Portable Access Key Queue Management for Amusement Parks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing access to popular attractions in amusement parks efficiently while minimizing queue lengths is challenging, as physical queues become lengthy and boring for users, and existing systems either require complex communication networks or do not adequately control queue sizes.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing portable access keys with variable parameters that adjust based on queue length, managed by a queue manager to allocate time slots electronically, allowing users to access resources virtually and reducing physical queue lengths by setting access criteria dynamically.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If physical queue lines are used to manage access, then access regulation is simple and fair, but queue length increases and user experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical queue using electronic devices. Instead of managing physical lines, the system uses digital representations of queue positions stored in portable access keys, allowing users to wait remotely while maintaining queue order and fairness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical physical queue system with an electronic/digital system. Portable access keys with variable parameters, wireless communication, and electronic queue management substitute for physical line formation, reducing the need for users to physically stand in long lines.
2Quantity of substance
If access criterion is set dynamically based on queue length, then queue size is controlled, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The portable access key automatically performs queue management functions without requiring complex external control. The key's variable parameter self-adjusts based on queue length feedback, and the user's device automatically compares their parameter against the access criterion, eliminating the need for complex centralized queue management infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses variable parameters stored in portable access keys that change dynamically. The access criterion is set as a variable parameter threshold that adjusts with queue length, allowing complex queue management to be achieved through simple parameter comparison rather than complex control logic.
3Adaptability or versatility
If users choose attraction then wait in line, then user preference is respected, but waiting time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows users to pre-select their desired attraction before joining the queue. The portable access key stores this preference information, and the queue management system uses it to provide accurate wait time estimates and notify users when their turn is approaching, allowing them to plan their visit efficiently without unnecessary waiting.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention provides a system for regulating access to a resource by a plurality of users, comprising: a plurality of portable access keys, each being provided to one of the plurality of users and having a variable access parameter associated therewith, each portable access key allowing the respective user to indicate a desire for a number of people to access the resource and arranged to store this indication; a queue manager, arranged to set an access criterion for the resource; a queue interface, adapted to determine that the variable access parameter for a portable access key for which a desire to access the resource has been indicated meets the access criterion, and consequently to register the portable access key in a queue sequence. The queue manager is arranged to manage the queue sequence and to communicate to a portable access key that has been added to the queue sequence an indication of when it can access the resource and configured to set the access criterion for the resource on the basis of a length of the queue sequence.