JP4634284B2 - Vehicle type identification system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for automatically discriminating a vehicle type at a toll gate on a toll road.

At toll gates on toll roads, the vehicle type is automatically identified by recognizing the license plate, vehicle size, and the like. The discrimination of the vehicle type is used for the following purposes.
(1) Non-ETC system Tolls are set according to the vehicle type. In order to automatically collect tolls, the vehicle type is automatically identified.
(2) In the case of the ETC system The vehicle type information necessary to collect the toll is registered in the ETC on-board unit, and the toll gate system acquires it from the ETC on-board unit by wireless communication. However, in order to illegally use the toll road at a cheap price or when the user replaces the vehicle-mounted device by himself when replacing the vehicle, the vehicle type information of the ETC vehicle-mounted device and the vehicle on which it is mounted May be inconsistent with the real car model. In order to check such inconsistencies, the vehicle type is measured by detecting the license plate, the size of the vehicle, and the like. If the vehicle types do not match, the vehicle is stopped and the toll booth staff responds, so that the vehicle is prevented from passing at a fee different from the actual vehicle type.

In patent document 1, it is an object to alleviate the traffic congestion of the vehicle when the vehicle type information registered in the ETC in-vehicle device is different from the vehicle type information registered in the electronic license plate at the exit toll gate of the ETC system. A toll terminal device, an ETC in-vehicle device, and an exit determination method for automatic toll collection system are described. According to this document, the exit toll gate terminal device includes an ETC on-vehicle device reference fee (fee A) based on vehicle type information registered in the ETC on-vehicle device and information on an IC card set in the ETC on-vehicle device, The vehicle type information registered in the electronic license plate and the electronic license plate reference fee (fee B) based on the information of the IC card are calculated. Comparing the two, if the ETC in-vehicle device reference fee (fee A) is equal to or exceeds the electronic license plate reference fee (fee B), the vehicle is permitted to leave without preventing the vehicle from leaving the toll facility.
JP 2004-326410 A

If the vehicle traffic is stopped each time the vehicle type information of the vehicle-mounted device and the vehicle type information obtained from the actual measurement do not match, the traffic at the toll gate is hindered.
An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle type discrimination system that detects a mismatch between vehicle type and vehicle type information registered in an ETC on-board device on which the vehicle is loaded.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle type discriminating system that hardly interferes with traffic at a toll booth and prevents unauthorized use of an ETC on-board unit.

  In the following, means for solving the problem will be described using the numbers used in [Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention] in parentheses. These numbers are added to clarify the correspondence between the description of [Claims] and [Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]. However, these numbers should not be used to interpret the technical scope of the invention described in [Claims].

  The vehicle type determination system according to the present invention includes a measurement vehicle type determination unit (46) for generating first vehicle type candidate information indicating a vehicle type by classifying vehicle measurement information obtained by measuring a vehicle according to a first predetermined reference; The toll for the vehicle type indicated in the ETC vehicle type information received from the ETC on-board unit on which the ETC roadside device (12) is mounted on the vehicle is smaller than the minimum toll for the vehicle type indicated in the first vehicle type candidate information. If the vehicle type information is inconsistent, the inconsistency information indicating that the vehicle type information is inconsistent is output, and the vehicle type information is consistent when the toll for the vehicle type indicated in the ETC vehicle type information is greater than or equal to the minimum toll. A vehicle type discriminating section (48) for outputting the matching information indicating.

  When the ETC on-board device is replaced in order to use the road illegally cheaply, it is considered that the toll fee is lower for the vehicle type of the on-board device than for the actual vehicle type. In the configuration of the present invention, inconsistency is determined only in such a case, and consistency is determined in other cases. For this reason, it is possible to check unauthorized use with little obstruction.

  In the vehicle type identification system according to the present invention, the measurement vehicle type identification unit (46) generates first vehicle type candidate information including both the first vehicle type and the second vehicle type when it cannot be determined whether the vehicle is the first vehicle type or the second vehicle type. To do.

