JP2007087323A - Electronic toll collection system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic toll collection system allowing an increase of the available balance without a user performing troublesome operation. <P>SOLUTION: Based on information supplied from an on-vehicle apparatus through a road side apparatus, the available balance of an owner of an IC card inserted in the on-vehicle apparatus is confirmed (S41), and a toll is determined based on information supplied from the on-vehicle apparatus (S42). The available balance and the toll are compared, and if the balance is insufficient (No in S43) and if the user desires automatic increase beforehand (Yes in S45), the available balance is automatically increased (S48), and then the toll is settled (S50). In this manner, there is no need to increase the available balance by performing troublesome operation by the user. As a result, the electronic toll collection system is easy to use, and the use promotion of the electronic toll collection system can be expected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic toll collection system that performs settlement of facility usage fees for toll facilities such as toll roads and toll parking lots based on wireless communication between an in-vehicle device and a wireless communication device installed in the toll facility.

  Currently, an automatic fee collection system called an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) system has been put into practical use. In this system, two-way communication is performed between a fixed communication device (roadside device) installed at a toll gate and an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, thereby allowing the inside of an IC card (ETC card) attached to the on-vehicle device. Is read by the fixed communication device.

  The stored information read at this time is balance specifying information for specifying the available balance stored in the server in association with the ETC card, for example, the ID number of the ETC card.

  Then, the balance specifying information read by the fixed communication device is sent to the server together with information for determining a fee (for example, information on an entrance gate and an exit gate on a toll road). The server determines an available balance and facility usage fee based on information from the fixed communication device. Then, the amount obtained by subtracting the facility usage fee from the available balance is stored as a new available balance. If the available balance is less than the facility usage fee, the insufficient amount is credited at a credit company registered in advance.

  By the way, the available balance can be increased by accessing a predetermined site using an internet-enabled device such as a personal computer or a mobile phone and performing a predetermined procedure. It is also possible to increase the number of calls by calling a telephone number dedicated to the additional procedure and performing a predetermined procedure. After performing the above procedures, the available balance will be increased by a predetermined amount (currently 50,000 yen or 10,000 yen plus the amount due to advance payment), and the amount of payment corresponding to the increase will be Credit settlement is performed at a credit company.

The current ETC system is a credit system as described above, but a prepaid system has also been proposed. For example, the systems described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are examples thereof. In the case of a prepaid ETC system, as described in Patent Document 1, the amount of money that can be used is increased by inserting an ETC card and bills into an additional device installed in a service area or the like. become. Further, in Patent Document 2, the available balance is increased by connecting to a host computer in the checkout processing center using a mobile phone and performing a predetermined input operation such as input of a password or input of an additional amount. The technology to do is described.
JP 2000-99778 A JP 2001-134793 A

  As described above, in order to increase the available balance in the current ETC system, it is necessary for a user to operate a personal computer or the like to connect to a predetermined computer and perform a predetermined operation each time the additional balance is increased. Therefore, the operation was troublesome. Further, the method described in Patent Document 2 also requires a complicated operation equivalent to an increase in the current ETC system. Further, as described in Patent Document 1, when using the additional device, it is necessary to go to the place where the additional device is installed. In this case, the additional procedure is troublesome.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of this situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic fee collection system capable of accumulating the available balance without a troublesome operation by the user. It is in.

In order to achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 can be used by being stored in an information storage medium mounted on the vehicle-mounted device by performing wireless communication with the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle. A balance specifying information acquisition device for acquiring balance specifying information, a balance checking means for checking an available balance based on the available balance specifying information acquired by the balance specifying information acquiring device, and a facility usage fee for a pay facility Automatic fee collection system comprising: a facility usage fee determination unit that performs a charge settlement unit that reduces the available balance confirmed by the balance confirmation unit based on the facility usage fee determined by the facility usage fee determination unit Because
Based on the fact that the amount obtained by subtracting the facility usage fee determined by the facility usage fee determination unit from the available balance confirmed by the balance confirmation unit is equal to or less than a predetermined amount set in advance, the fee settlement unit It further includes automatic stacking means for automatically increasing the available balance before reducing the available balance.

