Abstract:
A customer prints a ticket that includes customer security features that appear on the printed ticket. The features, such as a digital photograph of the customer, are checked by the merchant when the ticket is presented. If the security features do not match a ticket holder&#39;s features, the merchant denies admission to the ticket holder. The background area of the printed ticket contains a pattern to make it difficult for someone to insert other security features onto the ticket. The printed ticket includes a barcode that can be scanned by the merchant for fast retrieval of the purchaser&#39;s security features previously provided by the customer to the merchant. The retrieved security features are compared to both the ticket holder&#39;s features and the security features that appear on the printed ticket. A discrepancy during any of these comparisons enables the merchant to identify the imposter and deny admission.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is related to the following co-pending U.S. Patent Applications filed on the same day as the present application and having the same inventor and assignee: “System and Method for Purchasing Ticket Items with User-Negotiated Security Features,” Ser. No. 09/817,868); “System and Method for Processing Ticket Items with Customer Security Features,” Ser. No. 09/817,866); “System and Method for Maintaining User Security Features,” Ser. No. 09/817,891); and “System and Method for Binding and Unbinding Ticket Items with User-Negotiated Security Features,” Ser. No. 09/817,844) each by Dutta and each assigned to the IBM Corporation. 
   BACKGROUND 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a system and method for providing customer security features. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for placing user-negotiated security features, such as a photograph, on a printed ticket. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Electronic tickets are gaining increased acceptance as more people use the Internet and become more familiar and comfortable with buying items, including tickets, from online vendors and merchants. Electronic tickets can then be printed by the customer on the customer&#39;s printer. Often, electronic tickets include a ticket identifier that can be scanned, such as a barcode, to ensure that a given ticket is only used once. After the barcode on the ticket is read, a subsequent reading of the same barcode triggers an error and alerts the merchant that a duplicate ticket has been tendered and the merchant can refuse the second ticket holder admission. 
   Electronic tickets are typically purchased by a customer using a personal computer with an Internet browser to access a ticket merchant&#39;s web site. The customer selects a ticket from the merchant&#39;s web site and typically pays for the ticket online by providing credit card information so that the merchant can charge the ticket purchase to the customer&#39;s credit card. The merchant processes the customer&#39;s request and, if the credit card charge is accepted, provides the customer with ticket information that can be printed on the customer&#39;s printer. 
   Electronic tickets can also be used to gather information about the customers that can be used by the merchant for more effective marketing. While electronic tickets provide merchants with increased information and a level of protection, a challenge exists in gaining consumer confidence in using the system. 
   Currently, a ticket that is printed out by a customer can be used by anyone that gains possession of the printed ticket. The actual customer is typically not referenced on the face of the ticket by name or any other means. A challenge exists in more tightly binding the actual customer with a given ticket. 
   Tickets are often sold (i.e., “scalped”) or given away by the original ticket customer to other customers. Popular sporting events and music concerts often have many “scalpers” selling tickets outside the arena, often for prices well above the original ticket price. An unscrupulous scalper could photocopy a given electronic ticket and sell the same ticket to multiple buyers. Because the electronic ticket is typically printed on the customer&#39;s printer, on their face they are not as secure from being photocopied as traditional tickets that are printed using a special printing process and special ticket paper. The lack of special printing causes a lack of confidence in buying a ticket from a third party. 
   What is needed, therefore, is a system and method to bind a customer to a ticket using the customer&#39;s own security features. Furthermore, what is needed is a way of authenticating an electronic ticket using the customer&#39;s security features to ensure that the rightful customer is the ticket holder. Moreover, what is needed is a way to transfer an electronic ticket from one individual to another by unbinding the first individual&#39;s security features from the ticket and rebinding the ticket to the second individuals security features. 
   SUMMARY 
   It has been discovered that a customer can create a security profile that includes security features that correspond to the customer. Security features may include a digital photograph of the customer, an image of the customer&#39;s signature, a fingerprint, information about the customer&#39;s physical attributes, and a digital signature. The customer&#39;s security profile features can be printed on the ticket so that they can be visually checked by the merchant before redeeming a ticket held by an individual. 
   When a customer prints a ticket that includes customer security features, the features appear on the printed ticket. The features, such as a digital photograph of the customer, can be checked by the merchant when the customer redeems the ticket. If someone else, such as an imposter, tries to redeem the ticket the merchant determines that the security features do not match the ticket holder and deny admission to the ticket holder. The background area of the printed ticket may contain a pattern to make it difficult for someone to cut and paste other security features onto the ticket. The printed ticket may include a barcode that can be scanned by the merchant for fast retrieval of the purchaser&#39;s security features previously provided by the customer to the merchant. The retrieved security features can be compared to both the ticket holder&#39;s features and the security features that appear on the printed ticket. A discrepancy during any of these comparisons enables the merchant to identify the imposter and deny admission. 
   The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity, simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, inventive features, and advantages of the present invention, as defined solely by the claims, will become apparent in the non-limiting detailed description set forth below. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items. 
       FIG. 1  is a network diagram showing a customer, a third party personal security server, and a merchant exchanging security information about the customer to prepare a ticket; 
       FIG. 2   a  is an example ticket that includes security features identifying the customer; 
       FIG. 2   b  is a data flow for unbinding the secured ticket from an original customer and rebinding it to a second customer; 
       FIG. 3  is a function chart showing high level functions performed by customers, merchants, and third party security servers; 
       FIG. 4  is a data flow diagram for data flowing between customers, merchants, and third party security servers; 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a customer creating his security profile including various security features; 
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart of a customer editing an existing security profile; 
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart of customer and merchant processing in preparing a ticket that includes customer security features; 
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart of customer, merchant and third party security server processing allowing a merchant to access and retrieve security images corresponding to the customer at the security server; 
       FIG. 9  is a flowchart of customer and merchant processing involved in unbinding a ticket from security features; 
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart of a customer transferring an unbound ticket to a new customer and the new customer binding his security features to the ticket; 
       FIG. 11  is a flowchart of a third-party security server handling incoming requests including details of steps involved in creating a new customer profile; 
       FIG. 12  is a flowchart of a third-party security server receiving and responding to an edit request of a customer&#39;s security features; 
       FIG. 13  is a flowchart of a third-party security server receiving and handling requests for customer security features; 
       FIG. 14  is a flowchart of a merchant receiving and processing a ticket that includes customer security features; and 
       FIG. 15  is a block diagram of an information handling system capable of implementing the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   The following is intended to provide a detailed description of an example of the invention and should riot be taken to be limiting of the invention itself. Rather, any number of variations may fall within the scope of the invention which is defined in the claims following the description. 