  It may be difficult to reliably identify the vehicle type from the measurement of the vehicle. For example, an oversized car and a large car, and an ordinary car and a light car are easily confused. In that case, by registering the two types of vehicle types as the first vehicle type candidate information in this way, and using the one with the lowest toll to see the consistency with the vehicle type of the ETC on-board unit, the ETC on-board unit It is possible to discriminate only vehicles that are surely inconsistent with each other.

  The vehicle type discriminating system according to the present invention prevents the vehicle from moving when the vehicle type discriminating unit (48) outputs the inconsistency information, and allows the vehicle to start when the vehicle type discriminating unit (48) outputs the alignment information. A controller (16) is provided.

  The vehicle type determination system according to the present invention includes a second measurement vehicle type determination unit (40) that generates second vehicle type candidate information indicating a vehicle type by classifying vehicle measurement information according to a second predetermined criterion. The vehicle type classified according to the first predetermined standard with respect to the same vehicle measurement information has the same or small toll for the vehicle type classified according to the second predetermined standard.

  The vehicle type identification system according to the present invention employs an effective vehicle type information setting unit (54) that adopts the vehicle type indicated in the ETC vehicle type information as effective vehicle type information used for processing charges when the vehicle type identification unit (48) outputs the alignment information. ).

  In the vehicle type identification system according to the present invention, the valid vehicle type information setting unit (54) employs the second vehicle type candidate information as valid vehicle type information when the ETC roadside machine (12) cannot communicate with the vehicle.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the vehicle type discrimination | determination system which detects the discrepancy of the vehicle type information registered into the vehicle type of the vehicle and the ETC onboard equipment on which the vehicle is loaded is provided.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle type identification system that hardly disturbs traffic at a toll booth and prevents unauthorized use of the ETC on-board unit.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the vehicle type identification device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a toll gate on a toll road to which the vehicle type identification device is applied.

  The toll booth has a lane 2. On the entrance side of the lane 2, a vehicle separator 4, a vehicle type discrimination tread 5, a vehicle height detector 6, a vehicle length detector 8, and an imaging device 10 are installed. The vehicle separator 4 separates and detects individual vehicles when the vehicle enters the lane 2. The vehicle type discrimination tread 5 detects the distance between the right tire and the left tire and the tire width. The vehicle height detector 6 detects the vehicle height of the vehicle. The vehicle length detector 8 detects the vehicle length of the vehicle. The imaging device 10 images a vehicle license plate. The vehicle type discrimination tread 5, the vehicle height detector 6, the vehicle length detector 8, and the imaging device 10 are connected to the vehicle separator 4 so as to be able to communicate information. The vehicle separator 4 is connected to a server 18 installed in a manned booth at a toll booth so that information communication is possible.

  The toll booth further includes an ETC roadside machine 12, a toll collector 14 and a start controller 16. The ETC roadside machine 12 performs radio communication with an ETC on-board unit mounted on a vehicle in the lane 2. The toll collector 14 is provided on the roadside and performs unmanned vehicle occupant procedures for toll collection. The start controller 16 lowers the bar so as to prevent the start of the vehicle when the start of the vehicle is not permitted, and raises the bar when the start of the vehicle is permitted. The ETC roadside machine 12, the toll collector 14 and the start controller 16 are connected to the server 18 so as to be able to communicate information.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a system including a vehicle type identification device. The vehicle separator 4 includes an existing logic unit 20 and an ETC logic unit 22 that process and output input information. The output of the vehicle separator 4 is transmitted to an existing fee collection system 24 that performs fee processing without using ETC. The output of the ETC logic unit 22 is transmitted to an ETC system 26 that performs fee processing using the ETC.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the vehicle detector 4. The vehicle detector 4 includes a light projecting / receiving unit 28. The light projecting / receiving unit 28 includes a light projector installed on the road side of the lane 2 and a light receiver installed on the opposite road side. The vehicle detector 4 further includes an arithmetic control unit 30, a storage unit 32, and a communication unit 34.

