Automatic passage gate

Abstract

To reduce passenger transit processing time while discouraging passengers from forgetting to pick up their tickets.SOLUTION: A boarding gate 10 includes a reader 12, a ticket ejection slot 25, a flapper 30, and a main control unit 11. The reader 12 is located near the entrance of an enclosure. The ticket ejection slot 25 ejects tickets issued based on passenger information read by the reader 12. The flapper 30 controls the passage of passengers. The ticket ejection slot 25 is located at the entrance side of the flapper 30 and on the flapper 30 side of the reader 12. The main control unit 11 controls the opening and closing of the flapper 30. The main control unit 11 opens and controls the flapper 30 upon triggering the authentication of the passenger information. After controlling the opening of the flapper 30, the main control unit 11 closes and controls the flapper 30 when detecting a ticket forgotten to be taken from the ticket ejection slot 25.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the issuing of boarding passes at boarding gates in airports and security inspection certificates at automated gates at security checkpoints, and to door opening and closing control. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, various technologies related to boarding gates at airports have been devised. For example, the gate device in Patent Document 1 includes a two-dimensional barcode reader near the entrance of the device, and includes a ticket ejection port and a flapper (door) near the exit of the device.

[0003] When a passenger holds the two-dimensional barcode over the reader, the gate device queries the center for the boarding information written on the two-dimensional barcode. If the boarding information is authenticated, the gate device executes the ticket issuing process. The gate device dispenses the issued ticket from the ticket outlet, and opens the flapper when the ticket is removed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-171052 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, with the gate apparatus of Patent Document 1, it was not easy to shorten the time it took for passengers to pass through.

[0006] On the other hand, simply opening the flapper too early can result in people forgetting to pick up their tickets.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the time required for passengers to pass through while preventing passengers from forgetting to pick up their tickets. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the automatic passage gate of the present invention is constructed as follows.

[0009] The automatic passage gate comprises a barcode reading unit, a ticket ejection outlet, a flapper, and a control unit. The barcode reading unit is located near the entrance of the housing. The ticket ejection outlet ejects a ticket issued based on passenger information read by the barcode reading unit. The flapper controls the passage of passengers. The ticket ejection outlet is located closer to the entrance than the flapper and closer to the flapper than the barcode reading unit. The control unit controls the opening and closing of the flapper. The control unit opens the flapper when authentication of passenger information is triggered. If the control unit detects that a ticket has been left behind at the ticket ejection outlet after controlling the flapper to open, it controls the flapper to close.

[0010] In this configuration, the flapper opens when passenger information is authenticated, so if the passenger removes the ticket and passes through, the time it takes for the passenger to pass through is shortened. If the passenger forgets to remove the ticket, the flapper closes, preventing the passenger from passing through the automatic passage gate without removing the ticket. In this case, the ticket ejection port is located closer to the entrance than the flapper, so the passenger is more reliably prevented from passing through.

[0011] The control unit may perform control of ticket issuing and control of opening the flapper in parallel.

[0012] The control unit may set a detection position for detecting a passenger ticket left behind between the ticket ejection outlet and the flapper.

[0013] The boarding gate may be equipped with a passage detection sensor that detects the passage position of a passenger, and the control unit may determine that the ticket has been left behind when the passage detection sensor detects that a passenger has reached a predetermined position while detecting that the ticket has not been taken from the ticket discharge outlet. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to this invention, it is possible to reduce the time required for passengers to pass through, while preventing passengers from forgetting to pick up their tickets and passing through. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1(A), 1(B), 1(C) and 1(D) are diagrams showing an example of the operation of the boarding gate in this example. [Diagram 2] 2(A) and 2(B) are diagrams showing an example of the operation of the boarding gate in this example. [Diagram 3] 3(A) and 3(B) are a plan view and a side view of the boarding gate of this example. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of the boarding gate in this example. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation control of a boarding gate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0017] <1. Application Examples> In this example, a boarding gate is used as an example of an automatic passage gate, but the configuration and control of this example are not limited to boarding gates and boarding tickets, and can also be applied to other types of automatic passage gates and tickets issued at the time, such as an automatic passage gate at a security checkpoint and a security inspection certificate (a ticket indicating that security inspection has been completed).

