JP3671291B2 - ETC checker - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ETC checker that performs non-contact confirmation of the operation of an in-vehicle device of an automatic fee collection system (ETC: Electronic Toll Collection).
[0002]
[Prior art]
On toll roads, the information required for toll collection is exchanged between the roadside radio device and the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle by radio communication means, and the toll road users collect the toll while driving on the road nonstop A stop automatic toll collection system (ETC) has been developed and is being put to practical use.
[0003]
FIG. 3 shows an outline of the system configuration of the ETC, and the system main body side 30 is composed of a roadside radio device 31 and a roadside antenna 32 attached to the structure 33. The system main body side 30 is provided at a toll gate on a toll road. On the other hand, the vehicle 40 traveling on the toll road is provided with an in-vehicle device 41 at a position where transmission and reception with the roadside antenna 32 can be performed.
[0004]
In-vehicle device 41 is inserted with an IC card for toll payment in addition to the components necessary for communication with system main body side 30 such as an antenna, a control unit, and a display unit (these are not shown). ).
[0005]
As shown in FIG. 3, the ETC uses a dedicated short range communication (DSRC) that performs communication in a very narrow area (several meters to several tens of meters). When the vehicle 40 approaches the system main body side 30, the wireless system of the vehicle-mounted device 41 and the roadside wireless device 31 exchange information necessary for fee collection by wireless communication means. Then, the toll is settled on the IC card, and necessary data associated therewith is recorded in both the vehicle-mounted device 41 and the system main body 30.
[0006]
The ETC communication procedure is roughly performed as follows. FIG. 4 shows an example of communication in the case of the 5-slot length. Communication is performed in frame units, and one frame is composed of an FCMC (frame control message channel) slot and four message slots SL1 to SL4. Each slot has a width of, for example, 800 bits.
[0007]
The roadside apparatus always transmits FCMC1 at a predetermined timing. The transmission of FCMC1 is continued while there is no response from the vehicle-mounted device 41. The FCMC 1 contains a message that “the vehicle-mounted device that has received the FCMC 1 returns an ACTC (activation channel) data in the slot SL4”.
[0008]
When the vehicle-mounted device 41 enters the communication area, receives FCMC1 at time t1, and recognizes the FCMC data, it transmits address information of its own device as ACTC data according to the message (frame 1, SL4).
[0009]
When the roadside apparatus 31 receives the ACTC data, it reads the address of the vehicle-mounted device 41 included in the roadside device 31 and takes it as the link address in the data after the next FCMC2 to identify the vehicle-mounted device 41. In addition, a designation symbol for designating whether the vehicle-mounted device 41 of the designated link address receives or transmits data together with the slot number is added before the link address. In the example of FIG. 4, in FCMC2 (frame 2), a message is transmitted from the roadside apparatus 31 (received by the vehicle-mounted device 41) in slot SL3, and in FCMC3 (frame 3), a message is transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 41 in slot SL3. (Receiving at the roadside apparatus).
[0010]
In this way, while sequentially updating the FCMC data, the data is exchanged between the vehicle-mounted device 41 and the roadside apparatus 31 to perform processing. Therefore, for example, when there is an abnormality in the vehicle-mounted device 41, the abnormality is highly likely to be discovered through data exchange between the vehicle-mounted device 41 and the roadside wireless device 31 at a toll gate on an actual toll road.
[0011]
Further, the vehicle-mounted device 41 usually has a self-diagnosis function in order to check the operation after being mounted on an automobile or the like, and is configured to be able to inspect the connection state of an IC card reading or an antenna. Has been.
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the self-diagnosis function of the in-vehicle device can inspect the inside of the on-vehicle device, but cannot inspect the operation performance including the radio wave transmission / reception function when the on-vehicle device is mounted on the vehicle.
[0013]
In addition, even if an abnormality in the vehicle-mounted device is found under actual usage conditions such as a toll gate on a toll road, there is a problem that causes troubles between the road manager and the vehicle owner.