     FIG. 1  is a network diagram showing a customer, a third party personal security server, and a merchant exchanging security information about the customer to prepare a ticket. Customer  100  uses a computer system to store security images and encryption keys on local storage  110 . Local storage  110  is a nonvolatile storage device, such as a disk drive, magnetic media, nonvolatile memory, or the like. The computer system that customer uses may be a desktop system, a laptop system, a handheld computing device, or a pervasive computing device, such as an Internet appliance. 
   The security images that customer  100  stores on local storage  110  may be a digital photograph of the customer, a scanned image of the customer&#39;s signature, a digital signature, a thumbprint, or any other image or data that can be used to identify the customer. Printer  120  is used to print paper ticket items  130  that include security features (i.e., images) of the customer along with a ticket. 
   Customer  100  uses his computer system to communicate with other computer systems using computer network  140 , such as the Internet. Customer  100  sends secure transmissions over computer network  140  to third party personal security server  150 . Third party personal security server  150  is programmed to manage security profiles for multiple customers. These profiles are stored on server storage  160  along with encryption information to identify and/or verify customers and merchants that request actions from third party personal security server  150 . 
   Customers&#39; transactions with third party personal security server are protected using encrypted transmissions. Public key—private key encryption can be used, secure socket layers (SSL) can be used (using public key-private key encryption algorithms), or simple encryption using shared passwords can be used. In addition, a certification authority can be used to issue digital certificates to customers, merchants, and third party personal security servers to both identify the party and provide encryption keys. Encryption keys typically include a set of keys—a private key and a public key. The public key is given out to anyone and the private key, as the name implies, is kept secret by the key owner. When the owner of the key pair encrypts data using his private key, then a receiver can decipher the data using the public key. Because only the private key could have encrypted the data, the receiver is assured that the sender of the data was the key owner and not an imposter. When the receiver wants to send data to a key owner and ensure that others cannot intercept and read the data, then the receiver encrypts the data using the key owner&#39;s public key. Because only the key owner&#39;s private key can be used to decipher the data, the receiver is assured that the data will remain private. Digital certificates are public/private key pairs that are issued by a certification authority after verifying the identity of the user. The certification authority can then be used to verify a user&#39;s identity when another user obtains the user&#39;s public key, thus exposing potential imposters. 
   Customer  100  communicates with ticket merchant  170  using computer network  140  to purchase tickets. The tickets can be simple theater tickets, airline tickets, or any other type of ticket that a customer may purchase or obtain. Communications between customer  100  and ticket merchant  170  are preferably encrypted to prevent others from intercepting transmitted data. Customer  100  and merchant  170  determine what personal security features (i.e., images) will be included with customer&#39;s ticket  130 . Ticket merchant  170  may receive these security features from customer  100  or from third party personal security server  150 . Ticket merchant  170  also receives payment information, such as a credit card number, from customer  100  to purchase the desired tickets. Tickets that are issued by ticket merchant  170  to customer  100  are assigned a ticket identifier. The ticket identifier and security features corresponding to the ticket identifier are stored by merchant  170  on merchant&#39;s ticket storage  180 . To prevent the dissemination of the customer&#39;s security features, the actual security images may not be stored on ticket storage  180 . Instead, a link is provided to the feature stored at either customer&#39;s local storage  110  or third party personal security server&#39;s server storage  160 . A security feature viewer may be installed at the ticket merchant that allows the merchant to view the security images, perhaps for a certain amount of time until the ticket expires, but does not allow the merchant to copy the security images onto a storage device. The security feature viewer may use encryption to allow the viewing, and not copying, of customers&#39; security features. 
     FIG. 2   a  is an example ticket that includes security features identifying the customer. Ticket  200  can be printed on the customer&#39;s printer or displayed on a display screen. Ticket  200  includes a ticket identifier  205  that uniquely identifies the ticket to the merchant or the party that will receive the ticket. Ticket identifier  205  may, as shown in  FIG. 2   a , be printed in a barcode format to allow the ticket identifier to be easily scanned. Ticket  200  also includes information area  210  that includes information about the ticketed event, such as the name of the event, the place the event is held, the date and time of the event, and the customer&#39;s seat or location. Ticket  200  also includes security features that identify the customer. In the example shown, security features include digital photograph  215  and signature  220 . A printing background can be included to make it more difficult for someone to steal the printed ticket and insert the thief&#39;s own photograph and signature on the ticket. In addition, the merchant&#39;s computer system used to process the tickets may provide the stored security features on a display device. If the stored security features do not match the security features that appear on the ticket, further fraud detection and identification processes can be performed to determine whether the ticket holder is in possession of a stolen ticket. 
     FIG. 2   b  is a data flow for unbinding the secured ticket from an original customer and rebinding it to a second customer. Original customer  225  sends payment information and personal security information to merchant  235  (dataflow  230 ) to purchase a ticket. Merchant  235  responds by sending original customer  225  secure ticket information (dataflow  240 ). Dataflow  240  also includes the ticket identifier corresponding to the ticket. 
   If the original customer is unable or no longer wishes to use the ticket, he may wish to sell or give original ticket  255  to new customer  260 . However, during the original transaction, security features corresponding to original customer  225  were bound to the ticket. To unbind the security features from the ticket identifier, original customer  225  sends a request to merchant  235  (dataflow  245 ) requesting to unbind the original customer&#39;s security features from the ticket. Merchant  235  responds by unbinding the security features from the ticket and sends confirmation (dataflow  250 ) to original customer  225 . Once the ticket is unbound from the security features, original customer  225  can transfer original ticket  255  to new customer  260 . New customer can then communicate with merchant  235  to bind the ticket to security features corresponding to the new customer (dataflow  265 ). Merchant  235  responds by binding the new customer&#39;s security features to the ticket and sending confirmation (dataflow  270 ) to new customer  260 . New customer  260  can then print ticket  275  that now includes the new customer&#39;s security features. 
