JP2003196789A - Automatic fee collection system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for enabling automatic fee payment in a facility for which a vehicle occupant has to pay a fee and contributes to the improvement of the detection accuracy of a vehicle location in a navigation system. <P>SOLUTION: Fixed side communication equipment (antenna 15) is provided at an exit part of a parking lot, meanwhile, an ETC (electronic toll collection) on-vehicle device 2 is mounted on a vehicle, and the payment of parking free is automated by means of communications between the fixed side communication equipment and the ETC on-vehicle device. In such a case, the fixed side communication equipment transmits location data as well as orientation data showing the exit direction of the vehicle. When the ETC on-vehicle device 2 receives the location and orientation data, the ETC on-vehicle device 2 inputs the location and orientation data to a navigation system 1, and a navigation ECU 3 (location rating part 6) applies map matching processing to the location and orientation data as preferential high-order data to detect the present location and advancing direction of the self-vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle in which payment of charges is automated by communicating by radio waves between a fixed-side communication device provided on the facility side and an on-vehicle communication device mounted on the vehicle. Automatic toll collection system.

[0002]

Generally, a navigation device mounted on a vehicle uses a GPS receiver to
It has a location function of positioning the current position of the own vehicle based on receiving a GPS signal from the S satellite and displaying the current position (the own vehicle cursor) and the travel route on a screen together with a map on a display device. Further, so-called radio navigation using such GPS signals and so-called dead reckoning for obtaining the relative position of the vehicle based on the detection of a gyro sensor or a vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle are also used together. There is.

However, in the above-described vehicle-mounted navigation device, when the vehicle comes out of, for example, a parking lot in a high-rise building street, the GPS signal cannot be received (difficult to receive) due to radio wave interruption. Therefore, there is a circumstance that the position of the vehicle cannot be measured by radio navigation.
In such cases, dead reckoning will be used,
With this, there is a problem that accumulated errors such as azimuth errors become large, and it is not possible to perform position positioning with sufficiently high accuracy.
This causes a problem that the own vehicle cursor on the display screen is displaced from the actual position and traveling direction of the vehicle.

In particular, in a multi-story parking lot where the vehicle spirals up and down, the output error of the gyro sensor becomes large,
When leaving the parking lot, there was a risk that the vehicle cursor would move in a direction completely different from the actual direction. In order to avoid such a problem, it may be possible to wait until the environment where GPS signals can be received or to use a 3D gyro with less error, but in the former case, the own vehicle cursor cannot be displayed at the correct position. The time may continue for a long time, greatly impairing the convenience for the user. Even when the latter 3D gyro is used, it is inevitable that some azimuth error will occur due to temperature drift error, etc. It does not help.

By the way, in recent years, for the purpose of alleviating traffic congestion at toll gates on toll roads such as expressways and improving convenience by cashless settlement, an antenna (ETC road machine) installed at a toll gate and an ETC vehicle ETC that automatically sets the toll by road-to-vehicle communication with the aircraft
(Electronic Toll Collection) system has been put to practical use. However, at present, this ETC system is limited to automatic payment of tolls on expressways (toll roads), and there is a situation in which its widespread use and promotion are still insufficient. The application and deployment to

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to enable automatic payment of a charge at a facility accompanied by payment of a charge by a vehicle occupant. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic toll collection system for vehicles that can contribute to the improvement of the detection accuracy of.

[0007]

The vehicle automatic toll collection system according to the present invention collects fees by communicating fee data between a fixed-side communication device provided in a facility and an in-vehicle communication device. It is configured such that automatic payment is possible, and at the same time, the current position information is also transmitted from the fixed-side communication device to the vehicle-mounted communication device (the invention of claim 1).

[0008] According to this, since the payment of the charge is automated in the facility in which the occupant of the vehicle pays the charge, the labor and time for paying the cash are unnecessary, and the convenience can be improved. In addition to this, by using the current position information transmitted from the fixed-side communication device for the navigation device, it is possible to know the accurate current position of the own vehicle at the time of the communication, regardless of the GPS signal. As a result, it is possible to contribute to the improvement in the detection accuracy of the vehicle position in the navigation device.

By the way, in a parking lot such as a multi-storey parking lot or an underground parking lot, a vehicle cannot receive a GPS signal (difficult to receive a GPS signal) due to radio wave interruption, and the position of the own vehicle by radio navigation in the navigation device is changed. There are circumstances where positioning cannot be performed. Therefore, if the present invention is applied to a parking lot as a facility (the invention of claim 2), it is possible to detect and even display the exact position of the own vehicle in the navigation device even if there is a situation in which the GPS signal cannot be received. Become.

