Patent ID: 7062471

Claim:
A method of processing consumption of an electronic ticket in an information processing system in which user terminal units, account units each having an account address assigned to each user and storing electronic tickets owned by the assigned user, and ticket examiner units are interconnected by a communication network through which electronic tickets can be circulated, comprising the steps of: (a) causing a user portable processor owned by a user who wants one of electronic tickets stored in the account unit assigned to said user to be consumed to transmit a demand consumption of said one electronic ticket together with the account address assigned to said user which is derived from the user portable processor to a ticket examiner unit; b) causing the ticket examiner unit to access the account unit corresponding to the account address derived from the user portable processor by transmitting a certificate of inscription for said ticket examiner unit to demand consumption of the electronic ticket; (c) causing the account unit to verify the certificate of inscription for the ticket examiner unit; (d) causing the account unit to derive the demanded electronic ticket and prepare a certificate of consumption and to transmit the electronic ticket and the certificate of consumption to the ticket examiner unit upon successful verification of the certificate of ticket examiner inspection of said ticket examiner unit; e) causing the ticket examiner unit to request the user portable processor to generate an electronic signature to the certificate of consumption; and f) causing the portable processor to generate the signature to the certificate of consumption and to transmit the certificate of consumption with signature to the ticket examiner unit for verification prior to completion of ticket examination.