   The dataflows shown in  FIG. 2   b  can be compressed to provide all of the outgoing dataflows in a single packet and all of the incoming dataflows in a separate packet. For example, if the original customer sold the ticket to the new customer over the Internet, then the new customer&#39;s payment to the original customer could be contingent on the new customer being able to bind his security features to the ticket to ensure that the original customer is not selling the same ticket to multiple people. In this transaction, the new customer readies a payment to the original customer and receives an encrypted packet that includes instructions for the merchant to unbind the original customer&#39;s security features from the ticket. The new customer sends the request to the merchant and receives the unbound notice, thus ensuring that the ticket has only been sold by the original customer to the new customer. If the original customer had tried to sell the same ticket to multiple buyers, then the new customer would receive an error either when sending the original customer&#39;s unbind request or when he sent his own bind request to the merchant. 
     FIG. 3  is a function chart showing high level functions performed by customers, merchants, and third party security servers. Customer functions  300  include managing the customer&#39;s security profile (function  305 ), that includes creating and editing the customer&#39;s security features as well as managing encryption keys and certificates used to identify the customer. Customer functions  300  also includes processing to buy a ticket that includes the customer&#39;s security features (function  310 ). A sub-function within function  310  allows the customer to bind his security features with a ticket identifier that has already been issued by a merchant. Customer functions  300  also includes processing to unbind his security features from a ticket that he purchased from a merchant (function  315 ). Customer functions  300  also includes the process of the customer using the ticket with the customer&#39;s security features to gain admission to an event, activity, or otherwise use the ticket (function  320 ). 
   Merchant functions  330  include negotiating security features with a customer and selling the customer a ticket bound to the customer&#39;s security features (function  335 ). Merchant functions  330  also includes unbinding a customer&#39;s security features from a ticket that was previously purchased by the customer (function  340 ). Merchant functions  330  also include binding existing ticket identifiers that are currently unbound to new security features provided by a customer (function  345 ). Merchant functions  330  also include receiving tickets that are bound to a customer&#39;s security features and processing the ticket (function  350 ). Processing the ticket may simply involve visually inspecting the security features included on the printed ticket, and may also involve retrieving the customer&#39;s security features using a computer display device to determine that the ticket was not altered or tampered. 
   Third party security server functions  360  include creating and updating customer&#39;s security profiles that include one or more security features (function  365 ). Third party security server functions  360  also include transmitting customers&#39; security features upon receiving an authorized request (function  370 ). Third party security server functions  360  also include verifying and validating customers&#39; identifies to restrict updates and creation of customer profiles to the appropriate customer (function  375 ). Third party security server functions  360  also include verifying and validating a merchant&#39;s identity and authorization to retrieve security features corresponding to a particular customer (function  380 ). 
     FIG. 4  is a data flow diagram for data flowing between customers, merchants, and third party security servers. Customer  400  uses manage profile process  405  to create and edit secure features that are stored on local security data store  410 . In addition customer  400  sends and receives data from create/update customer profiles process  415  executed within a third party security server. Process  415  stores customer security features and data on customer security profiles data store  425  accessible to the third party security server. 
   When customer  400  wishes to purchase a ticket he uses buy ticket process  430 . Buy ticket process  430  may be a network (i.e., Internet) application that runs within browser software installed on the customer&#39;s computer system or may be a stand alone software application. Process  430  negotiates security features with sell ticket process  435  installed on the merchant&#39;s server computer and accessible through a computer network, such as the Internet. Buy ticket process  430  may retrieve customer security features from local security data store  410  stored on the customer&#39;s computer system or from customer security profiles  425  stored on a third party security server (through transmit security data process  440 ). Buy ticket process  430  also sends payment data, such as credit card information to sell ticket process  435 . Sell ticket process  435  stores the customer&#39;s negotiated security features in customer security data store  450 . In one embodiment, the actual security features are stored in data store  450  for later retrieval when the customer redeems the ticket. In another embodiment, links that enable the merchant to view the customer&#39;s security features on a viewer are stored in the merchant&#39;s customer security data store  450  with the actual data residing on the security server&#39;s customer security profiles data store  425 . Buy ticket process  430  sends authorization information to the security server&#39;s create/update customer profiles process  415  to add the merchant as an authorized user to receive selected security features corresponding to the customer. This authorization information is used by the security server when the merchant attempts to retrieve customer security features. In addition, timestamps can be used so that the merchant is only allowed to retrieve such security features during a specified time period, such as the date of the performance corresponding to the ticket. Restricting which users have access to customer security features and when authorized users may access the information aids in preventing the customer&#39;s security features from being transmitted to other users who may have a malicious intent of stealing identities belonging to customers. 
   Payment data, such as credit card information, is sent from buy ticket process  430  to sell ticket process  435  and stored in payment data store  455 . Sell ticket process  435  sends ticket information, including a ticket identifier, back to the customer&#39;s buy ticket process  430 . The ticket information is used by the customer to print a paper copy of the ticket or to transfer the ticket to someone else. 
   If the customer wants to sell or transfer the purchased ticket to someone else, he unbinds his security features from the purchased ticket so that the new ticket holder will be able to redeem the ticket. Customer  400  uses unbind ticket process  455  to communicate with the merchant&#39;s unbind ticket process  460 . Unbind process  155  sends the ticket identifier along with information, such as the customer&#39;s digital signature, to verify that the customer (and not an imposter) is sending the unbind request. Unbind process  460  receives the unbind request along with the ticket identifier and customer digital signature. Unbind process  460  authenticates the customer and then unbinds the security features corresponding with the ticket identifier by updating the merchant&#39;s customer security data store  450 . 
   If the new ticket holder wishes to bind the ticket to the new ticket holder, that customer uses bind ticket process  465  to send bind ticket request to the merchant&#39;s bind ticket process  470 . Because payment has already been received for the ticket, the merchant does not receive further payment data, unless of course a processing fee is required to process the new ticket holder&#39;s bind ticket request. The new ticket holder negotiates which security features he wants on the ticket and sends this information to the merchant&#39;s bind ticket process  470 . The security features corresponding to the new ticket holder (or links to such security features as described above) are stored in the merchant&#39;s customer security data store  450  and bound to the ticket identifier. 