[0014]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and the operation check of the ETC in-vehicle device can be reliably and easily performed including a radio wave transmission / reception function while being mounted on a moving body. An object is to provide an ETC checker.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An ETC checker according to claim 1 of the present invention transmits frame control message channel (FCMC) data to an onboard unit for an automatic toll collection system (ETC) mounted on a vehicle,
In response to the FCMC data, the activation channel (ACTC) data transmitted from the in-vehicle device is received,
The received ACTC data is evaluated, and the quality of the vehicle-mounted device is determined based on the evaluation result.
[0017]
The ETC checker according to claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that, in the ETC checker described in claim 1 , the evaluation is performed depending on whether or not the ACTC data is received in a time zone in which it should be received.
[0018]
The ETC checker according to claim 3 of the present invention is the ETC checker according to claim 1 , wherein the evaluation is performed by an error detection code in the ACTC data.
[0019]
The ETC checker according to claim 4 of the present invention is the ETC checker according to claim 1 , wherein the evaluation is performed based on the identity of the identification number field (FID) in the FCMC data and the FID in the ACTC data. And
[0020]
According to this configuration, in a state where the operation check of the ETC on-vehicle device is attached to the vehicle, it can be performed in a non-contact manner and simply in a short time by transmitting and receiving radio waves. Therefore, it can of course be applied to the pre-shipment inspection in the manufacturing factory, and can also be used for the inspection after being installed in each dealer or maintenance shop.
[0021]
Further, the present invention can be applied not only to ETC but also to a system in a parking lot or drive-through that communicates by narrow area communication DSRC as in ETC.
[0022]
Moreover, since the evaluation of the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC on-vehicle device is performed based on whether or not the ACTC data is received in the time zone where the ACTC data is to be received, it is easy to distinguish it from noise.
[0023]
Moreover, since the evaluation of the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC on-vehicle device is performed by the error detection code included in the ACTC data, the inspection can be performed easily and reliably.
[0024]
Also, since the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC on-board unit is evaluated based on the identity of the FID in the FCMC data and the FID in the ACTC data that should be the same as this, the inspection should be performed easily and reliably. Can do.
[0025]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking as an example an ETC checker that performs non-contact operation confirmation of an ETC on-vehicle device.
[0026]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ETC checker 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, together with an in-vehicle device 20. FIG. 2 shows the data structure used in the ETC checker 10. FIG. 2A shows the frame structure, FIG. 2B shows the FCMC1 format, and FIG. 2C shows the ACTC format. Show.
[0027]
In FIG. 1, the ETC checker main body 11 includes a system control unit 12, a display unit 13, an operation unit 14, an external I / F unit 15, a data transmission / reception control unit 16, a 5.8 GHz high frequency unit, It transmits / receives data to / from the vehicle-mounted device 20 via the antenna unit 18. The antenna unit 18 may be incorporated into the ETC checker main body 11 and integrated.
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 2A, the transmission data FCMC1 is configured in the same manner as the FCMC1 transmitted from the ETC roadside apparatus, and communication is performed in units of frames. One frame includes an FCMC slot and four message slots SL1 to SL4. In the ETC checker of the present invention, unlike the roadside apparatus, the FCMC is configured to repeatedly transmit only FCMC1 for transmitting ACTC from the vehicle-mounted device.
[0029]
The data format of this FCMC1 is configured as shown in FIG. PR is a preamble, UW1 is a unique word for TDMA frame synchronization, SIG is a transmission channel control field such as channel configuration information, FID is a base station identification number field, FSI is a frame configuration information field, RLT is a release timer information field, SC is a service application information field of the base station, SCI (1) to (8) are slot control information fields for communication slot assignment, and CRC is an error detection code.
[0030]
The ACTC data format is configured as shown in FIG. Part of ACTC (1) to (8) is used. PR is a preamble, UW1 is a unique word for TDMA frame synchronization, FID is an identification number field that uses the FID transmitted from the base station as it is, LID is a link address field, LRI is a link request information field, CRC is an error detection code It is.
[0031]
Now, the function of the ETC checker 10 configured as described above will be described together with the configuration of data to be transmitted and received.