  FIG. 4 shows the configuration of information stored in the storage unit 32. The storage unit 32 includes an existing logic processing unit 36. The existing logic processing unit 36 includes an existing vehicle type determination table 38 and an existing measurement vehicle type determination unit 40 that is a computer program. The ETC logic processing unit 42 includes an ETC vehicle type determination table 44, a toll information table 45, an ETC measurement vehicle type determination unit 46 and an ETC vehicle type determination unit 48 which are computer programs. The existing logic unit 20 in FIG. 3 is realized by an operation that the arithmetic control unit 30 executes with reference to the existing logic processing unit 36. The ETC logic unit 22 is realized by an operation executed by the arithmetic control unit 30 with reference to the ETC logic processing unit 42. The existing logic unit 20 and the ETC logic unit 22 may be executed by an independent processing unit.

  5 and 6 show examples of the ETC vehicle type discrimination table 44. FIG. The ETC vehicle type discrimination table 44 is a hierarchized table, and the master matrix 44-1 in FIG. 5 is an upper table. On the vertical axis of the master matrix 44-1, the classification based on the size of the license plate and the classification number is described. On the horizontal axis, the classification according to the number of axles is described. In each cell, vehicle type information indicating the vehicle type is registered. “Vehicle 1” is a regular vehicle, “Vehicle 2” is a large vehicle, “Vehicle 3” is an oversized vehicle, “Vehicle 4” is a medium-sized vehicle, “Vehicle 5” is a light or two-wheeled vehicle, and “Vehicle X” is a vehicle type. Is unknown. Cells such as “To [E2]” and “To [E3]” refer to a sub-matrix, which is a subordinate table for more detailed discrimination when the vehicle type cannot be specified only by the license plate and the number of axes. I will tell you.

  FIG. 6 shows [E2], which is an example of the sub-matrix 44-1. On the vertical axis of the sub-matrix, classification by tread length is described. On the horizontal axis, the type of license plate is described. "Light plate" means that the license plate has a classification number issued to mini vehicles, and "Duplicate plate" means, for example, a license plate that has classification numbers issued to light vehicles and ordinary vehicles. Indicates. In each cell, vehicle type information indicating the vehicle type is registered.

  The existing vehicle type discrimination table 38 has a configuration similar to that of the ETC vehicle type discrimination table 44. However, the data registered in the cell is different. The vehicle type of each cell in the ETC vehicle type determination table 44 has the same or small toll as compared to the vehicle type of each corresponding cell in the existing vehicle type determination table 38.

  For example, a description will be given with reference to a record of “large format / 2X, 2XX” in the master matrix 44-1. In this record, there is only a cell “car type 2” other than the cell “car type unknown”. In the record in which the plate in the existing vehicle type discrimination table 38 is “Large / 2X, 2XX”, “Car type 2” and “Vehicle type 3” having a toll higher than “Vehicle type 2” are mixed in addition to “Vehicle type unknown”. It is registered.

  Since the existing fee collection system 24 uses the vehicle type obtained from the measurement for fee collection, it is desirable to accurately discriminate the vehicle type. In the ETC system 26, the vehicle type obtained from the measurement is used for preventing fraud. That is, it is used for checking a case where the measured vehicle type is too larger than the vehicle type of the vehicle-mounted device.

Therefore, the ETC measurement vehicle type discriminating unit 46 may discriminate that it is not below which vehicle type. for that reason,
(1) It is allowed to misclassify the vehicle type obtained from the measurement to be smaller than the actual vehicle type.
(2) It is not allowed to misclassify the vehicle type obtained from the measurement to be larger than the actual vehicle type.
That process is desired.

  For example, depending on the classification number of the license plate, there is a number issued to light cars and ordinary cars. In such a case, the existing fee collection system cannot determine the vehicle type based on the license plate information. On the other hand, the ETC system 26 only needs to check the case where the measured vehicle type is too large. Therefore, the light vehicle and the ordinary vehicle are classified into the smaller light vehicle and set as the measurement vehicle type, and compared with the vehicle type of the vehicle-mounted device.

