EP2602768B1 - Control vehicle for a road toll system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a control vehicle for a road toll system based on vehicle-based on-board units which are radio-interrogated via short-range or DSRC (dedicated short range communications) radio communications.

A control vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from US 2006/0044161 A1 known. The known control vehicle has a plurality of antennas facing away from the vehicle in different directions and can be selected via an antenna switch to selectively respond to onboard units, which are located in a certain area around the control vehicle, via an antenna directed to this area ,

From the DE 10 2008 016 311 A1 is the setting of an antenna characteristic or an antenna array for a C2C or C2X communication depending on information sources in the vehicle, such as a digital road map, a measured value, an environmental sensor or an external signal known.

In road toll systems of the type mentioned above, vehicle-mounted on-board units (OBUs) are used to charge local uses of the vehicles, for example in the form of tolls, area tolls or time tolls. The location of the OBUs can be done either by means of geographically distributed beacons, e.g. Infrared, RFID, DSRC, video or mobile network beacons (base stations), to whose narrow communication areas OBUs can be located by short range communications, or by satellite navigation receivers in the individual OBUs, e.g. for control purposes are additionally contactable via DSRC.

In order to be able to control the proper functioning of the OBUs carried by the vehicles during operation, control vehicles are frequently used which, in flowing traffic, interrogate the OBUs of passing vehicles via the DSRC radio interface. So far, such control vehicles usually used only on highways, where only traffic in one direction is expected. A new approach now provides for the control of vehicles also on low-level roads and in the oncoming traffic. This results in the problem that in the radio polling of OBUs of oncoming traffic due to the cumulative speeds and the limited radio range of the DSRC radio interface, the time available for a radio poll at high speeds may be too short. The invention recognizes this problem and sets itself the goal of providing a solution to this problem.

This object is achieved with a control vehicle of the type mentioned, which is characterized according to the invention in that it comprises at least one DSRC transceiver with at least two antenna systems, which are distributed at a mutual distance over the longitudinal direction of the control vehicle, wherein the or the DSRC transceiver is designed to / are to start a radio communication with one and the same passing onboard unit on the front in the direction of travel antenna system and continue on at least one rearward in the direction of travel antenna system.

The invention utilizes the longitudinal extent of the control vehicle in the direction of travel to extend the radio coverage area. As a result, the time available for radio polling of a passing OBU can be extended, so that vehicles with high relative speed to the control vehicle, in particular also vehicles of oncoming traffic, can be controlled.

According to a first variant of the invention, a single DSRC transceiver operates via a sequentially controlled antenna switch all antenna systems, which saves costs for transceivers, but requires a separate antenna switch. According to an alternative variant of the invention, the antenna systems can be operated by their own DSRC transceivers, which for a sequential handover of DSRC radio communication are synchronized. This variant requires more transceivers, but these can be made uniform and need only be synchronized with each other via a data connection.

Preferably, the antenna systems each have a directional characteristic, particularly preferably directed from the control vehicle obliquely forward-to-side, which is particularly suitable for the control of laterally passing vehicles and vehicles of oncoming traffic.

Furthermore, it is advantageous if the directional characteristics of the antenna systems partially overlap, whereby a seamless communication during switching or handover between the individual antenna systems can be achieved.

It is particularly favorable if the antenna system lying in front in the direction of travel has a more directional directional characteristic than the antenna located in the rear in the direction of travel. As the antenna gain of an antenna with stronger directivity increases, Thus, the radio coverage area of the control vehicle can be increased to the front, while to the side, where the passage of the OBU a shorter range is sufficient, a higher opening angle and thus a longer lasting passage area can be achieved.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the directional characteristic of at least one antenna system used for a DSRC radio communication can also be controlled as a function of an information received during this DSRC radio communication. For example, the information may indicate a particular type or class of the vehicle carrying the onboard unit, e.g. whether it is a car or truck or what number of axles the vehicle has, from which e.g. can be concluded on the length or height of the vehicle and the location of its on-board unit: In trucks or buses, the onboard units are usually at different heights above the road than in cars, so that then the antenna characteristics can be adjusted accordingly. For this purpose, the antenna system located in front in the direction of travel preferably receives the said information and thus controls the directional characteristic of at least one of the antenna systems located behind in the direction of travel, so that these antennae are e.g. further down in the case of cars, further up in the case of trucks, or more sideways in the case of buses.

Alternatively or additionally, the control vehicle may further be equipped with at least one device for measuring and / or classifying a passing vehicle, which is preferably arranged between at least two of the antenna systems. Such a measuring or classification device can then also be used to control the directional characteristic of at least one antenna system depending on a certain extent or of a class of the vehicle determined therewith, with the aforementioned advantages.

