JP3379279B2 - Toll collection method and device for toll road - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention calculates a vehicle toll based on traffic data obtained by wireless communication with a vehicle while passing through a gate such as an expressway so as not to prevent smooth passage at a toll gate. The present invention relates to an automatic fee collection method and device for paying fees from an IC card or the like loaded in an in-vehicle device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The following systems have been proposed as this type of system. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-242497 "Toll Road Toll Collection Device": It permits passage on a toll road if the license plate information transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device matches the license plate read by the optical means. Prevent unauthorized traffic that impersonates the vehicle type. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-248693 “Toll Road Toll Collection Device”: By recording the usage history of the toll road and the remaining amount of money recorded in the in-vehicle device in the center, the in-vehicle device and the IC card can be We made it possible to collect charges normally even if lost or broken. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-314337 "Automatic payment system": A bar code representing a vehicle registration number written on a plate attached to the bottom of a vehicle is read at an entrance / exit gate to calculate a fee, and a predetermined financial institution is used. The toll is deducted, and the feature is that the vehicle identification is performed without using an expensive on-board device (responder).

In each of the above publications, it is premised that the data recording on the vehicle-mounted device is surely performed. Here, the operation generally performed in such a system will be described with reference to FIG. When it is detected that the vehicle approaches the entrance gate, a vehicle type detector including a light projector and a light receiver functions, and the vehicle type is detected while the vehicle passes a predetermined position. Data (A), which is information on the detected vehicle type and the entrance gate name, is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device. This data (A) is stored in the memory of the vehicle-mounted device, and the ID information stored in this memory is read and transmitted to the entrance gate. As a result, the entrance gate registers the received ID and the above-mentioned data (A) in the center through the communication line.

Now, when this car approaches the exit gate,
Data stored in the in-vehicle memory from the exit gate
(A) is requested, whereby the vehicle-mounted device reads the data (A), adds the ID information, and transmits it to the exit gate. At the exit gate, based on the vehicle type and the entrance gate information of the data (A) and the exit gate information, the charge table (C) is calculated by referring to the charge table and transmitted to the car, so that the in-vehicle device can The payment amount of the IC card is deducted for settlement, and the exit gate information and data (C) are added with ID information and transmitted to the center for registration. At the center, the credit card will be automatically withdrawn from the financial institution used by the IC card holder at a later date.

[0005]

In the above control,
If the vehicle type / entrance gate data (A) sent from the entrance gate to the car was not written to the memory for some reason, or if it was written to the memory but that data was lost, the exit gate will be the car Against (A)
, The desired data is not transmitted from the car.
Therefore, at that point, the exit gate will send data to the center (A)
This causes the center to retrieve and read the data (A) from the large-scale storage device, transmit it to the exit gate, and then start the charge calculation. Since the car runs without slowing down even if it approaches the exit gate, the fare data
At the time of sending (C), the car moved away from the exit gate, and it was impossible to make a payment.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is provided with a means for checking the data writing to the memory of the vehicle-mounted device, and when the data writing is defective, at that time point. (EN) A method and a device for speeding up charge calculation at an exit gate by reading data from a center and giving the data to the exit gate in advance.

[0007]

The present invention communicates with a vehicle approaching an entrance gate on a highway or the like to record the entrance gate name data (A) in an IC card loaded in an in-vehicle device, and The data (A) is recorded in the center together with the ID information for identification, and when the vehicle approaches the exit gate, the data (A) is read from the IC card by communication,
In a toll road toll collection method that calculates tolls by referring to a toll table and sends the toll data (C) to the in-vehicle device and records it in the IC card A check gate is provided to check whether or not the data (A) is normally recorded. When the check gate determines that the data (A) is not properly recorded, the ID information is transmitted to the center. ,
The center searches the data (A) based on the ID information,
By transmitting the data to the exit gate in advance, when the above vehicle without the data (A) approaches the exit gate, the fare is calculated based on the data (A) from the center. .

[0008]

According to the above method, when the data (A) of the vehicle type and the entrance gate name transmitted from the entrance gate cannot be stored in the IC card of the vehicle-mounted device when passing through the entrance gate, the check gate is then passed through. Occasionally, the check gate checks whether the storage of data (A) is good or bad. In the case of poor storage, the data (A) is sent to the center at that point.
The center sends out the searched data to the exit gate, and when the car without data (A) arrives at the exit gate, it will pass based on the data (A) sent from the center. Since the fare is calculated, the fare is calculated instantly, and fare data is available for cars passing at high speed.
(C) can be sent.

As described in claim 2, if the check barrier provided at a predetermined place for specifying the waypoint has the check function performed by the check gate, the check gate is not required to be installed. Can be provided at low cost.

