Ticket gates and entry / exit control methods

Abstract

When both touchless and touch-based ticketing are performed by the same user, the ticket gate passage process must be carried out appropriately. [Solution] The ticket gate according to this embodiment includes an entry detection unit, a touchless processing unit, a touch processing unit, and an effective processing determination unit. The entry detection unit detects when a user enters the ticket gate area. The touchless processing unit performs touchless processing related to the user's passage through the ticket gate for the user detected by the entry detection unit. The touch processing unit performs touch processing related to the user's passage through the ticket gate when it receives a touch operation of a medium related to the user's passage through the ticket gate from the user detected by the entry detection unit. The effective processing determination unit enables either the touchless processing or the touch processing when there is a conflict between the touchless processing by the touchless processing unit and the touch processing by the touch processing unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a ticket gate and an entrance / exit control method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, touchless gates that do not require users to hold an IC card or communication terminal near the ticket gate housing when passing through the ticket gate are installed at railway and airplane boarding gates. The touchless gate authenticates the user and determines whether to allow entry or exit by using technologies such as biometric authentication and frequency beams.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the prior art, when touchless processing and touch processing are performed on the same user, it may not be possible to appropriately perform the processing related to passing through the ticket gate. For example, in the prior art related to passing through the ticket gate by touchless means, when touch processing by the user is performed after the touchless processing is automatically started for the user who has entered the ticket gate, it may not be possible to determine which of the touchless processing and the touch processing should be prioritized for performing the processing related to passing through the ticket gate.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] To solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objective, the ticket gate of the present invention is characterized by comprising: an entry detection unit that detects a user entering the ticket gate area; a touchless processing unit that performs touchless processing related to the user's passage through the ticket gate for the user detected by the entry detection unit; a touch processing unit that performs touch processing related to the user's passage through the ticket gate when it receives a touch operation of a medium related to the user's passage through the ticket gate from the user detected by the entry detection unit; and an effective processing determination unit that enables either the touchless processing or the touch processing when the touchless processing by the touchless processing unit and the touch processing by the touch processing unit conflict. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, when both touchless processing and touch processing are performed by the same user, the processing related to passing through the ticket gate can be performed appropriately. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of a ticket gate system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 illustrates the user entry detection process in the touchless processing according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 illustrates the process of selecting an antenna to communicate with a terminal device in a touchless process according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 illustrates the process of establishing a wireless connection in the touchless processing according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 illustrates the ticket gate passage process in the touchless processing according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 illustrates the process for determining whether a user has passed through a ticket gate in the touchless processing according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 illustrates the touch processing according to the embodiment. [Figure 8]Figure 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a ticket gate according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows a specific example of the processing when both touchless processing and touch processing are performed for the same user in the embodiment. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the processing flow performed by the ticket gate according to this embodiment. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows an example of a computer running a program. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The following describes in detail, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the ticket gate and entry / exit control method according to the present application. Note that this embodiment does not limit the ticket gate and entry / exit control method according to the present application. Furthermore, in the drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted as appropriate.

[0009] [Introduction] (Overview of ticket gate system 10) First, an overview of the ticket gate system 10 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the ticket gate system according to this embodiment. The ticket gate system 10 shown in Figure 1 includes a ticket gate 100 that manages the entry and exit of users by touchless processing, and a terminal device 200 and a medium 300 that are used by users passing through the ticket gate.

[0010] The ticket gate 100 is a ticket gate device that manages the entry and exit of users by authenticating users passing through the gate and determining whether or not they are allowed to pass through the ticket gate area. For example, the ticket gate 100 establishes a wireless connection with a terminal device 200 owned by a user who has entered the ticket gate area and performs touchless processing related to passing through the gate. For example, the ticket gate 100 performs touch processing related to passing through the gate on a medium 300 that is touched within the communication range of the reader unit of the ticket gate 100.