   Merchant  475  eventually receives tickets from ticket holders and processes the tickets to determine whether to admit the ticket holder using process  480 . Customer security data matching the ticket identifier is retrieved from customer security data store  450 . If the customer&#39;s actual security features are stored in data store  450 , then those features are used to compare with the features found on the physical ticket to determine whether the customer is the same person as the ticket holder. In addition, the security features that appear on the ticket, such as the customer&#39;s photograph, are used to compare with the ticket holder&#39;s features to determine whether the ticket holder matches the security features. If the security features are stored on a security server, process  480  requests such features from transmit security data process  480 . Process  440  receives a merchant identifier, such as the merchant&#39;s digital signature and validates the merchant using process  445 . In addition, validate merchant process  445  may read the customer&#39;s security profile to determine whether the customer has authorized this merchant to receive the requested security features. If the merchant is validated and authorized, selected security features are returned to the merchant&#39;s process  480 . 
     FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a customer creating his security profile including various security features. Processing commences at  500  whereupon a determination is made as to whether the user (customer) is creating a new profile (decision  505 ). If the user is not creating a new profile, decision  505  branches to “no” branch  508  whereupon an edit profile process is invoked (predefined process  510 , see  FIG. 6  for further details) and processing ends at  515 . 
   On the other hand, if a new profile is being created, decision  505  branches to “yes” branch  518 . Another determination is made as to whether the user has a set of encryption keys to use (decision  520 ). If the user does not have a set of encryption keys, decision  520  branches to “no” branch  522  whereupon a set of encryption keys is created (step  525 ). Encryption keys can also be provided from a certification authority (CA). The certification authority is a third party that will confirm the user&#39;s identity and issue a digital certificate. If the user already has a set of encryption keys to use, decision  520  branches to “yes” branch  528  whereupon the existing keys, perhaps an existing digital certificate, is used (step  530 ). 
   A series of decisions is made to determine which security features the user wants to include in his security profile. A determination is made whether the user wants a photograph of the user to be included (decision  535 ). If the user wants to include a digital photograph, decision  535  branches to “yes” branch  538  whereupon a digital photograph is received from the user (step  540 ) and an identifier is assigned to the received photograph and stored along with the photograph in the user&#39;s security profile (step  545 ). If the user does not wish to include a digital photograph, decision  535  branches to “no” branch  548  bypassing the photograph inclusion steps. 
   A determination is made whether the user wants a signature of the user to be included (decision  550 ). If the user wants to include a signature, decision  550  branches to “yes” branch  552  whereupon a signature is received (i.e. using a scanner or a digital signature) from the user (step  555 ) and an identifier is assigned to the received signature and stored along with the signature in the user&#39;s security profile (step  560 ). If the user does not wish to include a signature, decision  550  branches to “no” branch  562  bypassing the signature inclusion steps. 
   A determination is made whether the user wants a fingerprint of the user to be included (decision  565 ). If the user wants to include a fingerprint, decision  565  branches to “yes” branch  568  whereupon a digital fingerprint is received (i.e. using a scanner) from the user (step  570 ) and an identifier is assigned to the received fingerprint and stored along with the fingerprint in the user&#39;s security profile (step  575 ). If the user does not wish to include a fingerprint, decision  565  branches to “no” branch  578  bypassing the photograph inclusion steps. 
   A determination is made whether the user wants other possible security features corresponding to the user to be included (decision  580 ). Other possible security features may include written characteristics about the user as often found on driver&#39;s licenses, or other digital images. If the user wants to include other security features, decision  580  branches to “yes” branch  582  whereupon the other security features are received from the user (step  584 ) and an identifier is assigned to each of the other received security features and stored along with the other security features in the user&#39;s security profile (step  588 ). If the user does not wish to include other security features, decision  580  branches to “no” branch  590  bypassing the signature inclusion steps. 
   A determination is made as to whether a third party security server will be used to help manage and maintain the user&#39;s security features (decision  592 ). If a security server is used, decision  592  branches to “yes” branch  594  whereupon a customer security profile is created on the security server and the user&#39;s security features are stored on the security server (predefined process  596 , see  FIG. 11  for processing details) and processing ends at  599 . On the other hand, if a third party security server is not used, decision  592  branches to “no” branch  598  and processing ends at  599 . 
     FIG. 6  is a flowchart of a customer editing an existing security profile. Processing commences at  600  whereupon a determination is made as to whether the user&#39;s encryption keys will be updated (decision  605 ). If the keys are being updated, decision  605  branches to “yes” branch  608  and a new set of encryption keys is created or a new set of keys is received from a certification authority (step  610 ). If the keys are not being updated, decision  605  branches to “no” branch  612  whereupon the existing digital certificate or encryption keys are used (step  615 ). 
   A series of decisions is made to determine which security features the user wants to edit or include in his security profile. A determination is made whether the user wants to edit or add a photograph of the user to the profile (decision  620 ). If the user wants to edit or add a digital photograph, decision  620  branches to “yes” branch  622  whereupon a digital photograph and a current identifier are received from the user (step  625 ) and the identifier is stored along with the photograph in the user&#39;s security profile (step  630 ). If the received photograph is blank or the user otherwise indicates that the existing photograph is deleted then the existing photograph is deleted in step  630 . If the user does not wish to edit or include a digital photograph, decision  620  branches to “no” branch  632  bypassing the photograph editing steps. 
   A determination is made whether the user wants to edit or include a signature of the user in the profile (decision  635 ). If the user wants to edit or include a signature, decision  635  branches to “yes” branch  638  whereupon an identifier and an updated or new signature is received from the user (step  640 ) and the identifier is assigned to the received signature and stored along with the signature in the user&#39;s security profile (step  645 ). If the received signature is blank or the user otherwise indicates that the existing signature is deleted then the existing signature is deleted in step  645 . If the user does not wish to include a signature, decision  635  branches to “no” branch  648  bypassing the signature editing steps. 
   A determination is made whether the user wants to edit or include a fingerprint of the user in the security profile (decision  650 ). If the user wants to edit or include a fingerprint, decision  650  branches to “yes” branch  652  whereupon an identifier and a digital fingerprint is received from the user (step  655 ) and the identifier is assigned to the received fingerprint and stored along with the fingerprint in the user&#39;s security profile (step  660 ). If the received fingerprint is blank or the user otherwise indicates that the existing fingerprint should be deleted then the existing fingerprint is deleted in step  660 . If the user does not wish to edit or include a fingerprint, decision  650  branches to “no” branch  662  bypassing the fingerprint editing steps. 