According to the charge collection method of claim 1, the charge collection device of claims 3 and 4 is claimed,
Further, based on the charge collection method described in claim 2, the charge collection device of claim 5 is claimed. These claims 3, 4,
As an apparatus corresponding to No. 5, one embodiment is disclosed in each of the following embodiments.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 2 shows a system diagram to which the fee collection device of the first invention is applied. At the entrance gate 53 of the entrance road 52 for entering the main line 51, the entrance gate road machine 54
The check gate 55 is provided at a point passing several tens of meters from the entrance gate 53, and the check gate 55 is provided with a check gate road machine 56.
On the other hand, an exit gate road machine 59 is provided at the exit gate 58 installed on the exit road 57 from the main line 51. Each of the gates 53, 55, 58 is simply a transmitting / receiving antenna for communicating with the vehicle 50. And each road machine 54, 5
6, 59 are connected to the center 61 via a communication line L.

FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the vehicle-mounted device 100 mounted on the vehicle 50. The main body 101 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the top surface is provided with a door 102 that can be opened and closed. By loading the IC card 103 at a predetermined position with the door 102 open,
The contacts on the back surface of the IC card 103 come into electrical contact with the contacts of the main body 101, and then the door 102
The IC card 103 is completely fixed at the predetermined position by closing. A pattern antenna A ₁ for transmission and reception is formed on the upper surface of the door 102. Reference numeral 104 is a liquid crystal display, and B is a confirmation button for displaying the balance of the IC card on the liquid crystal display 104. L ₁ is a busy lamp that lights up when communicating with the gate,
L ₂ is a power lamp that indicates the energization of this machine.

FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of the vehicle-mounted device shown in FIG. Reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU that controls the vehicle-mounted device 100 as a whole.
Is. Reference numeral 2 is a radio that communicates with the gate, and 3 is a radio interface that controls transmission / reception of this radio. 4 is a memory for storing the data transmitted from the gate, and this memory 4 has an ID for identifying the driver.
It stores information. 5 is an interface for the following devices, 104 is a liquid crystal display, and 7 is a card reader / writer for reading / writing data from / to the IC card 103 set at a predetermined position as shown in FIG. is there.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a stabilizing circuit that stabilizes 12V to 5V for supplying power to the device 100.

A functional block diagram of the entrance gate roadside machine 54 and the exit gate roadside machine 59 is shown in FIG. In the entrance gate roadside machine 54, 11 is a CPU, and 12
Is a wireless device that communicates with the vehicle-mounted device 100, and 13 is a wireless device interface that controls transmission / reception of the wireless device 12. Reference numeral 14 is a memory for storing the data transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 100, and this memory 14 also stores information on the entrance gate name. Reference numeral 15 is an interface for the following devices, 16 is a vehicle approach detector that detects that a vehicle approaches the entrance gate 53, and 17 is a vehicle approach detector.
It is a vehicle type detector including a light projector and a light receiver. When the vehicle passes between the light emitter and the light receiver, the vehicle type identification unit 11 in the CPU 11 is based on the detection signal from the light receiver.
The vehicle type is detected by A. Reference numeral 18 is a communication interface for transmitting the data stored in the memory 14 to the center 61 through the communication line L. Antenna A ₂ is
It is attached to a predetermined portion of the U-shaped entrance gate 53.

In the exit gate roadside machine 59, the elements corresponding to the entrance gate roadside machine 54 are added with 10 to the reference numeral in FIG. 5 (for example, radio 12 ← → radio 22). The memory 24 stores information on the exit gate name. Reference numeral 29 is a toll table in which the tolls are tabulated and stored based on the information about the entrance gate and the exit gate, the type of vehicle, and the like.
9 is provided with a toll calculator 21A that calculates a toll. The antenna A ₃ is attached to a predetermined part of the exit gate 58.

A functional block diagram of the check gate roadside machine 56 is shown in FIG. This road machine 56 also comprises substantially the same elements as the entrance gate road machine 54 and therefore the reference numerals of FIG. 5 have been increased by 20 for the corresponding elements. still,
The CPU 31 is provided with a data determination unit 31C that determines whether or not the data is normally stored in the vehicle-mounted device 100.

FIG. 7 shows a functional block diagram of the center 61. Since this center 61 is also basically the same in configuration as the entrance gate roadside machine 54 of FIG. 5, the reference numerals of FIG. 5 are added with 30 for the corresponding elements.
However, the traffic data sent from the roadside equipment at each gate is
A database 49 for storing D information is provided, and a CP is also provided.
In U41, a data search unit 41E that searches the database 49 for data when a data request is made from a roadside device.
And a data transmission unit 41F for transmitting the retrieved data to a roadside machine at a predetermined exit gate. The memory 44 temporarily stores traffic data sent from each roadside machine and data read from the database 49.