At this time, a fixed-side communication device can be provided at the exit of the facility, and the current position information transmitted from the fixed-side communication device can include direction data indicating the direction in which the vehicle is leaving (claim). Invention of Item 3). According to this
Since accurate azimuth data when the vehicle exits the facility can also be obtained, the navigation device can know the exact traveling direction of the vehicle, which is more effective.

Further, in this case, the on-vehicle communication device is provided separately from the ETC on-vehicle device by integrating the on-vehicle communication device with the on-vehicle device for the ETC system which has already been put to practical use (the invention of claim 4). There is no need, the cost burden on the user can be kept low, and moreover, the ETC system can be applied to and expanded in a wider field and application, and it can contribute to the spread and promotion thereof.

Incidentally, as the facility accompanied by the payment of the fee by the occupant of the above-mentioned vehicle, not only the facility existing on a toll road such as an expressway as described in claim 2 and the above-mentioned parking lot, but also, for example, a ferry Various facilities such as terminals, gas stations, car wash stations, drive-ins, drive-throughs such as fast food restaurants, motels, drive-in theaters (outdoor theaters) are conceivable.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to an automatic payment system for a parking lot as a facility, and an in-vehicle communication device mounted on a vehicle is integrated with an ETC in-vehicle device that constitutes an ETC system. It is supposed to be.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the system configuration in this embodiment. Here, on the vehicle (automobile) side,
A navigation device 1 and an ETC in-vehicle device 2 which is an in-vehicle communication device according to the present embodiment are mounted. Among them, first, the navigation device 1 includes a navigation ECU 3 that constitutes a main body of the device, and a display device 4 that is connected to the navigation ECU 3 and that is, for example, a full-color liquid crystal display. The display device 4 has operation keys and a touch panel (not shown).

The navigation ECU 3 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, functions as a control means for controlling the entire apparatus, searches for a location function for knowing the current position of the vehicle, and a recommended route to a destination designated by the user. A navigation process such as a route guidance function for guidance is executed. At this time, although not shown, GPS navigation data from a GPS receiver that receives GPS signals from GPS satellites is input to the navigation ECU 3, and signals from a gyro sensor and a vehicle speed sensor are input. Is entered. Further, the navigation ECU 3 is connected to a map data device including, for example, a map CD-ROM (or DVD) 5 storing road map data and a drive device thereof.

The navigation ECU 3 is provided with a position evaluation unit 6 that determines the position of the vehicle by its hardware and software configuration, and realizes the location function. In this case, the position evaluation unit 6 determines the relative position of the own vehicle based on the radio navigation that measures the current position of the own vehicle based on the GPS reception data and the detection signals of the gyro sensor and the vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle. The so-called dead-reckoning required is used together, and GPS signals cannot be received (difficult to receive).
Basically, only dead-reckoning navigation is used when in an environment where radio waves are blocked.

FIG. 1 also shows the software configuration of the position evaluation unit 6. That is, the GPS reception data is processed by the GPS reception data processing unit 7 to calculate the absolute position and the velocity vector, and the signal from the gyro sensor is processed by the gyro sensor signal processing unit 8 to calculate the angular velocity, The signal from the vehicle speed sensor is processed by the vehicle speed sensor signal processing unit 9 to calculate the travel distance of the vehicle. These data are input to the own vehicle position estimation unit 10, and the own vehicle position estimation unit 10 calculates data of the absolute position, absolute direction, and travel locus of the own vehicle, and sends the data to the map matching unit 11. To be

In the map matching section 11, the data obtained from the vehicle position estimating section 10 and the map CD-ROM are stored.
Map matching processing is performed from the road map data of No. 5 to calculate the own vehicle position, and the obtained own vehicle position is set as the current position. As a result, the road map around the current position is displayed on the display device 4, and the current position and the traveling direction (and the traveling locus) of the own vehicle are displayed as the own vehicle cursor in a superimposed manner. An external data input device (not shown) is connected to the navigation ECU 3, and when the road map data to be corrected is input to the road data input unit 12 via this external data input device, the road data is input. The shape correction unit 13 corrects the road map data in the CD-ROM 5.

Although not shown in detail, the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2 has a wireless communication section for performing wireless communication with the ETC road device via the antenna 14 by narrow-range communication called DSRC, communication control, etc. It comprises an ETC processing unit, a security unit, an IC card processing unit, etc.
The IC card processing unit has an IC having a charge settlement function.
The card is designed to be inserted and connected.
ID information, user information and the like are recorded on the C card. The ETC vehicle-mounted device 2 is connected to the navigation ECU 3 via, for example, a communication line (or wirelessly) so that current position information and the like, which will be described later, are input to the navigation ECU 3.

Although illustration and detailed description are omitted, E
In the TC system, for example, by performing so-called road-to-vehicle communication between an ETC roadside device (antenna) installed at a tollgate of a highway and the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2,
The tolls are automatically settled without the vehicle stopping at the toll gate, which helps alleviate traffic congestion and improve convenience.

