KR100420259B1 - Non-stop Electronic Payment Collection System utilizing hands-free OBU(On Board Unit) and personal mobile device with infrared, RF, and communication serial port - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is equipped with an infrared communication port, an RF receiving module and a serial communication port in an OBU (On Board Unit) in a conventional intelligent transportation system (ITS), infrared communication from a portable terminal containing credit information In addition, it provides credit information through RF communication and serial communication, and makes it available for payment in the TRU system. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a hands-free combined OBU and a non-stop electronic toll collection system using the same, provided with a cradle for mounting a portable terminal in such an OBU.

In the present invention, it is possible to provide a more convenient payment due to the ITS-applied carless toll collection system using a portable terminal without using a smart card as in the prior art.

Description

Non-stop Electronic Payment Collection System serving hands-free OBU (On Board Unit) and personal mobile device with infrared, RF, and communication serial port}

The present invention relates to an OBU (On Board Unit) of an intelligent transportation system (ITS), a personal portable terminal, and a non-stop electronic toll collection system using the same. The mobile terminal can be equipped with a portable terminal, such as hands-free, and stores credit information or receives credit information from a portable terminal with a built-in RF chip through infrared communication, RF communication, and serial communication. It relates to an OBU for outputting and to an uninterrupted electronic toll collection system using such an OBU.

1 is a view showing the concept of operating a conventional ITS and the concept of a non-stop toll collection system using the same.

Conventional ITS is to mount the OBU (On Board Unit) 103 in the vehicle 101 so that the OBU can communicate with the antenna (beacon or DSRC antenna) 105 installed in various places of the road by using RF or infrared rays. In addition, the driver transmits information of the driver or the vehicle to the traffic information center 107 or provides traffic information generated in the traffic information center 107 to the driver. If such a system is applied to a toll road, it may be applied to an electronic toll collection (ETC) system, and may be applied to a similar system such as a parking lot.

Currently, the toll-free toll collection system on the toll road uses a smart card to allow drivers to charge a certain amount to the smart card and to deduct the usage fee from the amount charged when using the toll road (Hi-Pass). It is becoming.

Currently developed and operated OBU 103 includes a contact card reader that can read a smart card, it is composed of H / W and S / W for operating this. In addition, a method of using a credit card as a smart card will be introduced, but the configuration of the OBU is not very different from the existing OBU.

The above-mentioned OBU system has a problem in that it is not possible to apply a method of storing financial information in a memory of a portable terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA and transmitting the financial information using infrared or serial communication. Moreover, since the operation of the mobile phone is strictly regulated as well as the call using the mobile phone while driving, the financial settlement system using the mobile phone is very likely to be the target of such regulation. There is a need for an OBU that has a complex function of making a financial settlement and hands-free calling while driving.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention in view of the above-mentioned problems and needs is to receive credit information from a portable terminal through infrared communication and serial communication, and to use the same to pay a fee, and furthermore, to include a cradle for mounting the aforementioned portable terminal. To provide an OBU.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a non-stop electronic toll collection system using the above-described OBU.

1 is a view showing the concept of operating a conventional ITS and the concept of a no-stop toll collection system using the same.

2 is a view showing an embodiment of a portable terminal having an infrared communication port, a serial communication port and an RF chip used in the present invention.

Figure 3 is an external view showing an embodiment of the appearance of the hands-free OBU of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the hands-free OBU of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a simplified view showing the overall configuration of the uninterrupted electronic charge system to which the present invention is applied.

6 illustrates the relationship of FIG. 5 in more detail.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of processing credit information received from a portable terminal in an OBU.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings.

