JP2002216194A - On-vehicle etc device for toll road automatic toll collection system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that a capacity increases and driving view is interfered when an on-vehicle ETC(electronic toll collection) device and a prepaid card-type radio telephone set are arranged in individual casings and both devices are required to be made common for reducing the occupied space. SOLUTION: The device incorporates the signal processing function of the prepaid card-type radio telephone set and has a reading/rewriting means used in common for the reading and writing of the telephone card of the prepaid card-type radio telephone set and the ETC card of the toll road automatic toll collection system. A receiver used in common for a transmitter microphone and an informing loudspeaker is disposed as the hands-free device of the prepaid card-type radio telephone set.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toll road automatic toll collection system for exchanging toll information by performing wireless communication between a roadside device installed at a tollgate on a toll road and a vehicle-mounted device mounted on a vehicle. (Electronic Toll Collectio
n System: hereinafter referred to as ETC).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration example of a conventional general vehicle-mounted ETC device. In the figure, 10
Reference numeral 1 denotes an ETC transmission / reception antenna for transmitting / receiving ETC radio waves, and reference numeral 102 denotes a transmission / reception unit for modulating a transmission signal and demodulating a reception signal. 103 is a control unit mainly composed of a microcomputer, 104 is an encryption / decryption unit,
Reference numeral 105 denotes a display unit, 106 denotes an IC card interface unit, and 107 denotes an IC card dedicated to ETC. Reference numeral 108 denotes a voice synthesis unit, and 109 denotes a speaker.

Next, the operation will be described. The in-vehicle ETC device has an insertion slot for an IC card 107 dedicated to ETC issued by a credit company, into which the IC card 107 is inserted. The IC card interface unit 106 reads the data of the IC card 107, and encrypts / decrypts the data.
Decrypts the encrypted data and sends it to the control unit 103. The control unit 103 determines the validity of the card, and starts a normal operation when it determines that the card is valid.

When a vehicle passes through a gate provided with a roadside ETC device at the entrance of a toll road, a transmission / reception antenna (not shown) of the roadside ETC device installed above the gate and an E (not shown).
Data communication is performed between the TC transmitting / receiving antenna 101. In the vehicle-mounted ETC device, the transmission data is transmitted to the control unit 10.
3 to a transmission / reception antenna 101 for ETC via a transmission / reception unit 102 including a modulation circuit. The received data is demodulated by the transmission / reception unit 102 including the demodulation circuit, and the control unit 1
It is led to 03.

[0005] At the beginning of the communication, ID data of the vehicle is transmitted from the vehicle-mounted ETC device, and an authentication operation is performed with the roadside ETC device to determine whether or not the vehicle is a registered vehicle. When the authentication is completed, for example, at the entrance of the toll road, first, a lane instruction to the main gate is sent to the on-vehicle ETC device by communication at a notice gate installed in front of the main gate. In-vehicle ET
The C device receives this instruction signal, interprets it in the control unit 103, synthesizes a guidance voice such as “Please proceed to the right lane” in the voice synthesis unit 108, and notifies the speaker 109 of the guidance voice. At the same time, an instruction such as “to the right” is displayed on the display unit 105. The vehicle proceeds to the main gate at the entrance of the toll road according to these instructions. Next, data such as entrance information and passing time is received from the roadside ETC device of this gate. The control unit 103 guides this to the encryption / decryption unit 104 and encrypts it. The encrypted data is written to the IC card 107 as an entrance passage history by the IC card interface unit 106.

Thereafter, when passing through the exit gate of the toll road, the toll road passage section is specified by the road side ETC device on the exit side, and billing information of the section is sent to the on-vehicle ETC device and written into the IC card 107. . As a result, credit settlement is performed at a later date from the bank account of the owner of the IC card 107.

Conventional on-vehicle ETC devices are limited to ETC-only applications and operate effectively when using a toll road. That is, there was no use in an area not related to ETC. However, in-vehicle ETC
In the device, in order to ensure communication with the roadside ETC device installed at the gate of the toll road, the on-vehicle unit including the antenna is, for example, a place with a wide outside view such as near the center of the front control of the vehicle, as a vehicle It occupies valuable limited space.