[0032]
The ETC checker 10 is configured to be portable so that an operator can arbitrarily carry it. For example, the ETC checker 10 is made to approach the ETC on-board device 20 attached at a predetermined position near the windshield inside the vehicle, for example, from the outside of the vehicle. The communication is ready.
[0033]
When the test is started by operating the operation unit 14, the data transmission / reception control unit 16 generates transmission data FCMC 1 and supplies the data to the high frequency unit 17. The high-frequency unit 17 places the transmission data FCMC1 on a 5.8 GHz band carrier and emits it as a radio wave through the antenna unit 18. While the ACTC data that is a response signal from the vehicle-mounted device 20 is not received as in frame 0 in FIG. 2A, FCMC1 is repeatedly transmitted.
[0034]
When the antenna unit 18 of the ETC checker 10 is brought close to the vehicle-mounted device 20 and the vehicle-mounted device 20 normally receives the radio wave emitted from the antenna 18, the vehicle-mounted device 20 becomes ACTC like the slot SL4 of the frame 1 in FIG. Create and send.
[0035]
When the antenna unit 18 of the ETC checker 10 receives this ACTC data, the high-frequency unit 17 detects the received data and sends the received ACTC data to the transmission / reception control unit 16.
[0036]
The ACTC data received by the data transmission / reception control unit 16 is evaluated, and the quality of the ETC in-vehicle device 20 is determined based on the evaluation result, and displayed on the display unit 13.
[0037]
The transmitted and received data FCMC1 and ACTC are output to an external device such as a personal computer by the external I / F unit 15.
[0038]
Here, the evaluation of the received ACTC data in the data transmission / reception control unit 16 will be described.
[0039]
First, as a first evaluation method, the ACTC transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 20 in response to reception of FCMC data is arranged in a specific slot among the plurality of slots SL1 to SL4, in this example, SL4. Is predetermined. The data transmission / reception control unit 16 waits for ACTC data to be received in the slot SL4 after the FCMC data is transmitted. In this case, since the ACTC is not received in the other slots SL1 to SL3, it is not necessary to recognize the contents of the ACTC data, and it is checked whether any data has been received.
[0040]
In this first evaluation method, the presence of ACTC data in a specific slot evaluates that the in-vehicle device 20 is operating normally. On the other hand, when ACTC data does not exist in a specific slot even though the ETC checker 10 is sufficiently close to the vehicle-mounted device 20, it is evaluated that the vehicle-mounted device 20 is performing an abnormal operation. If the in-vehicle device evaluated as an abnormal operation is determined to be a non-defective product by internal diagnosis, etc., it is assumed that the cause is a failure in the radio wave transmission / reception unit including the antenna or a failure in the mounting position of the on-vehicle device. Is done.
[0041]
As described above, the evaluation of the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC vehicle-mounted device 20 only needs to be performed based on whether or not the ACTC data is received in the time slot SL4 to be received, and thus can be evaluated with a simple configuration. Also, it is easy to distinguish from noise and the like by comparison with other time slots.
[0042]
Next, as a second evaluation method, the evaluation of the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC vehicle-mounted device 20 is performed using the error detection code CRC included in the ACTC data. This error detection code CRC is provided as standard equipment in the vehicle-mounted device 20 in order to improve the reliability of transmission data. Regarding data codes (FID, LID, LRI) other than PR and UW2 in FIG. It is created based on a predetermined generator polynomial.
[0043]
The data transmission / reception control unit 16 can recognize the correctness of the received ACTC data by analyzing the received ACTC data, including the error detection code CRC, using the above-described generator polynomial. When the ACTC data is positive, the vehicle-mounted device 20 can be evaluated as being in a normal state, and when the ACTC data is incorrect, the vehicle-mounted device 20 can be evaluated as being in an abnormal state. Since there are environmental conditions around the vehicle-mounted device 20 and it can be affected by noise or the like, it is possible to perform multiple times after receiving ACTC data in the frame 1 as shown in FIG. It is desirable to improve the accuracy of evaluation by acquiring ACTC data and recognizing the correctness.