101: vehicle with an OBU 103: conventional OBU

105: toll gate antenna 107: traffic information center

20: portable terminal 201, 301: infrared communication port

202, 302: serial communication port 203: "transport mode" button

30: OBU 303 of the present invention: holder

304: clear button 305: external lamp

306: screen 307: smart card reader

308: communication module controller 309: first memory (credit card information)

310: second memory (billing information) 311: OBU control unit

312: OBU antenna 313: beeper

314: RF receiving module 40: Aggregate server (office)

50: center server (road construction) 60: financial institutions

Hands-free dual OBU of the present invention for achieving the above object is a communication port for receiving credit information from the portable terminal, and controls the communication between the communication port and the portable terminal and the credit information received from the communication port and toll information from the toll station Communication module that stores and outputs credit information when paying the bill, controls the operation of the OBU, receives credit information from the communication module and transmits it to the tollgate, receives the bill information from the tollgate, and transmits it to the communication module and external It contains an OBU antenna for RF communication between the device and the OBU control unit.

In order to achieve the above object, the non-stop charge collection system of the present invention stores credit information for payment and includes at least one of an infrared communication port, an RF chip, and a serial communication port, and stores the credit information stored through the communication port described above. It has a portable terminal for outputting, a communication port corresponding to the communication port of the portable terminal, and receives credit information from the portable terminal through the communication port, stores it, and outputs the credit information from the hands-free OBU and the hands-free OBU for outputting it at the fee for using the paid facility. It includes a fee collection means for receiving a fee for collecting the fee for the paid facility.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the hands-free combined OBU and a flat rate toll collection system of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a portable terminal having an infrared communication port, a serial communication port and an RF chip used in the present invention, Figures 3 and 4 are the hands-free OBU of the present invention and the hands-free OBU of Figure 3, respectively A schematic diagram showing an internal configuration of the.

The portable terminal 20 includes an infrared communication port 201 capable of infrared communication with a personal portable device such as a general portable telephone or a PDA, a serial communication port 202 for serial communication, and an RF chip (not shown) for RF communication. It stores credit information for payment in the internal memory. At this time, the serial communication port 202 is connected to a conventional portable phone, such as a power supply or a serial communication with an external device such as a computer. In addition, the RF receiving module 314 is a means for reading the RF chip embedded with credit information and transmitting it to the OBU. The portable terminal 20 further includes a "transport mode" button 203 for outputting credit information previously stored in the portable terminal 20 when the user intends to pay a fee through infrared communication or serial communication. Pay the bill with a single push. In addition to providing a separate button 203 as described above as a payment command method, a menu for payment payment is additionally set in the manual of the portable terminal 20, and a fee payment menu is selected using existing key input buttons. After performing a payment command or pressing any one of the existing buttons in a non-call state, the payment can be made so that these buttons can be substituted for the "transport mode" button.

The hands-free OBU 30 of the present invention may be provided with an infrared communication port 201, a serial communication port 202, and an RF chip (not shown) of the portable terminal 20 to receive credit information from the portable terminal 20. Corresponding infrared communication port 301, serial communication port 302 and RF receiving module 314. The OBU 30 is provided with a cradle 303 for mounting the portable terminal 20 as hands free, and the serial communication port 302 is mounted on the cradle 303 as shown in FIG. When mounted on the cradle 303, the serial communication ports 201 and 301 can be interconnected. The clear button 304 is a button for the user to arbitrarily delete credit information from the portable terminal 20 stored in the OBU 30, and the external lamp 305 is turned on when credit information is stored in the OBU 30. Otherwise it will be turned off to inform the user whether or not to store credit information. The screen 306 displays the operation state and the billing information of the OBU 30, and the smart card reader 307 is a device for reading the smart card information. The screen 306 and the smart card reader 307 are conventional OBUs. The function is the same as in 103.

The communication module controller 308 controls the communication ports 301 and 302 and the receiving module 314 to communicate with the portable terminal 20 through infrared communication, serial communication, or RF communication, and the communication ports 301 and 302. And stores the credit information received through the receiving module 314 to the memory, and outputs the stored credit information to the OBU control unit 311 to be described later in accordance with the user's instructions. The first memory 309 stores the credit information from the portable terminal 20, the second memory 310 for payment of the toll, such as toll road information and toll information provided from the toll antenna 105 as in the prior art Save the information. The above-described communication module controller 308, the first memory 309 and the second memory 310 may be made of a single module chip to be detachable to the OBU (30). When the user presses the clear button 304, only the credit information stored in the first memory 309 is deleted, and the fee information stored in the second memory 310 is not deleted.