On the other hand, as a device using a card, a prepaid card type portable radio telephone has become widespread. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a general prepaid card type mobile phone. In the figure, 201 is a transmitting / receiving antenna for telephone, 202 is a receiving unit, 203 is a transmitting unit,
04 is a control unit, 205 is a receiver, 206 is a transmitter, 20
Reference numeral 8 denotes a card reading / rewriting unit, and reference numeral 209 denotes a prepaid card.

Next, the operation will be described. Radio waves received from the mobile phone base station are received by the telephone transmitting / receiving antenna 201 and demodulated by the receiving unit 202. A transmission radio wave from the transmission unit 203 is emitted by the telephone transmission / reception antenna 201. The control unit 204 includes the display / operation unit 20
In response to the operation signal from the receiver 7, the receiver 205 receives the received signal from the receiver 202 and reproduces the received sound into voice. Control unit 2
04 transmits the voice signal received by the transmitter 206 to the transmitting unit 203
And controls the display on the display / operation unit 207 according to the operation state.

When the prepaid card 209 is inserted into the card insertion slot of the card reading / rewriting unit 208, the card reading / rewriting unit 208
You can read the remaining call frequency that is written in advance,
It is rewritten according to the usage time. Control unit 204
Performs an operation of extracting a billing information signal from the received signal of the receiving unit 202, controlling the card reading / rewriting unit 208 based on the signal, and writing the card into the prepaid card 209.

[0011]

Since the conventional vehicle-mounted ETC device is configured as described above, its installation location is as follows.
This is a very convenient place considering that a wireless telephone is installed and a call is made via a hands-free device. But,
Installing the in-vehicle ETC device and the prepaid card type wireless telephone in separate housings may increase the volume and obstruct the view of driving, and it is necessary to share both to reduce the occupied space. There were challenges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and incorporates the functions of a prepaid card type radio telephone in a single housing to form a part for sharing the functions and to provide a high value-added toll road. An object of the present invention is to obtain an in-vehicle ETC device for an automatic toll collection system.

[0013]

An on-vehicle ETC device of an automatic toll collection system for toll roads according to the present invention has a built-in signal processing function of a prepaid card type radio telephone, and a telephone card for the prepaid card type radio telephone. It has read / write means for reading and writing ETC cards of an automatic road toll collection system, and has a handset as a hands-free device for the prepaid card type radio telephone, and a microphone for a transmitter and a receiver for sharing a notification speaker. It is a thing.

The vehicle-mounted ETC device of the toll road automatic toll collection system according to the present invention uses one or more of a control unit, a display unit, an operation unit, an antenna installation site, and the like in common with a prepaid card wireless telephone.

The on-vehicle ETC device of the toll road automatic toll collection system according to the present invention shares the control unit, and when the vehicle approaches the entrance or exit gate of the toll road during a telephone call,
The control section prompts an alarm to end the call through a speaker operating as a receiver, and then operates to interrupt the call.

In the vehicle-mounted ETC device of the toll road automatic toll collection system according to the present invention, a telephone transmitting / receiving antenna and an ETC transmitting / receiving antenna are integrally formed by pattern printing on an antenna installation site such as a ceramic substrate.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of an in-vehicle ETC device of the toll road automatic toll collection system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the figure, 1a is a transmitting / receiving antenna for ETC, 1b is a transmitting / receiving antenna for telephone, 2a is a card slot, and 3a is a display. 4a, 4b, 4c,
, 4x are operation buttons, 5 is a card, 6 is a speaker, and 7 is a microphone. An ETC transmission / reception antenna 1a is mounted on the upper surface of the inside of a resin housing. This ETC
It communicates with the roadside ETC device installed at the entrance or exit gate of the toll road via the transmission / reception antenna 1a. Further, the telephone transmitting / receiving antenna 1b protrudes upward from the inside of the housing, thereby transmitting and receiving a wireless telephone. A card insertion slot 2a, a display 3a, and operation buttons 4a, 4b, 4c,..., 4x are arranged on a front panel of the housing. The speaker 6 and the microphone 7 form a hands-free device by respective wires connected to the housing.

Next, the operation will be described. When the card 5 is inserted into the card insertion slot 2a, the in-vehicle ETC device reads the card information and determines whether the card 5 can be used. If the card 5 is a telephone card or ET
The card for C is also determined. If it can be used, "OK" is displayed on the display 3a by the detection output to indicate that a telephone call is possible or that the in-vehicle ETC device has started operation.

