JP2003242540A - Toll calculating device, toll calculating method and toll collecting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toll calculating device, a toll calculating method and a toll collecting system providing collection of a toll responding to a traffic condition of a toll road. <P>SOLUTION: The toll calculating device 30 calculates a toll of a vehicle from its entry from an entrance of the toll road to its exit from an exit, and it is provided with a toll calculating part 32 calculating an actual traveling time of the vehicle on the basis of an entrance time t<SB>1</SB>of entry from the entrance, an exist time t<SB>4</SB>of exit from the exit, a rest place entry time t<SB>2</SB>of entering a rest place and a rest time exit time t<SB>3</SB>of exiting the rest place, and calculating the toll of the vehicle on the basis of the actual traveling time. <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 toll calculation device for calculating a toll when a vehicle enters at an entrance of a toll road and exits from an exit of a toll road, a toll calculation method, and a toll for collecting the toll. Regarding collection system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a toll collection system, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-022984, wireless communication is performed by a gate provided on a toll road and an on-vehicle device installed in a vehicle. It is known to perform a billing process.
With such a toll collection system, automatic collection of tolls is achieved.

[0003]

By the way, on the current toll roads, traffic congestion often occurs. If a traffic jam occurs, there is a possibility that the original purpose of the toll road, that is, the reduction of travel time, may not be achieved. Therefore, it is conceivable to reduce the toll when the congestion occurs on the toll road and the traveling time is longer than necessary.

However, even if an attempt is made to reduce the toll, if the vehicle stays at a rest area such as a service area or a highway bus stop for a long time, a traffic jam occurs and the traveling time becomes long. It is impossible to determine whether the vehicle has been stopped for a long time at a rest area or the like. Therefore,
It may be difficult to accurately grasp the actual traveling time, which is the time the vehicle has traveled, and the reduction in toll may be improper.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and it is a toll calculation device, a toll calculation method, and a toll collection system capable of collecting tolls according to traffic conditions on toll roads. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

In order to achieve such an object, the toll calculation device according to the present invention calculates a toll when a vehicle enters at an entrance of a toll road and exits at an exit of a toll road. In the fare calculation device, the entry time when the vehicle enters the entrance, the exit time when the vehicle exits the exit, the entry time at the rest area when the vehicle enters the rest area located midway between the entrance and the exit And an actual traveling time calculating means for calculating an actual traveling time of the vehicle based on a time when the vehicle leaves the resting area, and a fee calculating means for calculating a toll of the vehicle based on the actual traveling time. It is configured with.

The toll calculation method according to the present invention is
In the toll calculation method that calculates the toll when a vehicle enters from the entrance of a toll road and exits from the exit, the entrance time when the vehicle enters the entrance, the exit time when the vehicle exits the exit, the entrance Actual traveling time to calculate the actual traveling time of the vehicle based on the time when the vehicle entered the rest area provided on the way with the exit and the time when the vehicle exited the rest area It comprises a calculation process and a fare calculation process for calculating the toll of the vehicle based on the actual travel time.

Further, the fee collection system according to the present invention is
In a toll collection system that collects toll charges when a vehicle enters from the entrance of a toll road and exits from the exit, the entrance time when the vehicle enters the entrance, the exit time when the vehicle exits the exit, the entrance and the exit Detection means to detect the time when the vehicle enters the rest area and the time when the vehicle exits the rest area when the vehicle enters the rest area. And a toll calculation means for calculating the actual traveling time of the vehicle based on the time and the time of leaving the resting place, and calculating the toll of the vehicle based on the actual traveling time.

According to these inventions, the entry time when the vehicle enters the entrance, the exit time when the vehicle exits the exit, and the entry time when the vehicle enters a rest area provided between the entrance and the exit The actual traveling time is calculated based on the time at which the vehicle enters the rest station and the time at which the vehicle leaves the station, and the toll of the vehicle is calculated based on the actual time. Therefore, it is possible to provide an appropriate toll reduction service according to traffic conditions.