[0011] The terminal device 200 is an information processing terminal owned by a user passing through the ticket gate, and can be implemented as a dedicated terminal device with the function to enable wireless communication connection with the ticket gate 100, or as a smartphone or tablet terminal with the same function. For example, the terminal device 200 establishes wireless communication with the ticket gate 100 and enables the transmission and reception of information related to ticket gate passage processing using a corresponding IC card. Furthermore, the terminal device 200 can, for example, mediate the ticket gate passage processing between the ticket gate 100 and the inserted IC card when the IC card to be processed for ticket gate passage is inserted, thereby enabling touchless processing.

[0012] The medium 300 is a medium owned by the user passing through the ticket gate and is implemented as an IC card or a smartphone with IC card functionality. For example, the medium 300 enables the transmission and reception of information related to passing through the ticket gate when the user touches the medium 300 to the reader on the ticket gate 100.

[0013] Here, the ticket gate system 10 shown in Figure 1 is an example in which the ticket gate 100 is communicatively connected to one terminal device 200 that is the target of touchless processing and one medium 300 that is the target of touch processing, but it is not limited to this. For example, the ticket gate system 10 can also be communicatively connected to one terminal device 200 or medium 300 and perform touchless processing and touch processing on the same terminal device 200 or medium 300. For example, the ticket gate system 10 has multiple terminal devices 200 and can also perform touchless processing on one terminal device 200 that is selected from among the multiple terminal devices 200.

[0014] (Mechanism for contactless processing by ticket gate 100) Next, the mechanism of the touchless process by the ticket gate 100 will be described. When the ticket gate 100 according to this embodiment detects the entry of a user into the ticket gate, the antenna of the ticket gate 100 and the terminal device establish a wireless communication connection and transmit and receive information related to the ticket passing process, so that it is possible to determine whether entry or exit is permitted without the need for a conventional user to touch an IC card or the like. Below, a series of processes of the touchless process by the ticket gate 100 will be described in order.

[0015] First, the ticket gate 100 detects a user who has entered the ticket gate. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the user entry detection process in the touchless process according to the embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the ticket gate 100 detects that a user has entered the ticket gate by means of a human sensor provided on the entrance side of the ticket gate 100. Here, when the ticket gate 100 detects that a user has entered the ticket gate, it can notify the user of the state of the ticket gate 100 by displaying the fact that the user is in the ticket gate entry state on the monitor. In addition to displaying on the monitor, the ticket gate 100 can also output sound, light, etc. to notify the user that the user is in the ticket gate entry state.

[0016] Next, simultaneously with the detection of the user's entry, the ticket gate 100 transmits beacon signals in sequence at individual timings between a plurality of antennas installed in the ticket gate 100 and the terminal device possessed by the user, and selects an antenna that is optimal for establishing wireless communication. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the antenna selection process for communicating with the terminal device in the touchless process according to the embodiment.

[0017] The ticket gate 100, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, transmits a beacon signal from the antenna simultaneously with the detection of the user's entry into the ticket gate. Then, the ticket gate 100 detects the terminal device 200 possessed by the user who has entered the ticket gate by receiving the beacon response from the terminal device 200.

[0018] For example, the ticket gate 100 has multiple antennas and terminal device 200 sequentially send and receive beacon signals, measures the received signal strength between each antenna and terminal device 200, and selects the antenna with the highest average value of multiple received signal strength measurements as the antenna with the optimal communication status with terminal device 200.

[0019] Next, the ticket gate 100 establishes a wireless connection between the antenna with the optimal communication state selected in the aforementioned process and the terminal device 200, and enters a communication-ready state (link up). Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the wireless connection establishment process in the touchless process according to the embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 4, the ticket gate 100 establishes a wireless connection between the antenna selected as the antenna with the optimal communication state and the terminal device 200.

[0020] The ticket gate 100 transmits and receives data related to the ticket gate passage process via an antenna and terminal device 200 with which a wireless connection has been established. Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the ticket gate passage process in the touchless processing according to this embodiment.

[0021] As shown in Figure 5, the ticket gate 100 performs a ticket gate passage process for the terminal device 200 held by the user by transmitting and receiving packet data that can be transmitted and received within a certain period (for example, 100 msec) via wireless communication between an antenna with an established wireless connection and the terminal device 200.

