JP7062029B2 - ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device - Google Patents

Description

The present application relates to an ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device.

In recent years, technological development has been promoted to ensure that the tollhouse passes through.
One of them is the ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System, registered trademark) card non-insertion notice. When the ETC notice notice delivered by the roadside radio device is received, the ETC card is not inserted in the ETC on-board unit. There is an ETC toll office notice notification system that notifies the driver that it has not been inserted.
In addition, there is also an ETC tollhouse operation information provision system that generates and distributes information indicating the traffic status (passability, etc.) of each lane of the ETC tollhouse and informs the driver or the automatic driving system of the position of the lane where ETC can be used. It is being considered. (See Patent Document 1)

Japanese Patent No. 6585009 (pages 3 to 4, Fig. 1)

However, the above-mentioned two systems, the ETC tollhouse notice notification system and the ETC tollhouse operation information providing system, are installed as independent systems with different wireless specifications. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a wireless antenna and a roadside wireless device necessary for each system, and to arrange a communication area so that the respective wireless communication coverage areas do not interfere with each other.
For example, the ETC tollhouse notice notification system uses wireless communication using an ASK (Amplitude shifting) modulation method, and the ETC tollhouse operation information providing system uses wireless communication using a QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) modulation method. Use.

Since the ETC on-board unit exclusively uses either wireless communication using the ASK modulation method or wireless communication using the QPSK modulation method, for example, the route from the diversion point with the general road to the tollhouse. When the distance is short, it may not be possible to install the ETC tollhouse notice notification system and the ETC tollhouse operation information providing system so that they do not overlap.
In addition, in order to implement both the ETC tollhouse notice notification system and the ETC tollhouse operation information provision system, a wireless antenna and a roadside wireless device are prepared for each system, so that there is a problem that the system installation cost becomes high. there were.

The present application discloses a technique for solving the above-mentioned problems, and provides an ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device capable of outputting ETC card availability information when receiving ETC operation information from a roadside wireless device. With the goal.

The ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device disclosed in the present application is an in-vehicle wireless communication means that is mounted on a vehicle and performs road-to-vehicle communication with a roadside wireless device, and ETC use that outputs availability information of an ETC card stored in the vehicle. ETC availability confirmation means, ETC availability confirmation means when ETC operation information including the ETC operation status of each booth of the ETC toll collection is received by the in-vehicle wireless communication means transmitted by broadcast communication from the roadside wireless device It is provided with a content output means for acquiring the availability information of the ETC card from the ETC card and outputting the content according to the acquired availability information of the ETC card and the ETC operation information.

According to the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device disclosed in the present application, the ETC card availability information can be output when the ETC operation information is received from the roadside wireless device.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication apparatus by Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation at the time of carrying out the tollhouse passage support of the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device according to Embodiment 1. It is a figure which shows the composition example of the content of the ETC operation information of the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication apparatus by Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the hardware composition of the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication apparatus by Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2.

Embodiment 1.
Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device according to the first embodiment.
In FIG. 1, the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 supports passage through an ETC tollhouse. It is configured as follows.
The in-vehicle wireless communication means 10 is mounted on an automobile and performs road-to-vehicle communication with a roadside wireless device to obtain tollhouse notice notification information and ETC operation information including the ETC operation status of each booth of the tollhouse. Receive.

The in-vehicle wireless communication means 10 is capable of communication corresponding to both the ASK modulation method in the ETC tollhouse notice notification system and the QPSK modulation method in the ETC tollhouse operation information providing system, and one of the communication is exclusive. It shall be used for.
Specifically, other communication cannot be used until the connected communication is disconnected. For example, when the communication of the ASK modulation method is started, the communication of the QPSK modulation method cannot be performed until the communication coverage area is exited.

Further, the in-vehicle wireless communication means 10 in the first embodiment is also used in the ETC, and the ETC uses individual communication of the ASK modulation method (communication performed individually between one set of roadside wireless devices and the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device). For the provision of ETC operation information, etc., broadcast communication using the QPSK modulation method (broadcast type communication in which the same information is simultaneously distributed from one roadside wireless device to multiple ETC in-vehicle wireless communication devices) is used. It shall be used.

The ETC availability confirmation means 20 confirms the availability status of the ETC card, and outputs the ETC availability information indicating the availability to the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 described later.
The ETC availability confirmation means 20 is an ETC card reading device, and detects and outputs the ETC availability and the reason for the expiration or reading failure (including the non-inserted state) of the ETC card.
Further, the ETC availability confirmation means 20 may determine the expiration date of the ETC card by using the time information output by the time information output means 30.

The time information output means 30 outputs the time information to the ETC availability confirmation means 20 and the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 described later.
The time information output means 30 may be realized by RTC (Real-Time-Lock), or may use time information received from GPS (Global Positioning System).