  As described above, if the automatic balance increasing means automatically increases the available balance based on the fact that the amount obtained by subtracting the facility usage fee from the available balance is equal to or less than the predetermined amount, the user is troublesome. There is no need to increase the available balance by performing the operation. As a result, since the automatic fee collection system including this automatic stacking means becomes easier to use, the use of the automatic fee collection system can be expected to be promoted.

  Further, as in the invention described in claim 2, the object can be achieved by automatically increasing the available balance when the available balance falls below a predetermined amount regardless of the facility usage fee.

That is, the invention according to claim 2 acquires the available balance specifying information stored in the information storage medium attached to the vehicle-mounted device by performing wireless communication with the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle. Balance specifying information acquisition device, balance check means for checking the available balance based on the available balance specifying information acquired by the balance specifying information acquisition device, and facility usage fee determination for determining the facility usage fee of the pay facility An automatic fee collection system comprising: means; and fee settlement means for reducing the available balance confirmed by the balance confirmation unit based on the facility usage fee determined by the facility usage fee determination unit,
Based on the fact that the available balance confirmed by the balance confirmation means is less than or equal to a predetermined amount set in advance, the available balance is automatically increased before the available balance is reduced by the fee settlement means. It further includes automatic stacking means.

  In this way, even if the available balance is automatically increased based on the available balance being equal to or less than the predetermined amount by the automatic stacking means, the available balance can be reduced by a troublesome operation by the user. There is no need to build up.

  Here, the automatic toll collection system described in claim 1 or 2 does not necessarily include a manual stacking device for a user to perform a predetermined stacking operation procedure, but as in the invention described in claim 3 The manual stacking device may be provided.

  That is, the invention according to claim 3 is the automatic toll collection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the system is installed in a place different from the vehicle or is portable by the user, and increases the available balance. For this purpose, the apparatus further includes a manual stacking device in which a predetermined balance stacking operation is performed by the user.

  Thus, by further providing a manual stacking device, the user has more options for stacking available balances, so that the automatic fee collection system becomes easier for the user to use.

  Further, as described in claim 4, it is preferable to further include an automatic increase selection means for selecting in advance whether or not to increase the available balance by the automatic increase means. In this way, when the user sometimes does not want to temporarily increase automatically, the user's request can be met.

  Further, in the automatic toll collection system provided with the automatic additional selection means as described in claim 4, the available balance is increased by the automatic additional means by the automatic additional selection means as described in claim 5. If the available balance confirmed by the balance confirmation unit is less than the facility usage fee of the paid facility, the fee settlement unit calculates the available balance from the facility usage fee. In order to make a credit settlement for the subtracted difference, the difference is preferably notified to a credit company terminal registered in advance.

  In this way, even if the available balance is less than the facility usage fee, it is possible to use the facility without performing additional procedures.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the additional amount in the automatic additional means can be selected from a plurality of candidates in advance as described in claim 6. That is, the invention according to claim 6 is the automatic toll collection system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a plurality of pre-set amounts in the automatic stacking means are set before the execution of the automatic stacking means. The method further comprises an additional amount selection means for selecting from the additional amount candidates.

  By doing so, it becomes possible to meet the demands of a wider variety of users, so that the automatic fee collection system becomes easier to use.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a toll road automatic toll collection system (hereinafter referred to as an ETC system) 10 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the main configuration of the ETC system 10. The ETC system 10 includes a management server 12, a credit company server 14, a bank server 16, a user terminal 18, and a roadside device 20.

  The management server 12 is installed in an ETC management facility, and performs payment processing for tolls on toll roads, management of available balances of users who use the system 10, and the like. In addition, the management server 12 stores, for each toll road, whether the road is a flat fare road or a distance fare road in order to perform the toll fee settlement processing. In the case of a road with a distance fee system, a toll table in which a toll is determined from the entrance gate and the exit gate is stored.

  The credit company server 14 stores user information of the credit company with which the user who uses the system 10 is contracted (information such as the number of the debited bank account and the credit card number). The bank server 16 manages the deposit balance of the bank account included in the credit company user information. The user terminal 18 corresponds to a manual stacking device. The user terminal 18 is, for example, a personal computer installed in a home of a user who uses the system 10, and performs an accumulation operation for increasing the available balance managed by the management server 12, A balance confirmation operation for confirming the available balance is performed. As the user terminal 18, a mobile phone or a fixed phone can be used as in the existing ETC system.