   A determination is made whether the user wants other possible security features corresponding to the user to be edited or included (decision  665 ). If the user wants to edit or include other security features, decision  665  branches to “yes” branch  668  whereupon replacement security features and their identifiers are received from the user (step  670 ) and an identifier is assigned to each of the received security features and stored along with the security features in the user&#39;s security profile (step  675 ). If the received security feature is blank or the user otherwise indicates that the existing security feature should be deleted then the existing security feature is deleted in step  675 . If the user does not wish to include other security features, decision  665  branches to “no” branch  678  bypassing the security feature editing steps. 
   A determination is made as to whether a third party security server is used to manage and maintain the user&#39;s security features (decision  680 ). If a security server is used, decision  680  branches to “yes” branch  682  whereupon the user&#39;s security profile is updated on the security server using the user&#39;s updated security features (predefined process  685 , see  FIG. 12  for processing details) and processing ends at  699 . On the other hand, if a third party security server is not used, decision  680  branches to “no” branch  690  and processing ends at  699 . 
     FIG. 7  is a flowchart of customer and merchant processing in preparing a ticket that includes customer security features. Customer processing begins at  700  and merchant processing begins at  701 . Customer processing sends a ticket inquiry to the merchant computer system regarding an event or other ticket item (step  702 ). Merchant processing receives the request from the customer and processes the request (step  704 ). The customer request may be a request made over the Internet to a server providing merchant goods and services. Merchant processing returns the results from the inquiry to the customer&#39;s computer system (step  706 ). Customer processing receives the results from the merchant and the customer selects tickets that he wishes to purchased based on availability (step  708 ). The customer sends a request to the merchant to purchase the selected tickets (step  710 ). The merchant receives the customer&#39;s purchase request and validates the customer (step  712 ). The validation of the customer can be through a pre-established profile, a credit card, or a digital signature (digital certificate) used to identify the customer. The merchant determines whether the customer is a valid customer based on the information provided (decision  714 ). If the customer is not a valid customer, decision  714  branches to “no” branch  716  and returns an error to the customer&#39;s computer (step  718 ) indicating that the customer&#39;s identity was not validated and merchant processing ends at  720 . Customer processing determines if an error with the request has occurred (decision  722 ). If an error occurs, decision  722  branches to “yes” branch  724  whereupon the error is received and displayed to the customer (step  726 ) and customer processing ends at  728 . 
   If the customer is valid, merchant decision  714  branches to “yes” branch  730  and customer processing branches to “no” branch  734  whereupon processing continues. Security features that the customer wishes to include in the ticket are negotiated between the customer and the merchant (customer step  736  and merchant step  732 ). Merchant indicates which security features it is capable of using (step  732 ) and customer indicates which security features he has in his security profile and would like to use (step  734 ). The customer sends the selected (negotiated) security features to the merchant along with payment information, such as a credit card number (step  738 ). The merchant computer receives the selected security features from the customer and processes the payment (step  740 ). In some embodiments, the merchant may receive links to the customer&#39;s security features that are stored on a security server to avoid dissemination of the customer&#39;s actual security features. 
   The merchant computer uses the payment information to determine whether the payment is accepted (decision  742 ). If the payment is not accepted, decision  742  branches to “no” branch  744  whereupon an error message is returned to the customer indicating that the payment was not accepted (step  746 ) and merchant processing ends at  748 . Customer processing determines whether an error occurred during payment processing (decision  750 ). If an error occurred, decision  750  branches to “yes” branch  752  whereupon the error is received and displayed to the user (step  754 ) and customer processing ends at  756 . 
   If the payment is accepted, merchant decision  742  branches to “yes” branch  758  and customer decision  750  branches to “no” branch  762  and processing continues. Merchant computer system sends a ticket identifier corresponding to the purchased ticket and other ticket information (step  760 ). Ticket information may include a ticket layout template that describes the layout that should be used in printing the ticket by the customer so that the tickets received by the merchant are consistent in appearance and, thus, easier to process. Merchant processing then ends at  795 . Customer processing receives the ticket identifier and ticket information from the merchant (step  764 ). The customer can then print the ticket with the selected security features (step  766 , see  FIG. 2   a  for a sample printed ticket). Customer processing then ends at  799 . 
     FIG. 8  is a flowchart of customer, merchant and third party security server processing allowing a merchant to access and retrieve security images corresponding to the customer at the security server. Customer processing begins at  800  whereupon the customer&#39;s computer system sends an authorization for a merchant to receive selected security items to a third party security server (step  805 ). Step  805  may be performed in conjunction to receiving a ticket identifier and ticket information from a merchant (see step  764  on  FIG. 7 ). The authorization in step  805  may also include a authorized time limit that is used to determine when a merchant can access the customer&#39;s security features. For example, the merchant may be restricted from receiving customer security features after the date of the ticketed event. Customer processing ends at  809 . 
   Third party security server processing commences at  801  whereupon the server receives and stores the authorization sent by the customer authorizing a merchant to retrieve selected customer security features (step  810 ). 
   Merchant processing commences at  802  whereupon it requests selected security features corresponding to the customer from the third party security server (step  815 ). The merchant also digitally signs the transmission using the merchant&#39;s private key corresponding to the merchant&#39;s digital certificate. Third party security server receives the merchant request and verifies the merchant&#39;s digital signature by deciphering the message using the merchant&#39;s public key (step  820 ). Because only the merchant&#39;s private key corresponds to the public key, a successful deciphering indicates that the merchant encrypted the transmission with the merchant&#39;s private key. In addition, the merchant&#39;s public key is verified with a certification authority (CA) that previously authenticated the merchant. A determination is made as to whether the merchant&#39;s digital signature is valid (decision  825 ). If the signature is not valid, decision  825  branches to “no” branch  828  whereupon an error is returned to the merchant and third party security server processing ends at  835 . On the other hand, if the signature is validated, decision  825  branches to “yes” branch  838  whereupon the customer&#39;s profile is located and a check is made as to whether the customer authorized the merchant to receive the selected security features (step  840 ). A determination is made as to whether the customer is valid and whether the merchant is authorized to retrieve the selected security features (decision  845 ). If either the customer is not valid or the merchant is not authorized, decision  845  branches to “no” branch  848  whereupon an error is returned to the merchant (step  850 ) and third party security server processing ends at  855 . On the other hand, if the customer is valid and the merchant is authorized to retrieve the selected security features, decision  845  branches to “yes” branch  872  and the selected security features are sent to the merchant (step  875 ). Third party security server processing ends at  895 . 