Further, in the toll fee calculating device according to the present invention, the toll calculating means calculates the toll fee by the amount subtracted from the regular fee in the traffic from the entrance to the exit when the actual traveling time is a predetermined time or more. It is characterized by doing.

Further, in the toll calculation method according to the present invention, in the toll calculation step, when the actual traveling time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, the toll is calculated by subtracting the regular toll from the entrance to the exit. It is characterized by doing.

Further, in the toll fee calculation apparatus according to the present invention, when traffic congestion does not occur from the entrance to the exit,
It is characterized in that the regular fare is calculated as the toll for traveling from the entrance to the exit without calculating the actual travel time.

Further, in the toll calculation method according to the present invention, when there is no traffic congestion from the entrance to the exit,
It is characterized in that the regular fare is calculated as the toll for traveling from the entrance to the exit without calculating the actual travel time.

According to these inventions, the process for reducing the toll is omitted when there is no traffic congestion from the entrance to the exit, so that the toll calculation process can be speeded up.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and overlapping description will be omitted. Further, the dimensional ratios in the drawings do not always match those described.

A toll charge calculating device, a toll charge calculating method, and a toll collection system according to the embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a fee collection system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the toll collection system 1 according to the present embodiment, the vehicle 20 is a toll road 10.
It collects the toll when entering from the entrance 15 and exiting from the exit 18, and functions as an ETC system which is an automatic toll collection system. This toll collection system 1 includes an entrance gate 11, an SA entrance gate 12, an SA exit gate 13, an exit gate 14, and a toll calculation device 30. Each of the gates 11 to 14 is connected to a toll charge calculating device 30 which is a toll charge calculating means.

The entrance gate 11 is the entrance 1 of the toll road 10.
5 is a detection unit that detects the entrance time t ₁ when the vehicle 20 enters the entrance 15. For example, the entrance gate 11 has a communication device 11a capable of communicating with the vehicle 20.
Is installed. This entrance gate 11 is a communication device 11
From a, vehicle information for identifying the vehicle 20 is received, and the time when the vehicle information is received is detected as the entrance time t ₁ . Then, the entrance gate 11 transmits the vehicle information and the entrance time t ₁ to the traffic charge calculation device 30.

The SA entrance gate 12 has an entrance 16 and an exit 1.
Service area S, which is a rest area established in the middle of 8
The detection means is provided at the entrance 16 of A and detects the time t ₂ at which the vehicle 20 enters the rest area when the vehicle 20 enters the service area SA. For example, at the SA entrance gate 12,
A communication device 12a capable of communicating with the vehicle 20 is installed.
The SA entrance gate 12 receives the vehicle information for specifying the vehicle 20 by the communication device 12a, and detects the time when the vehicle information is received as the rest station entry time t ₂ . And SA
The entrance gate 12 transmits the vehicle information and the time t ₂ for entering the rest area to the toll calculation device 30.

The SA exit gate 13 is located in the service area S
The detection means is provided at the exit 17 of A and detects the time t ₃ when the vehicle 20 leaves the service area SA at the rest area. For example, the SA exit gate 13 is provided with a communication device 13a capable of communicating with the vehicle 20. This SA exit gate 13 is provided by the communication device 13a.
The vehicle information for identifying the vehicle 20 is received, and the time when the vehicle information is received is detected as the rest area exit time t ₃ . And
The SA entrance gate 12 shows the vehicle information and the time of leaving the rest area t ₃
And to the toll calculation device 30.

The exit gate 14 is the exit 1 of the toll road 10.
8 is a detection means for detecting the exit time t ₄ when the vehicle 20 exits the exit 18. For example,
The exit gate 14 has a communication device 14 that can communicate with the vehicle 20.
a is installed. The exit gate 14 is a communication device 1
The 4a, receives vehicle information for identifying the vehicle 20, detects the time vehicle information received as outlet time t _4. Then, the exit gate 14 transmits the vehicle information and the exit time t ₄ to the toll charge calculating apparatus 30. Also, exit gate 1
Reference numeral 4 also receives information such as a credit card required for the billing process. Further, the exit gate 14 also has a function of transmitting toll charge information, which will be described later, to the vehicle 20. These pieces of information are also received and transmitted by the communication device 14a.