  The roadside device 20 is fixed to, for example, a column 22 provided on the roadside at a toll gate. The roadside device 20 has a function as a wireless communication device that performs road-to-vehicle communication by DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) with the vehicle-mounted device 30 installed in the vehicle 24. 30 is a device that reads information stored in the IC card 50 (see FIG. 2) inserted in the vehicle 30 and information stored in the vehicle-mounted device 30.

  The vehicle-mounted device 30 has vehicle information related to the vehicle (vehicle number, information necessary for determining the vehicle type, etc.) and vehicle-mounted device setup information (such as the setup date of the vehicle-mounted device 30 and the expiration date if there is an expiration date). In addition, when the toll road is a distance-to-distance system, information on the entrance gate and the exit gate is temporarily stored. The vehicle-mounted device 30 has a function of performing DSRC communication with the roadside device 20 and a function of reading information stored in the IC card 50, and transmits the read information to the roadside device 20. To do.

  The IC card 50 is an information storage medium in which a user identification number registered in the management server 12 is stored. The management server 12 can determine the user's available balance based on the user identification number. Therefore, the identification number of the user stored in the IC card 50 is available balance specifying information, and the roadside device 20 that acquires this identification number by wireless communication with the vehicle-mounted device 30 serves as a balance specifying information acquisition device. It is functioning.

  The roadside device 20 and the management server 12 are communicatively connected to each other via a dedicated line network 25, and the management server 12, the credit company server 14, and the bank server 16 can also communicate with each other via the dedicated line network 26. It is connected to the. In addition, the user terminal 18 and the management server 12 are connected to each other via an Internet line network 28 so that they can communicate with each other.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle-mounted device 30. This in-vehicle device 30 is integrally provided with a function as a car navigation device as well as a function related to DSRC communication with the roadside device 20, and is integrated with, for example, an instrument panel.

  The vehicle-mounted device 30 includes a display 31 and a speaker 32 as an information notification unit, an operation input unit 33, an IC card interface unit 34, a power supply unit 35, an arithmetic device unit 36, a memory unit 37, and a communication interface. A unit 38, a GPS receiving unit 39, a map data unit 40, and a vehicle interface unit 41 are provided.

  The display 31 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and is arranged so as to be exposed from the instrument panel. The display 31 corresponds to the situation such as an automatic additional selection screen (FIG. 4), an additional amount setting screen (FIG. 5), a route guidance screen, etc. A predetermined screen is displayed. The speaker 32 outputs a predetermined guidance voice that prompts the user to perform an input operation, a voice that notifies the setting status, and the like.

  The operation input unit 33 includes a touch switch integrated with the display 31 and a mechanical switch disposed around the display 31. The IC card interface unit 34 holds the IC card 50 so that it can be inserted and removed, and enables signal transmission / reception between the IC card 50 and the calculation control unit 36. The power supply unit 35 outputs a stabilized voltage using a dedicated battery or a vehicle-mounted battery serving as a power source for vehicle-mounted electrical equipment other than the vehicle-mounted device 30, and supplies the voltage to the devices in the vehicle-mounted device 30. .

  The arithmetic unit 36 is a so-called computer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and controls other devices in the vehicle-mounted device 30 according to a program stored in the ROM while using a temporary storage function of the RAM. The memory unit 37 is a semiconductor storage medium such as a ROM, and stores the above-described vehicle information and in-vehicle setup information. In addition, the home position set by the user, various data such as text data, image data, and voice data may be stored, or the map data input from the map data unit 40 may be temporarily stored.

  The communication interface unit 38 transmits a signal from the arithmetic unit 36 to the roadside unit 20, receives a signal from the roadside unit 20, and supplies the received signal to the arithmetic unit 36.

  The GPS receiver 39 is a receiver for a global positioning system (GPS) that measures the position of the vehicle, and receives radio waves from a satellite. The map data unit 40 includes a storage medium that stores map data and a reading device that reads the map data from the storage medium and supplies the map data to the arithmetic unit 36. The vehicle interface unit 41 exchanges signals with other devices mounted on the vehicle.

  Next, arithmetic processing in the arithmetic unit 36 will be described. FIG. 3 is a routine showing an initial use confirmation process among the arithmetic processes in the arithmetic unit 36. The routine shown in FIG. 3 is repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals.