[0022] Here, if, for example, the communication status deteriorates due to the movement of a user and the ticket gate passage process is not completed within a certain period of time, the ticket gate 100 can return to the process of selecting the optimal antenna based on the aforementioned communication status and perform the process sequentially to establish a wireless connection with the newly selected antenna and complete the ticket gate passage process.

[0023] Subsequently, when the ticket gate 100 completes the ticket gate passage process within a certain period, it determines whether the user is permitted to pass through and disconnects the connection between the antenna and the terminal device 200. Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the process for determining whether a user has passed through the ticket gate in the touchless processing according to this embodiment.

[0024] As shown in Figure 6, the ticket gate 100, for example, disconnects communication between the antenna and the terminal device 200 when the transmission and reception of communication data is completed within a certain period of time, and determines whether the user with the terminal device 200 is permitted to pass through the ticket gate. The ticket gate 100 then notifies the gate control device of the permission to pass through the ticket gate and opens the gate. The ticket gate 100 also displays the permission to pass through the ticket gate on a monitor it has, allowing the user to know that they have been permitted to pass through the ticket gate. In addition to displaying on the monitor, the ticket gate 100 can also notify the user that they have been permitted to pass through the ticket gate by outputting sound, light, etc., associated with the permission to pass through the ticket gate.

[0025] Through the series of processes described above, the ticket gate 100 can appropriately establish a wireless connection with the terminal device 200 held by the user moving within the ticket gate area and send and receive communication data related to the ticket gate passage process, thereby enabling it to determine whether or not the user is allowed to pass through the ticket gate via touchless processing. Furthermore, by selecting the antenna with the optimal communication status from multiple antennas, the ticket gate 100 can complete the ticket gate passage process within a certain period of time, regardless of the orientation of the terminal device 200 held by the user, its location, and any other circumstances related to the user's possession of the terminal device 200, such as body shielding.

[0026] (Overview of the touch processing by ticket gate 100) Next, an overview of the touch processing by the ticket gate 100 will be described. In this embodiment, the touch processing refers to the process of sending and receiving information related to passing through the ticket gate, such as authentication of the ID of the medium 300, updating of usage history, and deduction of fares, to the medium 300 that has been touched by the user within the communication range of the reader unit of the ticket gate 100.

[0027] Here, a specific example of the touch processing by the ticket gate 100 will be explained using Figure 7. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the touch processing according to the embodiment. As shown in Figure 7, the ticket gate 100 performs a touch processing related to passing through the ticket gate on an IC card that has come into contact with the reader so that the IC card remains within a certain communication range of the reader of the ticket gate 100 for a predetermined time.

[0028] Here, the touch processing shown in Figure 7 is an example in which the touch processing is performed by contact between the reader and the IC card, but it is not limited to this. For example, if the IC card is held over the reader by the user so that it is within a certain communication range of the reader for a predetermined time, the reader will perform a touch processing on the recognized IC card. In other words, the touch processing according to this embodiment does not necessarily require contact between the ticket gate 100 and the reader; it is sufficient if the reader performs a process of sending and receiving information related to passing through the ticket gate to the recognized medium 300. In the following, the act of a user causing the reader to recognize the medium 300 will be referred to as a touch operation.

[0029] Although the touchless processing was described above as being performed on the terminal device 200 and the touch processing on the medium 300, this is not limited to these two cases. For example, the touchless processing may be performed on the medium 300, or the touch processing may be performed on the terminal device 200. Also, for example, the touchless processing and the touch processing may be performed on the same terminal device 200 or medium 300.

[0030] (Challenges of conventional technology) Next, we will describe the problems of the conventional technology regarding the touchless processing of ticket gates according to this embodiment. Conventionally, there are ticket gates that can determine whether or not a user can pass through the gate by touchless processing, without requiring the user to touch the gate.

[0031] However, with conventional technology, if a user touches their card after the automatic touchless processing has started for a user entering the ticket gate area, it may be impossible to determine whether to prioritize the touchless processing or the touch processing for passing through the ticket gate.