  The difference between the vehicle type registered in the cell of the existing vehicle type discrimination table 38 and the vehicle type registered in the cell of the ETC vehicle type discrimination table 44 is consistent with such processing. As a result, the existing fee collection system 24 is indistinguishable and has few misjudgments, and the ETC measurement vehicle type discriminating unit 46 performs processing for preventing traffic and preventing fraud.

  FIG. 7 shows the toll information table 45. The toll information table 45 stores the vehicle type 64 and the toll 66 in association with each other. The vehicle type 64 indicates a classification of a vehicle type used for processing tolls. “Vehicle 1” is a regular vehicle, “Vehicle 2” is a large vehicle, “Vehicle 3” is an oversized vehicle, “Vehicle 4” is a medium-sized vehicle, “Vehicle 5” is a light or two-wheeled vehicle, and “Vehicle X” is a vehicle type. Is unknown. The toll 66 indicates the order of the toll of the vehicle type indicated by the vehicle type 64. In the example of FIG. 6, “vehicle type 3”, “vehicle type 2”, “vehicle type 4”, “vehicle type 1”, and “vehicle type 5” are shown in descending order of toll.

  FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the server 18. The server 18 includes an arithmetic control unit 18, a storage unit 52, an input unit 60, an output unit 62, and a communication unit 64. The storage unit 52 includes an effective vehicle type information setting unit 54 and a fee processing unit 56 which are computer programs. The storage unit 52 further includes an in-vehicle device mismatched vehicle list 58.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle type identification device.
Step S2: The vehicle enters lane 2 of the toll gate. The vehicle detector 4 detects the vehicle.
Step S4: The vehicle height detector 6, the vehicle type discrimination tread and the vehicle length detector 8 measure the outer shape of the vehicle and generate vehicle outer shape information indicating the outer shape of the vehicle.
Step S6: The imaging device 10 captures the license plate of the vehicle and recognizes the image, and generates license plate information including a classification of the size of the license plate and character information drawn on the license plate. Thereafter, the ETC logic unit 22 executes Steps S8 to S18, and the existing logic unit executes Step S20.

Step S8: The ETC roadside machine 12 attempts to communicate with the ETC on-board unit of the vehicle.
Step S10: If recognizing the ETC on-vehicle device fails, the ETC flag = 0 is stored, and the process proceeds to step S22.
Step S12: If the ETC OBE is successfully recognized, the vehicle type (vehicle type) stored in the ETC OBE and the OBE ID for individually identifying the OBE are acquired, and the ETC flag = 1 is set. Store, and the process proceeds to step S14.

  Step S14: The ETC measurement vehicle type determination unit 46 searches the ETC vehicle type determination table 44 using the vehicle outer shape information and the license plate information, extracts the vehicle type, and stores it as an ETC measurement vehicle type.

Step S16: The ETC vehicle type discriminating unit 48 refers to the toll fee information table 45, and compares the fee corresponding to the vehicle-mounted device vehicle type with the fee corresponding to the ETC measurement vehicle type.
When the charge for the vehicle-mounted device type ≧ the charge for the ETC measurement vehicle type, the process proceeds to step S18.
If the charge for the vehicle-mounted device type is less than the charge for the ETC measurement vehicle type, the process proceeds to step S22.

  Step S18: The ETC vehicle type determination unit 48 transmits the vehicle-mounted device ID to the server 18. The server 18 outputs a warning notifying the worker of the manned booth that the vehicle type is inconsistent from the output unit 62 and registers the received vehicle-mounted device ID in the inconsistent vehicle list 58. The process proceeds to step S22.

  Step S20: The existing measurement vehicle type determination unit 40 searches the existing vehicle type determination table 38 using the vehicle outer shape information and the license plate information, extracts the vehicle type, and stores it as an existing system measurement vehicle type. The process proceeds to step S22.