The toll calculator 30 determines that the entrance time is t ₁ ,
Exit time t _4, in which calculating the actual running time of the vehicle 20 based on the rest area entry time t ₂ and resting place exit time t _3, calculates the toll for the vehicle 20 based on the actual running time. The toll calculation device 30 is provided, for example, in a central management center. This central management center is for grasping and managing the vehicle type of an ETC vehicle-mounted device that has passed through the entrance gate 11 and the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the toll charge calculating apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, in the toll charge calculating device 30 according to the present embodiment, the vehicle 20 is the toll road 1
It calculates a toll when entering from the entrance 15 of 0 and exiting from the exit 18, and includes a communication unit 31, a charge calculating unit 32, and a charging unit 33.

The communication unit 31 communicates with each of the gates 11 to 14, and receives the vehicle information transmitted from each of the gates 11 to 14 and the times t _{1 to} t ₄ . It should be noted that at each of the times t _{1 to} t ₄ , the traveling section information, which is information indicating the entrance 15 and the exit 18 of the toll road 10, and the rest area information indicating the stopped service area SA are received in a recognizable state.

The communication unit 31 also transmits toll information, which will be described later, to the exit gate 14. further,
The communication unit 31 informs the charge calculation unit 32 of vehicle information and each time t.
_{1 to} t _4, and the information such as the credit card received at the exit gate 14 is transmitted to the charging unit 33.

The fare calculation unit 32 has an actual travel time calculation function for calculating the actual travel time of the vehicle 20, which is the time the vehicle 20 actually traveled, and a toll calculation function for calculating the toll of the vehicle 20. ing.

Further, the charge calculation unit 32 is adapted to receive traffic congestion information from a man-machine interface or a sensor provided on the toll road 10. Further, the fare calculation unit 32 transmits the information about the fare calculated by the fare calculation function to the communication unit 31 and the charging unit 33. As described above, the communication unit 31 transmits this toll information to the exit gate 14.

The billing unit 33 creates billing data using the information such as the credit card transmitted from the exit gate 14, and bills based on the toll charge information transmitted from the charge calculation unit 32 and the billing data. The processing is performed.

Next, the operations of the toll collection system 1 and the toll calculator 30 will be described.

In FIG. 1, first, when the vehicle 20 enters the entrance 15 of the toll road 10, the entrance gate 11
Wireless communication is performed with the vehicle 20, and vehicle information is received. After that, the entrance gate 11 transmits the entrance time t ₁ and the vehicle information to the toll charge calculating apparatus 30. These pieces of information are transmitted to the fare calculation unit 32 via the communication unit 31 of the toll calculation device 30 and stored in the fare calculation unit 32.

Next, when the vehicle 20 enters the entrance 16 of the service area SA, the SA entrance gate 12 wirelessly communicates with the vehicle 20 and receives the vehicle information. After that, the SA entrance gate 12 is used to enter the rest area t
₂ and the vehicle information are transmitted to the toll calculation device 30.
These pieces of information are transmitted to the fare calculation unit 32 via the communication unit 31 of the toll calculation device 30 and stored in the fare calculation unit 32. Here, the resting place approach time t ₂ and the information from the entrance gate 11 are stored as a set as information of the same vehicle 20.

Next, when the vehicle 20 exits from the exit 17 of the service area SA, the SA exit gate 13 wirelessly communicates with the vehicle 20 and receives the vehicle information.
After that, the SA exit gate 13 transmits the rest station exit time t ₃ and the vehicle information to the toll fee calculating device 30. These pieces of information are used by the communication unit 3 of the toll fee calculation device 30.
1 is transmitted to the charge calculation unit 32, and the charge calculation unit 3 is transmitted.
Stored in 2. Here, the rest station exit time t ₃ and the information from the entrance gate 11 and the rest station entry time t ₂ are stored as a set as information of the same vehicle 20.