According to a further preferred feature of the invention, the front in the direction of travel antenna system a Wake up message for the passing onboard unit, as it is favorable for contacting OBUs, which fall between the wireless communications in a power-saving mode (sleep mode). Such OBUs require a certain amount of time to "wake up" to the operating mode, which can be triggered earlier by the front antenna system. The wake-up message is preferably a BST message according to the CEN-DSRC or an WSA message according to the WAVE or ITS-G5 standard.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the control vehicle can also be designed to write control information to the onboard unit at the end of the radio poll of an on-board unit. The control information may e.g. Contain the time and place of control, or simply be a "control flag" that demonstrates the fact of a successful check and, for example, indicates to a next stationary or mobile controller that further control is not required. Preferably, the control information may be provided with a time stamp indicating its period of validity. It is particularly favorable if the control information corresponds to the "Compliance Check Communication" (CCC) standard ISO / TS 12813: 2009 (Electronic fee collection - Compliance check communication for autonomous systems).

• Fig. 1 schematisch und ausschnittsweise ein Straßenmautsystem, in dessen Rahmen das Kontrollfahrzeug der Erfindung eingesetzt wird;
• die Fig. 2 und 3 zwei verschiedene Ausführungsformen des Kontrollfahrzeugs der Erfindung mit unterschiedlichen Richtcharakteristiken der Antennenanlagen in schematischen Draufsichten; und
• die Fig. 4 und 5 verschiedene Ausführungsformen der Kontrollfahrzeuge der Fig. 2 und 3 in Blockschaltbildform.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. In the drawings show:

• Fig. 1 schematically and partially a road toll system, within the scope of the control vehicle of the invention is used;
• the Fig. 2 and 3 two different embodiments of the control vehicle of the invention with different directional characteristics of the antenna systems in schematic plan views; and
• the Fig. 4 and 5 various embodiments of the control vehicles of Fig. 2 and 3 in block diagram form.

In Fig. 1 1, a road toll system 1 is shown, which comprises a plurality of geographically distributed radio beacons 2, which are set up, for example, along toll roads 3 at mutual distances. The radio beacons 2 are connected via data lines 4 to a center 5 of the road toll system. The road toll system 1, in particular its radio beacons, congested (charges) local uses of vehicles 6, for example driving on the toll roads 3.

For this purpose, each vehicle 6 is equipped with an on-board unit (OBU) 7 which, when a radio beacon 2 passes, handles short-range radio communication 8 (DSRC) with it, resulting in a toll transaction, for example reported via the data link 4 to the center 5 and / or stored in the OBU 6.

The radio beacons 2, the OBUs 7 and all their internal DSRC transceivers for handling the DSRC radio communications 8 can be constructed according to all known DSRC standards, in particular CEN-DSRC, ITS-G5 or WAVE (wireless access in a vehicle environment). For example, each DSRC radio communication 8 in the course of a passage of a radio beacon 2 can debit a certain usage charge from a credit account in the center 5 and / or the OBU 7 and then represents a "debit transaction"; however, the DSRC radio communications 8 may also perform identification, maintenance, software update transactions, or the like. form part of the road toll system 1.

In particular, the DSRC radio communications 8 may also be used for radio polling (readout) of data stored in the OBUs 7, such as master data, identification data, transaction data, record data, and so on. Such radio queries 8 can be carried out not only by the fixed radio beacons 2, but also by "mobile" radio beacons 2 in the form of control vehicles 9, which move with the vehicles 6 of the traffic in the road toll system 1.

Radio polling of OBUs 7 via DSRC radio communications 8 can also be carried out in satellite navigation-based (global navigation satellite system, GNSS) road toll systems 1, in which the OBUs 7 instead of a network of terrestrial radio beacons 2 autonomously by means of a GNSS receiver locate and their locations or toll transactions determined therefrom eg Send via the radio network or a separate mobile network to the center 5: Again, the OBUs 7 with DSRC transceivers for radio queries by radio beacons 2 or control vehicles 9 are equipped. It is particularly advantageous if the query data of GNSS-based OBUs 7 complies with the "Compliance Check Communication" (CCC) standard ISO / TS 12813: 2009 (Electronic fee collection - Compliance check communication for autonomous systems). The control vehicle 9 described below is therefore suitable for interaction with both beacon-based and satellite-based road toll systems 1.

Fig. 2 shows a first embodiment of such a control vehicle 9, as it is currently on a lane 10 of the toll road 3 moves at a speed v ₂ and controls the OBU 7 a on the opposite lane 11 of the toll road 3 passing vehicle 6 at the opposite speed v ₁ . The relative speed between control vehicle 9 and controlled vehicle 6 is thus v ₁ + v ₂ , which may be up to 300 km / h and more, in particular on expressways, highways, etc.