[0018] Figures 1(A), 1(B), 1(C), 1(D), 2(A), and 2(B) are diagrams showing an example of the operation of the boarding gate in this example. Figures 1(A) and 1(B) are plan and side views when a barcode is read. Figures 1(C) and 1(D) are plan and side views when a boarding ticket is taken. Figures 2(A) and 2(B) are plan and side views when a boarding ticket is forgotten to be taken.

[0019] The boarding gate 10 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 20. The housing 20 is provided with a barcode reading window 22 and a ticket ejection port 25. In addition, a flapper 30 is provided on the side of the housing 20.

[0020] The reading window 22 is disposed near the entrance end 211 of the housing 20. The flapper 30 is disposed at a position close to the exit end 212 of the housing 20. The ticket ejection opening 25 is disposed on the entrance side of the housing 20 relative to the installation position of the flapper 30, and on the flapper 30 side of the installation position of the reading window 22.

[0021] When a passenger passes through boarding gate 10, first, the passenger holds the barcode over reading window 22 as shown in FIG. 1(A) and FIG. 1(B).

[0022] The boarding gate 10 transmits the passenger information read from the barcode to a higher-level system (such as a passenger management system). When the boarding gate 10 receives authentication of the passenger information, it opens the flapper 30.

[0023] In parallel with controlling the flapper 30, the boarding gate 10 issues a boarding ticket. The issued boarding ticket is dispensed from the ticket ejection outlet 25 and held by the ticket ejection outlet 25.

[0024] Next, as shown in Figures 1(C) and 1(D), when the passenger takes the boarding ticket from ticket outlet 25, flapper 30 remains open, allowing the passenger to pass through boarding gate 10 while still holding the boarding ticket.

[0025] On the other hand, as shown in Figures 2(A) and 2(B), if a passenger forgets to take their boarding ticket, boarding gate 10 closes flapper 30. This prevents the passenger from passing through the boarding gate if they forget to take their boarding ticket. In this case, because ticket outlet 25 is located closer to the entrance than flapper 30, boarding gate 10 can more reliably close flapper 30 before the passenger passes through.

[0026] <2. Configuration example> 3(A) and 3(B) are a plan view and a side view of the boarding gate of this example. As shown in Fig. 3(A) and Fig. 3(B), the boarding gate 10 includes a housing 20. The housing 20 is elongated and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 20 includes a top surface 201, an entrance end 211, an exit end 212, and a side surface 213.

[0027] The housing 20 is provided with a barcode information reading window 22, a ticket ejection port 25 for ejecting the boarding ticket, and a flapper 30 which can be controlled to open and close.

[0028] The reading window 22 and the ticket ejection port 25 are provided on the top surface 201 of the housing 20 .

[0029] The flapper 30 is installed on the side surface 213 of the housing 20. The flapper 30 rotates switchably between an open state in which the flapper 30 is arranged parallel to the side surface 213 of the housing 20 and a closed state in which the flapper 30 is arranged approximately perpendicular to the side surface 213 of the housing 20.

[0030] The reading window 22 is disposed near the entrance end 211. The flapper 30 is disposed at a position closer to the exit end 212 than the entrance end 211. The ticket ejection outlet 25 is disposed between the reading window 22 and the flapper 30 in the direction connecting the entrance and exit of the housing 20 (the longitudinal direction of the housing 20). In other words, the ticket ejection outlet 25 is disposed closer to the entrance than the flapper 30 and closer to the flapper 30 than the reading window 22.

[0031] Further, on the side surface 213 of the housing 20, a passage detection sensor 161 and a door detection sensor 162 are provided.

[0032] Passage detection sensor 161 is shaped to cover substantially the entire area between entrance end 211 and exit end 212. Passage detection sensor 161 is composed of a plurality of transmission type sensors arranged at predetermined intervals along the direction connecting the entrance and exit. With this configuration, passage detection sensor 161 detects the position of a passenger passing through the boarding gate.

[0033] The door detection sensor 162 is installed according to the operating range of the flapper 30. The door detection sensor 162 is used for protecting children near the flapper 30 and for detecting baggage.