[0032] In contrast to conventional touch-based ticket gates, which accept only one IC card or terminal device at a time, ticket gates that perform both touch and touchless processing may automatically detect the IC card or terminal device held by a user entering the gate area and perform touchless processing, and then perform touch processing on the IC card touched by the same user. In this case, ticket gates that perform both touch and touchless processing cannot determine whether to use the touchless processing or touch processing performed on the same user to complete the gate passage process.

[0033] (Summary of the processing at ticket gate 100) Next, the processing details of the ticket gate 100 according to this embodiment will be described. In view of the aforementioned problems, the ticket gate 100 according to this embodiment detects a user's entry into the ticket gate area and performs touchless processing related to the user's passage through the gate. When the ticket gate 100 receives a touch operation of the medium 300 related to the user's passage through the gate from the detected user, it performs touch processing related to the user's passage through the gate. When touchless processing and touch processing conflict, the ticket gate 100 enables either the touchless processing or the touch processing.

[0034] For example, the ticket gate 100 detects a user's entry into the ticket gate area using a motion sensor located on the entrance side of the ticket gate 100. The ticket gate 100 then establishes a wireless communication connection between its antenna and the user's terminal device 200, and performs touchless processing by sending and receiving information related to the ticket gate passage process. When the ticket gate 100 receives a touch operation of a medium 300 from the user to the reader section of the ticket gate 100, it performs touch processing by sending and receiving information related to the ticket gate passage process to the recognized medium 300.

[0035] The ticket gate 100 then determines that there is a conflict between touch processing and touchless processing if the ID of the user of the terminal device 200 that is subject to touchless processing and the ID of the user of the medium 300 that is subject to touch processing are the same, and activates the touch processing which is pre-configured as the process to be activated in the event of a conflict, thereby completing the process related to the user passing through the ticket gate.

[0036] As a result, even if the ticket gate 100 performs a touchless process on a terminal device 200 held by a user who has entered the ticket gate area, and then performs a touch process on a medium 300 that has received a touch operation from the same user, it can enable either the touchless process or the touch process to properly complete the ticket gate passage process.

[0037] [Configuration of ticket gate 100] The following describes an example of the functional configuration of the ticket gate 100 described above. Figure 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a ticket gate according to the embodiment. As shown in Figure 8, the ticket gate 100 has a communication unit 110, a control unit 120, and a storage unit 130.

[0038] The communication unit 110 controls processes such as transmitting beacons using an antenna installed on the ticket gate 100, establishing a wireless connection between the ticket gate 100 and the terminal device 200, and mediating connection processes with the medium 300 related to touch operations by the user.

[0039] The memory unit 130 is implemented by a storage device such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or a hard disk. The memory unit 130 stores data and programs necessary for various processes performed by the control unit 120. The storage device may be implemented by a storage system installed outside the ticket gate 100. The memory unit 130 stores information such as user information and processing execution time for terminal devices 200 that are targeted by the touchless processing unit 122, which will be described later. The memory unit 130 also stores information such as user information and processing execution time for media 300 that are targeted by the touch processing unit 123, which will be described later.

[0040] The control unit 120 is implemented by a processor such as an integrated circuit (CPU), MPU, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), which executes various programs stored in the memory device inside the ticket gate 100 using RAM or the like as the working area. In the example shown in Figure 8, the control unit 120 includes an entry detection unit 121, a touchless processing unit 122, a touch processing unit 123, a valid processing determination unit 124, and an output unit 125.

[0041] The entry detection unit 121 detects when a user enters the ticket gate area. For example, the entry detection unit 121 determines that a user has entered the ticket gate area when a human presence sensor installed on the entrance side of the ticket gate area 100 detects a human body. For example, in addition to the human presence sensor mentioned above, the entry detection unit 121 can analyze image data captured by a camera and information obtained through P2P distance measurement technology to determine the number of users who have entered the ticket gate area, and analyze image data of users to determine if they are accompanied by a child and pushing a stroller, or if they are overweight, thereby acquiring characteristics of users passing through the ticket gate.

