US3900715A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Ticket issuing and collection systems
Assignee: National Research Development Corp UK
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Filing: 1972-03-21
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Granted: 1975-08-19
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Expires: 1992-03-21
Abstract
Abstract The invention provides a ticket system for public transport vehicles based on the use of tickets which require to be of a predetermined length when presented for checking as the passenger leaves the vehicle, this length being determined on issue of the ticket by mechanism which allows for the issue point in relation to the complete journey and also in accordance with the fare paid: thus all tickets checked at any particular point should be of the same length irrespective of their several issue points, and any short ticket indicates short payment.
Inventors
- 👤 Alec Patrick James
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 14:14
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07B; G07B3/00; G07B3/02; G07B5/00; G07B5/02; G07F; G07F17/00; G07F17/42
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
327 words
A transport vehicle ticket system designed to collect the exact fare from each passenger boarding a transport vehicle traveling over a multiple time- or spatial-interval route wherein the fare due to be paid by each passenger upon boarding is directly related to the number of intervals to be traveled by that passenger, regardless of whether the passenger is traveling to the end of the line, or is dIsembarking sooner, said ticket system including: 1. ticket issuing apparatus including: means for collecting the particular fare tendered by each passenger; means for determining the amount so tendered; and means for issuing a ticket, to each such passenger, having applied thereon by said issuing means a significant portion of a length n + (a+b)x, wherein: n is a constant length greater than or equal to zero, provided to be greater than zero when needed to permit the significant portion to be long enough for the ticket to be properly handled; x is a constant increment of length, greater than zero, chosen to represent an individual interval of travel, a corresponds to the number of intervals the vehicle has traveled along said route prior to the boarding of each particular passenger; and b corresponds to the number of intervals that passenger wishes to travel between boarding and disembarking from the vehicle; and 2. ticket receiving apparatus, including: means for tentatively accepting each ticket tendered by each disembarking passenger; means associated with said tentatively accepting means for registering the lapsing of each of said intervals, as the vehicle travels from one end of the route to the other and for detecting the length of said significant portion of each ticket so tendered, the detecting means including means for discriminating between a ticket for which said length is less than, and, instead, is at least equal to that length which would have been provided on the ticket had the disembarking passenger indeed paid the exact fare for the number of intervals actually traveled.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
327 words
A transport vehicle ticket system designed to collect the exact fare from each passenger boarding a transport vehicle traveling over a multiple time- or spatial-interval route wherein the fare due to be paid by each passenger upon boarding is directly related to the number of intervals to be traveled by that passenger, regardless of whether the passenger is traveling to the end of the line, or is dIsembarking sooner, said ticket system including: 1. ticket issuing apparatus including: means for collecting the particular fare tendered by each passenger; means for determining the amount so tendered; and means for issuing a ticket, to each such passenger, having applied thereon by said issuing means a significant portion of a length n + (a+b)x, wherein: n is a constant length greater than or equal to zero, provided to be greater than zero when needed to permit the significant portion to be long enough for the ticket to be properly handled; x is a constant increment of length, greater than zero, chosen to represent an individual interval of travel, a corresponds to the number of intervals the vehicle has traveled along said route prior to the boarding of each particular passenger; and b corresponds to the number of intervals that passenger wishes to travel between boarding and disembarking from the vehicle; and 2. ticket receiving apparatus, including: means for tentatively accepting each ticket tendered by each disembarking passenger; means associated with said tentatively accepting means for registering the lapsing of each of said intervals, as the vehicle travels from one end of the route to the other and for detecting the length of said significant portion of each ticket so tendered, the detecting means including means for discriminating between a ticket for which said length is less than, and, instead, is at least equal to that length which would have been provided on the ticket had the disembarking passenger indeed paid the exact fare for the number of intervals actually traveled.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
The transport vehicle ticket system of claim 1 wherein the ticket receiving apparatus further includes means for finally accepting tentatively accepted tickets whose said length is found to be sufficiently long and for rejecting those whose said length is found to be too short.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
108 words
ticket receiving apparatus, including: means for tentatively accepting each ticket tendered by each disembarking passenger; means associated with said tentatively accepting means for registering the lapsing of each of said intervals, as the vehicle travels from one end of the route to the other and for detecting the length of said significant portion of each ticket so tendered, the detecting means including means for discriminating between a ticket for which said length is less than, and, instead, is at least equal to that length which would have been provided on the ticket had the disembarking passenger indeed paid the exact fare for the number of intervals actually traveled.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
108 words
