JP2008276681A - Onboard adjustment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an onboard adjustment device allowing writing into a recording medium, after an electric power source is turned off or gets like when an information data from an outside of a vehicle is failed to be written into the recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: An ETC onboard device 2 is communicated with an on-road machine 20 located in an inlet of a toll road via a transceiving circuit 7, and records the information data about reception of a pike in a RAM 5 and an EEPROM 6. The corresponding information data in the EEPROM 6 is erased after the information data in the RAM 5 is written into an IC card 13 attached to an IC card connector 12. The information data is written into the IC card 13 by the information data left in the EEPROM 6, when the IC card 13 is attached to the IC card connector 12 or when the electric power source of the onboard device 2 is turned on, even after the IC card 13 is extracted from the IC card connector 12 or even after the electric power source of the onboard device 2 is turned off, when the writing of the information data into the IC card 13 is failed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle settlement apparatus that performs settlement of payment based on communication between a vehicle and a facility outside the vehicle.

Conventionally, as an on-board settlement device for tolls on toll roads, an ETC on-board device that communicates with a device at a gate while the vehicle passes through the gate without stopping and performs settlement based on information received from the device. (For example, see Patent Document 1).
By the way, in the prior art as described above, the information data received from the outside of the vehicle by the communication device is temporarily recorded in a volatile memory such as a RAM, and then the information data is extracted from the RAM. I was writing to a storage medium like a card.

Here, according to the prior art, there is no problem if the writing to the IC card succeeds immediately after the information data is recorded in the RAM at the entrance of the toll road, but the information data stored in the RAM is not affected. If writing to the IC card fails due to some trouble, then writing to the IC card is tried several times. In the meantime, if the user of the vehicle pulls out the IC card from the ETC on-board unit, or stops the engine of the vehicle and disconnects the communication between the vehicle power supply and the ETC on-board unit, the writing to the IC card is performed. The information data recorded in the RAM will be erased without any change. In this case, passing vehicles will not be able to pass the ETC exit at the toll road exit toll booth, and the toll road toll usage record will be printed out based on the IC card data. become unable.
JP 2005-202848 A

  In response to the above-mentioned problems, a method is used to notify the user of the vehicle when writing to the IC card fails. However, even by this, the deleted information data cannot be restored, and the user is charged. You have to go to the exit for manual checkout on the road. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the purpose of the present invention is to save the storage medium after the power is turned off when the writing of information data from the facility outside the vehicle fails. The object is to provide an on-board settlement device that enables writing to the vehicle.

  In order to solve the problems of the present invention, according to the invention of claim 1, nonvolatile memory means for recording information data about receipt of the price received from the facility outside the vehicle by the communication means, and recorded in the memory means By providing data writing means for writing information data to the storage medium, even if the power is turned off when the writing of information data to the storage medium fails, the nonvolatile memory means stores the information data Can be written to the storage medium thereafter.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the memory means encrypts and records the received information data from the facility outside the vehicle, so that even if the information data remains in the nonvolatile memory means for a long time, the memory means Confidentiality is protected and security is improved.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a RAM in which information data stored in the memory means is recorded, and the information data recorded in the RAM is written in the storage medium, so that the conventional RAM can be transferred to the storage medium. A data writer or software for writing can be used, and a low-cost on-board payment apparatus can be obtained. In addition, by writing information data from the RAM to the storage medium, it is possible to shorten the writing time to the storage medium.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the information data in the RAM is sorted in the order of acquisition, so that new information data is recorded in the RAM, so that the new information data is erroneously deleted. Can be prevented.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 driven by a user is equipped with an on-board ETC device 2 as an on-board payment device for performing toll collection processing on a dashboard or an appropriate position. The vehicle-mounted device 2 functions as a user terminal device, and can perform processing for toll collection by performing wireless communication with the on-road unit 20 at a toll gate on the toll road (corresponding to the facility outside the vehicle of the present invention). To.

  A gantry 21 is disposed at the entrance (toll gate) of the toll road so as to straddle the upper part of the lane through which the vehicle passes, and the above-described road machine 20 is provided at the upper part of the lane. The road machine 20 performs road-to-vehicle communication using a dedicated short range communication (DSRC) method with the ETC vehicle-mounted device 2 mounted on the vehicle 1 passing through the lane.