[0042] The touchless processing unit 122 performs touchless processing related to the user's passage through the ticket gate for users detected by the entry detection unit 121. For example, the touchless processing unit 122 establishes a wireless communication connection between the terminal device 200 owned by the user detected by the entry detection unit 121 and the antenna of the ticket gate 100, and sends and receives information related to the ticket gate passage process, thereby enabling the user to send and receive information related to passing through the ticket gate without requiring the user to touch an IC card or the like in the conventional method. The touchless processing unit 122 then stores user information such as the user ID associated with the terminal device 200 that was the target of the touchless processing, as well as information such as the execution time of the touchless processing, in the storage unit 130.

[0043] Here, the touchless processing performed by the touchless processing unit 122 is not limited to the process of establishing wireless communication between the ticket gate 100 and the terminal device 200 as described in Figures 2 to 6 above, but can also include, for example, the process of authenticating a user by performing facial recognition using the user's facial image data acquired by the ticket gate 100 and then executing the process related to passing through the ticket gate. In other words, the content of the touchless processing unit 122 is not particularly limited as long as it can perform the process related to passing through the ticket gate other than the process that requires a user touch operation, which is the target of the processing of the touch processing unit 123 described later.

[0044] The touch processing unit 123 performs touch processing related to the user's passage through the ticket gate when it receives a touch operation of the medium 300 related to the user's passage through the ticket gate from a user detected by the entry detection unit 121. For example, when the touch processing unit 123 receives a touch operation of the IC card, which is the medium 300, from a user detected by the entry detection unit 121, it authenticates the IC card that has been touched within the communication range of the reader unit of the ticket gate 100, and then performs processing to send and receive information related to passing through the ticket gate. The touch processing unit 123 then stores user information such as the user ID associated with the medium 300 that was the target of the touch processing, and information such as the execution time of the touchless processing, in the storage unit 130.

[0045] The valid processing determination unit 124 enables either the touchless processing performed by the touchless processing unit 122 or the touch processing performed by the touch processing unit 123 if they conflict. For example, if the aforementioned touchless processing and touch processing are performed for the same user, the valid processing determination unit 124 determines that the touchless processing and touch processing conflict and notifies the touch processing unit 123 to enable the touch processing and notifies the touchless processing unit 122 to disable the touchless processing. Upon receiving the notification to enable the touch processing, the touch processing unit 123 completes the processing related to passing through the ticket gate on the medium 300, and the ticket gate 100 permits the user to pass through the ticket gate.

[0046] Furthermore, if the valid processing determination unit 124 decides to enable touchless processing, for example, it notifies the touchless processing unit 122 to enable touchless processing and notifies the touch processing unit 123 to disable touch processing. Here, the touchless processing unit 122 and the touch processing unit 123 can be pre-configured, for example, to complete the gate passage process after receiving the notification from the valid processing determination unit 124, so that either one of the processes can be enabled by notifying only the processing unit related to the process to be enabled.

[0047] Furthermore, for example, the valid processing determination unit 124 may determine that the touchless processing and the touch processing were performed on the same user if the information regarding the user registered in the terminal device 200 that was the target of the touchless processing and the information regarding the user registered in the medium 300 that was the target of the touch processing were the same.

[0048] To explain with a specific example, the valid processing determination unit 124 determines that the user subject to touchless processing and the user subject to touch processing are the same person if the user ID registered on the IC card into which the functional information has been imported into the terminal device 200 is the same as the user ID registered on the IC card that was the target of the user's touch operation.

[0049] Furthermore, for example, the valid processing determination unit 124 may determine that the touchless processing and the touch processing were performed on the same user if touch processing is initiated within a predetermined time after touchless processing has started.

[0050] To explain with a specific example, the effective processing determination unit 124 determines that the user targeted by the touchless processing and the user targeted by the touch processing are the same person if the start time of the touchless processing and the start time of the touch processing are within a few seconds of each other.

