US Patent 7331522 Virtual gate system

A virtual gate provides the impression of a gated entry without a physical barrier. As such it functions as a gateway to access areas including transit Rail or, potentially, prepaid Bus services. The VG would require the interaction of the patron to present ticket media to the card reading mechanism. This action turns the gate light indicators to Green for Go or Red for No-Go, accompanied by corresponding tones to alert the patron and fare enforcement officers as to the status of validation. The ticket readers can be placed on both ends of the gate. This allows the gate to be configured for traffic flow in either direction or act as two equivalent Stand Alone Validators.