EP3383509A1 - Device for optimizing the operation of a games or recreational facility - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for managing the occupancy of a games or recreational facility by users, comprising: a plurality of badges, each comprising both means for storing data about a user and RFID contact communication means; a database for each user; a computer connected to said database; a plurality of stationary stations or terminals arranged at various locations of said facility and each comprising: an RFID device for reading and recognizing said badges; a means for wireless communication with said database. The invention is characterized in that the communication means between each terminal and the database comprises a radio frequency transmitter/receiver operating at a frequency of between 600 MHz and 1200 MHz, and more particularly 868 MHz.

Description

 DEVICE FOR OPTIMIZING THE OPERATION OF A GAMING OR RECREATION FACILITY

The present invention relates to a device for optimizing the operation of a leisure or sports facility, such as a golf course, for communicating with users / players.

The management of establishments and / or of places of leisure, working with subscribers, passes by the optimization of the occupation of the installations of this establishment, and in the example of a golf club, of the course itself and other equipment (cloakrooms, car parks, practice reservation, course reservation, training course ...).

This management aims to:

 - manage the load / occupation of facilities, such as a golf course in real time: possibility to occupy the field with a departure at mid-course for example, or manage the available places in the ancillary facilities ( parking, catering, sanitary, etc.);

 - accommodate an additional load of users, such as guest players, who are not subscribers or members.

Application WO 2008/078923 discloses a method and a device for learning golf players, comprising stations arranged at each starting point of the golf course, and able on the one hand to communicate by RFID system with the badges attributed to the players, and on the other hand to film the movement of the latter to return later to the players.

This known device does not meet the needs management use of the golf course, as mentioned above. Thus, to date, to the applicant's knowledge, there are no devices capable of managing the occupation of a game or leisure facility, and in particular a golf course.

The invention overcomes this situation and proposes a device for optimally managing the occupation by persons, such as golf players, a gaming facility or leisure, such as a golf course, in order to reconcile the economic imperatives of the manager of said installation, with the comfort and the pleasure of the users / players.

For this purpose according to the invention, the device intended for the management of the occupancy of a game or leisure facility, by users, of the type comprising:

A plurality of badges, each comprising, on the one hand, user-specific information memory means and, on the other hand, contact communication means of the RFID type;

 - A database containing information specific to each user or player;

 - A computer connected to said database;

 A plurality of fixed stations or terminals disposed in different locations of said installation, each comprising:

^* An RFID reading device and recognizing said badges;

^* A wireless communication means with said database;

is characterized in that the communication means between each terminal and the database comprises a radiofrequency transmitter / receiver.

This makes it possible to overcome the constraints or limitations of other known wireless communication systems, such as infrared, Wi-Fi or other.

The communication is carried out in narrow frequency band, and more particularly, the communication frequency is between 600 MHz and 1200 MHz, and more precisely 868 MHz. A high frequency reduces the energy consumed and increases the autonomy of the terminals. More particularly, the use of a narrow-band radiofrequency facilitates the integration of the transmitter in a small housing.

The range of the transmitter / receiver of each terminal is thus high (10 km in terrain without obstacles), which allows a significant downward flow of data.

The chosen frequency band is accessible without a license, so free of charge.

Standby energy consumption in standby is low and can be provided by photovoltaic cells with a lithium battery arranged in the terminal.

In addition, this enables the terminal only when a signal reaches him, by the detection of passage in the vicinity of a subscriber badge, obtained by a capacitive watch that activates the RFID antenna of the autonomous interactive terminal.

Each badge is clean and personal to a subscriber / user.

The central computer makes it possible to keep the database of subscribers and guests up-to-date, in particular with regard to their acquittal of rights and access authorizations.

The terminals can continue to operate autonomously if the wireless transmission is interrupted.

For this purpose, the contents of the database are transferred to the memory device of each terminal, which enables the latter and to act or transmit a control signal to an apparatus, such as for example a barrier of parking entrance, without using the central computer.

