Ticket management server and program

Abstract

To provide a highly convenient ticket management server and a program.SOLUTION: A ticket management server includes a control unit, a database that stores a ticket ID identifying a ticket and a user telephone number in association with each other, and a communication unit that can communicate with a user terminal of a user via a network. The control unit determines whether there is an incoming call from the user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket to a predetermined ticketing telephone number that can be received by the communication unit, and causes a ticket issuing device to issue the ticket when a determination condition including the condition that there is a call origination from the user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket to the ticketing telephone number is satisfied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a ticket management server used in a ticket management system that monitors tickets used for admission to an event or the like. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, with the widespread use of mobile devices such as smartphones, an electronic ticket system has been proposed in which an admission ticket is converted into digital data and distributed to the mobile device, and the electronic ticket stored on the visitor's device at the entrance is checked to determine whether or not entry is permitted.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic ticket system that uses a stamp that can be touched at multiple points simultaneously on a smartphone screen to perform a cancellation process that marks an electronic ticket as used by combining the electronic ticket with a stamp corresponding to the electronic ticket. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-5275 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Although electronic tickets like those mentioned above are becoming more widely used, there is still room for improvement in terms of preventing fraud and improving convenience. For example, it is necessary to effectively prevent the illegal resale of tickets (such as so-called scalpers). Also, when transferring tickets to people who do not have a multi-function device (such as a so-called smartphone) on which a dedicated application can be installed, it is necessary to provide a method for using the tickets on devices that cannot install dedicated applications, or to issue paper tickets, but it is also necessary to prevent fraudulent use and issuance for these methods.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide an improved ticket management system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a ticket management system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit, a database that stores a ticket ID for identifying a ticket and a user phone number in association with each other, and a communication unit that can communicate with a user terminal of a user via a network. The control unit determines whether or not a predetermined ticket issuing phone number that can be received by the communication unit has received an incoming call from the user phone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket, and causes the ticket issuing device to issue a ticket when a determination condition is met, including the fact that the ticket issuing phone number has received a call from the user phone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket.

[0008] In the present invention, in response to receiving via the communication unit a notification that a ticket issuance start operation has been performed on the user terminal, the control unit determines whether or not a call has been received from a user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket to a specified ticket issuance telephone number that can be received by the communication unit.

[0009] In the present invention, the communication unit includes a network communication unit capable of communicating with the user terminal and the ticket issuing device via a network, and a telephone communication unit capable of communicating with the user terminal via a telephone line, and in response to receiving via the network communication unit a notification that a ticket issuance start operation has been performed on the user terminal, the control unit determines whether or not a call has been received from a user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket to a specified ticket issuing telephone number that can be received by the telephone communication unit within a specified valid operation time after the ticket issuance start operation has been performed, and if the determination conditions are met, including the reception of a call from the user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket to the ticket issuing telephone number within the valid operation time, then sends a command to the ticket issuing device to issue a ticket.

[0010] In the present invention, the communication unit includes a network communication unit capable of communicating with the user terminal of the user via a network, and a telephone communication unit capable of communicating with the user terminal via a telephone line, and the control unit, in response to receiving via the network communication unit a notification that a ticket issuance start operation has been performed on the user terminal, determines whether or not a predetermined ticket issuance telephone number that can be received by the telephone communication unit has received an incoming call from a user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket within a predetermined valid operation time after the ticket issuance start operation has been performed, and when a determination condition is met including the reception of a call from the user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket within the valid operation time, causes a speaker of the user terminal to output data-embedded voice in which ticket issuance information for issuing a ticket is embedded, and causes the ticket issuing device to issue a ticket based on the data-embedded voice output from the user terminal. The ticket issuance information embedded in the data-embedded voice may include the printed content of the face of the ticket to be issued.

[0011] In the present invention, the data-embedded voice may be transmitted to the user terminal by voice communication through a telephone line. Alternatively, the data-embedded voice may be transmitted to the user terminal by live streaming through a network. Alternatively, the data-embedded voice may be transmitted to the user terminal through a network as a voice data file including the data-embedded voice.

[0012] In the present invention, when a ticket issuance start operation is performed, identification information indicating which of multiple ticket issuing devices will issue the ticket is received, and when a judgment condition is met, the ticket is printed by the ticket issuing device corresponding to the received identification information.

[0013] In the present invention, the ticket management server prompts the user's user terminal to access a first site before starting the ticket issuance operation, causes the user terminal to record access history information to the first site in response to the user terminal's access to the first site, causes the user terminal to access a second site to perform the ticket issuance start operation, and acquires access history information to the first site from the user terminal in response to the user terminal's access to the second site, and the judgment conditions for the judgment made by the control unit may include a match between the access history recorded in the user terminal when accessing the first site and the access history acquired from the user terminal when accessing the second site.

[0014] In the present invention, the ticket management server may prompt the user's user terminal to access a first site before starting the ticket issuance operation, and in response to the user terminal's access to the first site, obtain first user agent information from the user terminal indicating the user agent used to access the first site, have the user terminal access a second site to perform the ticket issuance start operation, and obtain second user agent information indicating the user agent used by the user terminal to access the second site, and the determination conditions for the determination made by the control unit may include a match between the first user agent information and the second user agent information.

[0015] A ticket management server according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit, a database that stores a ticket ID for identifying a ticket and a user telephone number in association with each other, a network communication unit capable of communicating with a user terminal of a user via a network, and a telephone communication unit capable of communicating with the user terminal via a telephone line. In response to receiving a notification via the network communication unit that an owner registration start operation for a ticket has been performed at the user terminal, the control unit determines whether or not a predetermined registration telephone number that can be received by the telephone communication unit has received an incoming call from a user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket within a predetermined valid operation time after the owner registration start operation has been performed, and displays the ticket on the user terminal held by the user so that it can be used when a determination condition is met, including the fact that a call has been received from the user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket within the valid operation time.

[0016] In the present invention, it is preferable that the registration telephone number be sent to the user's contact information in response to an operation to start owner registration.

[0017] In the present invention, a plurality of candidate telephone numbers are provided as the registration telephone number, and in response to an operation to start owner registration, one of the plurality of candidate telephone numbers is notified to the user's contact information as the registration telephone number.

[0018] In the present invention, the ticket management server prompts the user's user terminal to access a first site before performing the owner registration start operation, causes the user terminal to record access history information to the first site in response to the user terminal's access to the first site, causes the user terminal to access a second site to perform the owner registration start operation, and acquires access history information to the first site from the user terminal in response to the user terminal's access to the second site, and the judgment conditions for the judgment made by the control unit may include a match between the access history recorded in the user terminal when accessing the first site and the access history acquired from the user terminal when accessing the second site.