   Merchant processing determines whether an error occurred (decision  860 ) with the merchant&#39;s request for a customer&#39;s security features. If an error occurred, decision  860  branches to “yes” branch  862  whereupon the error is received by the merchant (step  865 ) and merchant processing ends at  870 . On the other hand, if no errors occurred, decision  860  branches to “no” branch  878  whereupon the selected security features are received from the third party security server (step  880 ). If the merchant is receiving the security features as part of the customer&#39;s purchase of the tickets, then the received security features are bound to the ticket identifier corresponding to the ticket (step  885 ). If the merchant is receiving the security features as part of the customer redeeming the ticket, then the received security features are displayed for visual verification by the merchant. Merchant processing then ends at  899 . 
     FIG. 9  is a flowchart of customer and merchant processing involved in unbinding a ticket from security features. Customer processing commences at  900  and merchant processing commences at  901 . Customer sends a request to sell or transfer a previously purchased ticket to someone else (step  905 ) thereby unbinding the customer&#39;s security features from the identifier corresponding to the ticket. The merchant receives the customer&#39;s unbind request (step  910 ). The merchant determines whether a resale or transfer of the ticket is allowed (decision  915 ). If resale or transfer of the ticket is not allowed, decision  915  branches to “no” branch  918  whereupon an error is returned to the customer (step  920 ) and merchant processing ends at  925 . Customer processing determines whether an error has occurred with the customer&#39;s request (decision  930 ). If an error has occurred, decision  930  branches to “yes” branch  932  whereupon the error is received from the merchant (step  935 ) and displayed to the customer before customer processing ends at  940 . 
   On the other hand, if resale or transfer of the ticket is allowed, customer&#39;s decision  930  branches to “no” branch  942  and merchant&#39;s decision  915  branches to “yes” branch  948  whereupon processing of the unbind request continues. The customer sends a ticket identifier corresponding to the ticket and the customer&#39;s digital signature to the merchant (step  945 ). The ticket identifier and digital signature may have alternatively been sent along with the customer&#39;s initial request in step  905 . The merchant receives the ticket identifier and the customer&#39;s digital signature and verifies the customer&#39;s identity using a certification authority (CA) (step  950 ). 
   A determination is made by the merchant as to whether the customer&#39;s digital signature is valid (decision  955 ). If the customer&#39;s digital signature is not valid, decision  955  branches to “no” branch  958  whereupon an error is returned to the customer (step  960 ) and merchant processing ends at  960 . Customer processing determines whether an error occurred with the request (decision  970 ). If an error occurred, decision  970  branches to “yes” branch  972  whereupon the error is received (step  975 ) and customer processing ends at  980 . 
   If the customer&#39;s digital signature is valid, merchant decision  955  branches to “yes” branch  982  and customer decision  970  branches to “no” branch  992  and processing continues. The merchant uses the received ticket identifier to unbind the ticket from the customer&#39;s security features (step  985 ). The unbound ticket confirmation is returned to the customer (step  990 ) and merchant processing ends at  995 . Customer processing receives the unbound confirmation (step  996 ) and customer processing ends at  999 . 
     FIG. 10  is a flowchart of a customer transferring an unbound ticket to a new customer and the new customer binding his security features to the ticket. Old customer processing commences at  1000  whereupon the old customer gives, sells or otherwise transfers unbound ticket  1012  to the new customer (step  1004 ). Old customer processing ends at  1008 . 
   New customer processing commences at  1001  whereupon the new customer receives unbound ticket  1012  from the old customer (step  1016 ). The new customer uses the ticket identifier on unbound ticket  1012  to request that the merchant rebind the ticket to the new customer (step  1020 ). Merchant processing begins at  1002  whereupon the merchant receives the bind request from the new customer (step  1024 ). The merchant determines whether the ticket identifier supplied by the new customer is already bound to security features for another customer (decision  1028 ). If the ticket is already bound to another customer, decision  1028  branches to “yes” branch  1030  whereupon an error is returned to the new customer indicating that the ticket is already bound to another customer (step  1032 ) and merchant processing ends at  1036 . New customer processing determines whether an error occurred with the new customer&#39;s bind request (decision  1040 ). If an error occurred, decision  1040  branches to “yes” branch  1042  whereupon the error is received (step  1044 ) and new customer processing ends at  1048 . 
   If the ticket is not bound to another customer, new customer&#39;s decision  1040  branches to “no” branch  1050  and merchant&#39;s decision  1028  branches to “no” branch  1054  and processing continues. Security features that the customer wishes to include in the ticket are negotiated between the new customer and the merchant (new customer step  1052  and merchant step  1056 ). The merchant indicates which security features it is capable of using (step  1056 ) and customer indicates which security features he has in his security profile and would like to use (step  1052 ). The new customer sends the selected (negotiated) security features to the merchant (step  1060 ). The merchant computer receives the selected security features from the new customer (step  1064 ). In some embodiments, the merchant may receive links to the customer&#39;s security features that are stored on a security server to avoid dissemination of the customer&#39;s actual security features. 
   Merchant binds the ticket identifier to the security features provided by the new customer (step  1068 ). Merchant computer system sends a ticket identifier corresponding to the purchased ticket and other ticket information (step  1072 ). Ticket information may include a ticket layout template that describes the layout that should be used in printing the ticket by the new customer so that the tickets received by the merchant are consistent in appearance and, thus, easier to process. Merchant processing then ends at  1095 . New customer processing receives the ticket identifier and ticket information from the merchant (step  1076 ). The new customer can then print the ticket with the selected security features (step  1080 , see  FIG. 2   a  for a sample printed ticket). New customer processing then ends at  1099 . 
