JP2000149075A - Automatic nonstop toll-collecting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit the result of transfer of information between a toll gate and an automobile in a language, which is selected by a driver himself by performing display regarding collection of a toll on the toll gate side in a language, which is selected by an on-vehicle machine and giving information to the driver from the on-vehicle machine by means of voice. SOLUTION: A language selecting part 13 to select plural language prepared in advance is provided with a switch 13a to select English, a switch 13b to select Spanish, a switch 13c to select Chinese, for example. The signal corresponding to the selected language is outputted from the on-vehicle machine and transmitted to the toll gate via an antenna 6, by selecting the language through depressing either of the switches 13a to 13c. Furthermore, display, for example in selected English is done on a display part 14 to display information like a tool, etc., which is calculated at the toll gate in the selected language. In addition, the same voice output as the display contents is announced from a speaker SP in the language selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a well-known non-stop automatic toll collection system, which is characterized in that it is mounted on a vehicle running on a toll road and is required for toll collection with a tollgate. A function to select multiple languages in the vehicle-mounted device that sends and receives important information, and to send a signal related to the selected language to the toll booth, and to select the desired language by the driver, The display is performed in the language selected by the vehicle-mounted device, and the same message from the toll gate as the displayed content can be output by voice from the vehicle-mounted device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is well known that a non-stop toll collection system on toll roads has already been featured in many newspapers, magazines, etc., and that various proposals have been made by many applicants including the present applicant. It is at the place.

[0003] By the way, in many conventional systems in Japan, the language used for information transmission is mainly Japanese, and some of them use English in combination. Very few. The non-stop toll collection system will be operated in Japan in the future, but there is a problem in providing various information to drivers on toll roads only in Japanese.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Although the number of foreigners tends to increase in recent years, most foreigners except for some foreigners who can understand Japanese well cannot say that communication in Japanese is sufficient. I want to. For this reason, Japanese language alone is not sufficient for public institutions such as government offices in areas with many foreigners, and foreign languages such as English and Spanish are used together with Japanese. On the other hand, the number of opportunities for foreigners to drive cars in Japan for business and other purposes is also increasing, and the number of foreigners who have private cars is increasing, although the absolute number is small. Therefore, there is a risk that misunderstandings may occur due to differences in languages even on toll roads. To prevent this, it is desirable to have staff who can speak foreign languages at each toll booth, but it is difficult in practice. In particular, in the non-stop automatic toll collection system that will be deployed on toll roads in the future, consideration must be given to avoiding misunderstanding due to language differences more than the conventional system that temporarily stops at the tollgate.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a driver can select a desired language from a plurality of languages (for example, English, Spanish, and Chinese) prepared in the vehicle-mounted device, and the selected language can be selected. A function to transmit signals related to the language selected by the driver is transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device to the toll booth, and the display on the toll booth is performed in the language selected by the driver. The on-board unit is configured to play audio by voice, while on the other hand, if none of the languages prepared from the on-board unit is selected, the display and voice output are automatically performed in Japanese. is there.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an exit tollgate (hereinafter simply referred to as "tollgate"), and the tollgate 1 is provided with various facilities. However, only the part which is the gist of the present invention is shown here. 2 is a passage inside the tollgate, 3 is a passage separation zone separating the adjacent passage from the above passage 2,
Reference numeral 4 denotes a vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle device 5 having a function of exchanging information regarding a fee with a tollgate, and the vehicle 4 travels in the direction of a thick arrow. Reference numeral 6 denotes a transmitting / receiving antenna mounted on the vehicle 4, which is connected to the vehicle-mounted device 5. 7 is a gate-shaped support provided over the passage 2, 8 is a transmitting / receiving antenna of a tollgate mounted on the upper portion of the support 7, and 9 is radiated downward from the antenna 8 toward the passage 2. Beam 10, path 9 by beam 9
This is a communication area formed in. Numeral 11 denotes an information processor of a tollgate, which processes information relating to the toll of the toll vehicle obtained via the antenna 8 and performs processing such as calculating the toll. Reference numeral 12 denotes a display for displaying a fee related to a car passing through the tollgate, and performs a required display in Japanese or a selected language. GS is a ground-type vehicle detector provided at a predetermined position near the display 12 ahead of the communication area 10 in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and has an on-board unit that exchanges information with a tollgate. The detected vehicle is detected, and a detection signal is provided to the information processing device 11.