The control vehicle 9 has (at least) one DSRC transceiver, which - similar to a radio beacon 2 - can perform a corresponding radio poll of the passing OBU 7 with the aid of a DSRC radio communication 8. The DSRC transceiver 12 is equipped with (at least) two antenna systems 13, 14, which are arranged at a mutual distance a in the longitudinal direction 15 of the control vehicle 9 distributed on this.

In order to make the greatest possible use of the longitudinal extent of the control vehicle 9, the antenna systems 13, 14 are preferably arranged at the front and rear ends of the control vehicle 9 and - for right-hand traffic - on the left side of the vehicle (or left-hand traffic on the right side of the vehicle), in particular overtaking vehicles 6 or to reach vehicles 6 of oncoming traffic particularly well.

The antenna systems 13, 14 can each have an omnidirectional characteristic or, as shown, a directional characteristic 16, 17, which is specifically aimed at such overtaking vehicles 6 and vehicles 6 oncoming traffic: The directional characteristics 16, 17 are preferably obliquely forward-laterally directed and can same opening angle α ( Fig. 2 ) or different opening angles α, β, γ ( Fig. 3 ) to have. As shown, the directional characteristics 16, 17 partly overlap in their edge regions in order to be able to establish a gapless radio coverage 8 with passing OBUs 7.

As in Fig. 4 As shown, the antenna systems 13, 14 can be operated in an antenna diversity method and, for example, all carry the same signal from one and the same DSRC transceiver 12. In the variant of Fig. 4 the antenna systems 13, 14 are operated sequentially via an antenna switch 18 so that the beginning of a radio communication 8 is first started and initiated via the front antenna system 13 in the radio coverage area 16, and then continued and terminated via the rear antenna system 14 in the radio coverage area 17 ,

Fig. 3 shows a variant of the embodiment of Fig. 2 in which the forwardly in the direction of travel 15 antenna system 13 has a more directional directivity 16 than the further behind in the direction of antenna systems, in the example shown, a central antenna system 14 and a rear antenna system 19. All antenna systems 13, 14, 19 can different opening angle α , β, γ of their directional characteristics 16, 17, 20 have. The foremost antenna installation 13 can be used, in particular, to emit a "wake-up message" for passing OBUs 7, for example a BST message (Beacon Service Table) according to the CEN-DSRC standard or a WSA message (Wave Service Table Announcement) after the WAVE or ITS-G5 standard. As a result, OBUs 7 which fall into radioactive sleep mode between the radio communications 8 and the radio beacons 2 may be "woken up" by the control vehicle 9 through its foremost antenna system 13, following which the antennas following the passage 14, 19 carry out the further radio communication 8.

Fig. 5 shows a further variant of the embodiments of Fig. 2 to 4 in which each antenna system 13, 14, 19, etc. is operated by its own DSRC transceiver 12, 21, 22 and so on. The DSRC transceivers 12, 21, 22 are synchronized with one another via an internal connection 23 in such a way that they perform a handover of the DSRC radio communication 8 from a DSRC transceiver 12 with its antenna system 13 to the next DSRC transceiver 14 with its antenna system 14, or from this to the next transceiver 22 with its antenna system 19, etc., etc.

The handover may be, for example, that the wake-up message is received and processed by the front DSRC transceiver 12, and the remainder of the wireless communication 8 from the rear transceivers 21, 22 or the first ones sent back and forth between the OBU 7 and the control vehicle 9 Data packets of the radio communication 8 from the first transceiver 12 and the other data packets from the rear transceivers 21, 22 are processed.

In a further embodiment, the antenna systems 13, 14, 19 may have adjustable directional characteristics 16, 17, 20, eg in the form of controllable antenna arrays ("smart antennas") or switchable individual antennas.

In a first variant, the directional characteristic of one, several or all of the antenna systems 13, 14, 19, preferably those of the rear antenna systems 14, 19, can thus be dependent on a received information during the DSRC radio communication 8 (FIG. Fig. 2 ) to be controlled. The information i can indicate, for example, the type or class of the vehicle 6 of the OBU 7, ie whether it is, for example, a car or truck or what number of axles the vehicle has. From the information i can then on the location of the OBU 7 on the vehicle 6 and thus the position of the OBU 7 with respect to the carriageway 11 and subsequently with respect to the control vehicle 9 are closed, in particular their height above the road 3: In a truck is the OBU 7 usually higher than a bus, there again higher than a car, etc. The directional characteristics 16, 17, 20 can then be dependent on the received information i in their angle and / or their height to the roadway 10 and / or in their opening angles α, β, γ be adjusted accordingly (arrow 24) in order to achieve optimal radio communication 8 with the OBU 7.

