in question.
First of all such a problem is involved with this
solution, that putting up and maintenance of the
system in question is very expensive, because a very
massive entirety is required, in which each terminal
is connected to all servers. of the occasion organizers
being connected to the system. This is why the custo-
mer has first of all a very limited possibility in
practice to choose occasions, because it is not very
easy in practice to couple a very large amount of
sources with a closed system, that is why the solution
in question is applicable mostly in rather limited
environments only. In addition to that the customer
must always naturally operate with a terminal being
connected to the system. Thus, in case the type of net
in question ought to be as customer friendly as
possible, these terminals should be very widely
spread. This is why population living particularly in
scattered settlement is of a totally different value
in practice when compared to population centers, in
which bringing about of the system may be able to be
carried out satisfyingly even to a certain amount.
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The method according to this invention is aimed to
achieve a decisive improvement in the problems descri-
bed above and thus to raise essentially the level of
prior art in the field. In order to bring about this
aim, the method according to the invention is primari-
ly characterized by, that the server forms during the
connection at least an identifier relating to the
customer and transmits the same after an accepted
payment to the customer, whereafter the customer
produces a physical substitute comprising at least the
above identifier by means of his own data processing
apparatus.
The most crucial advantages of the method according to
the invention are first of all simplicity, reliability
and usefulness of the same in most heterogeneous
connections and purposes. The method according to the
invention may be exploited very well in connection
with actual sale of tickets as well as e.g for selling
of different kinds of products. A crucial advantage of
the method according to the invention is furthermore
the fact, that whoever may carry out all needed
purchasing measures, that is choose, confirm and carry
out payment relating to e.g. the desired service or
occasion by means of the nearest PC or by means of his
own personal data communicator, such as e.g. by a GSM
phone or e.g, by a so called pocket computer equipped
with data communications, whereafter the server
produces also the actual physical substitute or e.g.
an access ticket to the occasion in question directly
by means of the customers data processing unit. Above
all not any kind of an already existing closed net,
that is connected e.g. to certain service suppliers,
is thus not anymore requested, but instead always the
widest possible existing net may be exploited in this
connection meaning e.g. Internet as such. This is why
the customer has naturally also the widest possible
selection of service suppliers in use. Furthermore as
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an advantageous embodiment of the method, the service
supplier may advantageously check the identifier of_ - -
the physical substitute being produced for the custo-
mer by exploiting e.g. an automatic reading device,
which after notifying correctness e.g. of an EAN-code
of the ticket being produced by the customer enables
finishing of the trade or e.g. access to an exhition.
Advantageous embodiments of the method according to
the invention are represented in the independent
claims related to the method.
In the following description the invention is descri-
bed in detail with reference made to the accompanying
drawings fig. 1a, lb and fig. 2a, 2b, in which the
principle of the method according to the invention has
been shown as an example being carried out in four
alternative ways.
The invention relates to a method for increasing the
efficiency of trade, whereby the customer, in order to
obtain a physical substitute needed for acquisiti-
on/exploitation or like of a product, service and/or
like, gets contact by his/her own data processing
apparatus X, such as a personal computer, a data
communicator or like via open data communications Y,
such as through intranet, Internet, modem or like with
a server A, whereby after getting a connection,
chooses, confirms and pays the desired product,
service and/or like, whereafter the server A, after
verification of personal, communications, credit
information and/or like confirms correctness of the
trade occasion and transmits a receipt or like to the
customer, giving evidence at least of validity of the
trade occasion. The server A forms during the connec-
tion at least an identifier 1 relating to the customer
and transmits the same after an accepted payment to
the customer, whereafter the customer produces a
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physical substitute 2 comprising at least the above
identifier by means of his/her own data processing
apparatus X.
5 In this connection the server may be carried out in
addition to present server solutions also by means of
a concrete part entirety belonging e.g. to the appara-
tus of e.g. the net server supplier or of the actual
service supplier or alternatively solely by a softwa-
re solution, that is connected to a suitable point in
the process described above, starting from the contact
takers device all the way to the device of the final
service supplier.
Furthermore as an advantageous embodiment of the
method, the identifier 1 of the physical substitute 2
having been produced by the customer is being checked
in connection with exploitation or like of the pro-
duct, service and/or of the like acquisition prefera-
bly by means of an automatic reading device B, which
after establishing validity of the physical substitute
2 enables finishing of the trade, such as delivering
the article being bought or enabling access to the
resort, that the customer is entitled to by the
payment.