Next, the vehicle 20 is at the exit 18 of the toll road 10.
When exiting from, the exit gate 14 performs wireless communication with the vehicle 20 and receives vehicle information and information such as a credit card. After that, by the exit gate 14,
Exit time t ₄ when vehicle 20 exits toll road 10
The vehicle information and the credit card information are transmitted to the toll calculation device 30. These pieces of information are transmitted to the fare calculation unit 32 via the communication unit 31 of the toll calculation device 30 and stored by the fare calculation unit 32. Here, the exit time t ₄ and the vehicle information and the other times t _{1 to} t ₃ are stored as a set as information of the same vehicle 20. Also,
Information such as a credit card is transmitted to the charging unit 33 and stored in the charging unit 33.

Then, the toll charge of the vehicle 20 is calculated by the toll calculator 32 based on the respective times t1 to t4.
This toll calculation process will be described later.

When the toll is calculated, the information on the toll is transmitted from the toll calculator 32 to the billing unit 33. After that, the billing unit 33 creates billing data from information such as a credit card, and the billing process is performed based on the toll information and the billing data.

Next, the toll calculation process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a toll charge calculating apparatus 30 shown in FIG.
5 is a flowchart showing a toll charge calculation process of FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the stored times (entry time t ₁ , rest station entry time t ₂ , rest station exit time t ₃ , exit time t ₄ ) and congestion information are read (S).
1).

Then, based on the traffic jam information and each gate information, it is judged whether or not there is traffic jam from the entrance 15 to the exit 18 (S2). If there is no traffic congestion from the entrance 15 to the exit 18, the regular charge for the traffic from the entrance 15 to the exit 18 is calculated as the traffic charge without calculating the actual traveling time (S5). Here, the regular fee is calculated based on the distance from the entrance 15 to the exit 18, for example. That is, the toll is calculated using the traveling section information indicating the entrance 15 and the exit 18 of the toll road 10.

In S2, when there is a traffic jam from the entrance 15 to the exit 18, the entrance time t ₁ when the vehicle 20 enters the entrance 15, the rest area when the vehicle 20 enters the service area SA Approach time t ₂ , service area SA
The actual traveling time is calculated based on the time t ₃ when the vehicle 20 leaves the rest area and the exit time t ₄ when the vehicle 20 leaves the exit 18 (S3). The actual traveling time here is obtained by subtracting the staying time in the service area SA from the traveling time that is the time required from the entrance 15 to the exit 18 of the toll road 10, specifically, (t ₄ −
It is calculated by the formula t ₁ ) − (t ₃ −t ₂ ). As a result, the time when the vehicle 20 actually travels on the toll road 10 can be calculated because the time when the vehicle 20 passes through the entrance 15 to the exit 18 is reduced.

Thereafter, the fare calculation unit 32 determines whether the actual traveling time is a predetermined time or longer (S4). As the predetermined time here, for example, a value obtained by dividing a section distance which is a distance from the entrance 15 to the exit 18 by the minimum specified speed (60 km / h) is used.

In S4, if the actual traveling time is not longer than the predetermined time, the regular charge for the passage from the entrance 15 to the exit 18 is calculated as the passage charge (S5). On the other hand, when the actual traveling time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, the toll is calculated by the amount subtracted from the regular toll for the passage from the entrance 15 to the exit 18 (S6).

Then, the toll calculation process is completed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the entrance time t ₁ when the vehicle 20 enters the entrance 15, the vehicle 20
Exit time t ₄ when the vehicle exits the exit 18, a rest area entry time t ₂ when the vehicle 20 enters the service area SA provided on the way between the entrance 15 and the exit 18, and the vehicle 20 exits from the service area SA. The actual traveling time is calculated based on the time of leaving the rest area t ₃ when the vehicle exits, and the toll of the vehicle 20 is calculated based on the actual traveling time. Therefore,
The time required for actually traveling on the toll road 10 can be grasped, and it becomes possible to provide an appropriate toll reduction service according to the traffic situation.