[0034] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional blocks of the boarding gate in this example. As shown in FIG. 4, the boarding gate 10 includes a main control unit 11, a reading unit 12, a flapper control unit 13, a display unit 14, a printer 15, a sensor 16, and a notification unit 17.

[0035] The main control unit 11 controls the operations executed by the boarding gate 10. The main control unit 11 also performs data communication with an external device (e.g., an attendant terminal) and a higher-level device of a system including the boarding gate 10 (a higher-level system such as a passenger management system).

[0036] The reading unit 12 reads a barcode held over the reading window 22. The reading unit 12 outputs the information read from the barcode to the main control unit 11.

[0037] The flapper control unit 13 controls the operation of the flapper 30 based on opening / closing control information for the flapper 30 from the main control unit 11 .

[0038] The display 14 is a flat panel such as a liquid crystal display, and is installed, for example, at a predetermined position on the top surface 201 of the housing 20. The display 14 receives various information from the main control unit 11, for example, various information related to passenger information, and various information related to operation procedures when passing through the boarding gate 10, and displays it.

[0039] Printer 15 is installed inside housing 20. Printer 15 receives passenger information from main control unit 11 and issues a boarding ticket. The boarding ticket issued by printer 15 is conveyed to ticket outlet 25.

[0040] The sensor 16 is composed of the above-mentioned passage detection sensor 161 and the door detection sensor 162. The sensor 16 detects the position of a passenger passing through the boarding gate 10, for example, and outputs the position to the main control unit 11.

[0041] The notification unit 17 is realized by a speaker, a simple light emitting element, or the like, and is installed in the housing 20. The notification unit 17 notifies passengers and staff of an alert, for example, based on alert information from the main control unit 11.

[0042] With this configuration, the boarding gate 10 operates as follows.

[0043] When a passenger passes through boarding gate 10, first, as shown in Figures 1(A) and 1(B), the passenger holds a barcode over reading window 22. Reading unit 12 reads the barcode and outputs it to main control unit 11.

[0044] The main control unit 11 acquires passenger information from the information read from the barcode. The main control unit 11 inquires about the passenger information from the passenger management system, which is a higher-level system, via the attendant terminal. When authentication is obtained by the passenger management system, the main control unit 11 receives the authentication.

[0045] When the main control unit 11 receives the authentication, it executes an opening control of the flapper 30. In response to the opening control of the flapper 30, the flapper control unit 13 rotates the flapper 30 to switch it from the closed state to the open state.

[0046] In parallel with controlling the flapper 30, the main control unit 11 performs a process of issuing a boarding ticket. More specifically, the main control unit 11 operates the printer 15 to print based on the passenger information and issue a boarding ticket. The printer 15 conveys the boarding ticket to the ticket ejection outlet 25. The ticket ejection outlet 25 dispenses the boarding ticket so as to hold a portion of the boarding ticket.

[0047] Next, as shown in Figures 1(C) and 1(D), when the passenger removes the boarding ticket from ticket outlet 25, main control unit 11 detects this and controls flapper 30 to maintain the open state. For example, when main control unit 11 detects the removal of the boarding ticket, it does not instruct flapper control unit 13 to perform the closing control. This allows the passenger to pass through boarding gate 10 while holding the boarding ticket.

[0048] On the other hand, as shown in Figs. 2(A) and 2(B), if the passenger forgets to take the boarding ticket from the ticket outlet 25, the main control unit 11 detects this and controls the flapper 30 to close.

[0049] More specifically, when the main control unit 11 detects that a passenger has reached the boarding ticket forgotten line LNj from the output of the passage detection sensor 161 without detecting the removal of the boarding ticket, it instructs the flapper control unit 13 to close the flapper 30. In response to the close control of the flapper 30, the flapper control unit 13 rotates the flapper 30 to switch it from the open state to the closed state. This prevents the passenger from passing through the boarding gate if they have forgotten to remove their boarding ticket.

[0050] <3. Example of operation> The operation of the boarding gate in this example will be described below. Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation control of the boarding gate.

[0051] The reading unit 12 reads the barcode that the passenger holds up to the reading window 22 (S11). The main control unit 11 transmits the code reading data (passenger information) to the upper system (S12). The main control unit 11 receives authentication data of the transmitted passenger information (S13).