When the in-vehicle wireless communication means 10 receives the ETC operation information, the toll station passage support information selection / output means 40 (content output means) acquires the ETC availability information from the ETC availability confirmation means 20 and uses the ETC. From the contents of the availability information and ETC operation information, select the content required for the driver or the automatic driving system (data including at least one of voice data, painting data, received data, and predetermined command data) and appropriate. Output in any order.

The tollhouse information reproduction device 2 receives and reproduces the content output by the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1.
In the first embodiment, the tollhouse information reproduction device 2 is configured to be connected to the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 as a device independent of the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1, but the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 is used. It may be built in internally.

ETC operation information is information showing the ETC operation status (ETC available, ETC unusable, general only (cash payment only)), passability and the reason (under construction, etc.) at each booth of the tollhouse. Shall include.
Further, the ETC availability information includes the ETC availability in the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 and the reason thereof (the ETC card is not inserted, the ETC card has expired, etc.).

The ETC availability confirmation means 20 outputs the ETC availability information output from the ETC availability confirmation means 20 to the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 at a fixed cycle (ETC vehicle-mounted) to the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40. It may be output every 100 milliseconds, starting from the time when the power of the wireless communication device 1 is turned on and started.
Alternatively, the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 may request the ETC availability confirmation means 20 to output the ETC availability information at an arbitrary timing and acquire it as a response to this request. ..

Since the number of times the ETC card is accessed has a useful life, it is desirable not to access the ETC card unnecessarily.
Therefore, in the first embodiment, the ETC operation information received by the in-vehicle wireless communication means 10 is output to the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40, and the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 is concerned. When the ETC operation information is received, the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 requests the ETC availability confirmation means 20 to output the ETC availability information, and the information is acquired as a response to the request.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of contents of ETC operation information of the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device according to the first embodiment.
In FIG. 3, the content of the ETC operation information is associated with the content output by the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40, and the output destination of the associated content is shown.
In FIG. 3, the content output to the tollhouse information reproduction device 2 corresponds to the content of the ETC operation information. "Normal" (that is, ETC can be used at all tollhouse booths), "ETC not available" (ETC cannot be used at all tollhouse booths), "Some ETC available" (some charges) There are situations such as "ETC can be used at the booths"), "partially under construction" (some tollhouses are under construction and cannot pass), "impossible" (all tollhouse booths cannot pass), etc. , Predetermined according to the output destination.

Next, the operation will be described.
The operation when the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 is provided with the tollhouse passage support will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the in-vehicle wireless communication means 10 of the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 receives ETC operation information indicating the operation status of each booth of the ETC tollhouse (cannot pass, is in operation, and only cash can pass), and supports the passage through the tollhouse. The received ETC operation information is output to the information selection / output means 40 (step S101).
Next, when the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 receives the ETC operation information, it acquires the ETC availability information indicating the availability of the ETC card from the ETC availability confirmation means 20 (step S102).

Subsequently, the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 determines whether or not the ETC availability information acquired in step S102 is ETC available (step S103).
When the ETC availability information is ETC available (YES in step S103), the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 selects the content corresponding to the content of each ETC operation information, and selects the selected content at the tollhouse. It is output to the information reproduction device 2 (step S104).
Next, the tollhouse information reproduction device 2 reproduces the content output in step S104 (step S106), and ends the process to inform the driver of the operation status of the ETC tollhouse.

When the ETC availability information is ETC unusable (NO in step S103), the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 selects the content corresponding to the ETC unavailability, and the selected content is the tollhouse information. It is output to the reproduction device 2 (step S105).
The tollhouse information reproduction device 2 reproduces the content output in step S105 (step S106), and ends the process to notify the driver that the ETC vehicle-mounted wireless communication device 1 cannot use ETC.

The ETC operation information is composed of data indicating the operation status of a plurality of tollhouse booths, but when the tollhouse information reproduction device 2 reproduces audio data, the status of the tollhouse in front can be displayed in a short time. And it is necessary to tell the driver accurately.
Therefore, in step S104, the content selected by the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 and output to the tollhouse information reproduction device 2 is as shown in FIG. 3 according to the content of the ETC operation information. Become.

Further, in step S105, the contents for which ETC cannot be used selected by the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 and output to the tollhouse information reproduction device 2 are "ETC card not inserted" and "ETC card valid". It shall be decided in advance according to the reason why ETC cannot be used such as "expired" and the output destination.

Next, a method of realizing the content selection process will be specifically described.
A specific example will be described in which the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 determines "normal" (a situation in which ETC can be used at all tollhouse booths) from ETC operation information.
In the ETC operation information, the operation status of all N booths at the tollhouse is 0, such as "0: stopped", "1: operating" as ETC operation flag information [1 to N]. When it is represented by 1, the case where the result of the logical product (AND) of all ETC operation flag information is 1, that is, the case where all ETC operation flag information is "1: in operation". Judged as "normal" (the situation where ETC can be used at all tollhouse booths).

