EP0206639A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Self service terminal for checking into and out of a hotel
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1986-06-10
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2006-06-10
Abstract
Abstract The present invention relates to a self service terminal (100), for use by a guest in checking into a lodging facility such as a hotel, of the type which comprises an identification card reader for determining the identity of the guest, a display and a keyboard for communicating with the guest, a printer, and a computer (200) coupled to the card reader, display, keyboard and printer, the computer including means for assigning a room to the guest on check in. A self service terminal in accordance with the invention is characterised in that the terminal also comprises means for automatically dispensing to the guest a key associated uniquely with the room assigned to the guest by the computer in response to communication with the computer. The terminal may also include key receiving means for receiving keys from guests as they check out of the lodging facility.
Inventors
- 👤 Wilfred Russell Couch
- 👤 Russel G. Burgess
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 12:42
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07F; G07F17/00; G07F17/0042; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/02; G06Q10/028; G06Q10/0285; G07C; G07C9/00; G07C9/20; G07C9/27; G07F11/00; G07F11/02; G07F11/04; G07F11/16; G07F11/26
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
112 words
A self service terminal (100), for use by a guest in checking into a lodging facility such as a hotel, comprising an identification card reader - (110) for determining the identity of said guest, a display (120) and a keyboard (130) for communicating with said guest, a printer (305), and a computer (200) coupled to said card reader, display, keyboard and printer, said computer including means for assigning a room to said guest on check in, characterised in that said terminal also comprises means (303) for automatically dispensing to said guest a key associated uniquely with the room assigned to said guest by said computer in response to communication with said computer.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
112 words
A self service terminal (100), for use by a guest in checking into a lodging facility such as a hotel, comprising an identification card reader - (110) for determining the identity of said guest, a display (120) and a keyboard (130) for communicating with said guest, a printer (305), and a computer (200) coupled to said card reader, display, keyboard and printer, said computer including means for assigning a room to said guest on check in, characterised in that said terminal also comprises means (303) for automatically dispensing to said guest a key associated uniquely with the room assigned to said guest by said computer in response to communication with said computer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
77 words
A self service terminal as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that said means (303) for dispensing keys includes a plurality of key storage sections (330-336), each containing a plurality of keys (500) relating only to rooms having a particular common feature, and in that said terminal includes means for ascertaining the guest's choice of room feature and for assigning a room and dispensing a key associated with that room feature from the corresponding key storage section.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
A self service terminal as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that one section of the key dispensing means (303) contains keys relating to rooms having double beds.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
43 words
A self service terminal as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that said terminal further includes key receiving means - (395) for receiving keys of guests as they check out of the lodging facility using the self service terminal.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
111 words
A method of registering a guest checking into a lodging facility, such as a hotel, having a terminal (100) and a memory associated therewith including identifying said guest from an input to the terminal, characterised by the steps of determining the type of lodging requested by said guest, determining whether a room of the type requested by said guest is available for assignment, and if so, assigning a room by number to said guest including the step of recording in the memory available to said terminal a record of said room number associated with the guest's identity, and dispensing to said guest a key for the room assigned to said guest.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
111 words
A method of registering a guest checking into a lodging facility, such as a hotel, having a terminal (100) and a memory associated therewith including identifying said guest from an input to the terminal, characterised by the steps of determining the type of lodging requested by said guest, determining whether a room of the type requested by said guest is available for assignment, and if so, assigning a room by number to said guest including the step of recording in the memory available to said terminal a record of said room number associated with the guest's identity, and dispensing to said guest a key for the room assigned to said guest.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method of registering a guest in the lodging facility as claimed in claim 5, characterised by the additional steps of generating a printed verification of the registration for the guest, and providing said printed verification to said guest.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of checking a guest out of a lodging facility, such as a hotel, having a terminal including a display, a memory including guest charges, and a key receptacle, characterised by the steps of presenting on said display a listing of the guest's charges from memory for the guest's approval, printing a copy of said guest's charges; receiving a key from said guest at said key receptacle, and updating said memory to record that said guest has checked out from the lodging facility after said key has been received from said guest.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of checking a guest out of a lodging facility, such as a hotel, having a terminal including a display, a memory including guest charges, and a key receptacle, characterised by the steps of presenting on said display a listing of the guest's charges from memory for the guest's approval, printing a copy of said guest's charges; receiving a key from said guest at said key receptacle, and updating said memory to record that said guest has checked out from the lodging facility after said key has been received from said guest.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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