The device of the invention further comprises one or more relay devices, called gateways, and intended to exchange information and / or signals with said terminals, by radio frequency. Each gateway includes:

 A gateway card 9 for communication with the database, and more specifically including a transceiver equipment and an antenna operating in the 868 MHz narrow band, which is connected directly to the central PC network of the establishment or to the one of the access nodes to the Ethernet network (wired or wireless) of that institution;

 An electronic card 4 comprising a radiofrequency transceiver operating in narrowband at 868 MHz and comprising relay commands available to activate peripheral devices, such as a parking barrier, the starting contact of a golf cart. ...;

 A communication radio antenna 5 with the gateway, and

 • An RFID induction antenna card 6 which supplies the badges with electrical energy and which includes a built-in transponder reader to read the Subscriber Badges, and which makes it possible to program the badges of the customers, without the need for a dedicated card reader additional.

The 868 Megahertz narrow band offers the possibility of using up to 200 terminals per transmitting gateway.

Each terminal includes:

 • an electronic card with a radio frequency transceiver operating in narrow band at 868 MHz and with relays available to activate peripheral devices, such as a parking barrier, the starting contact of a golf cart, etc.

 A radio antenna for communication with the gateway, and

 • An RFID induction antenna board that supplies the badges with electrical energy and includes an integrated transponder reader to read the Subscriber Badges.

Advantageously, some of the terminals are each equipped with a relay card 7. These same terminals can also be integrated with devices related to the use or operation of the installation of games or sports, such as:

o A golf cart (Caddy®);

o A parking barrier; o An electric cart;

o The door of a cloakroom;

These same terminals furthermore comprise a display means 8.

Advantageously, said electronic boards of the same terminal are collected in a thin housing, for example of the order of 20 mm. The housing is protected against electromagnetic radiation (EMC).

Each badge is sealed and does not contain a battery or accumulator. They are activated by induction by an external power source which is activated when it is present near the transponder antenna of an interactive terminal.

The operation of the device of the invention is described below.

Autonomous or equipped interactive kiosks communicate with the network gateway using a narrow-band radio link at 868 Mhz.

The terminals communicate with the subscriber badges by means of a proximity sensing activated RFID reader.

In order to reduce the power consumption of the terminals, each has a capacitive watch, which activates the RFID antenna of the terminal only when a subscriber badge passes close to the terminal.

The subscriber badges can communicate directly with the network gateway, by passing the badge in front of the gateway, by means of an RFID reader dedicated to this gateway which makes it possible to program the badges, without the need for an additional card reader.

The operation of the gateway (s) 3 is as follows:

 requesting authorization from the database via the network in read / write mode with local recognition of the badge;

then radio exchange with autonomous interactive kiosks. The standalone interactive terminal has the following functions:

 alert and rescue function for isolated players (Caddy call, ...) proximity badging (fixed point identified); for example at the parking entrance barrier;

 monodirectional link access:

 sending an identifier from a customer-badge, using the contactless technology (for example: request for authorization to access the car park);

 bidirectional link access:

 offering the possibility of controlling peripheral devices (with dry relays coming from the housing), for example:

o the command to open the parking barrier;

o the ignition key (on-board box) for using an electric caddy; o the order to open a wardrobe locker;

o Operation command of a golf ball dispenser (rental of baskets) on the driving range, or a tennis ball pitcher ...

In case of power failure of the central management computer, the operation is as follows:

^■ Autonomous interactive terminals 2 keep in flash memory the last state of management of the central database, which allows them to operate autonomously;

 local transactions are stored and the transaction with the central PC is performed by an update with the central PC when the radio link is restored;

 automatic re-emission of the signal three times in case of transient conflict (masking of the antennas for example ...);

In the event of a radio cut (interference, lightning weather, ...) the radio link with the badges being cut:

 use of a "Super-badge" operating without authorization ("pass" function);

this is achieved by assigning the manager or authorized personnel "Super-badge" rights to an ordinary badge; all terminals must know how to detect the "super-badge"; but this "pass" must not be hacked;

The "super badge" according to the invention overcomes these disadvantages:

In the event of a break in the radio link between the bridge and the boxes, "super badges" are used which function as "passes" and are made available to the manager of the golf course and authorized personnel;

In order to protect these "super badges", a "super-user" code is generated by a coded recognition mechanism common to all the terminals, which enables them to recognize if the "super-user" card presented has the relevant rights .

In the event of a break in the radiofrequency link between the gateway 3 and the interactive terminals 1 or 2, "super badges" are used which function as "passes" for the use of the manager, the users and possibly authorized subscribers. .

This has the following advantages:

 • an unmarked subscriber badge may at any time become a "superuser" badge without a distinctive sign;

 • There is no more risk following a loss or theft, than an "ordinary" badge becomes a "super-user" privileged badge;

 • The "superuser" badge can be deactivated at any time.