The operation buttons 4a, 4b, 4c,...
It is used for various TC settings and for entering a number when making a call. The speaker 6 connected to the housing of the in-vehicle ETC device via a wire functions as a voice guidance using a synthetic sound for notifying a fee or the like in ETC and as a hands-free receiver of a wireless telephone. The microphone 7 also connected to the housing of the vehicle-mounted ETC device by a wire is a hands-free transmitter of a wireless telephone, and the speaker 6 and the microphone 7 are mounted near the driver's seat.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the on-vehicle ETC device shown in FIG. 1, and the same or corresponding parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a control unit mainly including a microcomputer.
Reference numeral 20 denotes a card reading / writing unit, which constitutes a card reading / writing unit with the card insertion slot 2a. 100a is an ETC transmission / reception unit, and 200a is a telephone transmission / reception unit. 204 is an encryption / decryption unit, and 208 is a speech synthesis unit. The ETC transmission / reception antenna 1a is connected to the ETC transmission / reception unit 100a, and the telephone transmission / reception antenna 1b is connected to the telephone transmission / reception unit 200a. The ETC transmission / reception unit 100a and the telephone transmission / reception unit 200a are connected to the control unit 10. The card reading / rewriting unit 20 includes a control unit 10 and an encryption / decryption unit 204.
The encryption / decryption unit 204 is also connected to the control unit 10. Note that the telephone built into the in-vehicle ETC device is, for example, of the same type as the currently used prepaid card type wireless cellular phone, and can be used even if the prepaid card is replaced with the same type of portable device. When it is connected to an ETC device, it can be used as a hands-free telephone for in-vehicle use.

Next, the operation will be described. When the card 5 is inserted into the card insertion slot 2a, the card reading / rewriting unit 20
Reads out the card information and sends it to the control unit 10. Control unit 1
0 performs card authentication, and when it is determined that the card is a valid card, sends a command to the display unit 3 and displays “O” on the display 3a.
K ”. If Card 5 is a telephone card,
The operation of the telephone transmitting / receiving unit 200a is started. The operation unit 4 is provided with operation buttons 4a, 4b, 4c,..., 4x. The operation buttons 4a, 4b, 4c,. When the line is connected, the hands-free microphone 7 functions as a transmitter, and the speaker 6 functions as a receiver to enable a call. The received billing information is written to the card 5 by the control unit 10 via the card reading / rewriting unit 20, and is also displayed on the display unit 3.

On the other hand, when the card 5 is an ETC card, the control unit 10 obtains the read information of the card reading / rewriting unit 20 via the encryption / decryption unit 204, and transmits the ETC transmission / reception unit 100a, the ETC transmission / reception antenna It operates to communicate with the roadside ETC device via 1a. Information received from the roadside ETC device is displayed on the display unit 3 and the voice synthesis unit 2
08 to be notified from the speaker 6. The details of the operation of the ETC are the same as those described with reference to FIG.

As described above, the radio telephone function and the ETC communication function operate independently of each other. For example, if the user accidentally approaches the entrance or exit gate of a toll road during a telephone call, the radio wave from the roadside ETC device is transmitted. In response, the control unit 10 can prompt the speaker 6 to end the call by an alarm, and then operate to stop the call. Therefore, the driver must promptly replace the card 5 with an ETC card, which can prevent the ETC function from being hindered at the entrance of the toll road from being involved in a trouble. In addition, telephone cards and ETC
By using a common card, the above-described troubles can be prevented, the trouble of replacing the card can be eliminated, and the convenience for the user can be improved.

In the above description, as an example of the card reading / rewriting means, the card insertion slot 2a common to the telephone card and the ETC card is provided, but the card insertion slot is provided separately. In some cases, a configuration in which the card insertion slot is shared and the functions of reading and rewriting are separated may be considered. Furthermore, the configuration in which the hands-free device including the speaker 6 and the microphone 7 is connected by a wire has been described, but this is a so-called Bluetooth.
It can also be configured wirelessly by applying the th method.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the signal processing function is incorporated in the on-vehicle ETC device of the automatic toll collection system for toll roads, and the control means and the reading and reading of the card are performed.
Rewriting means, parts related to display and operation, parts for voice output, etc. are shared, so they can be compactly housed in one housing, and do not extremely occupy the installation space in front of the driver's seat, and are used for in-vehicle ETC devices Can be extended. In addition, when operating as a prepaid card type wireless telephone, an effect of enabling hands-free conversation can be obtained.

