Patent GB-629646-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to systems for recording reservations of accommodation
IPC: G08B5/22
Filed: 1945-09-05
Abstract: 629,646. Booking accommodation. STANDARD TELEPHONES & CABLES, Ltd., McWHIRTER, E. M. S., and WARD, H. J. Sept. 5, 1945, No. 22904. [Class 106 (iii)] - A booking system comprises a number of register switches set in accordance with the accommodation booked from a number of operators' positions and means whereby an operator can obtain information as to the condition of any register. The invention is applicable to the booking of theatre seats and is stated to be capable of modification whereby it indicates to an operator the first of a series of rows to contain the number of seats required. The systems described, however, are for booking seats for air journeys. All the aircraft are assumed to have a maximum of twenty-four seats and each flight for a period of three months is represented by a " flight circuit" comprising a group of twenty-five point switches, one for each of the seven stages of the flight. In the system illustrated by Fig. 1, a booking clerk, by operating date and route keys, gets access to the circuit of the flight assigned by the organisation as the " preferred " flight on the selected day. He then operates keys corresponding to the terminal airports of the journey in which he is interested and receives signals as to whether there is bookable accommodation. He then operates a key corresponding to the number of seats wanted and, if this number is available, books them, causing the registers concerned to make a corresponding number of steps. If accommodation is not available in the " preferred " flight, he can associate his equipment with the circuit of the adjacent later or earlier flight by operating an " advance " or " regress" key. The flight circuits may be divided into groups, each group being looked after by a group of booking clerks and a controller, or all flight circuits may be accessible to all operators. The controller has similar powers to a booking clerk, but on selecting a date and route is automatically shown the condition of all the stage switches of the " preferred flight. He can book up to ten seats at a time (a clerk being limited to four) and can cancel a like number. He can bar bookings for certain journeys as far as clerks are concerned, and can suspend booking for a particular flight while he investigates the accommodation without actually booking. In a modified system, the operators merely select the route and get access automatically to the circuit of the earliest flight having accommodation, the date and time of such flight being shown on indicators at the operators' position. Selection of flight for enquiry.-On the operation of one of the keys R1K ... R6K to select the route, one of the keys M1K ... M3K to select the month, and a key in each of the series DT0K ... DT3K and DUOK ... DU9K to select the tens and units digits of the day of the month of the proposed flight, common relays DR, MR pull up and also a relay from each of the groups R1R ... R6R, M1R ... M3R, DT0R ... DT3R, corresponding to the route, month and tens digit keys. As a result, the switch, Fig. 7, of the selected route hunts under control of its relay T for a position marked jointly by the tens relay and units key. Relay T, on operating, also completes a circuit over one of the banks 3 ... 5, according to the month selected, for a relay such as C<SP>1</SP> for connecting the operator with the circuit of the " preferred flight for the selected date. C<SP>1</SP> energizes S which releases T but holds C<SP>1</SP> and prevents the restoration of the switch. C<SP>1</SP> also completes circuits for indicator lamps showing the route, month and date, and the number of the " preferred " flight selected. If this flight is unavailable for bookings, this is shown on a further indicator. Enquiry by booking clerk as to availability of seats for the required journey.-Each flight consists of up to seven stages, a relay B1.2A ... B7.8A common to all the flights being provided for each stage in the booking clerk's circuit. These relays operate when the relay C<SP>1</SP> pulls up except those for which bookings have been barred for the flight concerned. The operator then presses keys of the series KIP ... K8P, Fig. 9, corresponding to the end airports of the required journey. This causes the operation of RKP and of one or more of relays R1.2P ... R7.8P in the flight circuit, each of which relays corresponds to a stage of the complete flight. Unless all the stages involved are barred, BAR is energized also. If it fails to operate, a contact of RKP lights a " journey barred " lamp, Fig. 10. Each flight circuit has a seat register 1.2S2 ... 