KR20020045415A - Hybrid On-Board Unit for automatic toll collecting system, and method for controlling the Unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A hybrid on-board unit for the electronic toll collection system and a method for controlling the unit are provided, which hybrid on-board unit is dual mode structured to be applied to a general credit card and an IC card. CONSTITUTION: The hybrid on-board unit comprises a data storage means(10) which stores the information of a user's card; an input means(20) which is used a user to input the desired state and comprises buttons for resetting the data containing the kind and number of a card stored in the data storage means; a state display means(40); a voice output means(30) which informs a user of the state information when there is a communication error between an on-board unit and a radio frequency communication controller or when it can't read a credit card or an IC card; a card treatment means(50) which reads a credit card or an IC card and treats it; a power supply means(60); a wireless transmitting and receiving means(70) which communicates with wireless communication equipment established in each toll gate; a memory part(80); and a microcomputer(90).

Description

Hybrid on-board unit for automatic toll collecting system, and method for controlling the unit

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for processing a toll collection when a toll vehicle traveling through a toll-gate passes through an IC card and a general credit card, and in particular, the present invention relates to an open or closed passage. The present invention relates to a hybrid OBU (hybrid on-board unit) device that is applicable to all toll collection systems and is installed on a vehicle dashboard for an automatic toll road toll collection system.

Recent technological breakthroughs in the field of electronic and wireless communications have made it possible for vehicles traveling on toll roads to automatically collect tolls even at high speeds without stopping when passing through the toll-gate. The Electronic Toll Collection System (ETCS) has been proposed, and research and pilot projects for practical applications are being actively conducted.

The ETCS applied to the toll road toll collection system is provided with a radio frequency communication controller (hereinafter referred to as an RFC controller) in each lane in a gantry installed across the lane. The vehicle is provided with a terminal (hereinafter referred to as an OBU) attached to a terminal that communicates with the RFC controller.

The prior art OBU is composed of a communication unit and a smart card for communication with the RFC controller, where the smart card is used as an electronic wallet in which a predetermined amount is charged in advance.

Therefore, the OBU of the prior art has a cumbersome problem of not only having a user always possess a special card such as a smart card, but also charging a certain amount of smart card at a designated place.

In particular, the driver who frequently uses the toll road has a problem in that the smart card needs to be frequently recharged, which is very inconvenient to use.

In addition, in the case of a conventional Hi-pass card, the toll collection is not performed properly because the card is defective or the user incorrectly inserts the High Pass card into the OBU.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the above problems, the first object of the present invention is to provide a hybrid OBU of IC card and credit card structure, even if the driver does not have an IC card credit card in the high-speed driving state It is to provide an OBU to pay the toll.

In addition, the second object of the present invention is to solve the problem that the toll collection is not properly performed by a bad card or a user incorrectly inserts the high pass card into the OBU in the case of the conventional high pass card mounting OBU.

Further, a third object of the present invention is to reset the card information when the driver lends the vehicle to another person so that the toll is withdrawn from the IC card or the credit card of the person who actually drives the vehicle.

It is also a fourth object of the present invention to provide a hybrid OBU applied to both open and closed toll collection systems.

In addition, a fifth object of the present invention is to decelerate the vehicle through guide broadcasting through the OBU of the present invention when receiving a message that the OBU recognition is not properly received from the ETCS after bidirectional communication between the OBU of the present invention and the RFC controller of the ETCS. It is to provide a way to induce it. In this case, if the OBU is not normally recognized even in the final communication state, the OBU function is stopped, and the announcement broadcast is performed to check the OBU of the present invention, thereby solving the problem of the prior art for the OBU recognition error.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a hybrid OBU of the present invention.

2A to 2D are flowcharts illustrating one embodiment of a hybrid OBU control method of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of resetting credit card information previously input to an OBU.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: data storage unit 20: input unit

30: audio output unit 40: status display unit

50: card processing unit 60: power supply unit

70: wireless transmission and reception module unit 80: memory unit

90: micom

The hybrid OBU of the present invention for achieving the above objects comprises: data storage means for storing information of a user card and the like; Input means for inputting a desired state by a user; Status display means for displaying various situations; Voice output means for transferring various information by voice; Card processing means capable of reading and processing credit or IC cards; Power supply means for supplying power; Wireless transmitting and receiving means capable of communicating with wireless communication equipment installed in each toll gate; Memory means; And a microcomputer, wherein the input means includes a button for resetting data such as the type and number of a card stored in the data storage means, and the card processing means reads both a general credit card and an IC card. The voice output means is a means for informing the user of status information when the communication failure between the OBU and the RFC controller and the IC card or the credit card are not properly read in the OBU. .