[0019] In the present invention, the ticket management server prompts the user's user terminal to access a first site before performing the owner registration start operation, and in response to the user terminal's access to the first site, acquires first user agent information from the user terminal indicating the user agent used to access the first site, has the user terminal access a second site to perform the owner registration start operation, and acquires second user agent information indicating the user agent used by the user terminal to access the second site, and the judgment conditions for the judgment made by the control unit may include a match between the first user agent information and the second user agent information.

[0020] In order to solve the above problem, a program according to an embodiment of the present invention may cause a computer to function as any one of the ticket management servers described above. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a ticket management system 1. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server 2. [Diagram 3] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a ticket issuing device 3. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a user terminal 4. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure for receiving a ticket. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an owner registration process. [Figure 7] 1 is a flow chart showing a procedure for electronically using a ticket. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for issuing a paper ticket. [Figure 9] 10 is a flow chart showing a procedure for electronically delivering a ticket. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a paper ticket issuing process in the second embodiment. [Figure 11]13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a paper ticket issuing process in the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0023] [Basic configuration of ticket management system] As shown in Fig. 1, a ticket management system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is composed of a server 2, multiple ticket issuing devices 3, and multiple user terminals 4. The server 2, the ticket issuing devices 3, and the user terminals 4 are connected to each other via a network NW such as the Internet. The server 2 and the user terminals 4 are also connected to a telephone line network TL.

[0024] [Server configuration] Server 2 is, for example, a computer system, and is composed of a main body equipped with input / output devices such as a keyboard, mouse, and touch panel, an arithmetic unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and storage devices such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (read only memory), and display devices such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the server 2 includes at least a storage unit 201, a control unit 202, a network communication unit 203, and a telephone communication unit 204. The storage unit 201 of the server 2 stores programs executed by the control unit 202, data used in the programs, and the like. For example, the storage unit 201 stores a program for implementing the functions of the server 2 in the ticket management system 1, a database DB related to electronic tickets managed by the ticket management system 1, a program for performing payment processing, and the like. The server 2 does not need to be configured such that each of the above components is physically integrated. For example, some or all of the above components may be distributed and located in remote locations, and they may function as the server 2 in cooperation with each other.

[0026] The database DB stores, as information about electronic tickets, information about tickets (e.g., unique ticket ID, performance ID, ticket type, seat number, remittance key, purchaser's user ID, status (used / unused, etc.), ticket face image, etc.), information about users (e.g., unique user ID, name, age, phone number (user phone number), address, gender, other attributes, contact information, etc.), and information about performances (e.g., performance ID, performance name, date and time, venue, etc.). In this embodiment, a mobile phone number and contact information are essential information about users. This contact information is a contact (email address, SNS, etc.) that can send and receive information at the user terminal 4. One user ID and one performance ID are linked to one ticket ID corresponding to one ticket, and by identifying the ticket ID, information about the user who purchased the ticket and information about the performance to which the ticket can be entered can be identified. If one user purchases multiple tickets for the same performance, multiple ticket IDs linked to the same performance ID will be linked to one ticket ID.

[0027] The control unit 202 of the server 2 executes processing according to the program stored in the storage unit 201, based on a request or the like transmitted from the user terminal 4. For example, the control unit 202 executes processing such as searching for data in the database DB stored in the storage unit 201, new registration, deletion, and updating, and communicates with the ticket issuing device 3, the user terminal 4, and the like, via the network communication unit 203 and the network NW. The control unit 202 also controls the telephone communication unit 204 to obtain the incoming telephone number and transmit the necessary voice through the telephone line.

[0028] [Configuration of the Ticket Issuing Device] The ticket issuing device 3 prints ticket information on a predetermined sheet of paper and issues the ticket based on a command from the server 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the ticket issuing device 3 includes at least a storage unit 301, a control unit 302, a communication unit 303, a printing unit 304, a display unit 305, a microphone 306, and a camera 307.

[0029] The storage unit 301 stores programs executed by the control unit 302, data used in the programs, etc. For example, the storage unit 301 stores a program for controlling the printing unit 304 to print ticket information based on a command from the server 2, a program for controlling the display unit 305 to display a ticket issuing machine number and various screens based on a command from the server 2, etc. In the ticket management system 1 equipped with multiple ticket issuing devices 3, a ticket issuing machine number is assigned to each ticket issuing device 3 to identify each individual ticket issuing device 3, and each ticket issuing device 3 stores its own ticket issuing machine number in the control unit 302. The ticket issuing machine number may be a ticket issuing telephone number assigned individually to each ticket issuing device 3.

[0030] The control unit 302 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 301. For example, the control unit 302 controls the printing unit 304 to print tickets in response to commands from the server 2, and controls the display content of the display unit 305.

[0031] The communication unit 303 communicates with the server 2 via the network NW. The communication unit 303 may also be configured to be capable of near field communication (NFC), infrared communication, visible light communication, etc. The printing unit 304 is a printer that prints the ticket on a predetermined sheet of paper. The ticket paper may be, for example, a piece of paper that is pre-cut to a predetermined size and perforated as necessary, or it may be rolled paper that is cut to a predetermined length each time printing is performed.

[0032] Display unit 305 is a display element such as a liquid crystal display, and displays the ticket issuing machine number, which is an identification number for identifying ticket issuing device 3, as well as various notification and guidance screens. Note that the ticket issuing machine number may be displayed on a label or the like on which the ticket issuing machine number is printed, instead of or in addition to display unit 305. Microphone 306 accepts voice input.

[0033] [User terminal configuration] The user terminal 4 is, for example, a tablet terminal or a smartphone, and includes a touch panel, a computing unit such as a CPU, memory devices such as RAM and ROM, a display device such as an LCD, a speaker for outputting audio, a microphone for collecting audio, and the like.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 4, the user terminal 4 includes at least an operation unit 401, a storage unit 402, a control unit 403, a communication unit 404, a display unit 405, a microphone 406, and a speaker 407.

[0035] The operation unit 401 accepts operations by a user. The operation unit 401 includes a touch panel arranged over the display unit 405, and other buttons. The storage unit 402 stores programs executed by the control unit 403, data used in the programs, and the like. The storage unit 402 stores, for example, an operating system (OS), application programs for the ticket management system 1, data on purchased electronic tickets used in the application programs, user information, and the like.

[0036] The application program for using the ticket management system 1 may be a dedicated application software, or may be a more versatile browser or messenger application. When using a browser or messenger application (hereinafter referred to as a browser or the like), the user terminal 4 may be configured to access the server 2 using the browser or the like, and to acquire and display data related to purchased electronic tickets from the database DB of the server 2 as needed. In the embodiment described below, a browser or the like is used as the application program for using the ticket management system 1.

[0037] The control unit 403 executes various programs including a browser etc. stored in the storage unit 402. The browser etc. accesses a specified URL to display a website etc., and also performs processing based on various data stored in the storage unit 402 and operations of the operation unit 401, as described in detail later.

[0038] The communication unit 404 communicates with the server 2 via the network NW. The communication unit 404 also performs voice communication using a telephone line network TL. The network NW and the telephone line network TL may be a single network.