The OBU control unit 311 performs almost the same function as the conventional OBU 103 and additionally receives credit information received and stored from the portable terminal 20 from the communication module controller 308 through the OBU antenna 312. Transmit to toll antenna 105. The communication module controller 308 stores the credit information received through the infrared communication port 301, the RF receiving module 314, and the serial communication port 302 in the first memory 309 and indicates the stored credit information by the user. In response to the OBU control unit 311 is output. In addition, the OBU control unit 311 receives charge payment information from the tollgate antenna 105 through the OBU antenna 312 and provides it to the communication module controller 308.

The beeper 313 has an alarm function to notify a user when an abnormality occurs in the OBU 30 or credit information of the first memory 309 is deleted.

The operation and embodiment of the hands-free OBU 30 of the present invention will be described later in detail.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram briefly showing an overall configuration of an uninterrupted electronic tariff system to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship of FIG. 5 in more detail.

The user pays a fee using a method of using infrared communication, a method of using serial communication, a method of using an RF chip, and a method of using a smart card. However, since the smart card is the same as the conventional method, infrared, serial communication and Only the use of the RF chip will be described.

When the user points the infrared port 201 of the portable terminal 20 toward the infrared port 301 of the OBU 30 and presses the "transport mode" button, the credit information stored in the memory (not shown) of the portable terminal 20 is stored. The light is modulated with infrared light and transmitted to the infrared communication port 301. The credit information received at the infrared communication port 301 is optically demodulated by an electrical signal and transmitted to the communication module controller 308.

In the state where the portable terminal 20 is inserted into the holder, the credit information stored in the memory (not shown) of the portable terminal 20 is stored through the serial ports 202 and 302 as in the case of using a smart card. 308 is sent. In addition, when carrying the RF chip close to the OBU (30) it can be transmitted to the OBU (30) credit information through the RF communication.

The communication module controller 308 stores the credit information received from the portable terminal 20 in the first memory 309 through infrared communication, serial communication, and RF communication. The fee payment using the credit information stored in this way is different depending on the operation type of the toll booth as described below.

If the operating mode of the toll booth is an open type in which the toll is paid in a single exchange of information, the OBU 30 enters the communication area with the tollgate antenna 105 and starts communication with the tollgate antenna 105. The controller 308 reads the credit information stored in the first memory 309 and transmits the credit information to the OBU controller 311. When the OBU control unit 311 transmits the credit information to the tollgate antenna 105 through the OBU antenna 312, the tollgate pays the fee and then charges the payment information, that is, the payment amount, the settlement time, The billing name is transmitted to the OBU control unit 311 through the OBU antenna 312. At this time, RF communication or infrared communication is possible between the OBU antenna 312 and the toll antenna 105. The OBU control unit 311 receiving the payment information from the OBU antenna 312 informs the user of this via the screen 306. Toll antenna 105 transmits the payment fee and credit information to the aggregation server 40, the aggregation server 40 collects it and transmits it to the center server (50). The center server 50 stores the credit information received for a predetermined time and requests the financial institution 60 to purchase the batch, and when the financial institution 60 approves it, the toll collection is completed. The process from the toll antenna 105 to the financial institution 60 is the same as in the prior art.