A vehicle detector 22 using, for example, an optical sensor is provided in the lane in which the vehicle 1 enters. The vehicle detector 22 can detect the vehicle height and the vehicle length of the passing vehicle 1, and the detection output and the camera for imaging the axle length detector (not shown) and the license plate portion of the vehicle 1 (both shown in the figure). The vehicle type of the passing vehicle 1 (vehicle type corresponding to the toll classification) can be determined based on the output of the vehicle (not shown).
On the exit side of the lane of the toll gate, a gate 23 and a gate opening machine 24 for preventing unauthorized traffic, a passage detector 25 using, for example, an optical sensor for detecting the passage of the vehicle 1, and a toll are displayed. There are provided a roadside indicator 26 for the purpose, an unauthorized traffic photographing camera 27 for controlling unauthorized traffic, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the above-described ETC vehicle-mounted device 2 includes a control unit 3 having a CPU 4, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 5, and an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) 6. The CPU 4 stores data in the RAM 5 and the EEPROM 6 and extracts data from the RAM 5 and the EEPROM 6, and enables data exchange between the RAM 5 and the EEPROM 6. The control unit 3 corresponds to the control means of the present invention, and as will be described later, the transmission / reception circuit 7 and the IC card connector 12 are connected to control these operations. The EEPROM 6 is an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory (corresponding to the nonvolatile memory means of the present invention), and even if the connection with the vehicle power source B is cut off, the recorded data is not erased. In the EEPROM 6, an address is designated and vehicle possession information (information necessary for vehicle number and vehicle type determination) and on-vehicle device setup information (setup date of the on-vehicle device 2, expiration date (when there is an expiration date), etc.) are permanent. Stored as specific information. Other information data is also recorded at other addresses of the EEPROM 6, which will be described in detail later.

  A transmission / reception circuit 7 (corresponding to the communication means of the present invention) is connected to the control unit 3, whereby communication related to information data for payment of tolls on toll roads with the above-mentioned toll road machine 20. Is done. A vehicle power source (battery) B is connected to the control unit 3 through a power circuit 8. A liquid crystal display (LCD) 9 is connected to the control unit 3, and necessary data and the like are displayed by the CPU 4. Similarly to the liquid crystal display 9, the speaker 10 is also connected to the control unit 3, and provides necessary information to the user by making a sound in response to an instruction from the CPU 4. The operation unit 11 is formed by a keyboard or a push button group, and is connected to the control unit 3, and can give an instruction to the vehicle-mounted device 2 when operated by a user.

Further, an IC card connector 12 (corresponding to the data writing means and data reading means of the present invention) is connected to the control unit 3, and this includes the IC card 13 (corresponding to the storage medium of the present invention). Is configured to be removably mounted. The IC card 13 is normally called an ETC card, and is inserted into the IC card connector 12 by being mounted on the mounting portion 2a (shown in FIG. 1) of the vehicle-mounted device 2. The IC card connector 12 is a card reader / writer, and reads information data from the IC card 13 in order to write information data to the IC card 13 and transmit it to the roadside device 20.
When this IC card 13 is mounted, the ETC on-vehicle device 2 is configured to transmit the user information in accordance with instructions from the roadside device 20 when communicating at the toll booth. The IC card 13 stores information on entry and route of toll roads (passage toll gate number, passage date and time), payment information of the IC card 13, and the like.

  Next, based on FIG. 3 thru | or FIG. 5, the control method of the ETC onboard equipment 2 by this embodiment is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 3, in the main control routine of the vehicle-mounted device 2, power is supplied from the vehicle power source B to the vehicle-mounted device 2 by the user starting the engine of the vehicle 1, or power is already supplied. When the IC card 13 is inserted into the vehicle-mounted device 2 (step S301), the information data remaining in the EEPROM 6 is written to the IC card 13 (step S302). When the IC card writing process is completed, next, in step S303, an ETC communication process is performed in which the vehicle-mounted device 2 performs wireless communication with the roadside device 20 and performs processing for toll collection. Thereafter, when the power supply from the vehicle power source B to the vehicle-mounted device 2 is cut off, for example, by stopping the engine of the vehicle 1 or when the IC card 13 is pulled out from the vehicle-mounted device 2, this main control routine ends. (Step S304).

  Next, for ease of understanding, the ETC communication process in step S303 will be described based on FIG. 5 prior to the description of the IC card writing process in step S302. First, after k = 0 is set in the memory in the CPU 4 (step S501 in FIG. 5), it is determined in step S502 whether to start ETC communication. Starting ETC communication is determined, for example, by detecting that the vehicle 1 has approached the toll gate on the toll road by the vehicle detector 22 described above. When it is determined that ETC communication is not started, the control routine ends.