In addition, the hybrid OBU control method of the present invention for achieving the above object, the step of checking the state of each part of the OBU to turn on the operating state LED if the normal state; Reading user card information from the data storage unit 10 to determine whether card information is already input, and outputting a card input request voice message if no card information is input; Continuously checking the presence or absence of an RFC controller installed in the toll road toll system to confirm access to the toll gate when card information is already input or a user inputs a card; Checking whether normal communication between the OBU and the RFC controller is possible when the RFC controller is detected; Outputting a voice message to decelerate the speed of the vehicle to the driver of the vehicle when normal communication is not possible as a result of the check of the step; Determining whether the card used is a credit card; And transmitting the card information to the RFC controller according to the determined card type.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a hybrid OBU of the present invention. In the OBU of the present invention, the toll road toll collection system is installed on the dashboard of the vehicle, and the toll is automatically withdrawn in the uninterrupted state when the toll-gate passes from the driver's credit card or IC card. It is a device to make it possible. In FIG. 1, the data storage unit 10 is a means for not only storing the type and number of the card input by the user, but also storing voice data that should be properly output according to various situations, for example, a flash memory. It consists of a memory device. When the owner or driver of the vehicle lends the vehicle to another person, the input unit 20 may reset or delete data such as the type and number of the card stored in the data storage unit 10. As a means for setting up the OBU of the invention, it usually consists of a button. The voice output unit 30 is a means for informing the user of information about a communication failure between the OBU and the RFC controller and a state in which the IC card or the credit card is not properly read in the OBU, and is usually composed of a speaker. . The status display unit 40 is a device for informing the user of information on the state of the OBU together with the voice output unit, and is usually composed of LEDs. The card processing unit 50 is composed of a credit card reader module capable of reading general credit card information and a special card reader module capable of reading a special IC card. That is, the card processing unit 50 adopts a structure capable of reading not only a general credit card but also a special IC card, which is one of the important features of the present invention. Here, the card processing unit 50 reads a stripe attached to the surface of the card by inserting the card or inserting the card into the insertion slot as in an automatic teller machine (ATM) to read a general credit card. It is preferable to adopt a reader type structure that can adopt both types of structures, and which can read a stripe attached to the surface of the card by scraping the card. The card data read by the card processing unit 50 is stored in the data storage unit 10. The power supply unit 60 is a part for supplying power by using the DC power of the vehicle and is configured as a DC converter. The wireless transmit / receive module unit 70 is a wireless terminal module that communicates with an RFC controller installed in the ETCS of the ETCS, and uses a back scattering technique in the 5.8 GHz band to simplify its configuration. The memory unit 80 is a basic memory required for microcomputer operation, and is composed of ROM, RAM, and the like. In addition, the microcomputer 90 is a processor which controls the OBU of the present invention as a whole.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the hybrid OBU control method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2D.

First, the microcomputer 90 checks the state of each part of the OBU of the present invention (s101), and if it is in a normal state, turns on the operating state LED (s102). Subsequently, the card information of the user is read from the data storage unit 10 (s103), it is determined whether the card information is already input (s104), and if no card information is input, a card input request voice message is output. After that, it waits for card input (s105). If the card information is already entered or the user enters the card, the presence of the RFC controller installed in the toll road toll system through the continuous wireless communication to check whether access to the toll gate (s106). Subsequently, when the RFC controller is confirmed, the detection confirmation LED is turned on (s107), and then it is checked whether normal wireless communication with the RFC controller is possible (s108). If normal communication is not performed, a voice message for decelerating the speed of the vehicle is output to the driver of the vehicle (s110 of FIG. 2C) to induce the vehicle to decelerate and increase the normal communication rate. Hereinafter, the control procedure for the case where the OBU and the RFC controller of the present invention do not perform normal communication will be described with reference to FIG. 2C in detail.

Subsequently, while counting the time continuously (s111) and outputting a voice message indicating a failure and repair request of the OBU when normal communication with the RFC controller fails until a predetermined time elapses (s112), which is estimated to have sufficiently passed the toll gate (s114). Next, the OBU failure notification LED is turned on (s115), and the OBU data and the system are reset (s116). If wireless communication between the OBU and the RFC controller is normally performed in step S113, the process proceeds to step S108 of FIG. 2A. Referring back to FIG. 2A and describing the control procedure of the present invention, when the OBU and the RFC controller of the present invention normally perform wireless communication, it is determined whether the ETCS to be passed currently is closed or open from information received from the RFC controller. (S109).