[0039] The display unit 405 is a display element such as a liquid crystal display, and displays various information (the face of the electronic ticket) under the control of the control unit 403. The display unit 405 cooperates with the touch panel of the operation unit 401 to realize various input interfaces.

[0040] [Basic operation of ticket management system] The basic flow of how a user purchases and uses a ticket using the ticket management system 1 configured as above will be described.

[0041] [Ticket purchase and collection] A user purchases tickets for a desired event from a ticket seller (e.g., a ticket sales store, a ticket sales terminal, a ticket site provided on the Internet, etc.). At this time, the user selects various conditions such as the event, seat type, number of seats, and ticket collection method, and performs the payment procedure. When an electronic ticket is selected as the ticket collection method, the user will use a ticket management system via his / her mobile terminal. The flow of ticket collection when an electronic ticket is selected as the ticket collection method will be explained below with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 5.

[0042] When payment for the purchased ticket is completed, the ticket seller transmits the ticket ID of the purchased ticket and the user ID of the user who purchased the ticket to the server 2, and the server 2 receives them (step S100). The server 2 then records the user ID received from the seller as the user ID of the purchaser linked to the ticket ID received from the seller (step S110). The server 2 also transmits a receipt URL for receiving the purchased ticket on the user terminal 4 to a contact (email address, SNS account, etc.) linked to the user ID of the purchaser (step S120). Note that the ticket may be received on the condition that a ticket number, phone number, etc. are input. Access to this receipt URL is managed by the server 2.

[0043] The user receives the ticket by using a browser or the like of the user terminal 4 to access the receiving URL transmitted from the server 2 in step S120 (step S130). This makes it possible to use the ticket using a browser or the like on the user terminal 4. At this time, predetermined identification information is recorded in the browser or the like of the user terminal 4 used to access the receiving URL as history information (so-called Cookie) indicating that the receiving URL has been accessed. The server 2 links the purchaser's user ID to the Cookie and records it. The server 2 also links information about the user agent (hereinafter referred to as "UA information") indicating the model, browser, OS, etc. of the user terminal 4 that accessed the receiving URL to the purchaser and records it.

[0044] In the ticket management system of this embodiment, a ticket that has not been registered as a ticket owner will not be made available for use. Therefore, a user who purchases a ticket must register the ticket owner in the following manner.

[0045] [Owner registration] FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the owner registration process. When a user starts a browser or the like using the user terminal 4 and accesses the site of the ticket management system, the events for which the user has already purchased tickets are displayed in a selectable manner (step S200). When a desired ticket is selected from these, if the owner registration of the ticket has not been completed, an owner registration screen for performing owner registration of the ticket is displayed together with the ticket face (step S210). Access to this owner registration screen is managed by the server 2. The user accesses the displayed owner registration screen. At this time, the user terminal 4 transmits to the server 2 UA information of the browser or the like used for access and Cookie information left in the browser or the like when the user accesses the reception URL to receive the ticket (step S220). In addition, the server 2 notifies the user of the registration phone number in response to the access to the owner registration screen (step S230). Here, the method of notifying the user may be to transmit the registration phone number to the user's contact information or to display it on a Web page that the user can view using the user terminal or the like. This registration telephone number may be a fixed telephone number, but may be a different number each time it is displayed, with one number selected from a number of candidate telephone numbers being transmitted.

[0046] Next, the user terminal 4 displays an authentication button for starting the owner registration process on the display unit 405 (step S235). When the user presses the authentication button, the server 2 records the time of pressing the button in association with the ticket ID (step S240). The authentication button B1 is an example of an owner registration start operation in the present invention. In addition, in response to pressing the authentication button, the user terminal 4 displays the registration phone number received in step S220 (step S245). Note that instead of transmitting the registration phone number from the server 2 to the user terminal 4 in step S230, the registration phone number may be transmitted from the server 2 to the user terminal 4 in response to pressing the authentication button and displayed on the display unit 405.

[0047] Next, the server 2 judges whether or not a call was made to the registration telephone number from the telephone number of the user recorded in association with the ticket (usually the user terminal 4) within a predetermined valid operation time (for example, within 4 seconds) from the time of pressing (step S250). This valid operation time should be short enough that it is difficult to transmit the ticket issuing telephone number to a third party in a remote location and make a call to the telephone number by a proxy operation from the remote location.

[0048] In step S250, the server 2 determines whether or not a call was made to the registration phone number from a phone number (usually the user terminal 4) of a user phone number recorded in association with the ticket within a predetermined valid operation time (for example, within 4 seconds) from the pressing time, as follows: The server 2 receives the call to the registration phone number via the telephone communication unit 204. The telephone communication unit 204 then identifies the caller's phone number and the called phone number (any of the candidate phone numbers). The server 2 identifies the ticket ID based on the called phone number, and checks whether the ticket ID is a ticket ID whose pressing time is recorded within the period going back the valid operation time from the time of receiving the call, thereby determining whether or not a call was made to the registration phone number within the valid operation time.

[0049] If a call is not made to the registration phone number within the valid operation time from the time of pressing (step S250; No), the owner registration is not performed, a screen informing the user that the owner registration could not be performed is displayed on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4 (step S260), and the owner registration process ends. Note that if the caller's phone number is only one character different from the user phone number recorded in association with the ticket, or if the first character is missing, or if an input error is suspected, it is advisable to configure the system to inform the user of this. In this way, the user can easily notice that the user phone number has been registered incorrectly, and is prompted to correct the user phone number.

[0050] On the other hand, if a call is made to the registration telephone number within the valid operation time from the pressing time (step S250; Yes), the server 2 performs a verification process (step S270). In the verification process, the telephone number of the purchaser linked to the ticket ID is extracted from the database DB, and verified against the number that was called in step S250. The server 2 also verifies the Cookie information and UA information when the receipt URL recorded in association with the purchaser's user ID is accessed against the Cookie information and UA information sent from the user terminal 4 in step S220. If the information does not match in the verification process (step S270; No), the owner registration is not performed, and a screen notifying the user that the owner registration has failed is displayed on the user terminal 4 (step S260), and the owner registration process ends. On the other hand, if the information matches in the verification process (step S270; Yes), the server 2 records in the database DB that the owner registration has been completed for the ticket, and enables the user terminal 4 to display the ticket in a usable state (step S280). Thereafter, when the user starts a browser or the like on the user terminal 4 to access the site of the ticket management system and display the ticket, the ticket is displayed as being usable.

[0051] According to the owner registration process described above, the ticket cannot be used unless the person who purchased the ticket registers the owner, which makes it possible to prevent unauthorized transfer or resale of the ticket. [Use of electronic tickets]

[0052] As described above, an electronic ticket managed by the ticket management system 1 can be used by registering its owner. As described below, the ticket can be used electronically, or a paper ticket can be issued and used.

[0053] 7 is a flow chart showing an example of the processing procedure of the ticket management system 1 when a ticket for which owner registration has been completed is used electronically (i.e., a paper ticket is not issued but is displayed on the user terminal 4). After the user has already completed the owner registration described above, the user starts up a browser or the like on the user terminal 4 and accesses a ticket face URL for displaying the ticket, thereby displaying the face of the electronic ticket on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4 (step S300), and presents it to the staff at the entrance. Access to the ticket face URL is managed by the server 2. When the user terminal 4 accesses the ticket face URL, it transmits to the server 2 UA information of the browser or the like used for the access and Cookie information left in the browser or the like when the receipt URL was accessed to receive the ticket.

[0054] The attendant visually checks that the face of the electronic ticket for the event is for the event, and performs a predetermined canceling operation (for example, a predetermined operation on the touch panel of the user terminal 4) to "delete" the ticket as used (step S310). When the user terminal 4 accepts the canceling operation, it displays characters or images (hereinafter referred to as "postmark information") indicating that the ticket has been used by superimposing them on the face of the ticket, and sets the status of the ticket to "used" (step S320). The user terminal 4 also notifies the server 2 that the ticket has been used at an appropriate time (which may be immediately after the verification or after some time has passed), and the server 2 also sets the status of the ticket to "used" (step S330), and ends the process. When the user terminal 4 accepts the canceling operation, it should verify whether the canceling operation is correct, and mark the ticket as used only if it is correct, and issue a warning or notification if it is not correct. In addition to checking the cancellation operation, the cookie information and UA information sent from the user terminal 4 in step S300 may be checked against the cookie information and UA information recorded in association with the user ID of the owner of the ticket. Note that in the above example, cancellation was performed by accepting a cancellation operation on the user terminal 4, but cancellation may be performed by other methods. For example, an identification code (such as a QR code (registered trademark)) may be displayed on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4 along with the face of the ticket, which may then be read at the entrance and checked against the server 2, thereby allowing the cancellation process to be performed on the server 2 side.

[0055] [Issuance of paper tickets] On the other hand, the ticket management system 1 also makes it possible to issue purchased tickets as paper tickets for use. Paper tickets can be issued by having the ticket issuing device 3 permanently installed in a ticket shop or the like so that tickets can be issued in advance of the performance, or by installing the ticket issuing device 3 near the entrance to the performance so that tickets can be issued just before entry. The procedure for issuing paper tickets by the ticket management system 1 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 8.

[0056] Prior to the ticket issuance process, the user launches a browser or the like on the user terminal 4 and accesses the ticket URL. Access to the ticket URL is managed by the server 2. When the user terminal 4 accesses the ticket URL, it sends to the server 2 UA information of the browser or the like used for the access, and Cookie information left in the browser or the like when the receipt URL was accessed to receive the ticket. The processing procedure up to this point is the same as when tickets are used electronically.

[0057] When the ticket URL is accessed, a paper ticket issue button is displayed along with an image of the ticket on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4. When this paper ticket issue button is pressed (step S400), the ticket issuance process is started. With the start of the ticket issuance process, the ticket is placed in a state in which it cannot be used, transferred, or further issued.

[0058] When the user presses the paper ticket issuing button in step S400, a screen prompting the user to input the ticket issuing machine number is displayed on the user terminal 4. When the user inputs the ticket issuing machine number displayed on the display unit 305 into the user terminal 4 in response to this, the user terminal 4 transmits the ticket issuing machine number to the server 2 (step S410). Pressing the paper ticket issuing button is an example of a ticket issuing start operation in the present invention. When the server 2 receives the ticket issuing machine number, it transmits the ticket issuing phone number to the user terminal 4, and the user terminal 4 receives this (step S420). At this time, the server 2 records the ticket ID of the ticket to be issued and the ticket issuing phone number in association with each other. The ticket issuing phone number may be a fixed phone number, but it may also be a different number each time it is displayed by transmitting one number selected from a plurality of candidate phone numbers. Note that in a configuration in which the ticket issuing phone number is individually assigned to each ticket issuing device 3 as the ticket issuing machine number, steps S410 and 420 can be omitted, and the ticket issuing process can be started simply by calling the ticket issuing phone number displayed on the display unit 3. Therefore, paper tickets can be issued even from terminals that cannot install dedicated applications.

[0059] Next, the user terminal 4 displays on the display unit 405 the ticket issuing phone number received in step S420 and a verification start button for starting verification for issuing a paper ticket (step S430). The ticket issuing phone number transmitted and displayed in steps S420 and S430 may be configured to be displayed on the display unit 305 of the ticket issuing device 3 instead of the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4. When the verification start button is pressed by the user, the server 2 records the time of pressing the button in association with the ticket ID (step S440).

[0060] Next, the server 2 determines whether or not a call is made to the ticket issuing telephone number from the telephone number of the user recorded in association with the ticket (usually the user terminal 4) within a predetermined valid operation time (for example, within 4 seconds) from the time of pressing (step S450). This valid operation time should be short enough that it is difficult to transmit the ticket issuing telephone number to a remote location and have a proxy operation from the remote location make a call to the telephone number.

[0061] In step S450, the server 2 determines whether or not a call was made to the ticket issuing phone number from a phone number (usually the user terminal 4) of a user phone number recorded in association with the ticket within a predetermined valid operation time (for example, within 4 seconds) from the time of pressing, as follows: The server 2 receives the call to the ticket issuing phone number via the telephone communication unit 204. The telephone communication unit 204 then identifies the caller's phone number and the called phone number (any of the candidate phone numbers). The server 2 identifies the ticket ID based on the called phone number, and checks whether the ticket ID is a ticket ID whose pressing time was recorded within the period going back the valid operation time from the time of receiving the call, thereby determining whether or not a call was made to the ticket issuing phone number within the valid operation time.

[0062] If the ticket issuing phone number is not called within the valid operation time from the time of pressing (step S450; No), the ticket is not issued, a screen informing the user that the ticket cannot be issued is displayed on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4, the ticket is returned to a usable state (step S460), and the ticket issuing process ends. Note that it is preferable to configure the system to inform the user of cases where the caller's phone number is one character different from the user phone number recorded in association with the ticket, the first character is missing, or other cases where an input error is suspected. In this way, the user can easily notice that the user phone number has been registered incorrectly, and can be prompted to correct the user phone number.

[0063] On the other hand, if a call is made to the ticket issuing telephone number within the valid operation time from the time of pressing (step S450; Yes), the server 2 performs a verification process (step S470). In the verification process, the user telephone number linked to the ticket ID is extracted from the database DB, and verified against the number that was called in step S450. The server 2 also verifies the cookie information and UA information recorded in association with the user ID of the ticket owner against the cookie information and UA information sent from the user terminal 4 when the ticket URL was accessed. If the verification process does not confirm a match of information (step S470; No), the ticket is not issued, a guide screen informing the user that the ticket cannot be issued is displayed on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4, and the ticket is returned to a usable state (step S460), and the ticket issuing process ends.

