P/00/0 I I Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: BREGIFER PTY LTD Actual Inventor: BRENDAN FRANCIS HART Address for Service: CALLINAN LAWRIE, 711 High Street, Kew, Victoria 3101, Australia Invention Title: AUTOMATIC EXTRAS RECORDING ON TAXIMETERS The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:- -2 The present invention relates to taxi fares and more particularly to a method and apparatus for automatically incorporating "extras" charges into a taxi meter digital display and electronically recording such charges. 5 Such "extras" include toll charges and airport surcharges, for example, but may include any other charges that are location based. The prior art requires the taxi driver to manually add the "extras" charges to the taxi fare displayed on the meter, either by keying the extra amounts into the 10 meter or merely mentally adding the "extras" charge on to the amount shown on the meter. In either case there is scope for unscrupulous taxi drivers to overcharge unsuspecting passengers. An obvious solution that has been suggested in relation to tolls involves 15 using the E-tag data transmitted from the existing gantry mounted toll equipment to activate additional electronic equipment in the taxi meter and thereby automatically update the "extras" charges. However, there are a number of obstacles preventing the practical implementation of this solution. For example, at present the transmitted data is currently not suitable for the purpose and furthermore existing toll companies 20 typically use different and highly confidential methods for E-tag monitoring which makes this solution highly improbable. Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for automatically incorporating "extras" charges into a taxi meter digital 25 display and electronically recording such charges, which object is achieved in a practical and autonomous manner. The invention therefore provides a method for automatically incorporating location based "extras" charges into a taxi cab electronic fare meter, including the 30 steps of: (i) providing in the cab a GPS receiver programmed with the coordinates of at least two spaced locations related to a toll or surcharge point such that when the taxi 08/03/07,rr 642 1.speci,2 -3 cab passes said locations in a particular order the toll or surcharge point is validated in the GPS and, (ii) sending information related to the validated toll or surcharge point electronically from the GPS to the taximeter to cause the taximeter to store and/or 5 display the value of the toll or surcharge. In a further form the invention provides apparatus for automatically incorporating location based extras charges into a taxi cab electronic fare meter, said apparatus including a GPS receiver programmed with the coordinates of at least two 10 spaced locations related to a toll or surcharge point such that when said cab passes said locations in a particular order the toll or surcharge is validated in said receiver, communication means for transmitting data relevant to said toll or surcharge to said fare meter and said meter including means to store and/or display details relating to the toll or surcharge. 15 In order that the invention may be readily understood a particular embodiment will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: 20 Fig. 1 is a schematic drawing of a tollway showing the general principle of the present invention. The apparatus of the invention comprises a mobile GPS receiver (not shown) which may be any one of a number of commercially available units such as 25 for example Uniden (trade mark) model 301, and a conventional taximeter (not shown) such as Martin Meters, Mk 5 si taximeter. Already the above GPS receiver comes pre-programmed with information such as the location of all fixed speed cameras and red light cameras throughout Australia as well as other information such as "Black Spot accident areas". When a vehicle installed with the above GPS unit 30 comes into close proximity to the latitude and longitude of any of the programmed locations an audio and visual alarm is activated. The unit is upgraded periodically 08/03/07.r 1642 I.speci.3 -4 via an internet connection. Alternatively, the apparatus could use a dedicated microprocessor based satellite system specifically designed for the purpose. For the purpose of the present invention the above unit or any other suitable 5 GPS unit is pre-programmed with the latitude and longitude coordinates of all known tolling points throughout Australia and all other location based surcharge points throughout Australia such as airports, etc. These toll locations and surcharge points would, for example, be numbered from 0 to 999 where each location number is assigned a dollar value coinciding with the current amount the various companies 10 charge for that particular toll or surcharge. The GPS unit or receiver is programmed so that upon verification of a toll location being passed it displays the toll amount and a short visual message which describes the toll point. This information is then passed electronically to the vehicle taximeter (not shown) by a suitable communication link such as an RS232 serial port, an infra red communication, a 15 wireless Bluetooth or a LAN connection. The method and apparatus described thus far is susceptible to errors since, as well as errors that can occur in the GPS unit itself errors could occur when a vehicle incorporating the apparatus passes on an adjacent road to a toll road in close 20 proximity to a toll point, or passes in the opposite direction on a dual carriageway toll road where there is no toll in the direction of travel. To avoid this spurious detection of a toll point the method and apparatus of the present invention requires detection of at least two spaced locations relevant to each toll or surcharge point. 25 Referring to Fig. I there is shown a dual carriageway 10 with conventional toll gantries 11 and 12. A taxi vehicle 13 is shown in two positions relative to the gantry 11 and will be detected for the purpose of the toll operators charge when it passes under the gantry I I using a conventional E-tag (not shown). 30 For the purpose of the taxi meter fare extras charges the GPS receiver is programmed with latitude and longitude coordinates of two separate and spaced locations relevant to the toll point of gantry 11. These points are referred to as 25D 08/03/07.rr 16421 speci.4 -5 and 25V respectively, assuming the toll point is toll location 25. Likewise on the other side of the dual carriageway a taxi vehicle 14 moving in the opposite direction passes under gantry 12 for the purpose of toll operator recognition and also passes toll points 03D and 03V being pre-programmed coordinates in the GPS receiver. 5 The toll points D (detect) and V (verify) may be some considerable distance apart provided there is no exit or entry therebetween (for example up to I km apart). Assuming for example toll point 25 is a Melbourne Citylink $3.00 toll the mobile GPS in vehicle 13 would register or detect point 25D and subsequently point 10 25V. Once the toll point is verified by passing 25V subsequent to 25D a signal is sent to the electronic taximeter which is programmed to automatically display the $3.00 toll charge in the "extras" area of the taximeter display, provided of course the meter is in the active (fare charging) mode. If the taxi passes a toll point in the non active (no fare paying customer) the toll amount can still be recorded in the taximeter 15 memory for later reconciliation. As will be evident the toll detect D and toll verify V points need not be located at or near the toll point gantry, provided they are located on the toll road before an "exit" or "on" ramp. Thus it is possible to program the toll locations into 20 the GPS receiver at points away from adjacent parallel roads to thereby avoid false detection of toll points. By the GPS unit detecting the vehicle passing through the separate toll detect and toll verify points in the correct order, verification is established that the taxi is on the toll road and heading in the correct direction. The vehicle has either passed under the tolling gantry or, if the tolling points are 25 programmed before the gantry, is about to pass under the tolling gantry. Once verified as a valid toll it can then be displayed as a legitimate charge to the passenger. The information may, for example, be displayed firstly to the taxi driver on the GPS unit as a "Citylink toll 25 charge $3.00 - verified" and then the $3.00 charge is added to the "Extras" total on the taximeter display as a running total that is 30 automatically added to the fare at the completion of the journey. Alternatively, the GPS receiver could audibly announce the verification of a toll before sending the information to the taximeter. 08/03/O?,ff]642 I speci,5 -6 Regular internet updates will be available for all toll or surcharge points for the purpose of updating pricing parameters and for adding or deleting new toll points. The GPS unit operates completely independently of Toll Service Providers such as Citylink and the portable GPS receiver may be attached to the windscreen 5 glass by suction cups facilitating easy removal for updating when required using a standard desk top computer. As will be evident hereinabove the invention provides a reliable and relatively inexpensive method and apparatus for electronically adding "extras" 10 charges to a taxi fare which cannot be manipulated by unscrupulous taxi drivers. The invention obviates the need for "discreet hard wired E-tags" being supplied by numerous toll service providers and facilitates the monitoring of other "location based" extras charges such as airport surcharges and the like. The invention is not restricted to fixed location charges and can easily be programmed to accommodate 15 distance based tolling by again utilizing the two or more detect and verify points. A further enhancement to the invention involves using the location information received by the GPS unit to automatically trigger other discounted/surcharged fare structures to/from or within specific locations such as 20 shopping centres, clubs, hotels, ferries, suburbs or precincts and/or various time/day/date based fare structures. These fare structures can be controlled by utilizing the atomic clock accuracy of the GPS unit which is available at all times. A further benefit of the GPS electronic clock is that it can be used to 25 maintain near perfect accuracy of the taxi meter clock which is important when switching tariffs at specific times. Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and 30 "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. 08/03/07.rr 16421 .spcci.6 -7 The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form or suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia. 08/03/07.rr 16421.speci.7