As a result of the determination in step (s109), if the ETCS to be passed is an open toll road tolling system, after confirming whether the current user wants to use a credit card or a special IC card through the data information stored in the OBU (s117) The information is transmitted to the gantry (s118). If the card to be used is a prepaid IC card such as a smart card, after receiving the fee information to be paid from the gantry (s119), the fee is immediately settled by the IC card (s120). Subsequently, the processing result is transmitted to the gantry (s121).

However, as a result of the determination in the determination step (s117), when the card to be used is a general credit card of postpaid form, the card type is transmitted to the gantry as described above, and then information about the type and unique number of the credit card is sent. By transmitting to the gantry (s122), the main system of the automatic toll collection system can be billed later through the card company.

As a result of the determination of step s109, if the ETCS to be passed is a closed toll road tolling system, after entering the step s123 of FIG. 2b and confirming the first gantry passing through the entrance gantry, the gantry's unique number and passage The time is stored in the memory unit 80. Subsequently, the presence or absence of the RFC controller is continuously confirmed through wireless communication until the exit gantry is approached (s124). When the presence of the RFC controller is confirmed, the gantry becomes the exit side gantry. Then, it is checked whether it normally communicates with the RFC controller (s125). Even in this case, if normal communication is not performed as described above, an OBU error message is sent. If the RFC controller and the OBU communicate normally, check the card type as in the open type (s126). If it is an IC card, the card type is transmitted to the exit side candry (s127), and at the same time, the entrance side gantry information is stored together, so that an accurate billing rate can be calculated at the exit side gantry (s128).

Subsequently, the exit gantry transmits the billing fee information to the OBU (s129), immediately calculates the billed fee from the IC card (s130), and then transmits the processing result to the exit gantry (s131).

If it is a credit card, the information on the type and unique number of the credit card to be used is transmitted to the exit side gantry (s132) so that it can be charged for postpay.

Since the OBU of the present invention needs to delete its own card information or other information already stored in the OBU due to the act of lending its vehicle to another person, the OBU of the present invention needs to be deleted. A reset key was provided. This OBU reset key should be interrupted at the moment the main program is executed.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of resetting credit card information previously input to an OBU. Specifically, when the OBU reset key is pressed, an interrupt is immediately applied, and an LED indicating the OBU reset is turned ON (s300), and then all the OBU data are reset (s302).

In the above, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention has been described, but those skilled in the art will be able to implement various modifications and variations without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

According to the present invention, the toll road toll can be paid by IC card and a general credit card without the vehicle stopping, and it can be applied to both the open or closed toll road automatic toll collection system. Therefore, due to system compatibility, the convenience of users of the toll road fee collection system and the automatic collection system can be greatly improved.

In addition, there is an effect that the accuracy of toll collection is greatly improved by solving the problem that the toll collection is not performed properly due to the high error rate in the conventional OBU.

Claims (5)

Data storage means for storing information of a user card and the like; Input means for inputting a desired state by a user; Status display means for displaying various situations; Voice output means for transferring various information by voice; Card processing means capable of reading and processing credit or IC cards; Power supply means for supplying power; Wireless transmitting and receiving means capable of communicating with wireless communication equipment installed in each toll gate; Memory means; And As including microcomputer, The input means includes a button for resetting data such as the type and number of a card stored in the data storage means, and the card processing means has a structure capable of reading both a general credit card and an IC card. And a voice output means is a means for informing a user of status information when a communication failure between an OBU and an RFC controller and an IC card or a credit card are not properly read in the OBU. In the method of controlling the OBU device of claim 1, Checking the state of each part of the OBU and turning on an operation state LED if the state is normal; Reading user card information from the data storage unit 10 to determine whether card information is already input, and outputting a card input request voice message if no card information is input; Continuously checking the presence or absence of an RFC controller installed in the toll road toll system to confirm access to the toll gate when card information is already input or a user inputs a card; Checking whether normal communication between the OBU and the RFC controller is possible when the RFC controller is detected; Outputting a voice message to decelerate the speed of the vehicle to the driver of the vehicle when normal communication is not possible as a result of the check of the step; Determining whether the card used is a credit card or an IC card; And transmitting card information to an RFC controller according to the determined card type. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of checking whether the ETCS to be passed is a closed toll collection system or an open toll collection system. 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: storing a unique number and a transit time of the received inlet gantry in a memory when the ETCS to be passed is determined to be a closed toll collection system, and continuously checking whether there is an exit RFC controller. OBU control method characterized in that it further comprises. 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of transmitting an entrance gantry unique number to the exit gantry if the exit RFC controller is identified.