[0064] On the other hand, if the collation process confirms a match (step S470; Yes), the server 2 records in the database DB that a paper ticket has been issued for that ticket, and sends a command to the ticket issuing device 3 of the ticket issuing machine number received in step S420 to print the ticket from the printing unit 304 (step S480). The ticket issuing device 3 of that ticket issuing machine number receives this command, prints the ticket using the printing unit 304 (step S490), and ends the ticket issuing process.

[0065] In this manner, it is possible to issue a paper ticket. In the ticket issuing process of this embodiment, by performing a comparison using a telephone number, cookie information, UA information, etc. at the time of issuing a ticket, it is possible to prevent the issuance of an illegal ticket by performing operations required for the comparison from a remote location, for example. The discovered paper ticket can be used at the entrance to the event in the same way as a conventional paper ticket.

[0066] [Issuing ticket stubs] The above-mentioned paper ticket issuing process can be applied not only to issuing an unused paper ticket, but also to issuing a used ticket stub after entering the venue using an electronic ticket. The ticket is erased at the entrance to the event venue, and then the stub is issued after verifying the phone number, Cookie, UA, etc. in the same procedure as the above-mentioned ticket issuing process. In this case, the ticket issuing device 3 should be installed inside the venue (for example, immediately after passing through the entrance). In this way, when multiple electronic tickets are used together to enter the venue, a stub can be issued to an attendee who does not have a user terminal 4 as a certificate for seat number guidance, re-entry, etc. In addition, a paper stub can be issued in case the battery level of the user terminal 4 is low. When the number of tickets to be used at the same time is multiple or the battery level falls below a predetermined threshold when the electronic ticket is erased, the user terminal 4 may prompt the user to issue a paper stub by displaying a message on the display unit 405 or emitting a notification sound.

[0067] [Ticket transfer] The ticket management system 1 enables the ticket under management to be transferred from its owner to another person.

[0068] Tickets can be transferred either electronically after the recipient registers the ticket again, or by issuing and transferring a paper ticket.

[0069] [Electronic ticket transfer] The procedure of the method of electronically transferring a ticket will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9. In the method of electronically transferring a ticket, first, the transferring user, who has already completed the owner registration described above, accesses the ticket URL to display the ticket to be transferred. Then, the user presses the transferee registration button displayed together with the ticket (step S600). When the transferee registration button is pressed, a screen prompting the user to input the recipient's telephone number is displayed on the user terminal 4. When the recipient's telephone number is entered on the screen (step S610), the telephone number is sent to the server 2 together with the ticket ID, and is recorded in the database DB in association with the ticket ID (step S620). Furthermore, the ticket is rendered in a state in which it cannot be used or further transferred on the transferring user's browser or the like (step S630).

[0070] When the server 2 receives the ticket ID and the transferee's phone number, it issues an owner registration URL for the transferee's user to access an owner registration screen for performing the owner registration process, and sends it to the transferor's user's contact information (email address, SNS, etc.) (step S640). The transferor's user transfers this owner registration URL to the transferee's user (step S650). The owner registration URL may be sent directly from the server 2 to the transferee's user without going through the transferor's user.

[0071] The transferee user receives the URL sent in step S650 using his / her user terminal 4 (step S660). The transferee user then performs owner registration in the same manner as steps S200 to S280 in the owner registration process (FIG. 6) at the time of purchase. The server 2 judges whether the owner registration by the transferee user has been completed normally within a predetermined period (step S670). If it is judged that the owner registration has been completed normally (step S670; Yes), the transferee user is recorded as the owner of the ticket in the database DB of the server 2, and the transferee user is no longer the owner. The ticket is then made available for display on the transferee user terminal 4 in a usable state (step S680). On the other hand, if the transferee user does not complete the owner registration normally, for example, if the owner registration is not completed within a predetermined transfer validity period (step S670; No), the server 2 deletes the record of the transferee's telephone number from the database DB and makes the ticket available for display on the transferee user terminal 4 in a usable state (step S690).

[0072] In this way, it is possible to transfer tickets electronically. In this way, when transferring a ticket electronically, the ticket owner must register in the same way as when the ticket was purchased, so that the ticket management system 1 can keep track of the transferor and the transferee, and it is possible to prevent unauthorized transfers and resales.

[0073] [Transfer of paper tickets] On the other hand, the method of issuing and handing over a paper ticket is a method in which the user, who is the owner, issues the ticket using the ticket issuing device 3 and hands over the issued ticket to the transferee. Paper tickets can be issued in the same manner as in the case of using paper tickets described above. Even when a paper ticket is transferred, unauthorized transfer or resale can be prevented by configuring the ticket so that the owner must be registered before the paper ticket is issued. In this case, a particular effect of preventing unauthorized transfer or resale can be expected by configuring the ticket so that the name, etc. of the registered user is printed on the face of the paper ticket to be issued.

[0074] Second Embodiment The ticket management system according to the second embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in the method of issuing paper tickets. That is, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment up until the verification (step S450 in FIG. 8) is performed, but is different in the procedure for issuing a paper ticket from the ticket issuing device 3 after the verification is successful and in the hardware configuration related to the procedure.

[0075] 10 is a flow chart showing the procedure of ticket issuance processing by the ticket issuing device 3 in the second embodiment. Prior to the ticket issuance processing, the user starts a browser or the like on the user terminal 4 and accesses the ticket URL. Access to the ticket URL is managed by the server 2. When accessing the ticket URL, the user terminal 4 transmits to the server 2 UA information of the browser or the like used for the access and Cookie information left in the browser or the like when the receipt URL was accessed to receive the ticket.

[0076] When the ticket URL is accessed, a paper ticket issue button is displayed along with an image of the ticket on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4. When this paper ticket issue button is pressed (step S700), the ticket issuance process is started. With the start of the ticket issuance process, the ticket is placed in a state in which it cannot be used, transferred, or further issued.

[0077] When the user presses the paper ticket issuing button in step S700, a screen prompting the user to enter the ticket issuing machine number is displayed on the user terminal 4. In response, the user enters the ticket issuing machine number displayed on the display unit 305 into the user terminal 4, and the user terminal 4 transmits the ticket issuing machine number to the server 2 (step S710). Pressing the paper ticket issuing button is an example of a ticket issuing start operation in the present invention. When the server 2 receives the ticket issuing machine number, it transmits a ticket issuing phone number to the user terminal 4 (step S720). This ticket issuing phone number may be a fixed phone number, but it may also be a different number each time it is displayed, with one number selected from multiple candidate phone numbers being transmitted.

[0078] Next, the user terminal 4 displays on the display unit 405 the ticket issuing phone number received in step S720 and a verification start button for starting verification for issuing a paper ticket (step S730). When the user presses the verification start button, the server 2 records the time of pressing (step S740).