In the parking lot automatic toll collection system of this embodiment, the fixed-side communication device (antenna 1) provided at the exit of the parking lot (multi-story parking lot or underground parking lot) is used.
5 only) and ETC in-vehicle device 2 mounted on the vehicle
By exchanging fee data and the like (for example, wireless communication using DSRC common to the ETC system), payment of parking fee can be automated.

Although not shown, in order to configure this system, the parking lot is located at the entrance of the parking lot, an entrance gate, a vehicle detector for detecting the entry of a vehicle, and an E of the entering vehicle.
An entrance communication device for obtaining ID information and the like from the TC vehicle-mounted device 2 is provided, and is located at the exit part, an exit gate, a vehicle detector for detecting exit of the vehicle, a fixed-side communication device (antenna 1
5), a display device for displaying the parking fee and the like is provided. Further, a parking lot management computer for controlling and managing each of these devices is provided, and the parking lot management computer is connected to a settlement processing center for settlement of charges.

At this time, as will be described in the following description of the operation, the fixed-side communication device (antenna 15) is charged when the vehicle exits from the exit portion in the communication with the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2 of the vehicle (charge request). In addition to the transmission of (data) etc., the present position information available in the navigation device 1 is also transmitted. In this case, the current position information includes position (coordinates) data (longitude and latitude data) of the current position (parking lot exit), and azimuth data indicating the azimuth of the vehicle leaving (for example, true north is 0 °). The clockwise azimuth angle) is included.

On the other hand, as will be described in the following description of the operation, the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2 obtains the current position information, and then obtains the position data and direction data from the navigation device 1.
(Navi ECU 3). When the navigation ECU 3 receives the position and orientation data by its software configuration, the navigation ECU 3 sends the data to the position evaluation unit 6 (map matching unit 11), and the map matching unit 11 updates the position and orientation data. Recognizing that the data is higher accuracy data, cancels the absolute position and absolute azimuth data from the own vehicle position estimation unit 10, and corrects the current position and traveling direction of the own vehicle based on the received position and azimuth data. It is like this.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the flowchart of FIG. 3 shows an outline of a processing procedure regarding collection of a parking charge executed by a system (management computer) provided on the parking lot side. That is, when the vehicle detector detects the entry of the vehicle into the entrance of the parking lot (Yes in step S11).
s), in the next step S12, the ID information of the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2 is acquired by the communication between the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2 and the entrance communication device of the approaching vehicle. In the next step S13,
The ID information is stored together with the entry time.

When the vehicle exits the parking lot,
When the vehicle is detected by the vehicle detector at the exit (Yes in step S14), in the next step S15, the fixed-side communication device (antenna 15) and the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2 of the corresponding vehicle 2
The ID information of the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2 is obtained through communication with the ETC in-vehicle device 2, and in step S16, the entry time corresponding to the corresponding ID is read out, and the parking fee is calculated from the entry time and the exit time (current time). It is calculated. Then, in step S17, the charge data (billing data) and the current position information (position data and azimuth data) are transmitted to the corresponding ETC vehicle-mounted device 2.

With this, the parking fee is automatically paid,
It is possible to improve convenience for both the user and the parking lot side by making cashless, and to alleviate congestion (congestion) at the exit by shortening the time required for payment. Incidentally, the charge can be displayed on the display device 4 of the navigation device 1 based on the charge data received by the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2. Further, in the above-mentioned flowchart, the case where the charge fluctuates depending on the parking time is taken as an example. However, the charge may be a uniform charge and the parking charge may be free.

On the other hand, the flowchart of FIG.
The process procedure regarding determination of the own vehicle position which U3 (position evaluation part 6) performs is shown. That is, as described above, in the position evaluation unit 6, in a normal time, that is, in an environment in which GPS signals can be received (Yes in step S1), the vehicle position estimation unit 10 uses both radio navigation and dead reckoning. The data of the absolute position, the absolute azimuth, and the traveling locus of the vehicle are obtained, and the map matching unit 11 obtains the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the data (step S2). Also,
When the GPS signal cannot be received (difficult to receive) in a radio wave blocking environment (No in step S1), only the dead reckoning is used to obtain the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle (step S3).

As described above, when exiting the parking lot, the fixed-side communication device (antenna 1
When the position data and the azimuth data are received from 5) (Yes in step S4), in the next step S5, in the map matching unit 11 in the position evaluation unit 6, the absolute position and the absolute position from the own vehicle position estimation unit 10 are detected. The azimuth data is canceled, and the map matching process is performed based on the received position and azimuth data to correct the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle.