[0051] In the explanation above, it was assumed that the touchless process is performed before the touch process, but the touch process may also be performed before the touchless process. In this case, the effective processing determination unit 124 can, for example, calculate the difference between the start time of the touchless process and the start time of the touch process, and if the difference is a few seconds or less, it can determine that the user targeted by the touchless process and the user targeted by the touch process are the same person.

[0052] The output unit 125 outputs information indicating that the process related to the user passing through the ticket gate has been completed by the touch process when the touch process is enabled by the valid processing determination unit 124. For example, when the output unit 125 is notified by the valid processing determination unit 124 to enable the touch process, it displays the word "Touch" on the monitor of the ticket gate 100.

[0053] Furthermore, the output unit 125 outputs information indicating that the process of the user passing through the ticket gate has been completed by touch processing, for example by using the speaker of the ticket gate 100 to output a machine voice saying "touch", illuminating a light of a color pre-associated with the touch processing, or outputting a sign, mark illustration, etc. indicating the touch processing.

[0054] Furthermore, if, for example, the user does not respond to a touch operation and the effective processing determination unit 124 notifies the output unit 125 that touchless processing has been enabled, the output unit 125 will output information indicating that the processing related to the user's passage through the ticket gate has been completed via touchless processing, similar to when touch processing is enabled. This information will be displayed on the monitor of the ticket gate 100, an automated voice will say "touchless," and signs, marks, and illustrations indicating touchless processing will be output.

[0055] [Specific examples] Next, a specific example of the process for identifying the medium 300 that is the target of the ticket gate passage process of the ticket gate machine 100 according to the embodiment will be described. Figure 9 is a diagram showing a specific example of the process when touchless processing and touch processing are performed for the same user in the embodiment. In Figure 9, an example of processing will be described when touchless processing is performed for a user detected by the entry detection unit 121, and then an IC card related to the user's touch operation is received and touch processing is performed.

[0056] As shown in Figure 9, the ticket gate 100 first establishes wireless communication between the antenna and the terminal device 200 for users who enter the ticket gate area and performs touchless processing. The ticket gate 100 then obtains the user ID "aaaa" registered on the IC card inserted into the terminal device 200 that is the target of the touchless processing and stores it in the storage unit 130 along with the start time of the touchless processing.

[0057] Subsequently, the ticket gate 100 receives the IC card to be touched by the user and performs a touch operation on the received IC card. The ticket gate 100 then obtains the user ID "aaaa" registered on the IC card to be touched and stores it in the storage unit 130 along with the start time of the touch operation.

[0058] Then, after performing the touch process, the ticket gate 100 determines that the user ID "aaaa" of the IC card that was the target of the touchless process and the user ID "aaaa" of the IC card that was the target of the touch process are the same user ID. The ticket gate 100 then determines that the touchless process and the touch process were performed for the same user, and after deciding that the touch process for the user with user ID "aaaa" is a valid process, it completes the process related to passing through the ticket gate with respect to the touch process.

[0059] As a result, when both touchless and touch processing are performed for the same user, the ticket gate 100 can enable the touch processing, which is highly likely to be the processing that the user considers to be the one to be used for passing through the ticket gate, and complete the ticket gate passage process appropriately.

[0060] 〔flowchart〕 Next, an example of processing by the ticket gate 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 10. Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by the ticket gate according to this embodiment. Note that each step in the flowchart shown in Figure 10 can be executed in a different order, and additional or omitted processes may be included. Figure 10 describes an example of the processing until the ticket gate passage process is completed for one user who has entered the ticket gate area.

[0061] First, the ticket gate 100 detects the user's entry into the ticket gate area (S101). Then, the ticket gate 100 detects the terminal device 200 held by the user (S102). Finally, the ticket gate 100 performs a touchless transaction on the detected terminal device 200 (S103).

[0062] The ticket gate 100 then determines whether or not it has detected a medium 300 that has been touched to the reader within a predetermined time (S104). If it has not detected a medium 300 that has been touched to the reader within a predetermined time (S104; No), it decides to enable touchless processing (S105). On the other hand, if it has detected a medium 300 that has been touched to the reader within a predetermined time (S104; Yes), it performs touch processing on the detected medium 300 (S106).