In addition, a "super-user" recognition code, common to all terminals 1 or 2, is generated by an algorithm contained in the electronic card specific to each interactive terminal, which makes it possible to recognize whether the subscriber badge has the related rights.

Said algorithm produces a unique random code that allows the terminal to generate an original code each time renewed;

The benefits of this design are as follows An unmarked subscriber badge may at any time become a "superuser" badge, with no apparent exterior distinctive sign;

 There is no risk of stealing a privileged "super user" badge because:

o the "super-user" badge will be inactive in the absence of an access key;

o You can deactivate the "super user" badge at any time and from a distance;

 This protection remains active when the radio frequency link between the gateway 3 and the interactive terminals 1 or 2, (does not work.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows the entire device of the invention;

 Figure 2 is a perspective view of a badge;

 Figure 3 shows the housing of a terminal equipped with a display;

 Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of a housing showing the different cards;

 Figure 5 shows the housing of a terminal equipped on the front of a display.

With reference to FIG. 1, the following is a synoptic diagram of the non-wired links between the various components making up the system of the invention:

 block 1 represents the contents of an equipped interactive terminal 1, in which the electronic boards 7 + 4 + 5 + 6 + the display 8 are grouped together; the relay card 7 includes dry relays available to activate peripheral devices, such as a parking barrier, the starting contact of a golf cart, and its power supply means by the network;

 square 2 represents the contents of an autonomous interactive terminal 2, containing the following 3 electronic cards:

 - a radio card 4 + relay + control command visualized by an LED indicator + radio RFID reader,

 a radio antenna 5,

 an RFID antenna card 6;

the square 3 represents the contents of a network gateway 3, in which the electronic cards 4 + 5 + 6 are grouped together, the radio card 9 performing the gateway with the database contained in the operator's central computer (not shown).

It should be noted that subscriber badges are not shown, as well as the central operating computer which is connected to a computer network access node and which communicates with the network gateway 3.

The field of application of the invention includes the management of leisure clubs, such as:

 - horse clubs

 - hunting grounds

 - sports clubs (archery course, shooting range ...)

 - tennis clubs

 - hotel and leisure residences

Golf Course Management System consisting of five elements:

 a plurality of autonomous interactive terminals 2, containing the following 3 electronic cards:

 A radio card 4 containing a relay command visualized by an LED light and an RFID radio frequency reader,

 • a radio antenna 5,

 • an RFID antenna card 6

 a plurality of equipped interactive terminals 1 containing in addition to the 3 electronic cards contained in the autonomous interactive terminal 2;

 • a display 8,

 And a relay card 7 available for activating peripheral devices, such as a parking barrier, the starting contact of a golf cart, and its power supply means by the network,

 a plurality of subscriber badges;

 and at least one network gateway 3

 the latter being connected to a CENTRAL MANAGEMENT COMPUTER or to an access node to a computer network;

these elements being characterized by their modes of communication between them in order to ensure the permanence of transmissions in established mode and their operation in degraded mode by resorting to the following provisions: the equipped or autonomous interactive terminals communicate with the network gateway by means of a 868 MHz narrow-band radiofrequency link and:

o operate autonomously by using a remote storage of the subscriber database, in case of break of this radio frequency link with the central management computer, and return to the CENTER MANAGEMENT COMPUTER the data stored during the period of breakage, during restoration of the radio frequency link;

 the equipped or autonomous interactive terminals communicate with the subscriber badges by means of a contactless RFID reader, and

o are enabled only by capacitive sensing when passing subscriber badges nearby, and

o are in standby communication with the gateway outside this presence, which reduces their power consumption;

 the subscriber badges communicate with the network gateway 3 by means of an RFID reader dedicated to this gateway which makes it possible to program the badges, without the need for an additional card reader, and

o Operate independently without any source of electrical energy, thanks to an internal antenna that is coupled to induction loops contained in the equipped or autonomous interactive terminals and the network gateway 3.

Golf course management system according to the first claim, characterized in that in the event of a cut in the radio frequency link between the network gateway 3 and the equipped or autonomous interactive terminals, the golf manager, the users and possibly Authorized subscribers use "superuser" badges that function as "passes" giving access to all golf services.