  In FIG. 3, first, in step S30, it is determined whether or not the IC card 50 has been inserted into the IC card interface unit 34. If this determination is negative, this routine ends. On the other hand, if the result is affirmative, in the subsequent step S31, information is exchanged between the vehicle-mounted device 30 and the IC card 50, and authentication as to whether the IC card 50 can be used by a predetermined authentication method is performed. I do. In subsequent step S32, it is determined whether or not the IC card 50 can be used as a result of the authentication in step S31. When this determination is negative, after displaying on the display 31 that the IC card 50 cannot be used in a step (not shown), this routine is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that the IC card 50 can be used, it is determined in step S33 whether or not automatic stacking is desired. In this step S33, the automatic additional selection screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, and either “Yes” or “No” displayed on the screen is selected by the touch switch integrated with the display 31. It is determined whether or not it is desired to add more automatically. This step S33 corresponds to automatic stack selection means.

  If “No” is selected on the screen of FIG. 4, the determination in step S33 is denied and this routine ends. On the other hand, if “yes” is selected on the screen of FIG. 4, the determination in step S33 is affirmed. If the determination in step S33 is affirmed, an additional amount setting process is performed in step S34 corresponding to the additional amount selection means. In this step S34, an additional amount setting screen for requesting to select one of the two additional amount candidates shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display 31, and the touch integrated with the display 31 is displayed. The additional amount is set based on which additional amount candidate is selected by the switch.

  It should be noted that whether or not the automatic accumulation determined by executing step S33 is desired and the accumulated amount candidate determined by executing step S34 are stored in the memory unit 37 as automatic accumulation setting information. .

  When the arithmetic unit 36 detects that the vehicle 24 is wirelessly communicable with the roadside device 20 installed at the toll gate, the arithmetic unit 36 reads from the IC card 50 of the user of the card 50. The automatic number setting information stored in the identification number and the memory unit 37 is transmitted from the communication interface unit 38 to the roadside device 20. When the roadside device 20 receives the identification number of the user, the roadside device 20 transmits it to the management server 12. In addition to the identification number and the like, the roadside device 20 also has toll determination information for determining the toll (if the toll road is a distance toll system, the information on the entrance gate and the exit gate, the toll road In the case of a flat fee system, information specifying a toll road is also transmitted to the management server 12.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining processing executed by the management server 12 when information such as a user identification number is received from the roadside device 20.

  When the management server 12 receives the user identification number or the like, first, in step S41 corresponding to the balance confirmation means, the management server 12 confirms the available balance of the user based on the received identification number, and then uses the facility. In step S42 corresponding to toll determination means, a toll road toll for the vehicle 24 is determined using a toll table stored in advance in the management server 12 based on the toll determination information described above.

  In subsequent step S43, the available balance confirmed in step S41 is compared with the toll determined in step S42 to determine whether the available balance is sufficient. This determination is affirmed if the available balance is equal to or greater than the toll, and denied if the available balance is less than the toll.

  If the available balance is equal to or greater than the toll, and the determination in step S43 is affirmed, the toll is settled in step S44. That is, in step S44, the amount obtained by subtracting the toll determined in step S42 from the available balance confirmed in step S41 (the available balance stored as the owner of the IC card 50) is newly used. Remember as possible balance.

  On the other hand, if the available balance is less than the toll, and the determination in step S43 is negative, in step S45, it is determined whether or not automatic loading is desired based on the received automatic loading setting information. .

  If the determination in step S45 is negative, that is, if it is determined that automatic stacking is not desired, the available balance stored as the owner of the IC card 50 is set to 0 yen in step S46. Update to In subsequent step S47, the shortage amount is notified to the credit company server 14 of the credit company with which the owner of the IC card 50 has contracted for credit settlement. When the credit company server 14 is notified of the shortage amount, the credit company server 14 notifies the bank server 16 of the bank that manages the withdrawal account in order to withdraw the shortage amount from the credit settlement withdrawal account.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S45 is affirmative, that is, if it is determined that automatic stacking is desired, in step S48, the amount of stacking is determined based on the received automatic stacking setting information, and step S41. The amount obtained by adding the added amount to the available balance confirmed in step (b) is stored as a new available balance.