[0079] Next, the server 2 determines whether or not a call was made to the ticket issuing telephone number from the telephone number of the user recorded in association with the ticket (usually the user terminal 4) within a predetermined valid operation time (for example, within 4 seconds) from the time of pressing (step S750). This valid operation time should be short enough that it is difficult to transmit the ticket issuing telephone number to a remote location and have a proxy operation from the remote location make a call to the telephone number.

[0080] In step S750, the server 2 determines whether a call was made to the ticket issuing telephone number from a telephone number (usually the user terminal 4) of a user telephone number recorded in association with the ticket within a predetermined valid operation time (for example, within 4 seconds) from the time of pressing, as follows: The server 2 receives the call to the ticket issuing telephone number via the telephone communication unit 204. The telephone communication unit 204 then identifies the caller's telephone number and the called telephone number (any of the candidate telephone numbers). The server 2 identifies the ticket ID based on the called telephone number, and determines whether the ticket ID is a ticket ID whose pressing time was recorded within the period going back the valid operation time from the time of receiving the call, thereby determining whether a call was made to the ticket issuing telephone number within the valid operation time.

[0081] If the ticket issuing phone number is not called within the valid operation time from the time of pressing (step S750; No), the ticket is not issued, a screen informing the user that the ticket cannot be issued is displayed on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4, the ticket is returned to a usable state (step S760), and the ticket issuing process ends. Note that it is advisable to configure the system to inform the user of the fact that the caller's phone number is one character different from the user phone number recorded in association with the ticket, or the first character is missing, etc., when an input error is suspected. In this way, the user can easily notice that the user's phone number has been registered incorrectly, and is prompted to correct the user's phone number.

[0082] On the other hand, if a call is made to the ticket issuing telephone number within the valid operation time (step S750; Yes), the server 2 performs a matching process (step S770). In the matching process, the user telephone number linked to the ticket ID is extracted from the database DB, and matched with the number that was called in step S750. The server 2 also matches the cookie information and UA information recorded in association with the user ID of the ticket owner with the cookie information and UA information sent from the user terminal 4 when the ticket URL was accessed. If the matching process does not confirm a match of information (step S770; No), the ticket is not issued, a guide screen informing the user that the ticket cannot be issued is displayed on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4, and the ticket is returned to a usable state (step S760), and the ticket issuing process ends.

[0083] On the other hand, if the matching of information is confirmed in the verification process (step S770; Yes), the server 2 starts a voice call of the telephone call received in step S750 through the telephone communication unit 204 (step S780). Then, the telephone communication unit 204 transmits a data-embedded voice in which information for making the ticket issuing device 3 print a ticket (hereinafter referred to as "ticket issuing information") is embedded in the voice call to the user terminal 4 (step S790). The voice call may be disconnected after a predetermined call time has elapsed. Here, the ticket issuing information may include all the data on the face of the ticket, or may be only the encrypted ticket ID as necessary. When the ticket issuing information is only the ticket ID, the ticket issuing device 3 may receive data in which the ticket ID and the data on the face of the ticket are associated with each other from the server 2 and store it in the storage unit 301 in advance. Alternatively, every time the ticket issuing information is received, the ticket issuing device 3 may inquire the server 2 about the data on the face of the ticket corresponding to the ticket ID and receive the data via the network NW. The ticket issuing information may include the ticket issuing machine number entered in step S710. The ticket issuing information may also include time stamp information indicating the time of ticket issuing processing, such as the time of pressing recorded in step S740 and the time of calling the ticket issuing telephone number.

[0084] The user holds the speaker 407 of the user terminal 4 over the microphone 306 of the ticket issuing device 3 and inputs data-embedded voice into the microphone 306 (step S800). The ticket issuing device 3 decodes the voice input into the microphone 306 and acquires ticket issuing information (step S810). The ticket issuing device 3 then determines whether the received ticket issuing information is valid or not (step S820).

[0085] Whether the received ticket issuing information is valid or not may be judged, for example, as follows. If the ticket issuing information includes a ticket issuing machine number, the conditions for determining that the ticket issuing information is valid may include that the ticket issuing machine number of the ticket issuing device 3 into which the data-embedded voice was input matches the ticket issuing machine number included in the ticket issuing information. If the ticket issuing information includes time stamp information, the conditions for determining that the ticket issuing information is valid may include that the current time is included within a predetermined ticket issuing validity period from the time indicated by the time stamp information. The ticket issuing validity period may be set to a period (e.g., 3 minutes) that makes it difficult to record the data-embedded voice and send it to a remote location via a network NW or the like. The conditions may include that the voice is input within a predetermined time after the matching of the information is confirmed in the matching process. Other conditions for determining that the ticket issuing information is valid may include that the ticket issuing information includes information indicating that the matching was performed in step S780.

[0086] If the received ticket issuing information is valid (step S820; Yes), the ticket issuing device 3 prints the ticket using the printing unit 304, and transmits information indicating that the ticket has been issued, such as the result of the determination in step S820, to the server 2 (step S830). In response, the server 2 records in the database DB that a paper ticket has been issued for that ticket (step S840), and ends the ticket issuing process.

[0087] On the other hand, if the received ticket issuing information is not valid (step S820; No), the ticket issuing device 3 displays on the display unit 305 that the ticket cannot be issued, and transmits information indicating that the ticket was not issued, such as the result of the determination in step S840, to the server 2 (step S850). In response to this, the server 2 returns the ticket to a usable state (step S860) and ends the ticket issuing process.

[0088] In this manner, when issuing a paper ticket, ticket issuance information is transmitted from the user terminal 4 to the ticket issuing device 3 via data-embedded voice. Therefore, even if a call from a remote location is successful during verification, the data-embedded voice required for ticket issuance cannot be transmitted to the ticket issuing device 3, thereby more effectively preventing fraudulent ticket issuance.

[0089] [Modification of the second embodiment] In the second embodiment described above, the data-embedded voice is transmitted from the server 2 by voice communication via the telephone line TL and received by the user terminal 4. However, the data-embedded voice may be transmitted to the user terminal 4 by a method other than voice communication via the telephone line TL and output from the speaker 407 of the user terminal 4. For example, the data-embedded voice may be transmitted from the server 2 by live streaming via the network NW and received by the user terminal 4, and the data-embedded voice may be output from the speaker 407 by streaming playback at the user terminal 4. In addition, the data-embedded voice may be transmitted as a voice data file via the network NW, received by the user terminal 4, and output from the speaker 407 by playing the voice data file at the user terminal 4. According to these methods, the data-embedded voice is not deteriorated during the transmission process from the server 2 to the user terminal 4, so that errors are less likely to occur in the transmission of ticket issuance information.

[0090] In addition, in a configuration in which data-embedded voice is transmitted as a voice data file via the network NW, the user terminal 4 may be configured to restrict the transfer of the received voice data file or to restrict the playback of the voice data file on other terminals. For example, the voice data may be linked to cookie information at the time of ticket issuance processing or session information of data communication via the network NW, so that the voice data file can be played only on the user terminal 4 used for the ticket issuance processing.