[0063] The ticket gate 100 then determines whether the user subject to touchless processing and the user subject to touch processing are the same person (S107). If the user subject to touchless processing and the user subject to touch processing are not the same person (S107; No), the ticket gate 100 stops the ticket gate passage process (determines it to be an error) (S108) and terminates the process. On the other hand, if the user subject to touchless processing and the user subject to touch processing are the same person (S107; Yes), the touch processing is determined to be a valid process (S109).

[0064] After processing S105 or S109, the ticket gate 100 completes the ticket gate passage process with the process determined to be valid (S110), and ends the process.

[0065] 〔effect〕 The ticket gate 100 according to this embodiment includes an entry detection unit 121, a touchless processing unit 122, a touch processing unit 123, and a valid processing determination unit 124. The entry detection unit 121 detects when a user enters the ticket gate area. The touchless processing unit 122 performs touchless processing related to the user's passage through the ticket gate for the user detected by the entry detection unit 121.

[0066] The touch processing unit 123 performs touch processing related to the user's passage through the ticket gate when it receives a touch operation of the medium 300 related to the user's passage through the ticket gate from a user detected by the entry detection unit 121. The valid processing determination unit 124 enables either the touchless processing by the touchless processing unit 122 or the touch processing by the touch processing unit 123 if there is a conflict between the touchless processing by the touchless processing unit 122 and the touch processing by the touch processing unit 123.

[0067] As a result, even if there is a conflict between touchless processing and touch processing in the process of a user passing through the ticket gate, the ticket gate 100 can enable either processing, thereby ensuring that the ticket gate passage process is completed properly.

[0068] Furthermore, the valid processing determination unit 124 enables the touch processing when both touchless processing and touch processing are performed by the same user. As a result, even if the ticket gate 100 performs touchless processing on a terminal device 200 held by a user who has entered the ticket gate area, and then performs touch processing on a medium 300 that has received a touch operation from the same user, it can enable the touch processing on the medium 300 that the user is most likely to consider as the target of the ticket gate passage processing, thereby properly completing the ticket gate passage processing.

[0069] Furthermore, the valid processing determination unit 124 determines that the touchless processing and touch processing were performed on the same user if the user information registered in the terminal device 200 that was the target of the touchless processing is the same as the user information registered in the medium 300 that was the target of the touch processing. This allows the ticket gate 100 to appropriately determine whether the user who was the target of the touchless processing and the user who was the target of the touch processing are the same person.

[0070] Furthermore, the valid processing determination unit 124 determines that touch processing and touch processing were performed on the same user if touch processing is started within a predetermined time after touchless processing has started. As a result, the ticket gate 100 can determine that touch processing and touchless processing were performed on the same person if the difference in processing start times between touch processing and touch processing is small.

[0071] Furthermore, the ticket gate 100 has an output unit 125. When the touch processing is enabled by the valid processing determination unit 124, the output unit 125 outputs information indicating that the process related to the user's passage through the ticket gate has been completed by the touch processing. This allows the ticket gate 100 to appropriately inform the user that the ticket gate passage process has been completed by the touch processing.

[0072] 〔others〕 Furthermore, among the processes described in the above embodiments, all or part of those described as being performed automatically may be performed manually. Conversely, all or part of those described as being performed manually may be performed automatically by known methods. In addition, the processing procedures, specific names, and various data and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings may be changed at will unless otherwise specified.

[0073] Furthermore, each component of the illustrated device is a functional concept and does not necessarily have to be physically or functionally configured as shown. In other words, the specific forms of distribution and integration of each device and functional configuration are not limited to those shown, and all or part of them can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit according to various loads and usage conditions. In addition, the embodiments described above and the processes carried out in each embodiment may be combined as appropriate, as long as the processing content is not contradictory.

[0074] 〔program〕 Furthermore, the ticket gate 100 according to the above-described embodiment is implemented by a computer 1000 having a configuration such as that shown in Figure 11. Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of a computer that executes a program. The computer 1000 is connected to an output device 1010 and an input device 1020, and has a configuration in which a central processing unit 1030, memory 1040, storage 1050, output IF (Interface) 1060, input IF 1070, and communication interface 1080 are connected by a bus 1090.