  Step S22: The effective vehicle type information setting unit 54 employs the existing system measurement vehicle type as the effective vehicle type when the ETC flag = 0. When the ETC flag = 1, the ETC measurement vehicle type is adopted as the effective vehicle type. The fee processing unit 56 generates information for fee processing corresponding to the valid vehicle type and transmits it to the fee collector 14. The fee receiver 14 performs fee processing using the received information.

  Step S24: When the fee processing is completed, the bar of the start controller 16 is opened and the vehicle starts.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a toll gate on a toll road to which the vehicle type identification device is applied. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the vehicle type identification device. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the vehicle detector 4. FIG. 4 shows the configuration of information stored in the storage unit 32. FIG. 5 shows a master matrix of the ETC vehicle type discrimination table. FIG. 6 shows a sub-matrix of the ETC vehicle type discrimination table. FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the toll information table. FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the server. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle type identification device.

Explanation of symbols

2 ... Lane 4 ... Vehicle separator 5 ... Vehicle type discrimination tread 6 ... Vehicle height detector 8 ... Vehicle length detector 10 ... Imaging device 12 ... ETC roadside device 14 ... Toll collector 16 ... Start controller 18 ... Server 20 ... Existing logic unit 22 ... ETC logic unit 24 ... Existing toll collection system 26 ... ETC system 28 ... Projector / receiver 30 ... Operation control unit 32 ... Storage unit 34 ... Communication unit 36 ... Existing logic processing unit 38 ... Existing vehicle type discrimination table 40 ... Existing measured vehicle type discriminating unit 42 ... ETC logic processing unit 44 ... ETC vehicle type discriminating table 44-1 ... Master matrix 44-2 ... Submatrix 45 ... Toll information table 46 ... ETC measured car type discriminating unit 48 ... ETC vehicle type discriminating unit

Claims (7)

A measurement vehicle type discriminating unit that generates first vehicle type candidate information indicating a vehicle type by classifying vehicle measurement information obtained by measuring the outer shape of the vehicle or image recognition of the license plate according to a first predetermined reference;
The toll for the vehicle type indicated in the vehicle type information received from the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle by the roadside unit of the automatic toll collection system is the smallest minimum toll of the vehicle types indicated in the first vehicle type candidate information. Output inconsistent information indicating that the vehicle type information is inconsistent when the vehicle type information is smaller, and the vehicle type information is consistent when the toll for the vehicle type indicated in the vehicle type information is greater than or equal to the minimum toll. A vehicle type discriminating system comprising: a vehicle type discriminating unit that outputs matching information indicating that the vehicle is present. A vehicle type identification system according to claim 1,
The measurement vehicle type determination unit generates the first vehicle type candidate information including both the first vehicle type and the second vehicle type when the vehicle cannot determine whether the vehicle is the first vehicle type or the second vehicle type. The vehicle type identification system according to claim 1 or 2,
The vehicle type discrimination system in which the vehicle-mounted device ID received from the vehicle-mounted device is registered in the mismatched vehicle list when the inconsistency information is output. A vehicle type identification system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Further, the vehicle type includes a start controller that prevents the vehicle from advancing when the vehicle type determination unit outputs the inconsistency information and permits the vehicle to start when the vehicle type determination unit outputs the alignment information. Discriminating system. A vehicle type identification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Furthermore, the vehicle measurement information includes a second measurement vehicle type determination unit that generates second vehicle type candidate information indicating a vehicle type by classifying the vehicle measurement information according to a second predetermined criterion,
The vehicle type discriminating system in which the vehicle type classified according to the first predetermined standard with respect to the same vehicle measurement information has the same or small toll for the vehicle type classified according to the second predetermined standard. A vehicle type identification system according to claim 1,
Furthermore, vehicle type identification system in which the vehicle type identification section comprises an effective vehicle type information setting unit employed as an effective vehicle type information that is used to model indicated in the price of processing the vehicle type information when outputting the matched information. The vehicle type identification system according to claim 6,
The effective vehicle type information setting unit employs the second vehicle type candidate information as the effective vehicle type information when the roadside device cannot communicate with the vehicle.

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