     FIG. 11  is a flowchart of a third-party security server handling incoming requests including details of steps involved in creating a new customer profile. Security server processing commences at  1100  whereupon a request is received (i.e., over a computer network) from another computer (step  1105 ). A determination is made as to whether the request is to create a new security profile for a customer (decision  1110 ). If the request is not to create a new security profile, decision  1110  branches to “no” branch  1172  for further determination regarding the received request. A determination is made as to whether the received request is to edit an existing security profile (decision  1174 ). If the request is to edit an existing customer&#39;s security profile, decision  1174  branches to “yes” branch  1175  whereupon the customer&#39;s profile is edited (predefined process  1176 , see  FIG. 12  for further processing details) and security server processing ends at  1180 . On the other hand, if the request is not to edit a customer&#39;s security profile, decision  1174  branches to “no” branch  1182  and further determinations are made. 
   A determination is made as to whether the received request is to receive security features corresponding to a is customer (decision  1184 ). If the request is to receive customer security features, decision  1184  branches to “yes” branch  1186  whereupon the security item request is handled (predefined process  1188 , see  FIG. 13  for further processing details) and security server processing ends at  1192 . On the other hand, if the request is not to retrieve customer security features, decision  1184  branches to “no” branch  1194  and the other security server requests are handled (step  1196 ). Security server processing ends at  1199 . 
   Returning back to decision  1110 , if the request was to create a new security profile for a user, decision  1110  branches to “yes” branch  1112  to handle the request. The customer&#39;s digital signature is verified, preferably with a certification authority, to determine the customer&#39;s identity (step  1115 ). A determination is made as to whether the customer&#39;s digital signature (certificate) is valid (decision  1125 ). If the signature is not valid, decision  1125  branches to “no” branch  1128  whereupon an error is returned to the customer (step  1130 ) and security server processing ends at  1135 . 
   On the other hand, if the customer&#39;s digital signature is valid, decision  1125  branches to “yes” branch  1138  whereupon a customer identifier is assigned to the customer to open the customer&#39;s security profile (step  1140 ). A security feature, such as a digital photograph or scanned signature, is received from the customer along with a description of the received security feature (step  1145 ). An item identifier is assigned to the received security feature (step  1150 ) and the security feature is stored along with the assigned item identifier (step  1155 ). A determination is made as to whether the customer wishes to store additional security features on the security server (decision  1160 ). If the customer wants to store additional security features, decision  1160  branches to “yes” branch  1164  which loops back to process the next security feature. This looping continues until the customer does not wish to store additional security features, whereupon decision  1160  branches to “no” branch  1168  and processing ends at  1170 . 
     FIG. 12  is a flowchart of a third-party security server receiving and responding to an edit request of a customer&#39;s security features. Processing commences at  1200  whereupon the security server receives an edit request from a customer along with the customer&#39;s digital signature that uniquely identifies the customer (step  1204 ). The security server verifies the customer&#39;s identity using the digital signature and, preferably, checks the digital signature with a certification authority that is able to match the public key used to decipher the digital signature with a customer (step  1208 ). 
   A determination is made as to whether the digital signature that was provided is verified as belonging to the customer (decision  1212 ). If the signature is not verified, decision  1212  branches to “no” branch  1214  whereupon an error is returned to the customer (step  1216 ) and security server processing ends at  1220 . On the other hand, if the signature is verified, decision  1212  branches to “yes” branch  1222  whereupon further processing of the customer&#39;s edit request continues. The customer identifier provided by the customer is checked against the current list of customers (step  1224 ). A determination is made as to whether the customer has an existing profile at the security server (decision  1228 ). If the customer does not have an existing security profile, decision  1228  branches to “no” branch  1230  whereupon an error is returned to the customer (step  1232 ) and security server processing ends at  1236 . 
   On the other hand, if the customer&#39;s security profile is found, decision  1228  branches to “yes” branch  1238  whereupon the edit request is analyzed (step  1240 ). A series of determinations is made regarding received edit requests. A determination is made as to whether the customer is requesting to add a security feature to his profile (decision  1244 ). If the customer requests adding a security feature to his security profile, decision  1244  branches to “yes” branch  1246  whereupon the image or data corresponding to the new security feature is received from the customer along with a description of the security feature (step  1248 ). An item identifier is assigned to the new security feature (step  1252 ) and the new security feature is stored along with the assigned item identifier (step  1256 ). 
   If the customer&#39;s request is not to add a new security feature, decision  1244  branches to “no” branch  1258  and further determinations are made. A determination is made as to whether the customer is requesting to modify an existing security feature (decision  1260 ), for example by sending an updated photograph to replace an existing photograph. If the customer is requesting to modify an existing security feature, decision  1260  branches to “yes” branch  1262  whereupon the updated security image is received along with the identifier corresponding to the item (step  1264 ) and the currently stored security feature is replaced with the security feature provided by the customer (step  1268 ). 
   If the customer&#39;s request is not to modify an existing security feature, decision  1260  branches to “no” branch  1270  and further determinations are made. A determination is made as to whether the customer is requesting to delete an existing security feature (decision  1272 ). If the customer is requesting to delete an existing security feature, decision  1272  branches to “yes” branch  1274  whereupon the identifier corresponding to the security feature to be deleted is received from the customer (step  1276 ) and the corresponding security feature and item identifier are removed from the security server (step  1280 ). 
   A determination is made as to whether the customer has more edit requests (decision  1284 ). If the customer has more edit requests, decision  1284  branches to “yes” branch  1288  which loops back to process the next request. This looping continues until the customer has no more requests, at which point decision  1284  branches to “no” branch  1292  and processing ends at  1299 . 
     FIG. 13  is a flowchart of a third-party security server receiving and handling requests for customer security features. Processing commences at  1300  whereupon the security server receives the requestor&#39;s digital signature and a customer identifier (step  1305 ). The security server verifies the requestor&#39;s identity using the digital signature and, preferably, checks the digital signature with a certification authority that is able to match the public key used to decipher the digital signature with a requestor (step  1310 ). 
   A determination is made as to whether the digital signature that was provided is verified as belonging to the requestor (decision  1315 ). If the signature is not verified, decision  1315  branches to “no” branch  1318  whereupon an error is returned to the requestor (step  1320 ) and security server processing ends at  1325 . On the other hand, if the signature is verified, decision  1315  branches to “yes” branch  1328  whereupon further processing of the requestor&#39;s request continues. 