7.8S2 for each stage. When there are four or more seats still available, the wiper shown in Fig. 10 is on multipled terminals and on the operation of a C relay to connect up the flight circuit, the corresponding relay R1.2A ... R7.8A in the operator's circuit is energized over its left-hand winding. If there are fewer seats available, these relays are operated over another of their windings and a contact of one of relays R1S ... R3S all of which are energized by BAR. Relay AVR, Fig. 10, is operated over a chain of pairs of parallel contacts, each pair corresponding to a stage. One contact of each pair is normally closed, but is opened in the pairs of the stages of the required journey, and the other contact is open when there are no available seats for the stage concerned.. If there is a seat available for the required journey therefore, AVR pulls up and lights a lamp to indicate the fact. Otherwise a lamp indicating that no space is available is lit. The operator then actuates a key K1S ... K4S corresponding to the number of seats required. K1S produces no effect at this stage, but the others are arranged to release one, two or all three of the relays R1S ... R3S and so to release the relays R1.2A ... R7.8A in all cases in which the number of seats required exceeds the number available. The resulting relapse of AVR substitutes the " space unavailable for the " space available" lamp. Enquiry as to other flights.- If the " preferred " flight does not provide the required accommodation, enquiries as to earlier or later flights on the same day are made by operating key RGK or ADK. When the " preferred " flight is selected for enquiry, the relays OE of all the even flights over the same route for the same day are energized, those for the odd flights remaining de-energized. Assuming the " preferred " flight to be, as shown, an even flight, operation of ADK energized ER which locks, energizes the connecting relay C<SP>11</SP> of the next flight circuit and unlocks the previously energized connecting relay C' which falls back when the key ADK is released. The enquiry is then pursued with this flight in the same way as with the " preferred " flight, and if necessary with later flights by further operations of ADK, operation, when an odd flight is associated, energizing OR instead of ER. Similarly, earlier flights can be investigated by means of key RGK. Booking accommodation.-With the key K1S ... K3S still depressed, the operator presses the booking key BK to energize RKB which starts an allotter, Fig. 13, which hunts under control of its relay TAL for the clerk attempting to book. TAL on operating energizes SA which locks and energizes BF in the flight circuit to prevent interference by and to light busy lamps at the positions of any other operators enquiring about the same flight, and to light a lamp at the position of the successful operator to indicate that booking is in progress. BF also releases TAL to enable the allotter to move on to assist booking in other flights if necessary. Meanwhile, SA holds RKB and the operated R1S ... R3S relays, and energizes N via the normal position of a common booking switch, Fig. 18. N energizes EB in the booking circuit which is followed by B10R which locks up. BA, BB and stepping magnet SSM then interact to step the booking switch BS. At each step the switch energizes one of a series of 9 further relays B9R ... B1R which, like B10R, locks up and apply+battery to common circuits 1 ... 10 connected to correspondingly numbered terminals in the operators' positions. By this arrangement terminal 10 is energized for ten steps of the booking switch, terminal 9 for nine steps and so on. The effective terminal at the operator's position (Fig. 15, in the case of a booking clerk's position in which only four terminals are wired) depends on the condition of relays R1S ... R3S in accordance with the space key settings, and after the effective terminal is energized, BPR, which is operated on each step of the booking switch, sends impulses to all the stage switches concerned (as determined by the condition of the relays R1.2P, R2.3P &c.) until the booking switch is stepped on to its 11th terminals. In this position BZ pulls up, prevents further operation of BPR and energizes BM in the operator's circuit. This is followed by the release of RKB and N, SA and of BM itself when the " book " key is released. With both relays back, the " booking proceeding" lamp goes out. In the booking circuit, EB, B10R ... B1R and BZ fall back and the switch races to its last terminals. Although two operators cannot book simultaneously on the same flight, since the operation of BF gives a particular operator exclusive control, any number of bookings on other flights may use the same cycle of the booking switch. Enquiry by controller.-On the operation of S, Fig. 7, when the desired flight has been selected, SD in the controller's circuit, Fig. 11, pulls up, locks and is followed by AA if the switch DS in the common indicator setting circuit, Fig. 12, is in its normal position, and ED, DA, DB and stepping magnet DSM then interact to drive DS. The latter after five idle steps energizes A, Fig. 11, which locks up and energizes D in the connector circuit to complete circuits between the indicators, Fig. 11, and the stage switches