If the operating mode of the toll booth is a closed type in which information is paid at the entrance and exit of the tollgate, when the OBU 30 starts communication with the tollgate antenna 105 at the entrance of the tollgate, the communication module controller 308 The credit information stored in the first memory 309 is read and transmitted to the OBU control unit 311. When the OBU control unit 311 transmits the credit information to the tollgate antenna 105 through the OBU antenna 312, the tollgate antenna 105 transmits the tollgate entrance information to the OBU antenna 312. The toll gate entrance information is transmitted to the communication module controller 308 through the OBU antenna 312 and the OBU control unit 311. The communication module controller 308 stores the received tollgate information in the second memory 310. When the OBU 30 initiates communication with the tollgate antenna 105 at the exit of the tollgate, the communication module controller 308 reads credit information and stored tollgate entrance information from the first memory 309 and the second memory 310, respectively. The OBU control unit 311 and the OBU antenna 312 transmits the charge to the antenna 105. At this time, the toll gate entrance information stored in the second memory 310 is deleted from the second memory 310. The tollgate calculates a fee using the received entrance information and transmits the result to the OBU control unit 311 through the OBU antenna 312. The OBU control unit 311 displays the received fee calculation result on the screen 306 to inform the user. The exit fee antenna 105 transmits the calculated payment fee and the received credit information to the aggregation server 40, and the subsequent process is the same as in the case of the open type.

In this case, the credit information stored in the first memory 309 may be automatically deleted after a predetermined time (for example, 24 hours) even if the user does not press the clear button 304 arbitrarily. That is, the communication module controller 308 counts the time when the credit information is newly stored in the first memory 309 and automatically deletes it when the preset time elapses. However, the information stored in the second memory 310 is not automatically deleted before being deleted while transmitting the information from the exit side of the closed office. In addition, the credit information stored in the first memory 309 may be automatically deleted when the credit information is used to collect a predetermined number of times (for example, 10 times). The OBU control unit 311 counts the number of charges collected, and when the predetermined charge is collected, the OBU controller 311 notifies the communication module controller 308 that the corresponding number has been reached. The communication module controller 308 deletes the credit information stored in the first memory 309. do.

When the credit information is deleted, the external lamp 305 is turned off, and the beeper 313 rings to notify the user.

The process of processing the credit information received from the portable terminal 20 in the OBU 30 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 7 as follows.

The user takes out the portable terminal 20 and selects a traffic payment menu from among service menus provided by the portable terminal 20 (step 701). However, this step can be omitted if it is already selected or if there is no need to select a separate menu with a separate button.

Thereafter, it is checked whether the external lamp 305 of the OBU 30 is ON or OFF (step 702). If the external lamp is ON, credit information is already stored, and it is then determined whether to use the stored credit information or input new credit information (step 703). When the credit information is to be stored again, the clear button 304 is pressed to delete and initialize the stored credit information. Then, the external lamp 305 is turned off (step 704). If you just want to use the credit information currently stored, you do not need to take any action.

If the external lamp 305 is in the OFF state, since credit information is not stored in the first memory 309, the credit information embedded in the portable terminal 20 should be transmitted to the OBU 30. At this time, it is determined whether to use infrared communication, RF communication or serial communication (step 705).

In order to use serial communication, the user connects the serial communication ports 202 and 302 while mounting the portable terminal 20 to the holder 303, and then presses the "transport mode" button 203 (step 706). In order to use infrared communication, the user directs the infrared communication port 201 of the portable terminal 20 to the infrared communication port 301 of the OBU 30 and then presses the "traffic mode" button 203 (step) 707). In the case of using RF communication, the portable terminal 20 may be brought close to the OBU 30 (step 708).

According to the push signal of the "transport mode" button 203 or the RF communication with the OBU 30, the portable terminal 20 checks whether previously stored credit information is available (step 709), and if so, the user can use the credit information. Is transmitted to the OBU 30 in the selected method (infrared communication, serial communication and RF communication) (step 710).

The communication module controller 308 receiving the credit information stores the credit information in the first memory 309, checks the time at which the credit information is received, and turns on the external lamp 305 (step 711).

If there is a problem with the credit information in step 710 and cannot be used, it is determined whether to change to other available credit information (step 712), and if it is changed to another credit information, the process returns to step 701 again, otherwise the transmission is canceled.