Embodiment 2 FIG. FIG. 3 shows an on-vehicle ETC of the toll road automatic toll collection system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
It is a perspective view showing the structure of the antenna of the device. In the figure, reference numeral 300 denotes a ceramic substrate, one surface of which is ETC.
Antenna 1a and telephone transmitting / receiving antenna 1b are integrally formed by pattern printing with copper foil. Since the transmitting and receiving antennas 1a and 1b are installed in the common portion 300 as described above, an effect that the size can be further reduced by integrally mounting the antennas in the housing can be obtained.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the in-vehicle ETC device of the toll road automatic toll collection system has a built-in signal processing function of the prepaid card type radio telephone, and the prepaid card type radio telephone has a signal processing function. A handset having read / write means for reading and writing a card and an ETC card of an automatic toll collection system for toll roads, and using a microphone for a transmitter and a speaker for notification as a hands-free device of the prepaid card type wireless telephone; Therefore, there is an effect that the in-vehicle ETC device can be effectively used as a wireless telephone even in an area not related to the roadside ETC device.

According to the present invention, one or more of the control unit, the display unit, the operation unit, the antenna installation site and the like are configured to be shared with the prepaid card type radio telephone.
Each part can be simplified, and the device can be reduced in size accordingly.

According to the present invention, the control unit is shared, and when approaching the vicinity of the entrance or exit gate of the toll road during a telephone call, the control unit uses the speaker operating as a handset to end the call. The system is configured so as to prompt the user with an alarm and then stop the call, so that there is an effect that it is possible to prevent the ETC function from being hindered at the entrance to the toll road from being involved in a trouble.

According to the present invention, the transmitting and receiving antenna for telephone and the transmitting and receiving antenna for ETC are formed integrally on the antenna installation site such as the ceramic substrate by pattern printing. This has the effect of being more compact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of an in-vehicle ETC device of an automatic toll road toll collection system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of an in-vehicle ETC device of the toll road automatic toll collection system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a structure of an antenna of an on-vehicle ETC device of an automatic toll road toll collection system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration example of a conventional general vehicle-mounted ETC device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration example of a conventional general prepaid card type mobile phone.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 101 ETC transmitting / receiving antenna, 1b, 201
Transmitting / receiving antenna for telephone, 2a card slot, 3 display section, 3a display, 4 operation section, 4a, 4b, 4c,
..., 4x operation buttons, 5 cards, 6 speakers, 7 microphones, 10, 103, 204 control unit, 20, 208
Card reading / rewriting unit, 100a ETC transmitting / receiving unit, 10
2 transmitting / receiving unit, 104, 204 encryption / decryption unit, 10
5 display unit, 106 IC card interface unit, 1
07 IC card, 108 voice synthesis unit, 109 speaker, 200a telephone transmitting / receiving unit, 202 receiving unit, 20
5 receiver, 206 transmitter, 209 prepaid card.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06K 19/00 U

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A signal processing function for a prepaid card type radio telephone, wherein the telephone card of the prepaid card type radio telephone and the toll road automatic toll collection system
It has read / write means for sharing reading and writing of the TC card, and is provided with a microphone for a transmitter and a receiver for sharing a speaker for notification as a hands-free device of the prepaid card type wireless telephone. In-vehicle ETC device for toll road automatic toll collection system. 2. The toll road automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, wherein one or more of a control unit, a display unit, an operation unit, an antenna installation site, and the like are shared with a prepaid card wireless telephone. ETC equipment. 3. When a control unit is shared and the vehicle approaches a gate of an entrance or an exit of a toll road during a telephone call, the control unit issues an alarm via a speaker operating as a handset so as to end the call. 3. The in-vehicle ETC device of the toll road automatic toll collection system according to claim 2, wherein the in-vehicle ETC device operates so as to prompt the user to interrupt the call thereafter. 4. The toll road automatic toll collection system according to claim 2, wherein the transmitting and receiving antenna for telephone and the transmitting and receiving antenna for ETC are integrally formed by pattern printing on an antenna installation site such as a ceramic substrate. ETC equipment.