The operation of the system comprising the above equipment will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG. Entrance gate 53
When it is detected that the vehicle 50 approaches the vehicle, the vehicle type is detected, and the vehicle type and the data of this entrance gate name (A)
From the antenna A ₂ attached to the entrance gate 53 to the vehicle-mounted device 1
00 is transmitted. If the vehicle-mounted device 100 is normal, the data (A) is stored in the memory 4. Also, the data (A)
Is also transmitted to the center 61 and stored in the database 49 of the center 61.

The vehicle 50 that has passed through the entrance gate 53 then passes through the check gate 55. At this time, the check gate 55 requests the vehicle-mounted device 100 for data (A).
As a result, the vehicle-mounted device 100 adds its own ID information to the data (A) and transmits it to the check gate 55. At the check gate roadside machine 56, the transmitted data
(A), that is, it is determined whether the vehicle type and the entrance gate information are included. If the data (A) exists, the check gate on-road unit 56 ends the check operation by this, but when the data (A) is not included, that is, the vehicle-mounted device 1
When the data (A) is not stored in 00, the ID information of the vehicle 50 is transmitted from the check gate 55 to the center 61, and the retrieval of the data (A) for the ID is ordered. As a result, the center 61 sends the retrieved data (A) to the roadside machine 59 of the plurality of exit gates 58 that are candidates for passage of the vehicle 50, and stores it in the memory 24 in advance. .

When the vehicle 50 approaches the exit gate 58, the exit gate 58 requests the vehicle-mounted device 100 for data (A). In response to this, the vehicle-mounted device 100 transmits the data (A) in the memory 4 to the exit gate 58 together with the ID information. At the exit gate roadside machine 59, it is determined whether or not the transmitted data includes the data (A). If the data is included, information on the vehicle type / entrance gate name of the data (A) and this exit Calculate the toll from the information on the gate name.

On the other hand, when the data transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 100 does not include the data (A), at that time, the data (A) transmitted from the center 61 is stored in the memory 24, as described above. Therefore, the charge is calculated using the data. By transmitting the charge data (C) from the exit gate 58 to the vehicle 61,
The charge data (C) is subtracted from the balance of the C card 103. In addition, the exit gate roadside machine 59 adds the ID information to the exit gate name information and the data (C) to the center 61 for transmission and final registration.

If it is desired to perform a complete data storage check in the vehicle-mounted device 100, it is necessary to provide a check gate near each entrance gate as in the above embodiment, but the installation cost is high. However, it is rare that a memory error actually occurs. Therefore, when installing the check gate, an appropriate selection should be made according to the operating conditions of the vehicle on the expressway. For example, if most of the cars that entered from each entrance gate exit at the interchain, the second
As shown in FIG. 9 showing one embodiment of the invention, it is sufficient to install one check gate 55 'and its check gate road machine 56' in front of the exit gate 58 thereof. In that case, check gate 55 'and exit gate 58
A distance of several tens of meters is sufficient.

The check gates 55 and 55 'described above determine whether or not predetermined data is included in the data transmitted from the vehicle.
The transmission data from the vehicle may be transmitted to the center as it is, and the data may be determined at the center.

By the way, in a conventional system in which a passport is received at an entrance gate and passed at an exit gate to calculate a toll, only a passport is presented for the purpose of identifying a transit point and preventing unauthorized use of the passport. The check barrier is provided for this purpose, and this check barrier is installed for the same purpose in the system targeted by the present application. If the check barrier is used to perform data check, the installation of the check gate 56 can be omitted and the system can be provided at low cost. A system diagram in that case is shown in FIG. 10 showing one embodiment of the third invention.

In FIG. 9, a check barrier 62 is provided at a main part of the main line 51, and a check barrier roadside machine 63 of the check barrier 62 is also connected to the center 6 via the communication line L.
Connected to 1. FIG. 11 shows the functional blocks of the check barrier roadside machine 63.

In FIG. 11, the check barrier roadside machine 63 has substantially the same structure as the check gate roadside machine 56 in FIG. 6, and therefore, the corresponding elements are numbered as 10 plus 40 in FIG. It was a teenager. The configuration of the check barrier roadside machine itself is the same as that conventionally proposed. That is, since the waypoint is transmitted to the vehicle passing therethrough and the ID information transmitted from the vehicle is transmitted to the center, the memory 44 stores the waypoint (that is, the check barrier The CPU 41 does not have the data determination unit 31C as shown in FIG.

Center 61 'used in this system
A functional control block diagram of the above is shown in FIG. This center 61 ′ is different from the center 61 of FIG.
1 is different in that a data determination unit 41D that determines data transmitted from the check barrier roadside device 63 is provided.

The operation of the system of FIG. 10 will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG. The difference from FIG. 8 is that the check barrier 62 transmits the data (B) of the passing point to the vehicle.
Receives the ID information from the vehicle 50 together with the data (A) and (B), and transmits the received data as it is to the center 61 '. The center 61 ′ determines whether or not the transmitted data includes the data (A) necessary for the charge calculation. If the data is not included, the registered data (A) is read from the database 49 and a predetermined data is read. Transmit to the exit gate.