Next, the main part of the vehicle-mounted device 5 will be described. The vehicle-mounted device 5 has a function corresponding to an electronic money system such as a function of deducting a toll from electronic money and electronic money held in a recording medium and rewriting the remaining balance after deduction into a recording medium, Here, they are not a part of the gist of the invention, and therefore will be omitted. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 13 denotes a language selection unit for selecting a plurality of languages prepared in advance, for example, a switch 13 for selecting English.
a, a switch 13b for selecting Spanish and a switch 13c for selecting Chinese are provided. When a switch is pressed to select a language, a signal corresponding to the selected language is output from the vehicle-mounted device 5. It is transmitted to the tollgate via the antenna 6. A display unit 14 displays information such as a toll calculated at a tollgate in a selected language. Here, a display example in English is shown.
In addition, the same audio output as the display content flows from the speaker SP in the selected language.

FIG. 3 illustrates the relationship between the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the information processing device 11 of the tollgate 1 more specifically.

First, the vehicle-mounted device 5 will be described. In the figure, a language selection signal generated by pressing a plurality of language selection switches 13a to 13c of the language selection unit 13 is given to a language code converter 15 and coded. If none of the three switches 13a to 13c is pressed, that is, if the display in a foreign language is not desired, the display in Japanese is naturally performed. The code corresponding to the word is output. The language code converter 15 includes a memory 16 in which a code corresponding to a language is stored, and a code reading circuit 17. First, the case of Japanese will be described. If you did not select any of the switches 13 a to 13 c, the inverting gate and the input contact signal S ₁ to S ₃ resulting from three switches 13 a to 13 c 1
Since all of the inputs 8 are logical "0", the output is "1" and the Japanese area of the memory 16 is accessed. As a result, the code X0 corresponding to Japanese is read from the code reading circuit 17 and applied to the antenna 6 through the transmission / reception unit 19. Next, a case other than Japanese, that is, a case where one of the switches 13a to 13c is operated to select a language will be described. For example, if the switch 13a is operated to select English, the code X1 corresponding to English is read from the memory 16 and transmitted to the tollgate 1 via the transmitting / receiving unit 19 and the antenna 6. At this time, the output of the inversion gate 18 is "0". The same applies when Spanish or Chinese other than English is selected.

Next, the action on the tollgate 1 side will be described. The code transmitted from the antenna 6 of the vehicle 4 is received by the antenna 8 on the tollgate 1 side and input to the transceiver 20. The code input to the transceiver 20 is discriminated by the code discriminator 21, and it is confirmed whether the code is one of X0 to X3. A _{0 to} A ₃ are the above code discriminators 2
Output S corresponding to the code X0~X3 as determined by 1 ₀ -
A gate provided for S _3, gate A ₀ ~
The output is input to one input terminal of each of A ₃ . 22 is a control circuit for transceiver 20 outputs a control signal with a reception of the information from the vehicle side, one CS ₁ of the output of the control circuit 22 is the gate A ₀ to A ₃ each other inputs Commonly input to the end. Therefore, if the output S ₀ occurs, the gate A ₀
Is opened, and the Japanese corresponding to the code X0 in the memory 23 is accessed and output. The gate A ₁ is encoded X1 That output is English opens if the output S _1. Hereinafter, similarly, when the outputs S ₂ and S ₃ are generated, the gates A ₂ ,
Language corresponding to the code X2, X3 of A ₃ opens the memory 23 is adapted to output. That is, one of English, Spanish, and Chinese is output. Also, if selecting the language without operating any of the switches 13 a to 13 c, the output S ₀ is generated from the code discriminator 21 gates A
₀ opens and Japanese is output. The language thus read out is output via the language readout unit 24 and given to the display content synthesizing unit 25. The combining means 25 combines the toll calculated by the toll calculating means 26 with the language read from the memory in accordance with a procedure which has been promised in advance and synthesizes the display contents as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows an example of displaying a toll fee of 1,500 yen in English. The signal 27 of the display content synthesized in this way is further input to a voice synthesis output device 28, converted into a signal 29 for voice conversion same as the display content, and given to the transmitter / receiver 20 of the tollgate, and the antenna 8 Is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 5 via the. In the vehicle-mounted device that has received the signal for voice conversion together with the display content signal, the converted signal output from the transmission / reception unit 19 is amplified by the amplifier 30, and then is passed to the speaker SP and output as voice. The display content synthesizing means 25 is the same as a widely known voice synthesizing means, and the necessary words and terms are corresponded to a plurality of languages depending on what is displayed on the tollgate 1 side and how. Then, the calculated toll is combined with the calculated toll based on the display method. The same applies to audio output, and the same output content is output as audio.