[0052] The main control unit 11 controls the opening of the flapper 30 (S14), prints the passenger information (S15), and ejects the boarding ticket (S16).

[0053] If the boarding ticket has been removed (S17: YES), the main control unit 11 does not control the flapper 30 to close, and proceeds to accepting operations from the next passenger.

[0054] When the main control unit 11 detects that the boarding ticket has not been taken out (S17: NO) and that the passenger has reached the boarding ticket forgotten line LNj (S18: YES), it controls the flapper 30 to close (S19).

[0055] With such a configuration and control, the boarding gate 10 can prevent passengers from forgetting to pick up their tickets and passing through. Also, the boarding gate 10 can shorten the time it takes for passengers to pass through by controlling the opening of the flapper 30 and issuing the boarding tickets in parallel.

[0056] Therefore, the boarding gate 10 can reduce the time required for passengers to pass through while preventing passengers from forgetting to pick up their tickets.

[0057] Furthermore, at the boarding gate 10, the ticket discharge opening 25 is located closer to the entrance than the flapper 30. This allows the boarding gate 10 to more reliably close the flapper 30 before a passenger passes through.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 2(A) and FIG. 2(B), the boarding gate 10 has a distance between the boarding ticket forgetting line LNj and the flapper 30. Dj The distance between the ticket outlet 25 and the flapper 30 Dp This allows the boarding gate 10 to more reliably determine that the passenger has left the boarding ticket behind after passing through the ticket discharge outlet 25. At this time, the boarding ticket left-behind line LNj is closer to the ticket discharge outlet 25 than the flapper 30, in other words, the boarding ticket left-behind line LNj is moved away from the flapper 30. This allows the boarding gate 10 to more reliably close the flapper 30 before the passenger passes through.

[0059] <Additional Notes> A barcode reading unit (12) disposed near the entrance of the housing 20; a ticket outlet (25) for discharging a boarding ticket issued based on the passenger information read by the barcode reader (12); A flapper (30) for controlling the passage of passengers; a control unit (11) that controls opening and closing of a flapper (30); An automatic passage gate (10) comprising: The ticket discharge port (25) is disposed closer to the entrance than the flapper (30) and closer to the flapper (30) than the barcode reading unit (12). The control unit (11) The authentication of the passenger information is used as a trigger to open the flapper (30), If it is detected that the boarding ticket has been left behind at the ticket outlet after the flapper (30) is opened, the flapper (30) is closed. Automatic passage gates (10). [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 10: Boarding gate 11: Main control unit 13: Flapper control unit 14:Display 15: Printer 16: Sensor 17:Notification Department 20: Cabinet 22: Reading window 25: Ticket outlet 30: Flapper 161: Passage detection sensor 162: Door detection sensor 201: Top 211: Inlet end 212: Outlet side end 213: Side

Claims

1. A barcode reading unit is disposed near an entrance of a housing extending in a direction connecting the entrance and the exit, and reads passenger information indicated by a barcode held up against the entrance; a ticket outlet for discharging a ticket issued based on the passenger information read by the barcode reading unit; A control unit that controls opening and closing of a flapper that controls the passage of passengers toward the exit; An automatic passage gate comprising: the ticket ejection outlet is disposed closer to the entrance than the flapper and closer to the flapper than the barcode reading unit; and the position for detecting a left-behind ticket is set between the ticket outlet and the flapper and closer to the ticket outlet than the flapper; The control unit is The authentication of the passenger information is used as a trigger to control the flapper to open; when it is detected that the passenger has reached the detection position for leaving the ticket behind without removing the ticket discharged to the ticket discharge port after the flapper is opened, the flapper is closed. Automatic passage gate.

2. The control unit is The control of the ticket issuing and the control of the opening of the flapper are processed in parallel. The automatic passage gate according to claim 1.

3. The height of the upper end of the flapper is higher than the top surface of the housing.

3. The automatic passage gate according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A passage detection sensor is provided to detect the passage position of the passenger, The control unit is detecting whether the passenger has reached the detection position of the ticket being left behind based on the passenger's passing position detected by the passage detection sensor; 4. The automatic passage gate according to claim 1.

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