In a further variant, the control vehicle 9 alternatively or additionally have at least one device 25 for measuring and / or classifying the vehicle 6, which is preferably arranged between the antenna systems 13, 14, 19. The device 25 can also be used to control the directional characteristics 16, 17, 20 of the antenna systems 13, 14, 19 as a function of a determined dimension M of the vehicle 6 and / or a determined class K of the vehicle 6 (arrow 26). For example, a large vehicle height can indicate that the directional characteristics 17, 20 of the antenna systems 14, 19 are to be directed upward accordingly and / or their opening angles β, γ are to be correspondingly extended.

Finally, at the end of a DSRC radio communication 8, the control vehicle 9 can also respectively write control information into the OBU 7. The control information can in particular from the last in the direction of travel 15 antenna system 14 and 19 at the end of the DSRC radio communication 8 are written in the OBU 7. The control information may include, for example, the time and place of control, or simply a "control flag" that demonstrates the fact of successful control. The control information can also be provided with a time stamp which indicates its validity or its expiry.

The control information may be displayed by the OBU 7 to the driver and may be used e.g. instruct, in the case of unfavorable results, to approach a next stationary inspection post. However, the control information may also be provided by a next stationary control device, e.g. Radio beacon 2, or another control vehicle 9 are read out and this or this the result of the previous control, so that e.g. a second check is not required; Thus, no direct data exchange between the individual control vehicles or facilities is necessary because the control information is carried in the OBU 7 itself.

The invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, but includes all variants and modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims. Thus, in non-satellite navigation-based road toll systems 1, other short-range beacons 2 for locating the OBUs 7 may be used instead of DSRC radio beacons 2, e.g. Infrared, RFID, DSRC, video or mobile network beacons (base stations).

Claims (15)

1. A control vehicle (9) for a road toll system (1) on the basis of vehicle-mounted on-board units (7) which can be polled via DSRC radio communications (8), characterized in that the control vehicle (9) comprises at least one DRSC transceiver (12, 21, 22) with at least two antenna systems (13, 14, 19), which are distributed with a mutual distance (a) over the longitudinal direction of the control vehicle (9), wherein the DSRC transceiver/s is/are configured to begin a radio communication (8) with one and the same passing Onboard-Unit (7) via the antenna system (13) lying in front, with respect to the driving direction, and continue the radio communication (8) via at least one antenna system (14, 19) lying at the back, with respect to the driving direction (15).
2. The control vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that a single DRSC transceiver (12) operates all antenna systems (13, 14) via a sequentially controlled antenna switch (18).
3. The control vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the antenna systems (13, 14, 19) are operated by own DRSC transceivers (12, 21, 22), synchronized for a sequential handover of the DSRC radio communication (8).
4. The control vehicle according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each of the antenna systems (13, 14, 19) has a directional characteristic (16, 17, 20).
5. The control vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that the directional characteristic (16, 17, 20) is directed at an angle forward-and-sideward from the control vehicle (9).
6. The control vehicle according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the directional characteristic (16, 17, 20) of the antenna systems (13, 14, 19) partially overlap.
7. The control vehicle according to one of the claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the antenna system (13) mounted ahead in the direction of travel (15) has a more directional characteristic (16) than the antenna systems (14, 19) mounted aback in the direction of travel.
8. The control vehicle according to one of the claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the directional characteristic (16, 17, 20) of at least one antenna system (13, 14, 19) is controlled depending on information (i) received during the DSRC radio communication (8).
9. The control vehicle according to claim 8, characterized in that the antenna system (13) mounted ahead in the direction of travel (15) receives the said information (i) to control the directional characteristic (17, 20) of at least one of the antenna systems (14, 19) mounted aback in the direction of travel.
10. The control vehicle according to one of the claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it is equipped with at least one device (25) for measuring and/or classifying a passing vehicle (6).
11. The control vehicle according to claim 10, characterized in that the said device (25) is arranged between at least two of the antenna systems (13, 14, 19).
12. The control vehicle according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the directional characteristic (16, 17, 20) of at least one antenna system (13, 14, 19) is controlled by a dimension (M) of the vehicle (6) determined by the said device (25) and/or a class (K) of the vehicle (6) determined by the said device (25).
13. The control vehicle according to one of the claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the antenna system (13) mounted ahead in the direction of travel emits a wake up message to the passing on-board unit (7).
14. The control vehicle according to claim 13, characterized in that the wake up message is a BST message according to the CEN-DSRC standard or a WSA message according to the WAVE or ITS-G5 standard.
15. The control vehicle according to one of the claims 1 to 14, characterized in that it writes a control information into the on-board unit (7) at the end of the polling, preferably with a timestamp indicating its period of validity.

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