[0075] The central processing unit 1030 operates based on programs stored in the memory 1040 and storage 1050, as well as programs read from the input device 1020, and executes various processes. The memory 1040 is a memory device, such as RAM, that temporarily stores data used by the central processing unit 1030 for various calculations. The storage 1050 is a storage device where data used by the central processing unit 1030 for various calculations and various databases are registered, and is implemented using ROM (Read Only Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), flash memory, etc.

[0076] Output IF1060 is an interface for transmitting information to be output to output devices 1010 that output various types of information, such as monitors and printers. It can be implemented using connectors of standards such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), DVI (Digital Visual Interface), or HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface). Input IF1070 is an interface for receiving information from various input devices 1020, such as mice, keyboards, and cameras. It can be implemented using USB, for example. Input devices 1020 may also be devices that read information from optical recording media, magneto-optical recording media, tape media, magnetic recording media, or semiconductor memory, or external storage media such as USB memory.

[0077] The communication interface 1080 receives data from other devices via the network N and sends it to the central processing unit 1030, and also transmits data generated by the central processing unit 1030 to other devices via the network N. The central processing unit 1030 controls the output device 1010 and input device 1020 via the output IF 1060 and input IF 1070. For example, the central processing unit 1030 loads a program from the input device 1020 or storage 1050 into memory 1040 and executes the loaded program.

[0078] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, these are illustrative examples, and the present invention may be implemented in various modified and improved forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, starting with the embodiments described in the disclosure section of the invention. Furthermore, the terms "section, module, unit" used above can be read as "means" or "circuit," etc. For example, the "applying part" can be read as the "applying means" or "applying circuit." [Explanation of Symbols]

[0079] 100 ticket gates 110 Communications Department 120 Control Unit 121 Intrusion detection unit 122 Touchless Processing Unit 123 Touch Processing Unit 124 Effective Processing Determination Unit 125 Output section 130 Storage section 200 terminal devices 300 medium

Claims

1. An entry detection unit that detects when a user enters the ticket gate area, A touchless processing unit performs touchless processing for the user passing through the ticket gate for the user detected by the entry detection unit, When the entry detection unit detects a user and receives a touch operation of a medium related to the user's passage through the ticket gate, the touch processing unit performs a touch operation related to the user's passage through the ticket gate. When the touchless processing performed by the touchless processing unit and the touch processing performed by the touch processing unit conflict, the effective processing determination unit enables either the touchless processing or the touch processing. A ticket gate characterized by having the following features.

2. The effective processing determination unit enables the touch processing when the touchless processing and the touch processing are performed by the same user. The ticket gate described in feature 1.

3. The ticket gate according to claim 2, characterized in that the valid processing determination unit determines that the touchless processing and the touch processing were performed on the same user when the information about the user registered in the terminal device that was the target of the touchless processing and the information about the user registered in the medium that was the target of the touch processing are the same.

4. The ticket gate according to claim 2, characterized in that the valid processing determination unit determines that the touch processing and the touch processing were performed on the same user if the touch processing is started within a predetermined time after the start of the touchless processing.

5. The ticket gate according to claim 2, further comprising an output unit that outputs information indicating that the process relating to the user's passage through the ticket gate has been completed by the touch process when the touch process is enabled by the effective processing determination unit.

6. An entry and exit control method performed by a ticket gate, An entry detection process that detects when a user enters the ticket gate area, A touchless processing step is performed for the user detected by the entry detection step, which involves performing a touchless process related to the user's passage through the ticket gate. When the user detected by the entry detection step receives a touch operation of a medium related to the user's passage through the ticket gate, the touch processing step performs a touch process related to the user's passage through the ticket gate. When the touchless processing performed by the aforementioned touchless processing step and the touch processing performed by the aforementioned touch processing step conflict, an effective processing determination step is provided to enable either the touchless processing or the touch processing. An entry / exit control method characterized by including the following.

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