Furthermore as an advantageous embodiment the server
A produces an optically readable verifier, such as an
EAN-code la or like, that is included in the physical
substitute 2, that is being produced by the customer
by a printer Z of his/her own data processing appara-
tus. It is on the other hand possible to operate in
such a manner as well, that the server A collects the
identifier 1 regarding the customer as a graphic page,
that is being printed by the printer Z of the custo-
mers' own data processing apparatus.
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Furthermore as an advantageous embodiment of the
method the identifier 1 being transmitted by the. -
server A is being written out by means of the custo-
mers' data processing apparatus to a memory means,
that is to be carried along, such as a memory card, a
smart card or like.
In figs la, lb and 2a the server A is placed physical-
ly between the service supplier T and the customer X,
whereby the server is during the same connection Y
advantageously in connection with the service supplier
T, also, in order to inform about the purchase occasi-
on. The validity of the identifier 1 being given to
the customer is being checked e.g. according to the
principle shown in fig. la in a way, that the reading
device B gets contact with the server A or alternati-
vely as shown in fig. lb by a contact of the reading
device B directly with the service supplier T. The
solution shown in fig. 2a differs from the solution
being presented in fig. 1a in such respect, that the
identifier 1 is booked directly to the customers' data
communicator X, which in this connection acts thus,
also, as the actual physical substitute 2, the validi-
ty of which may be checked by the automatic reading
device B after connection with the server A and/or
with the service supplier T. The solution being
represented furthermore in fig. 2b differs from the
above primarily in such respect, that the customer
server A, e.g. particularly a program being developed
for this purpose, is placed in an integrated manner to
the device environment of the service supplier T.
Furthermore as an advantageous embodiment of the
method, checking of the physical substitute, such as
of a ticket or like, is being carried out contact-
lessly on remote reading principle, such as by means
of an iductive, capasitive and/or like remote reading
device operating by electromagnetism or by means of
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one operating a . g , on radio frequency and/or accordin-
gly. In addition to the above so called optical _ -
solutions may possibly come into question as well or
solutions based on infrared radiation. In this way
first of all a very fluent checking of tickets is
enabled by means of a device entirety, which is able
to monitor continuously the stream of customers and to
let e.g. one customer at a time through a passage gate
without the need for checking each single ticket
visually. In this connection it may be furthermore
advantageous to exploit also other kinds of monitoring
systems for the stream of customers, such as video
cameras or like.
The type of method described above enables also
collecting of wider information than before and
gathering even of totally new kind of information
about customers immediately during the purchase
occasion, because all the services are being sold
exploiting the same system, whereby most heterogeneous
profile information may be collected about the custo-
mer e.g. with a view to customer follow-up, marketing,
statistical or the like purposes.
The method being described above is applicable for
arranging of most heterogeneous public occasions, e.g.
of exhibitions, festivals, concert hall occasions,
sport events, the Olympics etc. The method may be
exploited in centralized sale of tickets furthermore
for activities of e.g. airline companies, shipping
companies, bus companies etc. The method may be
furthermore exploited also in so called tax free
selling or in mail-order business and in deliveries of
the same as well. The method may be applied for
in internal services of companies as well e.g. concer-
ning employment benefits etc. The method may be
applied for on the other hand also in public admini-
stration, e.g. in health care as well as in transmit-
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ting of both medicine and operational diagnostics,~or
on the other hand in social services a . g. in trans- _ -
mitting of financial aids or the like.
It is obvious, that the invention is not limited to
the described or presented examples above, but it can
be modified within the basic idea even to a great
extent . It is thus possible instead of a PC to take
advantage of e.g. a GSM phone or like, that is connec-
ted to a printer, which enables the customer to act as
described above after getting a connection. On the
other hand along development of techniques it is
probable, that the amount of present loadable payment
cards, such as trade instruments of the type of e.g.
telephone cards increase to such extent, that devices
loading these cards will be available also for private
use in a way, that the principle described above may
be exploited also by loading cards by means of home
computers as well. Naturally all kinds of memory
instruments of the future, that may be carried along,
come into question when acting according to the basic
principle of the invention or in other words when the
customer gets contact with a server or like of the
service supplier, which after carrying out the payment
event transmits an identified identifier to the
client, which the customer may write out by means of
his own data processing unit in a most suitable way in
this purpose. Correspondingly the service supplier may
use e.g. traditional visual checking, optical reading
or other e.g. electromagnetically operated, such as
iductive, capasitive or the like remote reading
devices in order to check the customers physical
substitute or e.g. ticket.