  When the ETC communication is started, the transmission / reception circuit 7 transmits the possessed information data of the vehicle 1 to the road machine 20 in response to a request from the road machine 20, and conversely, according to a request from the vehicle-mounted device 2, The roadside device 20 transmits to the in-vehicle device 2 information data such as a toll gate name, a toll gate number, and a date and time passing through the toll gate as information data on toll collection. The vehicle-mounted device 2 that has received the information data via the transmission / reception circuit 7 writes the received information data to the RAM 5 and the EEPROM 6 (step S503). Both the RAM 5 and the EEPROM 6 are written with the same data, which will be used later to settle the toll. However, in the EEPROM 6, the information data is written after being converted into an encrypted code so that it cannot be accessed, reused, falsified, etc. from the outside at the time of writing. At least when information data is written in the EEPROM 6, each data is written together with the ID number of the IC card mounted on the IC card connector 12 at that time.

  As described above, the information data is written in the EEPROM 6 in a different address area that is partitioned from the area where the vehicle possession information or the like is recorded. When writing to the RAM 5 and the EEPROM 6 is performed, it is determined whether or not the writing to the RAM 5 and the EEPROM 6 is completed in Step S504, and the writing is continued in Step S503 until the writing is completed.

  When the writing of the information data to the RAM 5 and the EEPROM 6 is completed, the information data stored in the RAM 5 is written to the IC card 13 attached to the IC card connector 12 (step S505). Writing to the IC card 13 by the CPU 4 is performed using software for writing similar to the conventional one. Next, when it is determined that the writing of the information data to the IC card 13 is successful (step S506), after deleting the same information data written in the IC card 13 recorded in the EEPROM 6, This control routine is ended (step S507). At this time, the information data such as the entrance toll gate name, toll gate number and the date and time of passing through the toll gate written in the IC card 13 is transmitted to the transmission / reception circuit 7 when the vehicle 1 arrives at the exit toll gate of the toll road. To the roadside machine 20 and used to settle the toll together with the exit toll gate name, the toll gate number, and the vehicle type of the vehicle 1.

  If it is determined in step S506 that the writing of information data to the IC card 13 has not succeeded, it is determined in step S508 whether k has exceeded a predetermined number P after k is incremented by one. (Step S509). If k is P times or less, the process returns to step S505, and writing to the IC card 13 is executed again. In this way, if the writing to the IC card 13 is executed a plurality of times and the writing succeeds, the information data in the EEPROM 6 is erased as in the case described above, and then this control routine is terminated (step S507). Writing to the IC card 13 is performed up to P times, and if the writing is still not successful, the LCD 9 and the speaker 10 are used to notify the user of a writing error, and then this control routine is terminated (step S510). ).

Next, the above-described IC card writing process will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S401, it is determined whether there is any remaining information data in the EEPROM 6 relating to the toll road toll payment received from the roadside device 20. The information data related to the toll payment in the EEPROM 6 is data such as the entrance toll gate number and entrance passage date and time of the vehicle 1 and received from the road unit 20 in the ETC communication process as described above. As a result, the data remains in the EEPROM 6.
If it is determined that there is information data remaining in the EEPROM 6, the number of data N is counted (step S402), and then the memory in the CPU 4 is set to i = 1 in step S403. If no information data remains in the EEPROM 6, this routine ends (step S401).

Next, the data (1) in the EEPROM 6 is written in the RAM 5 together with the IC card ID number (step S404). Since the information data in the EEPROM 6 is stored in the EEPROM 6 after being converted into the encryption code as described above, it is decrypted again in the RAM 5 (step S405). Thereafter, i in the memory is incremented by 1 to 2 (step S406), and it is determined whether or not it is larger than N (step S407). If 2 is less than or equal to N, the process proceeds to step S404, and the data (2) in the EEPROM 6 is written into the RAM 5. Here, when the information data in the EEPROM 6 is written into the RAM 5, if the memory in the RAM 5 is insufficient, the information data having the oldest acquisition date in the RAM 5 is erased and then new information data is written.
Thereafter, the writing of data (i) to the RAM 5 is continued until i becomes N. Here, when the information data in the EEPROM 6 is written in the RAM 5, the data in the EEPROM 6 has not yet been erased.

  When all the remaining data in the EEPROM 6 is written into the RAM 5, the plurality of written data are sorted in order of acquisition (entrance passage) date and time of each data (step S408). After that, in step S409, after the memory in the CPU 4 is set to j = 1, the ID number of the j-th information data (j) in the RAM 5 is the ID of the IC card 13 currently attached to the IC card connector 12. It is determined whether or not it matches the ID number (step S410). If the ID number of the information data (j) does not match the ID number of the IC card 13 attached to the IC card connector 12, the process proceeds to step S414, and after incrementing j by one, is j greater than N? It is determined whether or not (step S415). If j is determined to be N or less, it is determined in step S410 whether or not the ID number matches the ID number of the IC card 13 attached to the IC card connector 12.