Similarly, when the result of the logical sum (OR) of all ETC operation flag information is 0, it is determined that "ETC cannot be used" (ETC cannot be used at all tollhouse booths).
As shown in FIG. 3, the output destination of the content is a car navigation device, an automatic driving system, or the like, and is not voice data but a computer such as received ETC operation information or command data corresponding to the content of ETC operation information. It is acceptable to output in a format that is easy to recognize.

Next, the effect of the first embodiment will be described.
In the conventional ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device, in order to notify the driver of the situation where the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device cannot use ETC, such as when the ETC card is not inserted, and the situation of the ETC operation information of the tollhouse. , ASK modulation type roadside radio device and QPSK modulation method roadside radio device are required.
That is, in front of the ETC tollhouse, the ASK modulation type roadside radio device for warning that the ETC card is not inserted and the QPSK modulation type roadside radio device for broadcast distribution of ETC operation information of the tollhouse are on the same line. In addition, it is necessary to arrange so that the respective communication coverage areas do not overlap.
However, in places where the distance from the diversion point with the general road to the ETC tollhouse is short, the communication coverage of the ASK modulation type roadside radio device and the QPSK modulation method roadside radio device should not overlap on the same line. It could not be installed.

According to the first embodiment, it is possible to warn the non-insertion of the ETC card, distribute the ETC operation information, and notify the driver only by the roadside wireless device of the QPSK modulation method.

Further, it is possible to cope with the case where the roadside radio device of the ASK modulation method and the roadside radio device of the QPSK modulation method are installed on the same line.
That is, even if the communication coverage area of the QPSK modulation method roadside radio device partially overlaps or includes the communication coverage area of the ASK modulation method roadside radio device, the ETC in-vehicle radio communication device is ASK. Since it is possible to communicate with both the roadside radio device of the modulation method and the roadside radio device of the QPSK modulation method, or the roadside radio device of the QPSK modulation method, the ETC card non-insertion warning, the distribution of ETC operation information, and the driver Allows notification of.
This is because, as long as it can communicate with the roadside wireless device of the QPSK modulation method, it is possible to warn the non-insertion of the ETC card, distribute the ETC operation information, and notify the driver.
In this way, the installation cost of the roadside radio device is reduced, and even in a place where the route from the branch point with the general road to the ETC tollhouse is short, the ETC card non-insertion warning, ETC operation information distribution and delivery to the driver You will be able to be notified.

Further, the content selected by the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 and output to the tollhouse information reproduction device 2 can be determined in advance according to the content of the ETC operation information and its output destination. When there is a factor that the driver cannot pass through the tollhouse in front as usual, the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 receives ETC operation information (operation of a plurality of tollhouse booths) received from the roadside wireless device of the QPSK modulation method. Based on the state data), it is possible to output easy-to-recognize content to the driver in a short time and alert the driver to the front.
Therefore, it becomes possible to pass through the tollhouse more reliably.

Embodiment 2.
The ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 in the first embodiment is a tollhouse passage support information selection / output means of the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 according to the operating state of each booth of the tollhouse received by the in-vehicle wireless communication means 10. According to 40, the driver selects voice content that is easy to understand in a short time, and the selected voice content is played back by the tollhouse information reproduction device 2, thereby providing the driver with the operation information of the tollhouse. ..
In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the driver is notified of the availability of ETC and the availability of passage through the tollhouse based on the distributed ETC operation information, but there are a plurality of these at the tollhouse. You may be notified about the operational status of each booth.

That is, in the second embodiment, the ETC operation information includes the operation status (whether ETC is available or not) of each booth at the tollhouse and the booth position information indicating the booth position.
The content of the ETC operation information selected by the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 of the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 is the information provided to the driver such as "The tollhouse on the right side can be used". By including the location of the booth as seen by the driver, we will realize a way to provide operational information for tollhouses that is easier to understand.

The point in the second embodiment is the method of expressing the booth position information.
The booth location information indicating the location of the booth is expressed by assigning serial numbers (ETC booth numbers) in order from left to right, with the leftmost booth as the driver's number 1 for the approach road to the tollhouse. And.
That is, in a tollhouse with eight booths, the ETC booth number of the leftmost booth is No. 1 and the ETC booth number of the rightmost booth is No. 8 when viewed from the driver.
In this way, by expressing the position of each booth at the tollhouse as a relative position from the driver's point of view (for example, the Nth from the right) instead of the general GPS latitude / longitude / altitude, the ETC in-vehicle radio The communication device 1 can notify the driver of the position of the tollhouse without having a positioning device such as GPS.