Here, in a parking lot such as a multi-storey parking lot or an underground parking lot, there is a situation in which GPS signals are difficult to receive (cannot be received). In such an environment, the vehicle position is conventionally determined by dead reckoning navigation. However, there is a problem that the position measurement with high accuracy cannot be performed, and the own vehicle cursor on the display screen and the actual position and traveling direction of the vehicle deviate from each other. In particular, in a multi-story parking lot where the vehicle moves up and down spirally, the output error of the gyro sensor becomes large, and when exiting the parking lot, the vehicle cursor may move in a completely different direction from the actual one. It was Conventionally, in order to avoid such a defect, the position measurement (display of the own vehicle cursor) has to be suspended until an environment where GPS signals can be received is reached.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, since accurate position data and azimuth data can be obtained from the fixed-side communication device (antenna 15) at the exit of the parking lot, the GPS
Even in an environment where a signal cannot be received, it becomes possible to obtain the accurate current position and traveling direction of the vehicle and display them on the display device 4. After this, go out of the parking lot and
In an environment where PS signals can be received, the accurate current position and traveling direction of the own vehicle can be obtained using the GPS signals.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the payment of the parking lot fee is automatically made by the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2, so that the labor and time for paying the cash is unnecessary and the convenience can be improved. it can. Then, since the current position information is also transmitted from the fixed-side communication device and the current position information is used for the navigation device 1 (position evaluation unit 6), the current position information is used at the time of the communication regardless of the GPS signal. It becomes possible to know the exact current position of the vehicle, and as a result,
This can contribute to the improvement of the detection accuracy of the vehicle position in the navigation device 1, and the reliability can be improved.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a parking lot which is an environment where GPS signals cannot be received (difficult to receive) as a facility, so that the effect of accurately detecting the own vehicle position in the navigation device 1 is remarkable. Moreover, in this embodiment, since the fixed-side communication device is provided at the exit of the parking lot and the current position information includes the azimuth data indicating the azimuth in which the vehicle is leaving, the navigation device 1 can obtain accurate azimuth data. Can be obtained and is more effective. Furthermore, since the in-vehicle communication device is integrated with the ETC in-vehicle device 2 that has already been put into practical use, there is no need to provide an in-vehicle communication device separately from the ETC in-vehicle device 2, and the cost burden on the user can be reduced. it can. Further, as one form of application desired for the ETC system, it can be expected to contribute to its spread and promotion.

In the above embodiment, the in-vehicle communication device is the ETC.
Although it is integrated with the vehicle-mounted device, it can be configured as a system (apparatus) independent of the ETC system. Even when the in-vehicle communication device is integrated with the ETC in-vehicle device, another communication means such as radio waves in different frequency bands or light (infrared) is used for the communication depending on the communication device of the other party. (Communication medium) may be used.

In the above embodiment, the fixed-side communication device is provided at the exit of the parking lot to transmit the direction data, but the fixed-side communication device may be provided at the entrance. Further, in the case where the azimuth is not fixed, only the position data may be transmitted as the current position information. The ETC roadside device may also be configured to transmit the current position information in the same manner.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to a toll road such as an expressway or a parking lot as a facility in which the occupant of the vehicle pays the fee. For example, a ferry terminal, a gas station, a car wash station, a drive-in, a first It can be applied to various facilities such as drive-throughs such as food stores, motels, drive-in theaters (outdoor theaters), and is particularly effective when applied to facilities in an environment where GPS signals are difficult to receive. Further, for example, various modifications can be made to the hardware configuration of the vehicle-mounted navigation device or the toll collection system of the parking lot, and the like, and the present invention can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a main part of a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for determining a vehicle position executed by a navigation ECU.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the parking fee system.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the drawings, 1 is a navigation device, 2 is an ETC vehicle-mounted device (vehicle communication device), 3 is a navigation ECU, 4 is a display device, 6 is a position evaluation unit, 10 is a vehicle position estimation unit, 11 is a map matching unit, and 14 is a map matching unit. Is an antenna, and 15 is an antenna (fixed side communication device).

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A charge is provided by communicating charge data between a fixed-side communication device provided in a facility where a vehicle occupant pays a charge and an in-vehicle communication device mounted in the vehicle. Is an automatic vehicle charge collection system for automated payments, wherein the fixed-side communication device is configured to also transmit current position information available in a navigation device in communication with the in-vehicle communication device. An automatic toll collection system for vehicles, which is characterized by 2. The facility is a parking lot such as a multi-storey parking lot or an underground parking lot, a toll road such as an expressway, a ferry terminal, a gas station, a car wash stand, a drive-in,
The vehicle automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, which is one of a drive-through of a fast food restaurant, a motel, and a drive-in theater. 3. The fixed-side communication device is provided at an exit of the facility, and the current position information includes azimuth data indicating a direction in which the vehicle is leaving. Vehicle automatic toll collection system described in. 4. The vehicle automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, wherein the on-vehicle communication device is integrated with an on-vehicle device for an ETC system.