Next, the display by the display 12 and the vehicle detector G
The relationship with S will be described. In non-stop toll collection, the vehicle 4 arriving at the tollgate 1 passes through the tollgate 1 without being temporarily stopped at the tollgate 1, and information on toll collection and toll collection is performed during the passage. . Therefore, the display and the sound output corresponding to a certain vehicle among the vehicles passing through the tollgate 1 one after another cannot be continued forever. When the vehicle arrives at a certain point, the display and the sound output corresponding to the vehicle are changed. Need to stop. In the figure, M is a 1-bit memory in which two inversion gates N ₁ and N ₂ are cross-connected. A control signal CS ₂ generated from the control circuit 22 is applied to one input terminal of one gate N _1.
Is input, the output of the memory M becomes “1”, and the control signal CS ₂ is input to one input terminal of the AND gate A. On the other hand, the output from the language reader 24 is given to the other input terminal of the gate A. Therefore, the display content is given to the display 12 through the gate A and displayed, and is also given to the speech synthesis output device 27. Also,
The display content is also provided to the transceiver 20, transmitted to the vehicle 4, and displayed on the display unit 14 of the vehicle-mounted device 5 mounted on the vehicle 4 as shown in FIG. Also, the same content as the display content is output as audio from the speaker SP. In such a configuration, if reaching the vehicle detector GS and the vehicle is moved, the detection signal is supplied to a gate N _2, the output of the memory M is reversed. As a result, the display of the vehicle is deleted, and a display corresponding to the following vehicle is made.

The above embodiment is merely an example, and various forms can be adopted depending on the form of a tollgate, traffic volume, and the like, and the hardware configuration of the system uses the latest technology at the time of system construction. It goes without saying that it is composed. For example, the ground detector type is also an example of the vehicle detector, and it goes without saying that there are various types such as a type using a light beam, an ultrasonic beam, and a radio wave.

[0013]

According to the present invention, the result of the information exchange between the toll booth and the car can be transmitted not only in Japanese but also in the language selected by the foreign driver himself. The effect is large in operation. Furthermore, since the message from the toll booth is transmitted to the driver by display and voice, it is possible to cover oversight and omission.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Exit tollgate, 2 passages, 3 passage separation zone, 4 vehicles, 5 on-board equipment, 6 antennas, 7 supports, 8 transmitting and receiving antennas, 9 beams, 10 communication areas, 11 information processing units, 12 displays, 13 language selection Unit, 14 display unit, 15 language code converter, 16 memory, 17
Code reading circuit, 18 inversion gate, 19 transmitting / receiving unit, 20 transmitting / receiving device, 21 code discriminator, 22 control circuit, 23 memory, 24 language reading device, 25 display synthesizing means, 26 toll calculating means, 27 signal,
28 voice synthesis output device, 29 signals, 30 amplifier,
AAND gate, CS signal, GS vehicle detector, M
Memory, N AND gate, S signal, SP speaker, X code.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3E027 EA01 EB01 EC04 EC05 EC07 EC10 5B091 AA04 BA05 BA12 CB02 CB22 CB32 CD15

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A toll booth is provided with information regarding toll collection between an on-board unit mounted on a vehicle traveling on a toll road and a tollgate, and a toll is collected without stopping the vehicle at the tollgate. In the non-stop automatic toll collection system, the driver can select a desired language from a plurality of languages prepared in advance in the above-mentioned on-board unit, and transmits a signal relating to the selected language. Providing means for transmitting the message from the to the voice, the display related to the toll collection at the toll gate by transmitting a signal related to the language selected by the on-board unit to the toll booth, by performing the display in the language selected by the on-board unit,
A non-stop automatic toll collection system, in which the driver is notified by voice from the on-board unit. 2. A code is attached to each of a plurality of languages selected by the on-board unit, and the selected code is transmitted from the on-board unit to the toll booth. 2. The non-stop automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, wherein a display related to collection is displayed, and a signal for voice output in a selected language is transmitted to the on-board unit. 3. A display relating to toll collection and voice output from the on-board unit are performed in Japanese if none of a plurality of languages prepared in advance so that the on-board unit can be selected. The non-stop automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, wherein: 4. An on-vehicle device which is provided with a vehicle detector at a predetermined position in the traveling direction of a vehicle with respect to a communication area for performing communication between the on-vehicle device and a tollgate, and exchanges information with the tollgate. 2. The non-stop automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, wherein when a vehicle equipped with a vehicle is detected by the detector, the display corresponding to the vehicle and the sound output by the vehicle-mounted device are stopped.