  In subsequent step S49, the credit company server 14 of the credit company with which the owner of the IC card 50 has contracted for credit settlement notifies the debit amount (50,000 yen or 10,000 yen) corresponding to the additional amount. When the credit company server 14 is notified of the withdrawal amount, the credit company server 14 notifies the bank server 16 of the bank that manages the withdrawal account in order to withdraw the withdrawal amount from the credit settlement withdrawal account. In the present embodiment, steps S43, S45, S48, and S49 correspond to automatic stacking means.

  In subsequent step S50, the amount obtained by subtracting the toll determined in step S42 from the available balance updated in step S48 is stored as a new available balance. Steps S44, S46, S47, and S50 correspond to fee settlement means.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment described above, when the available balance confirmed in step S41 is smaller than the toll determined in step S42, it is further determined whether or not automatic accumulation is desired (step S45). ) If the user wishes to increase automatically, the available balance is automatically increased, so that the user does not need to increase the available balance by performing a troublesome operation. As a result, since the ETC system 10 becomes easy to use, the use promotion of the ETC system 10 can be expected. Further, in the ETC system 10, in the case of prepaid, there is a merit that a larger amount than the payment amount is accumulated in the available balance, so that the user can easily enjoy the merit.

  Moreover, since the ETC system 10 of this embodiment can be added from the user terminal 18, the user can use the user terminal 18 to increase the available balance when convenient. You can also In addition, since the ETC system 10 of the present embodiment can automatically select whether or not to increase the available balance (step S33), the user does not want to temporarily increase automatically. If there is, the user's request can be met. In addition, since the ETC system 10 of the present embodiment is configured so that the toll for the toll road can be settled by credit settlement even when there is a shortage in the available balance, the available balance is more than the toll. Even if the number is small, there is no need to carry out additional procedures. Moreover, since the ETC system 10 of this embodiment can select the additional amount (step S34), it can respond to more various user requests. As a result, the ETC system 10 is easier to use.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, The following embodiment is also contained in the technical scope of this invention, and also the summary other than the following is also included. Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the toll is determined by wireless communication between the vehicle-mounted device 30 mounted on the vehicle 24 and the roadside device 20 installed at the toll gate. On the other hand, there are many known navigation devices having toll pre-determining means for determining the toll of the toll road included in the guide route when the guide route is determined (that is, before actually passing). When a navigation device having a toll fee pre-determining unit is used, the toll pre-determining unit can be used as a facility use fee determining unit.

  In the above-described embodiment, the roadside device 20 also functions as a balance specifying information acquisition device, and the distance between the vehicle-mounted device 30 and the roadside device 20 is relatively short, and the DSRC is used between the two. When wireless communication is possible, the identification number of the user as balance specifying information has been transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 30 to the roadside device 20, but the vehicle-mounted device 30 is wirelessly communicated with the base station of the public telephone line network. The user identification number may be transmitted to the management server 12 via the base station. In this case, the base station serves as a balance specifying information acquisition device, and transmits balance specifying information (user identification number) to the management server 12 even when the vehicle 24 is not located at the toll gate. It becomes possible to do. Therefore, if it is used in combination with the navigation device having the aforementioned toll pre-determining means, the routine shown in FIG. 6 can be executed when the vehicle 24 is not located at the toll gate.

  In the above-described embodiment, the available balance is managed by the management server 12, and the IC card 50 has balance specifying information for specifying the available balance managed by the management server 12, that is, the user's Although only the identification number is stored, the available balance may be directly stored in the IC card 50. In this case, the roadside device 20 that functions as the balance specifying information acquisition device acquires the available balance stored in the IC card 50. Therefore, the available balance stored in the IC card 50 becomes balance specifying information. Also, the credit company server 14 may manage the available balance.

  In the above-described embodiment, it is determined that the balance is insufficient when the available balance is less than the toll (step S43). That is, if the available balance becomes negative if the fee is settled as it is, the balance is determined to be insufficient, but the difference obtained by subtracting the toll from the available balance is, for example, 1000 yen, You may make it judge that the balance is insufficient when it becomes below the comparatively small amount set beforehand.

  Also, instead of determining whether the available balance is sufficient compared to the toll charge, it is determined that the balance is insufficient when the available balance is equal to or less than a predetermined amount. Based on the determination, the available balance may be automatically increased. This also eliminates the need for the user to increase the available balance by performing a troublesome operation.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the user does not wish to automatically increase and the available balance is insufficient, credit settlement is performed (step S47). Instead, the user may simply be notified that the balance is insufficient. In this case, the user may pay the deficit with cash or the like. Further, as described above, in the case where the toll can be confirmed in advance, it is also possible to increase the number before the toll gate. In the case of a mode in which credit settlement is not performed regardless of whether or not the balance is insufficient, the IC card 50 can be a prepaid system.