[0044]
Thus, since the evaluation of the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC on-vehicle device 20 is performed using the error detection code CRC in the ACTC data provided as standard on the on-vehicle device 20, the inspection can be performed easily and reliably. Can do.
[0045]
Next, as a third evaluation method, the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC on-board unit 20 is evaluated based on the identity of the FID in the FCMC data and the FID in the ACTC data that should be the same.
[0046]
FID is an identification number field of a base station, and usually a specific identification number is inserted as FID into the FCMC data from the roadside radio device 31 on the system body side of the ETC (FIG. 2 (b)), and FIG. The same FID is inserted into the ACTC data as shown in FIG. In the present invention, the assumed identification number is inserted into the FCMC transmitted from the ETC checker 10 as the FID by using this FID. Then, the data transmission / reception control unit 16 compares the FID in the ACTC data received from the vehicle-mounted device 20 with the assumed FID inserted in the FCMC.
[0047]
As a result of this comparison, it is possible to recognize the coincidence or disagreement between the two, and when this is used, the in-vehicle device 20 is in a normal state when the FID is coincident and the in-vehicle device 20 is in an abnormal state when the FID is inconsistent Can be evaluated. Since there are environmental conditions around the vehicle-mounted device 20 and it can be affected by noise or the like, it is possible to perform multiple times after receiving ACTC data in the frame 1 as shown in FIG. It is desirable to acquire ACTC data and recognize FID match / mismatch to improve evaluation accuracy.
[0048]
As described above, the ACTC data can be easily and reliably inspected based on the coincidence / mismatch of the FID in the FCMC transmitted from the ETC checker and the FID in the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC on-board unit 20. Can do.
[0049]
As described above, the evaluation of the ACTC data is performed by the three methods. However, it is also effective to combine these three evaluation methods, and the combination can be arbitrarily determined.
[0050]
In the above embodiment, the ETC checker for confirming the operation of the on-board device for ETC has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and communication is performed by the narrow area communication DSRC as in the automatic toll collection system ETC. It can also be used effectively as a checker for a reception response device in a communication system such as a parking lot or drive-through.
[0051]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the state which the operation check of the ETC onboard equipment was attached to the vehicle, it can be performed by non-contact and simply in a short time by transmitting and receiving radio waves. Therefore, it can of course be applied to the pre-shipment inspection in the manufacturing factory, and can also be used for the inspection after being installed in each dealer or maintenance shop.
[0052]
Further, the present invention can be applied not only to ETC but also to a system in a parking lot or drive-through that communicates by narrow-area communication DSRC in the same manner as ETC.
[0053]
Moreover, since the evaluation of the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC on-board unit is performed based on whether or not the ACTC data is received in the time zone in which the ACTC data is to be received, it is easy to distinguish it from noise.
[0054]
Moreover, since the evaluation of the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC on-vehicle device is performed by the error detection code included in the ACTC data, the inspection can be performed easily and reliably.
[0055]
Also, since the ACTC data transmitted from the ETC on-board unit is evaluated based on the identity of the FID in the FCMC data and the FID in the ACTC data that should be the same as this, the inspection should be performed easily and reliably. Can do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ETC checker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an ETC system configuration.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data configuration in an ETC communication example.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ETC checker 11 ETC checker main body 12 System control part 13 Display part 14 Operation part 15 External I / F part 16 Data transmission / reception control part 17 High frequency part 18 Antenna part 20 ETC onboard equipment

Claims (4)

Send frame control message channel (FCMC) data to the on-board unit for the automatic toll collection system (ETC) installed in the vehicle,
In response to the FCMC data, the activation channel (ACTC) data transmitted from the in-vehicle device is received,
An ETC checker characterized in that the received ACTC data is evaluated and the quality of the in-vehicle device is determined based on the evaluation result. 2. The ETC checker according to claim 1 , wherein the evaluation is performed based on whether or not the ACTC data is received in a time zone to be received. 2. The ETC checker according to claim 1 , wherein the evaluation is performed by an error detection code in the ACTC data. 2. The ETC checker according to claim 1 , wherein the evaluation is performed based on the identity of the identification number field (FID) in the FCMC data and the FID in the ACTC data.

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