  If the ID number of the information data (j) in the RAM 5 matches the ID number of the IC card 13 currently attached to the IC card connector 12, the information data (j) is written to the IC card 13 (step S411). ). If it is determined in step S412 that the writing to the IC card 13 is successful, the information data in the EEPROM 6 corresponding to the information data (j) successfully written to the IC card 13 is erased (step S413). Thereafter, the same processing is repeated for the N pieces of information data in the RAM 5 (steps S414 and S415). If it is determined in step S412 that writing of the information data (j) to the IC card 13 is not successful, in step S414, j is incremented by one in step S414. After that, the same processing is performed.

According to the present embodiment, the EEPROM 6 which is a non-volatile memory for recording information data about toll collection on the toll road received from the roadside device 20 by the transmission / reception circuit 7, and the information data recorded in the EEPROM 6 are stored in the IC card. Since the IC card connector 12 for writing to the IC card 13 is provided, the information data remains in the EEPROM 6 even after the power is turned off when the writing of the information data to the IC card 13 fails. In addition, writing to the IC card 13 can be made possible.
Therefore, even if the user turns off the power of the vehicle-mounted device 2 after failing to write the information data received from the roadside device 20 to the IC card 13 at the toll gate of the toll road, the power is turned on again. Then, by writing information data into the IC card 13 before arriving at the exit toll booth, the exit for ETC can be used at the exit toll booth.

The EEPROM 6 converts the received information data from the roadside device 20 into an encrypted code and records it, so that even if information data remains in the EEPROM 6 for a long time, its confidentiality is protected and security is improved. To do.
In addition, a RAM 5 in which the same data as the information data stored in the EEPROM 6 is recorded, and the information data recorded in the RAM 5 is written in the IC card 13 so that the data writer from the conventional RAM 5 to the IC card 13 is provided. (IC card connector 12) or software for writing can be used, and a low-cost on-board settlement apparatus can be obtained. In addition, by writing information data from the RAM 5 to the IC card 13, the time for writing to the IC card 13 can be shortened.

  In addition, the information data written from the EEPROM 6 to the RAM 5 is sorted in the order of acquisition, and when the information data in the EEPROM 6 is written into the RAM 5 and the memory in the RAM 5 is insufficient, the acquisition date and time in the RAM 5 is stored. By erasing the oldest information data and then writing new information data, even if new information data is recorded in the RAM 5, the new information data will not be erased by mistake.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
The nonvolatile memory means may be not only an EEPROM but also a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory.
The RAM for writing the information data is not always necessary, and the information data in the EEPROM may be directly written in the IC card without providing the RAM.

The LCD as the display means is not essential. Guidance may be provided by using only voice guidance or in conjunction with a navigation display.
The on-board payment apparatus according to the present invention is not used only for the ETC system, but can be applied to any payment system in which card payment at various stores is performed via DSRC.
The non-volatile memory in which the received information data is written may be different from the non-volatile memory in which the vehicle possession information or the like is stored.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram showing a vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle settlement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and a toll road entrance Block diagram of the on-board settlement apparatus shown in FIG. Main control flowchart of the on-board settlement apparatus shown in FIG. Control flow chart of the IC card writing process shown in FIG. Control flowchart of ETC communication processing shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a vehicle, 2 is an ETC on-board unit (on-board settlement device), 3 is a control unit (control means), 5 is RAM, 6 is an EEPROM (memory means), 7 is a transmission / reception circuit (communication means), and 12 is IC card connectors (data writing means, data reading means), 13 is an IC card (storage medium), and 20 is a road machine (external facility).

Claims (4)

A communication means for communicating with the outside of the vehicle regarding the settlement of the price,
Non-volatile memory means for recording information data about receipt of the price received from the outside facility by the communication means;
Data writing means for writing information data recorded in the memory means to a storage medium;
Data reading means for reading information data written in the storage medium for transmission to the facility outside the vehicle by the communication means;
An in-vehicle settlement apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls operations of the communication unit, the data writing unit, and the data reading unit.   2. The on-board settlement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory means records the received information data from the outside facility after being encrypted.   3. The in-vehicle settlement apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a RAM in which information data stored in the memory means is recorded, wherein the information data recorded in the RAM is written in the storage medium.   4. The in-vehicle settlement apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information data in the RAM is sorted in the order of acquisition.

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