Further, when there is no traffic congestion from the entrance 15 to the exit 18, the process for reducing the toll is omitted, so that the toll calculation process can be speeded up.

In the present embodiment, the predetermined time compared with the actual traveling time does not necessarily have to be a fixed time, and it is preferable that the predetermined time varies depending on the weather or the like. Further, the discount amount does not have to be constant, and it is preferable to change the discount amount according to the degree of traffic congestion. In these cases, it is possible to collect charges more appropriately.

Further, even if there is a traffic jam in the section where the vehicle 20 passes, the actual traveling time is calculated in consideration of the time when the vehicle passes through the SA entrance gate 12 and the SA exit gate 13 and the traffic jam occurrence time. It is preferable not to do so.
For example, when a traffic jam occurs between the entrance 15 and the service area SA, the actual traveling time is not calculated when the vehicle 20 is entering the service area SA. In this case, the toll reduction service can be made more accurate.

Further, although the case where there is one service area SA has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and there may be a plurality of service areas SA. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the service area SA is used as the rest area, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a parking area or another rest facility.

[0048]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an appropriate service for reducing the toll according to the traffic conditions on the toll road.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a fee collection system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a toll charge calculation apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a toll charge calculation process of the toll charge calculation device 30 shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Toll collection system, 10 ... Toll road, 20 ... Vehicle,
30 ... toll calculation device, 32 ... Price calculation unit, SA ... service area, t ₁ ... entrance time, t ₂ ... rest area entry time,
t ₃ … Exit time at the rest area, t ₄ … Exit time.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A toll calculator for calculating a toll when a vehicle enters from an entrance of a toll road and exits from an exit of the toll road, the entrance time when the vehicle enters the entrance, and the vehicle exits the exit. The exit time when exiting, the break station entry time when the vehicle enters a break place provided in the middle of the entrance and the exit, and the break exit time when the vehicle exits from the break place Based on the actual travel time, the actual travel time calculation means and the toll calculation means for calculating the toll charge of the vehicle based on the actual travel time. apparatus. 2. The fare calculation means calculates the fare when the actual traveling time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, by subtracting the regular fare for the passage from the entrance to the exit. The toll fee calculation device according to claim 1. 3. When the traffic jam does not occur from the entrance to the exit, the regular charge for the traffic from the entrance to the exit is calculated without calculating the actual travel time. The toll fee calculation device according to claim 1, wherein 4. A toll calculation method for calculating a toll when a vehicle enters from an entrance of a toll road and exits from an exit of the toll road, the entry time when the vehicle enters the entrance, and the vehicle exits the exit. The exit time when exiting, the break station entry time when the vehicle enters a break place provided in the middle of the entrance and the exit, and the break exit time when the vehicle exits from the break place Based on the actual traveling time, and a toll calculation step for calculating the toll of the vehicle based on the actual traveling time. Method. 5. The toll calculation step is characterized in that, when the actual traveling time is a predetermined time or more, the toll is calculated by subtracting the regular toll from the entrance to the exit. The toll calculation method according to claim 4. 6. When the traffic congestion does not occur from the entrance to the exit, the regular charge for the traffic from the entrance to the exit is calculated as the toll without calculating the actual travel time. The toll calculation method according to claim 4, which is characterized in that. 7. A toll collection system for collecting a toll when a vehicle enters at an entrance of a toll road and exits at an exit of the toll road, the entry time when the vehicle enters the entrance, and the vehicle exits the exit. The exit time at the time of entry, the time at which the vehicle entered the rest area when the vehicle entered a rest area provided between the entrance and the exit, and the time at which the vehicle exited the rest area when the vehicle exited Detecting means for calculating the actual traveling time of the vehicle based on the entrance time, the exit time, the rest station entry time and the rest station exit time, and calculate the toll of the vehicle based on the actual travel time. A toll collection system comprising: a toll calculation unit for calculating.