Next, the specific processing of the second embodiment and the difference from the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
First, in step S101 of FIG. 2, booth position information indicating the position of each booth of the tollhouse is added to the ETC operation information received by the vehicle-mounted wireless communication means 10 of the ETC vehicle-mounted wireless communication device 1.

Next, the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 in step S104 of the first embodiment uses the booth location information when selecting the content of the ETC operation information.
For example, if there are two booths at the tollhouse, if ETC booth number 1 is impassable and ETC is available and passable, then ETC booth number 1 is impassable.
"" The tollhouse on the right side is "" ETC is available ""
And the content indicating the booth position "The tollhouse on the right side" and the content indicating the ETC operation status "You can use ETC" are selected and output to the tollhouse information playback device 2.
In this way, in the selection of ETC operation information content by the tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40, the booth position information is expressed as the left, center, and right positions that are easy to recognize from the driver's point of view. And.

The method of selecting the content indicating the booth position will be described more specifically.
When the number of tollhouse booths is 2 ・ Booth number 1 “The tollhouse on the left side is”
・ Booth number 2 “The tollhouse on the right side is”
Select the content that expresses the location of the booth.

If the number of tollhouse booths is 3,
・ Booth number 1 “The tollhouse on the left side is”
・ Booth number 2 “The tollhouse in the middle is”
・ Booth number 3 “The tollhouse on the right side is”
Select the content that expresses the location of the booth.

If the number of tollhouse booths is 4 or more
・ Booth number 1 “The tollhouse on the far left is”
・ Booth number 2 “The tollhouse on the left side is”
・ Booth number 3 “The tollhouse on the right side is”
・ Booth number 4 “The tollhouse on the far right is”
The tollhouse passage support information selection / output means 40 has contents in advance that express the position of the tollhouse according to the number of booths.

Next, the effect of the second embodiment will be described.
In the second embodiment, the booth position information indicating the position of the booth of the tollhouse is added to the ETC operation information broadcasted from the roadside radio device of the QPSK modulation method, and the ETC in-vehicle radio is added according to the booth position information. Communication device 1 now provides the driver with tollhouse information including the location of the booth as seen by the driver, such as "The tollhouse on the right side can be used".
For this reason, it becomes possible for the driver to understand in a short time which booth can be used or passed, so that the driver can pass through the tollhouse more reliably.
Further, by expressing the booth position information in a relative position in the tollhouse, for example, serial numbers from the left with respect to the approach direction of the tollhouse, the ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 does not have a positioning device such as GPS, and is inexpensive. Even with an ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device, it will be possible to inform the driver of the location of the booth at the tollhouse.

The ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device 1 is composed of a processor 100 and a storage device 101 as shown in FIG. 4 as an example of hardware. Although the storage device is not shown, it includes a volatile storage device such as a random access memory and a non-volatile auxiliary storage device such as a flash memory. Further, an auxiliary storage device of a hard disk may be provided instead of the flash memory. The processor 100 executes the program input from the storage device 101. In this case, a program is input from the auxiliary storage device to the processor 100 via the volatile storage device. Further, the processor 100 may output data such as a calculation result to the volatile storage device of the storage device 101, or may store the data in the auxiliary storage device via the volatile storage device.

The present disclosure describes various exemplary embodiments and examples, although the various features, embodiments, and functions described in one or more embodiments are those of a particular embodiment. It is not limited to application, but can be applied to embodiments alone or in various combinations.
Therefore, innumerable variations not exemplified are envisioned within the scope of the techniques disclosed herein. For example, it is assumed that at least one component is modified, added or omitted, and further, at least one component is extracted and combined with the components of other embodiments.

1 ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device, 2 tollhouse information reproduction device, 10 in-vehicle wireless communication means,
20 ETC availability confirmation means, 30 time information output means,
40 Tollhouse transit support information selection / output means, 100 processors, 101 storage devices

Claims (3)

In-vehicle wireless communication means that is mounted on a vehicle and performs road-to-vehicle communication with a roadside wireless device.
ETC availability confirmation means that outputs the availability information of the ETC card stored in the above vehicle,
When the ETC operation information including the ETC operation status of each booth of the ETC toll station, which is transmitted by the broadcast communication from the roadside wireless device, is received by the in-vehicle wireless communication means , the ETC availability confirmation means An ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device provided with a content output means for acquiring the availability information of the ETC card and outputting the acquired availability information of the ETC card and the content corresponding to the ETC operation information. Equipped with a time information output means to output time information
The first aspect of claim 1, wherein the ETC availability confirmation means confirms the expiration date of the ETC card based on the time information output by the time information output means, and outputs the availability information. ETC in-vehicle wireless communication device. The ETC vehicle-mounted wireless communication device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the content output means outputs content according to the location information of the booth of the ETC tollhouse included in the ETC operation information.

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