ticket receiving apparatus, including: means for tentatively accepting each ticket tendered by each disembarking passenger; means associated with said tentatively accepting means for registering the lapsing of each of said intervals, as the vehicle travels from one end of the route to the other and for detecting the length of said significant portion of each ticket so tendered, the detecting means including means for discriminating between a ticket for which said length is less than, and, instead, is at least equal to that length which would have been provided on the ticket had the disembarking passenger indeed paid the exact fare for the number of intervals actually traveled.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
69 words
The transport vehicle ticket system of claim 1 wherein the ticket issuing apparatus includes means for feeding to a receiving station the leading end of a supply of ticket strip of longer length than that of the individual tickets to be issued; metering and severing means for successively abstracting from the ticket strip extending back from said leading end each said ticket upon the tendering of each respective fare.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
The transport vehicle ticket system of claim 1 wherein the ticket issuing means includes means for severing ticket material from an end of the ticket being issued, whereby said length is the length of the ticket from one end thereof to the other end thereof.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
53 words
The transport vehicle ticket system of claim 1 wherein the ticket issuing means includes means for severing ticket material from at least one site intermediate the opposite ends of the ticket being issued, whereby the distance along said ticket between said one site and some other site on the ticket constitutes said length.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
The transport vehicle ticket system of claim 1 wherein the ticket issuing means includes means for marking the ticket with a magnetic medium to demarcate said length thereon.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
300 words
A transport vehicle ticket system designed to collect the exact fare from each passenger boarding a transport vehicle traveling over a multiple time- or spatial-interval route wherein the fare due to be paid by each passenger upon boarding is directly related to the number of intervals to be traveled by that passenger, regardless of whether the passenger is traveling to the end of the line, or is disembarking sooner, and wherein each passenger tendering a fare is issued a ticket having applied thereon a significant portion of a length n + (a+b)x, wherein: n is a constant length greater than or equal to zero, provided to be greater than zero when needed to permit the significant portion to be long enough for the ticket to be properly handled; x is a constant Increment of length, greater than zero, chosen to represent an individual interval of travel; a corresponds to the number of intervals the vehicle has traveled along said route prior to the boarding of each particular passenger; and b corresponds to the number of intervals that passenger wishes to travel between boarding and disembarking from the vehicle; said ticket system including: ticket receiving apparatus including: means for tentatively accepting each ticket tendered by each disembarking passenger; means associated with said tentatively accepting means for registering the lapsing of each of said intervals, as the vehicle travels from one end of the route to the other and for detecting the length of said significiant portion of each ticket so tendered, the detecting means including means for discriminating between a ticket for which said length is less than, and, instead, is at least equal to that length which would have been provided on the ticket had the disembarking passenger indeed paid the exact fare for the number of intervals actually traveled.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
300 words
A transport vehicle ticket system designed to collect the exact fare from each passenger boarding a transport vehicle traveling over a multiple time- or spatial-interval route wherein the fare due to be paid by each passenger upon boarding is directly related to the number of intervals to be traveled by that passenger, regardless of whether the passenger is traveling to the end of the line, or is disembarking sooner, and wherein each passenger tendering a fare is issued a ticket having applied thereon a significant portion of a length n + (a+b)x, wherein: n is a constant length greater than or equal to zero, provided to be greater than zero when needed to permit the significant portion to be long enough for the ticket to be properly handled; x is a constant Increment of length, greater than zero, chosen to represent an individual interval of travel; a corresponds to the number of intervals the vehicle has traveled along said route prior to the boarding of each particular passenger; and b corresponds to the number of intervals that passenger wishes to travel between boarding and disembarking from the vehicle; said ticket system including: ticket receiving apparatus including: means for tentatively accepting each ticket tendered by each disembarking passenger; means associated with said tentatively accepting means for registering the lapsing of each of said intervals, as the vehicle travels from one end of the route to the other and for detecting the length of said significiant portion of each ticket so tendered, the detecting means including means for discriminating between a ticket for which said length is less than, and, instead, is at least equal to that length which would have been provided on the ticket had the disembarking passenger indeed paid the exact fare for the number of intervals actually traveled.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
74 words
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the detecting means includes: movable stop means; feed means for advancing each ticket so tendered toward said stop means; and means, responsive to said registering means, for moving and setting the stop means at a distance from the feed means which equates to said length, whereby each time another interval of travel has lapsed, the stop means may be correspondingly moved relative to the feed means and set.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-08-18 | 1979-02-17 | 1979-08-19 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-08-18 | 1983-02-17 | 1983-08-19 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-08-18 | 1987-02-17 | 1987-08-19 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |