EP3113118A1 - Method for tracking vehicles which are liable for a toll in a toll system and toll system for same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for tracking toll vehicles (102) in a toll collection system (200) comprising at least one data processing device (205, 206) in communication with a badge database (208) and at least one roadside control device (202), wherein the toll database (208) is stored, comprising the steps of detecting at least one license plate (104) of a toll vehicle (102) by means of the roadside controller (202), forming a control record comprising the license plate (104) of the toll vehicle ( 102) and the time of detection thereof, determining by the data processing means (205, 206) whether there is already a first toll violation notice detected in the detected license (104) of the detected flag (104), and if there is a first toll violation notice for the first he took flags (104) in the offense database (208), associating the first toll violation alert with the control record.

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to a method for tracking toll vehicles in a toll system and to a toll system for carrying out such a method.

State of the art

Different methods for collecting user charges or tolls for tolled traffic areas, such as toll roads, are known. The toll is paid for example by the purchase of a vignette or other use authorization and is then valid for a predetermined period and a predetermined range.

In addition to these a lump-sum authorization for the use of a toll road surface providing methods are still known methods in which the toll is charged depending on use. Here, the actual distance covered by the toll vehicle on the toll road surface is used to calculate the toll due - usually according to vehicle types and / or vehicle specifics such as the mass of the vehicle, the number of axles of the vehicle, the length of the vehicle, the emission class of the vehicle and / or the presence of a trailer.

In the latter systems, those are known in which surveying devices arranged in sections on the toll roads are provided, for example in the form of toll booths occupied by survey personnel.

There are also known depending tolling systems in which an automated collection of toll vehicles is performed. This is the toll vehicle when entering the toll road surface, when leaving the toll road surface and / or driving on the toll road surface automatically detected and evaluated its movement and / or route to determine in this way the toll due for the actual distance traveled and levy can ,

Here, on the one hand, decentralized elevating systems are known, in which a position-determining device is provided in the vehicle, for example in a vehicle device or a vehicle device, which is also referred to as "on-board unit" (OBU). A GNSS receiver in the vehicle detects the position of the vehicle via a GNSS system and a DSRC receiver in the vehicle can receive positions from roadside facilities. In the decentralized system, these position data are processed in the vehicle unit for recognizing the traffic area subject to tolls. The toll can be charged decentrally in the vehicle unit, for example by debiting a pre-paid credit. Alternatively, the toll may be charged after transmission of the calculated toll data to a toll center through the toll center, which makes the debit or billing. The collection of the toll takes place after driving on the toll road section.

Furthermore, centralized systems are known, in which a position determining device is again provided in the vehicle or a vehicle device, which transmit the position data to a toll center and the toll recognition, the toll determination and the toll collection are carried out in the toll center. A GNSS receiver in the vehicle detects the position of the vehicle via a GNSS system and a DSRC receiver in the vehicle can receive positions from roadside equipment. The toll recognition can be carried out in the vehicle unit or in the toll center. If toll recognition is carried out outside the vehicle unit, only position data which carries out toll recognition is transmitted to the toll center. The collection of the toll takes place after driving on the toll road section.

Furthermore, toll collection systems are known which dispense with the use of GNSS receivers and perform position determination and toll recognition exclusively via roadside vehicle detection devices. In this case, the toll vehicle sends to the roadside vehicle detection device a corresponding identification signal. The identification signals received from the roadside vehicle detection devices become sent to a toll center, which determines and levies the toll on this basis. Also in this toll collection system, the collection of the toll takes place after driving on the toll road section.

In Germany, the Toll Collect GmbH system is used to levy tolls on the use of motorways, with roadside controls in the form of fixed, fixed surveillance bridges spanning the road, covering the marks of each passing vehicle. Using the identified license plates of the vehicles, a comparison can be made with vehicle-specific data present in a central database under license plates of vehicles, in order to be able to check the correct charging of the toll incurred and possibly determine whether the driver of the vehicle is currently making a toll violation, in particular if no vehicle-specific data, in particular toll data, are present under the identified license plate of a vehicle for the relevant route section on which the vehicle was detected. In the central database, for example, information about a route preselected for the respective license plate can be stored or information about the payment modalities. In addition to the permanently installed control bridges, it is also possible to provide mobile control devices which support the further detection of the vehicles. This system can be extended to other roads.

Vehicle-side vehicle devices, which are also referred to as OBUs (on-board units), have proven useful for individual and largely automatic detection of the use of the toll roads, which have a position-determining device for position detection of the vehicle or are coupled to a position-determining device provided in the vehicle. The vehicle devices can accordingly determine and / or detect the position of the respective vehicle subject to tolling and detect, on the basis of map material stored in the vehicle device, whether the vehicle is on a toll road. If this is the case, a toll fee for the use of the determined toll road surface is determined by the vehicle device and the corresponding toll data, which include the determined fee, transmitted to a toll center. On the basis of the information transmitted by the vehicle device, the toll due can then be collected in the toll center, either by calculating the toll from the transmitted route data or by using the transmitted charge data. The due toll will then be charged to the respective user or deducted from an existing credit.

In order to enable a proper toll collection, the user must initialize the vehicle device before departure and enter, among other vehicle data, such as the total weight of the vehicle, its emission class and the current number of axles. Based on this, the vehicle unit, taking into account the position of the toll vehicle determined by the position determination device and the adjustment of the position of the toll vehicle with a database in which the toll roads are deposited, determines the toll incurred for the respective journey and transmits this toll data at the latest Fulfillment of a certain criterion, for example when leaving the toll route, to the toll center.

In a variant, the position data determined over the course of the journey by the position-determining device and recorded by the vehicle device are transmitted continuously or when a specific criterion, such as the achievement of a predetermined amount of data at position data, to the toll center is met. The toll for the toll vehicle to be paid for this journey is then determined and collected centrally in the toll center on the basis of the vehicle data and the toll road traffic areas recognized as traffic from the position data.

This method of collecting the toll data, in which the user of the toll vehicle only has to initialize the vehicle device and then the detection of the route, the transmission of the toll data to the toll center, as well as the collection of the toll after initialization are carried out without further user input is also referred to as automatic procedure (AV). The toll is determined in this process only after driving on the respective toll section and thereby charged that it is charged accordingly or deducted from a deposited or pre-paid credit.

In the automatic procedure (AV), the vehicle device carried by the vehicle subject to toll recognizes according to the comparison of position data, which were determined by means of the position determining device with stored in a database map data, whether, and if so, which toll road section is traveled. Such a toll road section is then stored in a storage device of the vehicle device. Accordingly, toll sections are stored section by section in the storage device in the vehicle unit and then transmitted as toll data upon the occurrence of a predetermined criterion, for example, after exceeding a predetermined number of stored sections, to the toll center. The toll determination takes place on this basis either in the toll center or in the vehicle unit. In the latter case, the toll to be collected is then transferred to the toll center as toll data. In the automatic procedure (AV), the right to use the traveled, toll section is then acquired step by step after driving through each toll section, the toll charged via the toll center after leaving the toll section and transmitting the relevant data to the toll center becomes.

In addition to the automatic procedure (AV), the toll collection system operated by Toll Collect GmbH also allows logging in according to the so-called manual procedure (MV).

In the manual procedure (MV), the respective user can use one of the approximately 3600 toll-station terminals, which are typically set up on truck stops, rest areas or petrol stations. Alternatively, the manual procedure (MV) can also use a web service on the Internet.

The user acquires in the manual procedure (MV) a right to use the respective toll section before driving on the toll section or a toll route, which consists of one or more toll sections. For this purpose, the user already indicates the planned driveway and the planned departure from the toll road surface before driving on the route at the toll station or in the web service, which then defines the one or more toll road sections of the route. The user can also enter via positions in his route, which are taken into account in the determination of the route to be traveled and which are based on the calculation of the toll fee due. The user of the manual method (MV) determines accordingly before the actual driving on the toll road sections the route to be traveled and pays the appropriate toll. The toll can either be paid directly at the toll station or on the Internet, or for registered users can be provided via the toll center in a monthly collective bill or deducted from an existing credit balance.

A booking of a route with the manual procedure results in a fixed route, which the user can not leave without possibly being considered a toll-bumper. A change in the route may become necessary, for example, if a section of the route booked is blocked or if a traffic jam occurs that is to be avoided. It may also happen that a user wants to go to additional stations while traveling. If the user wants to change his route after starting the trip booked via the manual procedure, he must do so at a stationary toll terminal so that his actually traveled route remains traceable. The user then has to make a partial cancellation of the booked route and then book the new desired route.

In the vehicle devices or vehicle devices, a highly accurate position determination is possible by means of the position determination device, which has a GNSS receiver which receives specific signals from satellites of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which are stationed in Earth orbit and which corresponding position signals send out. The position determining device uses these signals in a known manner for calculating the own position. Such GNSS systems include, for example, the US GPS system, the Russian GLONASS, the European Galileo and the Chinese Compass system, the latter of which are still under construction. As a position determination device, either a position determination device already provided in the toll vehicle can be used, which transfers its data to an OBU, or the OBU itself can have a position determination device.

In addition, also encoders (tachometer, odometer) and direction sensors such as a gyroscope or an electronic compass of the toll vehicle or with the position determining device may be connected to allow an even more accurate position determination by a dead reckoning. This may be particularly important if no GNSS data is available by covering, for example in a tunnel, and yet a precise position determination is desired.

The transmission of the information to the toll center is carried out via a communication module present in the vehicle equipment, which uses a known mobile radio standard and communicates the data, for example via the GSM standard, to the toll center. A two-way communication is generally not provided, but only the toll-relevant data determined by the vehicle device are transmitted to the toll center when the vehicle device has completed the collection of data.

Depending on the usage, tolling systems are dependent on the collection of the route of the respective toll vehicles at least in the area which is decisive for the use of the toll road. For example, for this purpose, vehicle positions in the toll collection system operated by the German toll carrier Toll Collect GmbH are regularly recorded in the area of the driveway to the respective toll area and in the area of the departure from this traffic area.

Toll data is here understood to mean data associated with a user of tollable traffic areas and / or tolls, which are determined by a toll recognition and / or toll determination. Toll relevant data are all data that are included in the determination of the toll, such as the identifier and / or the length of the toll road surface and the vehicle data such as weight, number of axles and pollutant class. At least one toll-relevant data record is usually coupled with a basic charge or charge rate, which, in conjunction with the other toll-relevant data, permits the determination of the total charge for toll collection.

Under toll recognition is technically understood the process of linking a used, on the basis of the detected vehicle position (s) recognized, toll road surface with the user. In other words, it is understood to associate the user for the first time with a used toll road surface.

Under toll determination is technically understood the process of determining a toll from the used or perspective to be used toll road surface, possibly taking into account toll-related vehicle data and times.

Under toll collection is technically understood the process that has certain tolls from the user whose vehicle has proven to use the toll road surface or in perspective, for example, by taking cash such as at a toll station, by central debiting of an account or by decentralized deduction of a pre-paid balance on a chip card arranged in a vehicle device.

Under a toll road surface traffic areas are understood here, for their use, a toll fee is due. In this case, the determination of the amount of the toll, for example, according to measured on the toll road surface, for example, in meters, according to the number of used toll sections or lump sum or time for the use of a specific toll route network, such as a city toll, take place.

A toll violation is understood herein to mean that a toll vehicle has used or used a toll road surface and that the toll actually due for the use can not be charged. This may have the background that the toll vehicle is not accessible for automatic detection, since the technical prerequisites for carrying out an automatic procedure are missing - for example, an on-board unit suitable for the respective toll system is not present, is not switched on or is defective. However, it may also be that the current section of the route has not been booked for the respective vehicle in the manual procedure.

A toll may also exist if the toll collection fails because the toll to be paid can not be collected - for example, because an account, a credit card or a credit account is not covered. In connection with the EETS system, it may also happen that a toll fee from the foreign operator of the on-board unit is not paid to the domestic operator of the toll system and accordingly a toll violation manifests itself at a time after the actual driving on the toll section ,

A toll-infringement notice is understood to mean a data record by means of which a controller can control a vehicle suspected of being liable for a toll. In other words, a toll-prohibiting notice designates a toll violation related to a toll vehicle. The tamper indication thus includes the information needed by a controller to have a valid reason for the departure or the stopping of a vehicle. A toll fraud alert is associated with or associated with a vehicle license plate and includes information about the toll violation of which the vehicle is suspect. This information can be, for example, the type and timing of the potential toll violation as well as further details of the potential toll violation detecting control device.

In all of the above-mentioned tolling systems, to control toll vehicles and to punish toll road traffic inspectors are provided which check tolled vehicles where a potential toll violation has been detected, remove them from circulation and, accordingly, upon suspicion of a toll violation, submit the penalty ,

These controllers are usually trained by the crews of control vehicles. Present in the control vehicles or carried by the respective crew are mobile display devices on which the markings of the toll vehicles for which a toll violation is suspected are displayed. For this purpose, a mobile display device in the control vehicle usually receives toll-infringement notices from the road-side control device assigned to it.

In the known toll systems, a control vehicle with its crew is usually located in the vicinity of a roadside control device, which may be in the form of a control bridge, stationed and equipped with a mobile display device such that upon detection of a potential toll violation of a toll vehicle, a corresponding toll offense notice on the mobile display device can be displayed.

The toll-infringement notifications are determined either by a central data processing device or in the road-side control device, for example in the data processing device provided in the roadside control device, by corresponding analysis of the vehicle data determined by the roadside control device. The methods used for determining whether a toll vehicle is one in which there is a suspicion of a toll violation are known in principle.

As far as tolling systems are concerned, it is possible that certain tolls that have taken place in the past have not been penalized. This may be the case, for example, because at a given time a large number of potential toll violations were detected and the respective controllers did not detect all the vehicles for which Toll-infringement notice was generated, led out, control and possibly could lead to the punishment. However, a lack of control and punishment of a potential toll violation may also occur because the vehicle for which the information about a potential toll violation exists, has left the monitored traffic area and was then no longer accessible to surveillance. This is particularly the case with toll vehicles, which have left the catchment area of the toll system, for example, by a border crossing in a neighboring country or in an adjacent toll system.

Especially with such vehicles, which have already caused a toll violation in the past, it may be advantageous for penalty technical reasons to control them in the future with increased priority.

Furthermore, it may be provided in connection with the EETS system (EETS = European Electronic Toll Service), that a third party, the so-called EETS provider, on-board units provides the toll in the field of another toll operator, which in turn to operate or operate the control equipment. Accordingly, the respective on-board units are not necessarily provided by the actual operator of the toll system, but can be provided by another operator, which is located, for example, abroad. For example, it is possible for a toll vehicle registered abroad to enter the area of the domestic toll collection system and this vehicle to be equipped with an on-board unit functioning for the domestic toll collection system. In such a system, the tolls are paid out on a regular basis by the operator of the on-board units located abroad to the operator of the domestic toll collection system. Only then can the domestic toll operator make a binding determination as to whether the toll vehicle originating from abroad has actually paid the tolls due. Accordingly, it is also possible to determine at this point in time whether the driving on the tolled traffic area in the past is based on a toll violation. Accordingly, the corresponding vehicle can only be identified as a toll-seller by the foreign operator of the on-board unit to the domestic toll operator at the time of transfer of the corresponding payments.

A complete control or punishment of such vehicles from abroad, which are equipped with a functional on-board unit, is accordingly for the Checkers even with a random inspection of the respective vehicles at the time of driving the toll road surface not or only unreliable possible.

From the EP 2 624 231 B1 There are devices and methods of control in a road toll system known in which recording vehicles and control vehicles are provided. The control vehicles have reading devices for reading the license plates and communicate with a tort server. The recording vehicles are provided with a DSRC transceiver for reading the toll parameters. Thus, a first fleet of recording vehicles ("hunters") and a second fleet of control vehicles ("collectors") are provided which communicate with each other via a common offense server.

From the DE 10 2011 085 814 B3 is a system with each other via a common server wirelessly networked mobile phone to allow for improved communication between multiple vehicles.

Presentation of the invention

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for tracking tolled vehicles in a toll system, as well as a toll collection system by means of which a further improved tracking of toll violations can be achieved.

This object is achieved by a method for tracking toll vehicles in a toll system with the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments emerge from the dependent claims and are also described below.

Accordingly, a method for tracking toll vehicles in a toll system is provided, which has at least one data processing device in communication with a crime database and at least one roadside control device, wherein in the crime database each associated with license plates of toll vehicles first toll infringement notices are stored. The method comprises the steps of detecting at least one license plate of a toll vehicle by means of the roadside control device, forming a control data record comprising the identification of the toll vehicle being recorded and the time of its detection, the determination by the Data processing means, whether in the offense database for the detected number already a detected before the detection time first toll infringement notice exists, and in the presence of a first toll violation notice for the detected characteristic in the crime database, associating the first toll offense notice with the control record.

By associating the control record with the first toll fraud alert, it is possible for a controller having this data to sanction a toll violation committed in the past. The data available to the controller is accordingly enriched by the association of the control data with the first toll violation alert, thus simplifying the prosecution of toll violations.

In particular, it is thus possible for the inspectors to take account of older toll violations, that is, toll violations, which lie before the current time of recording the license plate of the toll vehicle. The vehicle can then be appropriately checked, checked and possibly supplied with the punishment.

This makes it possible to toll-liable vehicles, which have already committed a toll in the past, the penalty, the current vehicle data and in particular the control record, which includes a license plate of the registered toll vehicle and its detection time is provided to the inspector. Thus, an inspector, who is in his control vehicle immediately behind or in the vicinity of the roadside control device, are immediately supplied with the data on a past toll violation of the respective toll motor vehicle, in accordance with a review and possibly a punishment of in the To be able to initiate past tolls.

The control data record associated with the first toll fraud notification is preferably stored in a data memory, preferably in the crime database, in a data memory assigned to the central data processing device, in a data memory associated with the roadside control device, in a data memory associated with a transmission device or in a further data memory. In this way, the data records thus provided are available for further processing. From the data store, the control record associated with the first toll fraud alert can then be retrieved, for example, for further evaluation. The one associated with the first toll fraud alert Control record can also be retrieved from a display device to then stand ready for the search and punishment.

Preferably, the toll infringement notifications stored in the offense database are determined by previously detecting at least one license plate of a tolled vehicle by means of a roadside control device and determining in advance whether or not there is a toll violation of the tolled vehicle.

In this case, the determination of whether a potential toll violation exists and the toll vehicle to be controlled accordingly by a controller, discharged and supplied with confirmation of the suspicion of punishment, be performed in the toll system by actually known methods. The determination itself can be carried out in a data processing device of the roadside control device, in a central data processing device or in the interaction of different data processing devices and databases. The analysis can be performed using known criteria based on the collected or collected and known data. For example, it can be determined whether a specific section of the route was previously booked in the manual procedure for the license plate of a tolled vehicle. It can be determined in the automatic method whether the setting made in an on-board unit, for example, the number of axles or the pollutant class of the toll vehicle agrees with the data determined by the roadside control device and / or if the OBU is functional. It can be determined in a pre-paid survey, if the pre-paid credit is still sufficient to pay the current toll. The determination can also be made on the basis of further known criteria and methods.

The determination as to whether a toll violation exists can also be made after the actual driving on the toll road through the toll vehicle. For example, in this way also toll violations, which are determined for example by the time delay between the payment of the corresponding tolls by a foreign-based operator of on-board units, for example in the EETS system to the domestic toll operator only after driving on the toll road surface, also be punished. The existence of such a toll violation is usually determined in a central data processing device of the toll operator, which communicates with a payment database.

Accordingly, an overall improved control and punishment of the payment of tolls in a toll system can be achieved if tolls registered at the time of entry are also associated with the respective license plate at the time of acquisition and displayed accordingly to the controllers via the mobile display devices.

Furthermore, it is also possible to determine a toll violation which is present at the current time of acquisition and, accordingly, if a toll infringement of this kind occurs at the time of the detection, a second toll-infringement notification is generated and this is likewise associated with the control data record. The control data record is then stored, at least temporarily, together with the first toll infringement reference associated therewith in a data memory of the toll system by a data processing device of the toll system. In this way, it can be ensured that for a toll vehicle all toll violations committed by the latter can be effectively and safely recorded and assigned to it.

Particularly preferably, the control data record and at least the associated first toll-infringing notification are transmitted to a mobile display device and the control data record and the associated first toll-infringement notification are displayed on the mobile display device. Thus, the inspector can keep at least the first known for the respective vehicle license plate and not yet checked or not yet punished toll violation in view. It is particularly preferred if several or all toll-infringing information associated with the license plate is transmitted to the mobile display device. Thus, for example, a prioritization of the decision on the removal of a toll vehicle, especially when a larger number of submitted toll fraud warnings to the controller or its mobile display device are made, so that, for example, a priority vehicle is discharged, for which more than a toll or there is a past toll violation.

The determination as to whether the first toll violation detected prior to the detection time is already present at the registration number recorded at the time of acquisition is preferably carried out in a central data processing device of the toll system and / or in a data processing device of the roadside control device itself. Accordingly, the offense database can either be present in a central data processing device or be addressed by it or else the offense database is located in the roadside control device before or can be addressed by this. In this case, it may be advantageous to fill the offense database with toll breaches or toll violation notifications supplied after a predetermined time interval, and then to update the data of the offense database accordingly or the data of a central offense database with a locally distributed offense database or into the respective one roadside control facilities to synchronize existing crime databases. This makes it possible to provide data for unencumbered toll violations already after the expiration of a short time interval in such a way that the vehicle license plates determined by the roadside control device can be promptly checked for the presence of a crime violation.

Here, for example, the situation is conceivable in which the control, removal and verification of a toll vehicle by the first roadside control device associated controllers could not take place, as these inspectors may have already dealt with the control and punishment of a toll violation of another motor vehicle, and After completion of this control and punishment, the further toll vehicle, which had caused a toll violation at the time of acquisition, is already outside the control radius of the respective controller. Accordingly, a further downstream controller can then check, divert and penalize this vehicle when that vehicle passes another roadside controller, correspondingly checking a control record with the tag detected at that roadside controller in the crime database and then determining it in that a toll violation has been recorded in the past, namely the toll violation which could not previously be punished.

Preferably, the toll database includes a toll violation record comprising the first toll violation indication, the associated flag, the time of detection of the toll violation, and a position identifier of the toll breaching controller, wherein the toll infringement record is associated with the control record is transmitted to the mobile display device and the data is displayed on the mobile display device. Such a highly detailed toll-infringement record may facilitate the clarification of the facts during the inspection and review.

The control data record transmitted to the mobile display device is preferably also provided with a position identifier of the toll-detecting control device such that the inspector, who is also informed of this information, can give the driver of the correspondingly discharged motor vehicle detailed information about the preceding toll infringement, here to facilitate the acceptance of the punishment as well as the punishment itself.

In order to ensure that toll violations are reliably detected and stored, the first toll-infringing notification can preferably be detected by a control device at a point in time prior to the acquisition time and transmitted to the central data-processing device. There, the first toll infringement notice can be entered in a crime database of the data processing device.

Particularly preferably, the first tamper indication together with the associated tag, the time of detection of the toll violation and the position identifier of the toll-detecting control device in a toll violation record in the crime scene of the central data processing device are stored, in particular, if a settlement of the toll violation is not within a predetermined Time duration from the time of detection is signaled to the central data processing device. In this way, it can be ensured that the untaxed toll violation will be punished in the event of later inspection by a controller.

Furthermore, it may be advantageous that toll infringement data records stored in the offense database are transmitted to a plurality of fixed, roadside control devices or all control devices or the offense database provides the stored toll infringement data sets to a plurality of stationary, roadside control devices or to all control devices, so that a secure and rapid determination as to whether a license plate of the control record agrees with a license number of a toll infringement record, can be performed in a control device. This is preferably done in that control device which has detected the indicator at the time of detection. An inspector located in the vicinity of the control device can thus be informed particularly quickly about the toll-infringing alert or it can be transmitted to the mobile display device of the inspector, since the matching of the license plate can take place directly in the control device.

In addition, it can also be determined in the central data processing device whether there is more than one toll violation notification for the determined identifier at the time of entry. Accordingly, in the presence of more than one toll violation indication, a prioritization indication may be generated and associated with the control record, which may be transmitted via the mobile display device and displayed thereon along with the control record and the toll violation indications. The inspector can thus be given in the presence of several toll violations in his control area an indication of which of the vehicles he should preferentially divert to check the toll and possibly sanction.

Preferably, the toll-prohibiting indication includes an identification of the type of toll infringement. On the basis of the type of toll violation, a corresponding prioritization indication can then be generated on the basis of a weighting table present in a centralized or decentralized prioritization database, associated with the control data record and transmitted to the mobile display device. The inspector can read the prioritization notice together with the control data record and the toll infringement notice on the mobile display device and accordingly select which toll vehicle is to be routed out preferentially.

Preferably, a control vehicle for tracking detected toll vehicles includes the mobile display device, or is carried by this or provided by this, so that a checker located in the control vehicle can read, for example, while driving toll-infringement information.

Furthermore, there is also the possibility that the inspector can access the mobile display device via a mobile device, preferably a mobile computer, a tablet computer or a smartphone, and clearly inform the driver of the correspondingly discharged motor vehicle directly at the place where the motor vehicle is parked to make the previous toll violation, in order to facilitate the acceptance of the punishment and the punishment itself and to shorten their duration.

For example, the mobile display device may comprise a flat screen or the like and the input unit in the form of a touch screen, scroll wheel, joystick, touch pads, a mouse, one or more input keys or a voice control.

In order to prevent multiple controllers from being bound to punish a toll violation or that the tracking of a toll-infringing vehicle can be unambiguously attributed to a controller, the control record and the associated toll-infringement indications may preferably be transmitted to a mobile display device by means of a tracking case request. Preferably, an input unit is further provided, with which the controller can answer the prosecution request.

A prosecution request is understood to mean that a controller or several controllers are sent to license plates and associated toll-infringement notices and the inspector or inspectors are requested to take over this prosecution case. Through a user input, the prosecution case can then be accepted. If the prosecution request is sent to several controllers, the prosecution request will be removed by acceptance of the tracking order by an inspector at the other inspectors or displayed as inactive or already taken over.

In a continuation, the toll violation records available in the crime database may be disabled or deleted if there is an event justifying the deactivation or deletion. For example, the toll violation records may be deleted after exceeding a period of time from the time of the detection of the first toll violation notice, since these may be barred after the expiration of the period of time. Furthermore, by signaling a settlement of the toll violation, for example, on the basis of a corresponding input of the check on the mobile display device to the central data processing device to unnecessarily increase the required data capacity of the data processing device and release the occupied by the completed toll violations space.

Preferably, the at least one license plate of a toll vehicle is detected by means of a stationary roadside control device or by means of a mobile roadside control device. A stationary roadside control device may be formed, for example, by a control bridge. A mobile roadside control device may be formed for example by a suitably trained control vehicle.

The above object to be solved is further achieved by a toll system for tracking toll vehicles with the features of claim 17. Advantageous developments result from implementing the features of the above-mentioned method steps and embodiments.

Accordingly, a toll system for tracking toll vehicles is provided, comprising a data processing device, a crime scene database communicating with the data processing device, and at least one roadside control device. According to the invention, the data processing device is set up to determine, in response to a control data record generated by one of the control devices, which comprises a license-pending vehicle registration number and the corresponding acquisition time, whether a first first or second license number exists in the offense database for the detected license plate Toll-infringement notice exists and, in the event of a toll-infringement notice, associate the first toll-infringing notice with the control data record.

Furthermore, a computer program product is provided which comprises software code sections that can be loaded into an internal memory of a data processing device that is communicatively coupled to at least one crime database and that, when executed by the data processing device, cause the data processing device to perform the method described above perform.

Brief description of the figures

Figur 1

schematisch eine Darstellung eines Mautsystems zur Verfolgung mautpflichtiger Fahrzeuge,

Figur 2

ein schematisches Ablaufdiagramm des Verfahrens zur Verfolgung mautpflichtiger Fahrzeuge in einem Mautsystem, und

Figur 3

eine schematische Darstellung einer zentralen Datenverarbeitungseinrichtung des Mautsystems zur Durchführung des Verfahrens.

Preferred further embodiments and aspects of the present invention are explained in more detail by the following description of the figures. Showing:

FIG. 1

schematic representation of a toll system for the pursuit of toll vehicles,

FIG. 2

a schematic flow diagram of the method for tracking toll vehicles in a toll system, and

FIG. 3

a schematic representation of a central data processing device of the toll system for performing the method.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

In the following, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the figures. In this case, identical, similar or equivalent elements in the different figures are denoted by identical reference numerals and a repeated description of these elements is omitted in order to avoid redundancies.

In FIG. 1 schematically a toll system 200 for tracking toll vehicles 102 is shown, with a toll road surface 100 is provided, for example in the form of a highway, on which a toll vehicle 102 drives along. The toll vehicle 102 has inter alia a license plate 104, wherein the license plate 104 may be, for example, the conventionally known license plate or license plate. Other forms of identification may also be included here, for example another optical or electronic identification, by means of which a toll vehicle 102 is clearly identified and which can be detected automatically.

The toll collection system 200 includes toll-detecting vehicles 102, inter alia, a road-side control device 202, which is provided in the embodiment shown in the form of a control bridge, which spans the toll road surface 100. Such control bridges are known in principle and allow detection of license plate 104 and other parameters and properties of toll vehicles 104 on all lanes of the toll road surface 100. A detection can take place essentially directly from the front. However, the roadside control device 202 can also be designed in the form of a control device arranged on the edge of the toll road surface 100, which makes it possible to detect the license plates 104 and other parameters of the toll vehicles 104 from the lateral position. In this case, each roadway of the toll road surface 100 is preferably assigned its own roadside control device 202.

The road-side control device 202 has detection devices 204, 204 ', which in the exemplary embodiment shown are in the form of optical detection devices, by means of which the license plates 104 toll motor vehicles 102 are read out can. For this purpose, for example, cameras are installed in the control devices 202, which enable read-out of the license plates 104 of the toll-transmitting vehicles 102 passing through the control device 202. It is also possible to provide further sensors and receivers by means of which further parameters and characteristics of the toll-liable vehicles 102 passing the roadside control device 202 can be determined.

The identifiers 104 read out by the control device 202 or the optical detection device 204 are fed to a central data processing device 206, which can be arranged centrally, for example, at the location of the operator of the toll system. However, the central data processing device 206 may also be distributed and correspondingly constructed of a plurality of interconnected computers or processors that are not locally in a single physical location. The system can also be structured as a distributed system or as a cloud system. The data acquired by at least two, preferably by a plurality or a plurality of roadside controllers 202 are fed to the central data processing device 206.

The central data processing device 206 is connected to a toll database 208 of the toll system 200. In the offense database 208, data records are stored which link the license plate 104 of a toll vehicle 102 with a first toll-infringing notification associated with this license plate. These records stored in the offense database 208 were acquired by the roadside controller 202 before the actual detection timing of the current detection of the toll vehicle 102. In other words, the offense database 208 contains toll fraud notifications with correspondingly associated vehicle license plates which have not yet been checked or punished and which have been recorded in the past. The data records present in the offense database 208 are correspondingly historical toll-infringement notices of toll vehicles 102 which have not yet been checked or punished.

The central data processing device 206 checks on receipt of a control data record from the roadside control device 202, which includes a license plate 104 of the toll-bound vehicle 102 detected by the roadside control device 202, in the Deliktdatenbank 208, whether this record 104 in the crime database 208 is already stored a record with a toll refusal notice.

The data processing can also be carried out in a data processing device 205 of the control device 202. The data processing device 205 may have a data memory 203 which is provided for the temporary storage or for the permanent storage of data. Accordingly, alternatively, the data processing device 205 of the control device 202 can perform the determination. For this purpose, the data processing device 205 of the control device 202 in the embodiment shown is in communication with the offense database 208, which may be a copy or a locally stored version of the offense database 208 in order to improve the performance.

If a toll-infringing notice is already stored in the offense database 208 for the detected license plate 104 of the tolled vehicle 102, the toll-infringing notification is associated with the license plate and together with the control data record via a corresponding transmission device 210, for example mobile radio, to a mobile display device 212, which for example in a control vehicle 214. In this case, a transmission from the control device 202 or from the data processing device 205 of the control device 202 via mobile radio can be transmitted directly to the mobile display device (214). Alternatively, this can also take place via a schematically represented transmission device 210, which is in communication with the central data processing device 206, via mobile radio to the mobile display device 214.

On the mobile display device 212, the control record comprising the license plate 104 of the toll vehicle 102 being recorded and the time of its detection and the toll-related notice associated therewith, which has been taken from the offense database 208, are displayed.

The inspector can accordingly recognize on the display of the mobile display device 212 that the toll vehicle 102 which has passed the roadside control device 202 has already committed or suspected a toll violation prior to the current detection time.

Accordingly, the controller may decide to divert, check and possibly prosecute that vehicle.

By means of the central data processing device 206, it is furthermore possible to determine from the control data record transmitted by the roadside control device 202 whether there is also a toll violation at the time of detection, ie the time of detection of the toll vehicle 102 by the roadside control device 202. If this is the case, then this second toll violation is also transmitted to the mobile display device 212. The determination of whether there is a potential toll violation is carried out in the data processing device 206 on the basis of the data determined by the roadside control device 202 for the respective toll vehicle 102 as well as from the data made available in a database using known analysis methods.

Instead of the central data processing device 206, a determination as to whether a first toll infringement notice is present in the offense database 208 for the license plate can also be carried out in a data processing device arranged in the roadside control device 202 or in a data processing device directly associated therewith, wherein the roadside control device 202 directly associated data processing device then either has access to a central offense database 208, or has a locally stored copy of the offense database 208.

In FIG. 2 schematically shows a flowchart of the method steps for the pursuit of toll vehicles in a toll system.

In step S10, first, a license plate of a toll vehicle is detected by a roadside control device. This detection and the sensors and method steps used for this purpose are known in principle.

In step S12, a control record is formed, which includes the flag and the detection time of the flag.

In step S14, it is checked whether there is already a toll-infringing notice in a toll database of the toll system for the tag included in the check record. If this is not the case, the query ends from the crime database.

If there is a toll violation notice for the detected license plate in the toll database of the toll system, then the control data record and the then associated toll notification is transmitted to the mobile display device in step S16.

The control record is then displayed on the mobile display device in step S18 along with the associated toll violation indication.

Accordingly, it can be achieved in this way that it is checked for each detected license plate of a toll vehicle whether there is an already present in the past toll infringement notice and, if so, the toll notice is transmitted to the mobile display device.

Here, the toll-infringement notice is preferably transmitted to a mobile display device of the controller, which is connected to the respective road-side detection device or which of these is associated. In this case, a controller is usually either stationed directly on a roadside detection device, or he is stationed in the direction of travel after such a roadside detection device. This stationing is preferably arranged between the roadside detection device and a subsequent departure from the toll road surface in order to potentially be able to control and discharge all vehicles detected by the roadside detection device.

However, the control record and the associated tamper indication may also be communicated to a mobile display device of another controller which is in a different relationship with the roadside detection means.

An exemplary central data processing device 206 of the toll system 200 for carrying out the method is shown as a block diagram in FIG FIG. 3 shown. In this central data processing device, instructions are executed, for example in the form of software code sections, so that the data processing device 206 is set up to perform one or more of the method steps and functions described herein.

The central data processing device 206 may include only a single computer. It can also be a distributed system ( "distributed system "). In one embodiment, the central data processing device 206 is a single, preferably physically demarcated, computer. In another embodiment, this is a distributed system, that is, multiple independent computers that are interconnected and interact with each other to appear to a user as a single coherent system. In the latter case, each of the computers would have at least one processor with internal memory. The several computers of the computing device then work autonomously but functionally coordinated.

The exemplary central data processing device 206 comprises a central processor 220 (for example a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or both) with an internal memory, a central main memory 222 and a central static memory 224 which are interconnected via a Bus 226 communicatively coupled. The central data processing device 206 may also be communicatively coupled to a user interface. This user interface may include a display unit 228 (eg, a flat panel display or the like) and a first input unit 230 (eg, a touch screen, input keys, a scroll wheel, a joystick, a touch pad, a mouse, or a voice recognition system) and a second input unit 232 (for example, a touch screen, input keys, a scroll wheel, a joystick, a touch pad, a mouse or a voice recognition system). Of course, the user interface may include the display unit 228 and the input unit (s) in a single integrated device, such as a touch screen. Finally, the central data processing device 206 also includes a central data memory 234, a signal generating device 236 and a central communication device 238, which are communicatively connected to one another via the bus 226.

The central data storage 234 includes a machine readable medium 240 having stored thereon software code portions and data (e.g., instructions 242) required for the methods and functions of the computing device described herein. During operation of the central data processing device 206, the instructions 242 may also be, at least partially, loaded into the main memory 222 and / or the internal memory of the processor 220, wherein the main memory 222 and the internal memory of the processor 220 are also machine-readable Media acts.

However, the instructions 242 may also be communicated or received over a network 244 by the central communication device 238 using one of the numerous known transmission protocols (eg, TCP / IP, HTTP).

While the machine-readable medium 240 (which is preferably non-transitory) in an exemplary embodiment is a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" includes both a single medium and multiple media (eg, a central or distributed database, and any buffers associated therewith ("Cache") and server), which store the instructions 242 in the form of software code sections. The term "machine-readable medium" also includes any medium suitable to store, encode or carry instructions 242. This can be a solid state memory, an optical or a magnetic memory. Exemplary embodiments of the central computing device 206 may be implemented in digital circuits or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof.

Furthermore, the toll database 208 is connected to the bus 226 of the central data processing device 206 in the exemplary embodiment shown. Technically, this is also a data memory which can be designed in the manner described above. The data store of the offense database 208 can also be formed in a known manner by a database server, which is technically connected to a mass storage device, for example a RAID network of hard disks. The data of the offense database 208 is then stored in the mass storage and the access is organized by the database server in a known manner.

Where applicable, all individual features illustrated in the individual embodiments may be combined and / or interchanged without departing from the scope of the invention.

Bezuhszeichenliste

100

traffic area

102

toll vehicle

104

Mark

200

toll system

202

control device

203

data storage

204

detection devices

205

Data processing device

206

central data processing device

208

Crime database

210

transmission equipment

211

data storage

212

display device

214

checker vehicle

220

processor

222

main memory

224

static memory

226

bus

228

display unit

230

first input unit

232

second input unit

234

central data storage

236

Signal generator

238

central communication device

240

machine-readable medium

242

instructions

244

network

Claims (16)

A method for tracking toll vehicles (102) in a toll collection system (200) having at least one data processing device (205, 206) in communication with a badge database (208) and at least one roadside controller (202), wherein in the bad debt database (208) are stored in each case associated with license plates of toll vehicles first toll-infringement information, comprising the steps: Detecting at least one license plate (104) of a toll vehicle (102) by means of the roadside control device (202), - forming a control data record which comprises the identifier (104) of the recorded toll vehicle (102) and the time of its detection, Determining, by the data processing device (205, 206), whether there is already a first toll infringement notice detected in the offense database (208) for the detected identifier (104), if there is a first toll violation indication for the detected tag (104) in the tag database (208), associating the first toll gate with the control record. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the associated with the first toll violation notice control record in a data memory (203, 208, 211, 222) is stored, preferably in the offense database (208) associated to one of the central data processing means (206) data memory ( 222), a data memory (203) associated with the roadside control device (202), a data memory (211) associated with a transmission device (210) or a further data memory. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the toll offense indications stored in the offense database (208) are detected by previously detecting at least one license plate (104) of a tolled vehicle (102) by means of a roadside controller (202) and determining if a toll violation the toll vehicle (102) is present. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is determined whether there is another toll violation at the time of detection and in the presence of another toll violation, a second toll violation alert is generated and this second toll violation alert is associated with the control record, preferably determining whether a Toll infringement is also present at the time of detection, in the central data processing device (206) and / or the control device (202) is performed. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control data record and at least the associated first toll infringement notification are transmitted to a mobile display device (212) and the control data record and at least the first toll infringement notification associated therewith are displayed on the mobile display device (212). Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the offense database (208) a toll-infringement data record is stored which shows the first toll-infringing notification, the associated license plate (104), the time of detection of the toll violation and a position identifier of the toll-detecting control device (208). 202), wherein the toll violation record is associated with the control record. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the road-side control device (202) has a position identifier and the position identifier of the control device (202) which has acquired the mark of the toll vehicle (102) is included in the control data record. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first toll-infringing notice is detected at a time before the detection time by means of a control device (202) and is transmitted to the central data processing device (206). A method according to claim 8, characterized in that the first toll notice together with the associated tag (104), the time of detection of the toll violation and the position identifier of the toll collection detecting means (202) in a toll violation record in the Delict database (208) of the central data processing device (206) is stored, preferably when a settlement of the toll violation is not signaled within a predetermined time period from the time of detection to the central data processing device (206). A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that toll toll records stored in the crime database (208) are communicated to all the controllers (202) or the crime database (208) provides the stored toll infringement records to all controllers (202) and determining whether a license plate number of the Control record (104) of a toll violation record is performed in a control device (202), preferably in the control device (202) which has detected the flag (104) at the detection time point. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the central data processing device (206) it is determined whether there is more than one toll violation indication for the determined identifier (104) at the time of detection and if there is more than one toll violation indication generates a prioritization indication and with the Control record is communicated to the mobile display device (212) and displayed on this together with the control record and the toll notice. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the toll notice includes an identification of the type of toll violation and based on the type of toll violation on the basis of a weighting table present in a central or decentralized prioritization database, a corresponding prioritization notice is generated and connected to the control record the mobile display device (212) is communicated and displayed on the mobile display device (212) along with the control record and the toll-prohibiting alert. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mobile display device is included in a control vehicle for tracking detected toll vehicles is carried in this or by this is provided and / or the mobile display device of a mobile device, preferably mobile computer, tablet computer or smartphone, is included. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the toll-infringement data sets present in the crime database (208) are inactivated or deleted in the event of an event, the event preferably exceeding a time period from the time of detection of the first toll-infringing alert and / or the signaling a settlement of the toll violation to the central data processing device (206). Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one license plate (104) of a toll vehicle (102) is detected by means of a stationary roadside control device (202) or by means of a mobile roadside control device. Tolling system (200) for tracking tolled vehicles (102), comprising a data processing device (205, 206), a crime database (208) communicating with the data processing device (205, 206), and at least one roadside control device (202)
characterized in that the data processing device (205, 206) is set up to in response to a control record produced by one of the control devices (202), which comprises a license plate (104) of a toll vehicle (102) detected by the control device and the associated acquisition time, to determine whether there is a first toll infringement notice in the offense database (208) for the detected license plate (104) prior to the acquisition time and, in the event of a toll violation notice, associating the first toll violation notice with the control record.

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