[0029]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a gate for checking whether or not the information on the entrance gate name is normally recorded on the car is installed at a position after the entrance gate, and the car passing through the gate stores the information normally. If it is not, the data search request is sent to the center immediately, and the searched data is sent to the predetermined exit gate in advance, so even if the car passes through the exit gate at high speed, Meanwhile, toll calculations can be made and the toll data can be sent to the vehicle. In the second aspect of the invention, the check gate is installed at the exit gate having a large traffic volume. With this system, the number of check gates installed can be greatly reduced, and the system can be provided at low cost. In the third aspect of the invention, the function of a check gate is provided in the check barrier, and therefore, this system can be provided at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a time chart showing the operation of a toll road toll collection device that has been conventionally proposed.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram of a fee collection device showing an embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 3 is an external view of an in-vehicle device equipped in the vehicle of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the vehicle-mounted device of FIG.

5 is a functional block diagram of the entrance gate roadside machine and the exit gate roadside machine of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the check gate roadside machine shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the center shown in FIG.

8 is a time chart showing a control operation in the system of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a system diagram of a fee collection device showing an embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 10 is a system diagram of a fee collection device showing an embodiment of the third invention.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of the check barrier roadside machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram of the center shown in FIG.

13 is a time chart showing a control operation in the system of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

50 cars 53 entrance gate 54 Entrance Gate Road Machine 55 check gate 56 Check Gate Road Machine 58 Exit Gate 59 Exit Gate Road Machine 61 Center 62 check barrier 63 Check Barrier Road Machine

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. Communication with a vehicle approaching an entrance gate such as an expressway, the data (A) of the entrance gate name is recorded on an IC card loaded in an in-vehicle device, and the data (A) together with ID information for identifying the vehicle ( A) is recorded in the center, and when the car approaches the exit gate, the data (A) is read from the IC card by communication, the toll is calculated by referring to the toll table, and the toll data (C) To the in-vehicle device
In the toll collection method for toll roads recorded on the C card, data is recorded on the IC card at a predetermined location after the entrance gate.
A check gate is provided to check whether or not (A) was recorded normally, and at this check gate, data (A)
When it is determined that the recording of the data is defective, the ID information is transmitted to the center, whereby the center searches the data (A) based on the ID information and sends the data to the exit gate in advance. By setting, when the above car without data (A) approaches the exit gate, the data from the center
A toll collection method for toll roads, characterized by calculating tolls based on (A). 2. The toll road according to claim 1, wherein a check barrier installed at a predetermined place for the purpose of preventing illegal traffic by recording waypoints on an IC card has a check function of the check gate. Toll collection method. 3. The data (A) of the entrance gate name is communicated with a car approaching an entrance gate such as an expressway and recorded on an IC card loaded in an in-vehicle device, and the data (A) together with ID information for identifying the car ( A) is recorded in the center, and when the car approaches the exit gate, the data (A) is read from the IC card by communication, the toll is calculated by referring to the toll table, and the toll data (C) To the in-vehicle device
In the toll road toll collection device to be recorded on the C card, data will be written on the IC card at a predetermined location after the entrance gate.
A check gate is provided to check whether or not (A) is normally recorded. The check gate has a radio that communicates with an approaching vehicle,
A determination means for determining whether or not the data (A) is normally recorded in the IC card by the communication, and when it is determined that the recording is abnormal, the center is made to retrieve the data (A), and It is equipped with a means to issue a request to send the search data (A) to the exit gate, and when the car without the data (A) approaches the exit gate, the fare is calculated based on the data (A) from the center. A toll collection device for toll roads. 4. The toll road toll collection device according to claim 1, wherein the check gate is installed before the main exit gate instead of being installed after the entrance gate. 5. The vehicle communicates with a vehicle approaching an entrance gate such as an expressway, records the entrance gate name data (A) in an IC card loaded in an in-vehicle device, and stores the data together with ID information for identifying the vehicle ( A) is recorded in the center, and when the car approaches the exit gate, the data (A) is read from the IC card by communication, the toll is calculated by referring to the toll table, and the toll data (C) To the in-vehicle device
In addition to recording the information on the C card, the information on the waypoints is transmitted to the car at a predetermined place for the purpose of preventing illegal traffic by recording the waypoints on the IC card, and from the car, the data (including the ID information) In a toll road toll collection device equipped with a check barrier that receives A) and transmits it to the center, if the data transmitted from the check barrier at the center does not include data (A), it is registered based on the ID information. The previously mentioned data (A), and
It is equipped with a means to issue a request to send (A) to the exit gate, and when the car without data (A) approaches the exit gate, the fare is calculated based on the data (A) from the center. Toll collection device for toll roads.