According to the present invention described above, the credit information from the portable terminal 20 is once stored in the first memory 309 of the OBU 30, and then the stored credit information is transmitted to the sales office 40 every time the tax is paid. However, in another embodiment, the OBU 30 receives credit information from the portable terminal 20 by using any one method of infrared communication, serial communication, and RF communication every time a payment is required without storing the credit information in advance. It can be sent to the office 40. That is, the payment is made using the portable terminal 20 every time the payment is made, and the OBU 30 serves only as an intermediate medium for transmitting the credit information from the portable terminal 20 to the office antenna 105.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to a smart card by applying the billing using a conventional portable terminal to the ITS through infrared communication and serial communication, it is possible to settle the bill in a non-stop billing system using a portable terminal.

Claims (15)

In the OBU (On Board Unit) of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) for paying fees to a toll booth using a portable terminal storing credit information, A communication port for receiving credit information from the portable terminal; A communication module for controlling the communication port for communication with the portable terminal, storing the credit information received from the communication port and the fee information from the toll station, and outputting the credit information stored at the time of payment; An OBU control unit for controlling the operation of the OBU, receiving credit information from the communication module, transmitting the credit information to the tollgate, and receiving the charge information from the tollgate and transmitting it to the communication module; And Hands-free combined OBU including an OBU antenna for communication between the toll booth and the OBU control unit. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication port, An infrared communication port for receiving credit information from the portable terminal through infrared communication; A serial communication port connected to the portable terminal to receive credit information from the portable terminal through electrical communication; And Hands-free dual OBU, characterized in that it comprises at least one of the RF receiving module for receiving credit information from the portable terminal through the RF communication in the proximity of the portable terminal device. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication module Memory unit for storing the credit information received from the communication port and the charge information provided from the OBU control unit: And And a communication module controller for controlling the communication port and the memory unit, storing the credit information received through the communication port in the memory unit, and outputting the stored credit information to the OBU control unit. . The hands-free OBU according to claim 1, wherein the OBU control unit counts the number of times credit information is read and deletes the credit information stored in the OBU when credit information is read a predetermined number of times. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a cradle for mounting the portable terminal, wherein the serial communication port is installed in the cradle and is connected to the portable terminal when the portable terminal is mounted on the cradle. OBU. The method of claim 3, wherein the memory unit, A first memory for storing credit information from the communication port; And And a second memory for storing charge information from the OBU control unit. The hands-free OBU according to claim 3, wherein the communication module controller deletes credit information of the memory unit when a predetermined time elapses. The hands-free OBU according to claim 3, wherein the communication module is composed of one chip to be detachable from the OBU. The hands-free OBU according to claim 1, further comprising a clear button for randomly deleting the credit information, and display means for indicating whether or not the credit information is stored in the communication module. 10. The OBU of claim 9, wherein the communication module controller deletes credit information only when receiving a credit information deletion command by the clear button. In the OBU (On Board Unit) of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) for paying fees to a toll booth using a portable terminal storing credit information, A communication port for receiving credit information from the portable terminal; A communication module for controlling the communication port for communication with the portable terminal, storing charge information from the toll gate, and receiving and outputting credit information from the communication port every time the bill is paid; An OBU control unit for controlling the operation of the OBU, receiving credit information from the communication module, transmitting the credit information to the tollgate, and receiving the charge information from the tollgate and transmitting it to the communication module; And Hands-free combined OBU including an OBU antenna for communication between the toll booth and the OBU control unit. In a toll collection system for paying a fee for using a toll facility in an intelligent transportation system, Stores credit information for bill payment, and includes at least one data transmission means for transmitting data through at least one of infrared communication, RF communication, and serial communication, and outputs the stored credit information through the data transmission means. A portable terminal; An OBU having data receiving means corresponding to the data transmitting means of the portable terminal and receiving credit information from the portable terminal through the data receiving means and outputting the credit information at a fee to use a pay facility; And And a charge collection means for receiving charges from the OBU and collecting charges for the pay facility. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the OBU further comprises a contact smart card reader for outputting a fee stored in the smart card as a fee for using the pay facility. The system of claim 12 or 13, wherein the OBU communicates with the toll collection means through RF communication or infrared communication. 15. The system of claim 12 or 13, wherein the OBU further includes a cradle for mounting the portable terminal.