  When the IC card 50 is a prepaid system, the IC card 50 and cash (or a financial card such as a cash card or a credit card) are inserted into a parking area on a toll road and stored in the IC card 50 It is preferable to install a loading device that increases the possible balance. On the other hand, as in the above-described embodiment, when the IC card 50 is a credit system, the available balance is only increased automatically, and cannot be increased from the manual increase device such as the user terminal 18. May be.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the onboard equipment 30 was provided with the function as a navigation apparatus, the onboard equipment 30 does not need to be provided with the function as a navigation apparatus. In this case, a navigation device may be provided separately, or the vehicle may not be provided with a navigation device.

It is a figure showing typically the main composition of ETC system 10 concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the onboard equipment 30 of FIG. It is a routine which shows a use initial confirmation process among the arithmetic processes in the arithmetic unit 36. It is a figure which illustrates an automatic additional selection screen. It is a figure which illustrates an additional amount setting screen. 7 is a flowchart for explaining processing executed by the management server 12 when information such as a user identification number is received from the roadside device 20.

Explanation of symbols

10: Automatic fee collection system (ETC system)
18: User terminal (manual stacking device)
20: Roadside device (balance specific information acquisition device)
30: Onboard device 36: Arithmetic unit 50: IC card (information storage medium)
S33: Automatic additional selection means S34: Additional amount selection means S41: Balance confirmation means S42: Facility usage fee determination means S43, S45, S48, S49: Automatic additional means S44, S46, S47, S50: Fee adjustment means

Claims (6)

A balance specifying information acquisition device for acquiring available balance specifying information stored in an information storage medium attached to the vehicle-mounted device by performing wireless communication with the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle;
Balance confirmation means for confirming the available balance based on the available balance identification information acquired by the balance identification information acquisition device;
Facility usage fee determining means for determining the facility usage fee of the paid facility;
An automatic fee collection system comprising: a fee settlement unit for reducing the available balance confirmed by the balance confirmation unit based on the facility usage fee determined by the facility usage fee determination unit,
Based on the fact that the amount obtained by subtracting the facility usage fee determined by the facility usage fee determination unit from the available balance confirmed by the balance confirmation unit is equal to or less than a predetermined amount set in advance, the fee settlement unit An automatic fee collection system, further comprising an automatic stacking means for automatically increasing the available balance before the available balance is reduced. A balance specifying information acquisition device for acquiring available balance specifying information stored in an information storage medium attached to the vehicle-mounted device by performing wireless communication with the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle;
Balance confirmation means for confirming the available balance based on the available balance identification information acquired by the balance identification information acquisition device;
Facility usage fee determining means for determining the facility usage fee of the paid facility;
An automatic fee collection system comprising: a fee settlement unit for reducing the available balance confirmed by the balance confirmation unit based on the facility usage fee determined by the facility usage fee determination unit,
Based on the fact that the available balance confirmed by the balance confirmation means is less than or equal to a predetermined amount set in advance, the available balance is automatically increased before the available balance is reduced by the fee settlement means. An automatic toll collection system characterized by further including automatic stacking means.   It is further provided with a manual stacking device that is installed in a different place from the vehicle or that can be carried by the user, and in which a predetermined balance stacking operation is performed by the user in order to increase the available balance. The automatic fee collection system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that   4. The automatic fee collection system according to claim 1, further comprising automatic increase selection means for selecting in advance whether or not to increase the available balance by the automatic increase means.   The charge settlement means is selected not to increase the available balance by the automatic accumulation means by the automatic accumulation selection means, and the available balance confirmed by the balance confirmation means is the facility of the pay facility 5. If the amount is less than the usage fee, in order to make a credit settlement for the difference obtained by subtracting the available balance from the facility usage fee, the difference is notified to a pre-registered credit company terminal. The automatic toll collection system described.   6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an additional amount selection means for selecting an additional amount in the automatic additional means from a plurality of preset additional amount candidates before execution of the automatic additional means. The automatic toll collection system described in any one.

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