[0091] Third Embodiment The ticket management system according to the third embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in the method of issuing paper tickets. That is, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment up until the verification (step S450 in FIG. 8) is performed, but is different in the procedure for issuing a paper ticket from the ticket issuing device 3 after the verification is successful and in the hardware configuration related to the procedure.

[0092] 11 is a flow chart showing the procedure of ticket issuance processing by the ticket issuing device 3 in the third embodiment. Prior to the ticket issuance processing, the user starts a browser or the like on the user terminal 4 and accesses the ticket URL. Access to the ticket URL is managed by the server 2. When accessing the ticket URL, the user terminal 4 transmits to the server 2 UA information of the browser or the like used for the access and Cookie information left in the browser or the like when the receipt URL was accessed to receive the ticket.

[0093] When the ticket URL is accessed, a paper ticket issue button is displayed along with an image of the ticket on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4. When this paper ticket issue button is pressed (step S900), the ticket issuance process is started. With the start of the ticket issuance process, the ticket is placed in a state in which it cannot be used, transferred, or further issued.

[0094] When the user presses the paper ticket issuing button in step S900, a screen prompting the user terminal 4 to input the ticket issuing machine number is displayed. In response, the user enters the ticket issuing machine number displayed on the display unit 305 into the user terminal 4, and the user terminal 4 transmits the ticket issuing machine number to the server 2 (step S910). Pressing the paper ticket issuing button is an example of a ticket issuing start operation in the present invention. When the server 2 receives the ticket issuing machine number, it transmits a ticket issuing telephone number to the user terminal 4 (step S920). This ticket issuing telephone number may be a fixed telephone number, but it may also be a different number each time it is displayed, with one number selected from a number of candidate telephone numbers being transmitted.

[0095] Next, the user terminal 4 displays on the display unit 405 the ticket issuing phone number received in step S720 and a verification start button for starting verification for issuing a paper ticket (step S930). When the user presses the verification start button, the server 2 records the time of pressing (step S940).

[0096] Next, the server 2 determines whether or not a call was made to the ticket issuing telephone number from the telephone number of the user recorded in association with the ticket (usually the user terminal 4) within a predetermined valid operation time (for example, within 4 seconds) from the time of pressing (step S950). This valid operation time should be short enough that it is difficult to transmit the ticket issuing telephone number to a remote location and have a proxy operation from the remote location make a call to the telephone number.

[0097] In step S950, the server 2 determines whether or not a call was made to the ticket issuing telephone number from a telephone number (usually the user terminal 4) of a user telephone number recorded in association with the ticket within a predetermined valid operation time (for example, within 4 seconds) from the time of pressing, as follows: The server 2 receives the call to the ticket issuing telephone number via the telephone communication unit 204. The telephone communication unit 204 then identifies the caller's telephone number and the called telephone number (any of the candidate telephone numbers). The server 2 identifies the ticket ID based on the called telephone number, and determines whether or not a call was made to the ticket issuing telephone number within the valid operation time by checking whether the ticket ID is a ticket ID whose pressing time was recorded within the period going back the valid operation time from the time of receiving the call.

[0098] If the ticket issuing phone number is not called within the valid operation time from the time of pressing (step S950; No), the ticket is not issued, a screen informing the user that the ticket cannot be issued is displayed on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4, the ticket is returned to a usable state (step S960), and the ticket issuing process ends. Note that if the caller's phone number differs by just one character from the user phone number recorded in association with the ticket, it is advisable to configure the system to inform the user of this. In this way, the user can easily notice that the user phone number has been registered incorrectly, and is prompted to correct the user phone number.

[0099] On the other hand, if a call is made to the ticket issuing telephone number within the valid operation time (step S950; Yes), the server 2 performs a matching process (step S970). In the matching process, the user telephone number linked to the ticket ID is extracted from the database DB, and matched with the number that was called in step S950. The server 2 also matches the Cookie information and UA information recorded in association with the user ID of the ticket owner with the Cookie information and UA information sent from the user terminal 4 when the ticket URL was accessed. If the matching process does not confirm a match of information (step S970; No), the ticket is not issued, a guide screen informing the user that the ticket cannot be issued is displayed on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4, and the ticket is returned to a usable state (step S960), and the ticket issuing process ends.

[0100] On the other hand, if the matching of information is confirmed in the verification process (step S970; Yes), the server 2 transmits an identification code (barcode, QR code (registered trademark), etc.) and displays it on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4 (step S980). The identification code transmitted by the server 2 may include the data of the ticket face, or may be only the encrypted ticket ID as necessary. If only the ticket ID is included, the ticket issuing device 3 may receive data in which the ticket ID and the data of the ticket face are associated with each other from the server 2 in advance and store it in the storage unit 301. Alternatively, each time the identification code is read, the ticket issuing device 3 may inquire the server 2 about the data of the ticket face corresponding to the ticket ID and receive it via the network NW. The identification code may also include information such as a URL indicating the location on the network NW of information required for issuing a ticket. The identification code may also include the ticket issuing machine number input in step S910. The identification code may also include timestamp information indicating the time of ticket issuing processing, such as the time of pressing recorded in step S940 and the time of calling the ticket issuing telephone number. The identification code may be configured so that it disappears after a predetermined time has elapsed since it was displayed on the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4.

[0101] The user holds the display unit 405 of the user terminal 4 over the camera 307 of the ticket issuing device 3 to have the identification code read by the ticket issuing device 3 (step S990). Then, the ticket issuing device 3 determines whether the read identification code is valid or not (step S1020).

[0102] Whether or not a received identification code is valid may be determined, for example, as follows. If the identification code includes a ticket issuing machine number, the conditions for determining that the identification code is valid may include that the ticket issuing machine number of the ticket issuing device 3 that read the identification code matches the ticket issuing machine number included in the identification code. If the identification code includes timestamp information, the conditions for determining that the identification code is valid may include that the current time is within a predetermined ticket issuing validity period from the time indicated by the timestamp information. Alternatively, the conditions may include that the identification code is read within a predetermined time after the matching of the information is confirmed in the matching process. Other conditions for determining that the identification code is valid may include that the ticket issuing information includes information indicating that the matching was performed in step S980.

[0103] If the read identification code is valid (step S1020; Yes), the ticket issuing device 3 prints a ticket using the printing unit 304, and transmits information indicating that the ticket has been issued as a result of the determination in step S1020 to the server 2 (step S1030). In response to this, the server 2 records in the database DB that a paper ticket has been issued for that ticket (step S1040), and ends the ticket issuing process.

[0104] On the other hand, if the read identification code is not valid (step S1020; No), the ticket issuing device 3 displays on the display unit 305 that the ticket cannot be issued, and transmits information indicating that the ticket was not issued as a result of the determination in step S1040 to the server 2 (step S1050). In response to this, the server 2 returns the ticket to a usable state (step S1060) and ends the ticket issuing process.