Golf field management system using "super-user" badges according to the second claim, characterized by the mode of creating a "super-user" badge which uses a common recognition code for all the interactive terminals equipped with or autonomous, recognition code which is generated by an algorithm contained in the electronic card specific to each interactive terminal, and which makes it possible to recognize whether the subscriber badge has the relevant rights: The formula of this algorithm produces a unique random number that allows the terminal to generate an original code each time renewed; thereby :

 An unmarked subscriber badge may at any time become a "superuser" badge, with no apparent exterior distinctive sign;

 There is no longer a risk of stealing a privileged "pass" badge because:

o the "super-user" badge is inactive in the absence of an access key;

o You can deactivate the "super user" badge at any time and from a distance; and that this protection remains active when the radio frequency link between the network gateway 3 and the equipped or autonomous interactive terminals does not work.

Golf course management system according to the first claim, characterized by the low power consumption of the equipped or autonomous interactive terminals is obtained through a capacitive watch, which activates the RFID antenna of the terminal only when a subscriber badge passes to near her by a voluntary gesture of the wearer.

Golf course management system according to the first claim, characterized by the exterior design of the housing containing the electronic cards contained in the interactive terminals equipped or autonomous must be as flat as possible to reduce the distance between the badge and the loop of induction contained in this housing and that this housing is protected by a metallized shield against electromagnetic radiation (EMC).

Golf course management system according to the first claim, characterized by the power supply of the housing containing the electronic boards contained in the autonomous interactive terminal is provided by:

o a lithium battery, or

o photovoltaic cells and a battery.

Golf course management system according to the first claim, characterized in that the sealed subscriber badge does not contain a battery or other source of electrical energy, it is powered by an electric induction antenna which activates automatically when presented near the loop of induction contained in each autonomous interactive terminal, and because of this it is indestructible.

Claims

1. Device for managing the occupancy of a game or leisure facility, by users, of the type comprising:  A plurality of badges, each comprising, on the one hand, user-specific information memory means and, on the other hand, contact communication means of the RFID type;  - A database containing information specific to each user or player;  - A computer connected to said database;  A plurality of fixed stations or terminals disposed in different locations of said installation, each comprising: ^* An RFID reading device and recognizing said badges; ^* A wireless communication means with said database; characterized in that the means of communication between each terminal and the database comprises a radiofrequency transmitter / receiver.  2 Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication is carried out in narrow frequency band, and more particularly, the communication frequency is between 600 MHz and 1200 MHz, and more precisely 868 MHz.  3 Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the terminals are able to continue to operate autonomously in case of failure of the wireless transmission, and in that the contents of the database is transferred in the memory device of each terminal.  4 Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it further comprises one or more relay devices, called gateways, and for exchanging information and / or signals with said terminals, by radio frequency.  5 Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each gateway comprises: A gateway card (9) for communicating with the database, and more specifically including a transceiver equipment and an antenna operating in the 868 MHz narrow band, which is connected directly to the central PC network of the establishment or to one of the Ethernet network access nodes (wired or wireless) of that institution; An electronic card (4) comprising a radiofrequency transceiver operating in narrowband at 868 MHz and comprising relay commands available for activating peripheral devices, such as a parking barrier, the starting contact of a golf cart; golf ....;  A communication radio antenna 5 with the gateway, and  • An RFID induction antenna card 6 which supplies the badges with electrical energy and which includes a built-in transponder reader to read the Subscriber Badges, and which makes it possible to program the badges of the customers, without the need for a dedicated card reader additional.  Device according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each terminal comprises:  • an electronic card with a radio frequency transceiver operating in narrow band at 868 MHz and with relays available to activate peripheral devices, such as a parking barrier, the starting contact of a golf cart, etc.  A radio antenna for communication with the gateway, and  • An RFID induction antenna board that supplies the badges with electrical energy and includes an integrated transponder reader to read the Subscriber Badges.  7 Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that some of the terminals are each equipped with a relay card 7, and in that these terminals can also be integrated in devices related to the use or the operation of the gaming or sports facility, such as: o Golf Caddy®; o A parking barrier; o An electric cart; o The door of a cloakroom.  8 Device according to claim 7, characterized in that these same terminals further comprise a display means (8).  9 Device according to claim 6, characterized in that said electronic boards of a same terminal are collected in a thin housing, for example of the order of 20 mm. The housing is protected against electromagnetic radiation (EMC).  10 Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that each badge is sealed and contains no battery or accumulator.