   The customer identifier provided by the requester is checked against the current list of customers (step  1330 ). A determination is made as to whether the customer has an existing profile at the security server (decision  1335 ). If the customer does not have an existing security profile, decision  1335  branches to “no” branch  1338  whereupon an error is returned to the requestor (step  1340 ) and security server processing ends at  1345 . 
   On the other hand, if the customer&#39;s security profile is found, decision  1335  branches to “yes” branch  1348  whereupon a determination is made as to whether the requestor is the customer (decision  1350 ). If the requestor is the customer, decision  1350  branches to “yes” branch  1352  bypassing further authorization checks. On the other hand, if the requestor is not the customer, for example the requester may be a merchant, then decision  1350  branches to “no” branch  1356 . 
   An authorization list corresponding to the customer is checked to determine whether the requester is authorized to retrieve security features belonging to the customer (step  1360 ). A determination is made as to whether the requester is authorized to retrieve the requested information (decision  1365 ). If the requester is not authorized, decision  1365  branches to “no” branch  1368  whereupon an error is returned to the requestor (step  1370 ) and security server processing ends at  1375 . On the other hand, if the requestor is authorized, then decision  1365  branches to “yes” branch  1378  whereupon the requested security features are retrieved (step  1380 ) and the retrieved security features are encrypted and returned to the requestor (step  1385 ). The encryption of the security feature may include encrypting the features with the security server&#39;s private key (i.e., digitally signing the features as being sent by the security server when deciphered using the server&#39;s public key) as well as encrypting using the requestor&#39;s public key, as only the requestor&#39;s private key can be used to decipher the public-key encrypted data. Security server processing then ends at  1399 . 
     FIG. 14  is a flowchart of a merchant receiving and processing a ticket that includes customer security features. Processing commences at  1400  whereupon the merchant receives a ticket from a ticket holder (step  1405 ). The ticket is scanned, for example by scanning a bar code printed on the ticket (step  1410 ). A determination is made as to whether the ticket is bound to security features based on the scanned ticket identifier (decision  1415 ). If the ticket is unbound (i.e., not bound to a particular customer&#39;s security features), then decision  1415  branches to “no” branch  1420  and the ticket is accepted (step  1470 ) without further authentication. 
   On the other hand, if the ticket identifier is bound to a particular customer&#39;s security features, decision  1415  branches to “yes” branch  1425  whereupon the customer&#39;s security features are retrieved from local merchant storage or using links, as previously described, to retrieve them from a third party security server (step  1430 ). The customer&#39;s security features are received (step  1435 ) and checked against both the features appearing on the ticket and the personal features found on the ticket holder (step  1440 ). A determination is made as to whether the ticket holder is authenticated as being the customer that is bound to the ticket (decision  1445 ). If the holder is not authenticated, decision  1445  branches to “no” branch  1450  whereupon the ticket holder is denied admission (step  1455 ) and further fraud processing may be performed (step  1460 ) to determine whether the ticket holder has stolen the ticket and merchant processing ends at  1499 . On the other hand, if the ticket and the ticket holder matches the customer&#39;s retrieved security features, then decision  1445  branches to “yes” branch  1465  whereupon the ticket is accepted (step  1470 ) and processing ends at  1499 . 
     FIG. 15  illustrates information handling system  1501  which is a simplified example of a computer system capable of performing the present invention. Computer system  1501  includes processor  1500  which is coupled to host bus  1505 . A level two (L 2 ) cache memory  1510  is also coupled to the host bus  1505 . Host-to-PCI bridge  1515  is coupled to main memory  1520 , includes cache memory and main memory control functions, and provides bus control to handle transfers among PCI bus  1525 , processor  1500 , L 2  cache  1510 , main memory  1520 , and host bus  1505 . PCI bus  1525  provides an interface for a variety of devices including, for example, LAN card  1530 . PCI-to-ISA bridge  1535  provides bus control to handle transfers between PCI bus  1525  and ISA bus  1540 , universal serial bus (USB) functionality  1545 , IDE device functionality  1550 , power management functionality  1555 , and can include other functional elements not shown, such as a real-time clock (RTC), DMA control, interrupt support, and system management bus support. Peripheral devices and input/output (I/O) devices can be attached to various interfaces  1560  (e.g., parallel interface  1562 , serial interface  1564 , infrared (IR) interface  1566 , keyboard interface  1568 , mouse interface  1570 , and fixed disk (FDD)  1572 ) coupled to ISA bus  1540 . Alternatively, many I/O devices can be accommodated by a super I/O controller (not shown) attached to ISA bus  1540 . 
   BIOS  1580  is coupled to ISA bus  1540 , and incorporates the necessary processor executable code for a variety of low-level system functions and system boot functions. BIOS  1580  can be stored in any computer readable medium, including magnetic storage media, optical storage media, flash memory, random access memory, read only memory, and communications media conveying signals encoding the instructions (e.g., signals from a network). In order to attach computer system  1501  another computer system to copy files over a network, LAN card  1530  is coupled to PCI-to-ISA bridge  1535 . Similarly, to connect computer system  1501  to an ISP to connect to the Internet using a telephone line connection, modem  1575  is connected to serial port  1564  and PCI-to-ISA Bridge  1535 . 
   While the computer system described in  FIG. 15  is capable of executing the invention described herein, this computer system is simply one example of a computer system. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many other computer system designs are capable of performing the copying process described herein. 
   One of the preferred implementations of the invention is an application, namely, a set of instructions (program code) in a code module which may, for example, be resident in the random access memory of the computer. Until required by the computer, the set of instructions may be stored in another computer memory, for example, in a hard disk drive, or in a removable memory such as an optical disk (for eventual use in a CD ROM) or floppy disk (for eventual use in a floppy disk drive), or downloaded via the Internet or other computer network. Thus, the present invention may be implemented as a computer program product for use in a computer. In addition, although the various methods described are conveniently implemented in a general purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by software, one of ordinary skill in the art would also recognize that such methods may be carried out in hardware, in firmware, or in more specialized apparatus constructed to perform the required method steps. 
   While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will be understood by those with skill in the art that is a specific number of an introduced claim element is intended, such intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such limitation is present. For non-limiting example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim elements. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim element by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim element to inventions containing only one such element, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an”; the same holds true for the use in the claims of definite articles.