[0105] In this manner, when issuing a paper ticket, the identification code displayed on the user terminal 4 is read by the ticket issuing device 3. Even if a call from a remote location is successful during verification, the identification code required for ticket issuance cannot be transmitted to the ticket issuing device 3, thereby more effectively preventing fraudulent ticket issuance.

[0106] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these examples. Furthermore, those in which a person skilled in the art appropriately adds or removes components or modifies the design of the above-described embodiments, or those in which the features of each embodiment are appropriately combined, are also included within the scope of the present invention as long as they include the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0107] 1. Ticket Management System 2 Server 3 Ticket issuing device 4. User terminal NW Network TL telephone network

Claims

1. A control unit; a database that stores a ticket ID for identifying a ticket and a user's telephone number in association with each other; A communication unit capable of communicating with a user terminal of a user via a network; A ticket management server comprising: The control unit is determining whether or not a call has been received from the user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket to a predetermined ticket issuing telephone number that can be received by the communication unit; A ticket management server characterized by having the ticket issuing device issue the ticket when a determination condition is met, including the fact that a call has been made to the ticket issuing telephone number from the user telephone number corresponding to the ticket ID of the ticket.

2. The ticket management server of claim 1, characterized in that the control unit, in response to receiving via the communication unit a notification that a ticket issuance start operation has been performed on the user terminal, determines whether or not a call has been received from the user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket to a specified ticket issuance telephone number that can be received by the communication unit.

3. The communication unit is a network communication unit capable of communicating with the user terminal of the user and the ticket issuing device via a network; a telephone communication unit capable of communicating with the user terminal via a telephone line; Equipped with The control unit is in response to receiving via the network communication unit a notification that a ticket issuance start operation has been performed on the user terminal, determining whether or not a call has been received from the user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket to a predetermined ticket issuance telephone number that can be received by the telephone communication unit within a predetermined valid operation time after the ticket issuance start operation has been performed; The ticket management server described in claim 2, characterized in that when a determination condition is met, including a call being made to the ticket issuing telephone number from the user telephone number corresponding to the ticket ID of the ticket within a valid operation time, a command is sent to the ticket issuing device to issue the ticket.

4. The communication unit is a network communication unit capable of communicating with a user terminal of the user via a network; a telephone communication unit capable of communicating with the user terminal via a telephone line; Equipped with The control unit is in response to receiving via the network communication unit a notification that a ticket issuance start operation has been performed on the user terminal, determining whether or not a call has been received from the user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket to a predetermined ticket issuance telephone number that can be received by the telephone communication unit within a predetermined valid operation time after the ticket issuance start operation has been performed; The ticket management server described in claim 1, characterized in that when a determination condition is met, including the fact that a call has been made to the ticket issuing telephone number from the user telephone number corresponding to the ticket ID of the ticket within a valid operation time, a data-embedded voice having embedded ticket issuing information for issuing the ticket is output from a speaker of the user terminal, and the ticket issuing device issues the ticket based on the data-embedded voice output from the user terminal.

5. 5. The ticket management server according to claim 4, wherein the ticket issuing information embedded in the data-embedded voice includes the printed contents of the face of the ticket to be issued.

6. 6. The ticket management server according to claim 4, wherein the data-embedded voice is transmitted to the user terminal by voice communication through a telephone line.

7. 6. The ticket management server according to claim 4, wherein the data-embedded audio is transmitted to the user terminal by live streaming over a network.

8. 6. The ticket management server according to claim 4, wherein the data-embedded voice is transmitted to the user terminal via a network as a voice data file including the data-embedded voice.

9. receiving identification information indicating which of the plurality of ticket issuing devices is to issue a ticket in response to the ticket issuing start operation; 9. The ticket management server according to claim 1, further comprising: a ticket issuing device corresponding to the received identification information printing a ticket when the determination condition is satisfied.

10. the ticket management server prompts the user terminal of the user to access a first site before the ticket issuance start operation; In response to an access from the user terminal to the first site, causing the user terminal to record access history information to the first site; having the user terminal access a second site to perform the ticket issuance start operation, and acquiring access history information to the first site from the user terminal in response to the user terminal accessing the second site; A ticket management server described in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the judgment conditions in the judgment made by the control unit include a match between the access history recorded in the user terminal when accessing the first site and the access history obtained from the user terminal when accessing the second site.

11. the ticket management server prompts the user terminal of the user to access a first site before the ticket issuance start operation; acquiring, in response to an access to the first site by the user terminal, first user agent information indicating a user agent used to access the first site from the user terminal; accessing a second site via the user terminal to perform the ticket issuance initiation operation, and acquiring second user agent information indicating a user agent used by the user terminal to access the second site; 11. The ticket management server according to claim 1, wherein the determination condition in the determination made by the control unit includes a match between the first user agent information and the second user agent information.

12. A control unit; a database that stores a ticket ID for identifying a ticket and a user's telephone number in association with each other; a network communication unit capable of communicating with a user terminal of the user via a network; a telephone communication unit capable of communicating with the user terminal via a telephone line; A ticket management server comprising: The control unit is in response to receiving, via the network communication unit, a notification that an owner registration start operation for a ticket has been performed on the user terminal, it is determined whether or not a call has been received from the user telephone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket to a predetermined registration telephone number that can be received by the telephone communication unit within a predetermined valid operation time after the owner registration start operation has been performed; A ticket management server that displays the ticket in a usable manner on a user terminal held by the user when a determination condition is met, including the fact that a call is made to the registration telephone number from the user telephone number corresponding to the ticket ID of the ticket within a valid operation time.

13. 13. The ticket management server according to claim 12, further comprising: a step of transmitting the registration telephone number to a contact address of the user in response to the owner registration start operation being performed.

14. A plurality of candidate telephone numbers are provided as the registration telephone number, 14. The ticket management server according to claim 13, wherein, in response to the owner registration start operation being performed, one of a plurality of candidate telephone numbers is notified to the user's contact information as the registration telephone number.

15. The ticket management server prompts the user terminal of the user to access a first site before the owner registration start operation; In response to an access from the user terminal to the first site, causing the user terminal to record access history information to the first site; having the user terminal access a second site in order to perform the owner registration start operation, and acquiring access history information to the first site from the user terminal in response to the user terminal accessing the second site; A ticket management server described in any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that the judgment conditions in the judgment made by the control unit include a match between the access history recorded in the user terminal when accessing the first site and the access history obtained from the user terminal when accessing the second site.

16. The ticket management server prompts the user terminal of the user to access a first site before the owner registration start operation; acquiring, in response to an access to the first site by the user terminal, first user agent information indicating a user agent used to access the first site from the user terminal; accessing a second site through the user terminal in order to perform the owner registration start operation, and acquiring second user agent information indicating a user agent used by the user terminal to access the second site; 16. The ticket management server according to claim 12, wherein the determination condition in the determination made by the control unit includes a match between the first user agent information and the second user agent information.

17. A program for causing a computer to function as the ticket management server according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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