JPH01259484A - Charge automatic paying system for toll road - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To cause the passage of vehicles to be smooth in the entrance and exit of a toll road by utilizing an on-vehicle responding device, which transmits the identifying data of the self-vehicle with a radio waves, and a road side radio to be provided in the rode side of the toll road, independently confirming the vehicle to pass the toll road and separately causing the owner of the vehicle to pay a passage charge. CONSTITUTION:When a vehicle 2 comes over the entrance gate or exit gate of the toll road and a commanding signal, which is outputted from a road side radio 1 to be provided in the road side, is received by a responding device 4 which is mounted on the vehicle 2, the responding device 4 to be mounted on the vehicle 2 outputs the identifying data (number plate data, for example) of the self vehicle. The outputted identifying data are received in the road side radio 1 and given to a passage charge calculating means 7. Accordingly, the passage charge of the vehicle is calculated based on the received identifying data. Thus, the charge payment in the toll road can be automated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a system that can automatically pay tolls when traveling on a toll road without having to stop at a toll gate.

<Prior Art> A so-called roadside beacon method has been proposed by the Ministry of Construction and other organizations as one of the future road transportation systems. In this method, roadside beacons are installed at major locations on roads, and the roadside beacons emit location data, road direction data, etc.

The vehicle is equipped with an antenna, a microcomputer, etc., and data radiated from roadside beacons is received by the antenna, analyzed by the microcomputer, and used for driving the vehicle.

This method uses a so-called navigation system, in which the vehicle is equipped with a microcomputer and a display device, and displays road map data on the display. By using this together with a system that calculates travel distance and direction and displays the estimated position of the own vehicle on the road map on the display, it corrects the position of the own vehicle that cannot be accurately determined using vehicle speed data and direction data alone. This method is attracting attention as a method to do so.

On the other hand, conventionally, when traveling on a toll road, the vehicle temporarily stops at a toll gate, and the passenger pays a predetermined amount to a collector or deposits the amount into a receipt box.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> With conventional toll payment methods, vehicles must temporarily stop at toll gates such as entrances and exits of toll roads, which causes vehicle congestion when traffic volume is heavy. .

In addition, when the driver is the only person in the vehicle, when approaching a toll gate, he or she often takes out the toll from his or her wallet or other place while driving and prepares to pay, which can lead to the risk of inattentive driving. was there.

Furthermore, since the toll payment counter is usually provided only on the right side in the direction of travel, it is inconvenient for drivers of left-hand drive vehicles such as foreign cars to pay tolls.

Therefore, the present invention proposes a completely new system that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks and automates toll payment on toll roads by applying the roadside beacon method as described above.

Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an in-vehicle transponder that transmits identification data of its own vehicle via radio waves in response to a command signal, and a toll road entrance gate or It is installed on the roadside of at least one of an exit gate or a passing gate, and emits the command signal via radio waves to transmit the identification data to vehicles entering, exiting, or passing, and the vehicle-mounted transponder also transmits the command signal. a roadside radio for receiving identification data; means for calculating a toll for a vehicle connected to the roadside radio and identified by the identification data received by the radio; and means for notifying the calculated toll. This is an automatic toll payment system for toll roads that is characterized by including:

Further, in the present invention, a roadside radio device is installed at a toll booth at an entrance toll road and a toll booth at an exit of the toll road, and the toll fee calculation means includes a roadside radio device installed at the entrance toll booth and a toll booth at the exit toll road. This is an automatic toll payment system for toll roads, which is characterized in that roadside radios installed at exit toll plazas detect the traffic section of the vehicle based on the received identification data and calculate the toll.

Furthermore, the system of the present invention includes means for detecting a vehicle that does not transmit identification data in response to a command signal transmitted by the roadside radio, and photographing at least a license plate portion of the vehicle based on the output of the detection means. It may also include means for doing so.

Function> When a vehicle approaches the entrance gate or exit gate of a toll road, when the transponder mounted on the vehicle receives a command signal transmitted from a roadside radio set on the roadside, the transponder mounted on the vehicle The transponder transmits identification data of its own vehicle (for example, vehicle license plate data). The transmitted identification data is received by the roadside radio and given to the toll calculation means. Therefore, the toll fee for the vehicle is calculated based on the received identification data.

On toll roads with uniform tolls (for example, the Kubuki Expressway and the Hanshin Expressway Loop Line), roadside radios may be provided only on the roadside of entrance gates or exit gates.

On the other hand, on toll roads where tolls vary in stages depending on the section of the vehicle (e.g. Meishin Expressway, Chugoku Expressway), roadside radios are placed on the roadside of the entrance and exit gates, making it easier to Based on the identification data received by the roadside radio device and the roadside radio device at the exit gate, it is possible to detect the traffic section of the vehicle and calculate the toll.

Furthermore, by detecting a vehicle that does not transmit identification data and photographing at least the license plate portion of that vehicle, it is possible to prevent unauthorized use of this system.

<Embodiment> An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. To explain with reference to FIG. 1, the roadside radio 1 is installed at the entrance gate roadside, exit gate roadside, toll payment booth, etc. of a toll road, and includes a signal radio wave transmitting device, a signal radio wave receiving device (not shown), and a signal radio wave receiving device (not shown). Contains a vehicle detection sensor.

Furthermore, the vehicle 2 to which this system is applied is equipped with an antenna 3 and a transponder 4. The antenna 3 is provided on the roof of the vehicle 2, and is capable of receiving signal radio waves transmitted from the roadside radio device 1. In-vehicle transponder 4
is a device that can transmit identification data of its own vehicle, such as the contents of a license plate, etc., by radio waves through the antenna 3 in response to signal radio waves received by the antenna 3.

The antenna 3 and transponder 4 mounted on the roadside radio 1 and the vehicle 2 utilize the devices and equipment used in the roadside beacon method proposed by the Japan Construction Agency and others mentioned in the section of the prior art. It can be configured relatively easily.

Note that the roadside radio device 1 is configured such that the roadside radio device 1 constantly transmits a command signal requesting the vehicle to transmit identification data, without providing a sensor for detecting a vehicle. Good too.

The identification data received by the roadside radio 1 is given to the control unit 5, and the control unit 5 executes various processes based on the identification data.

The control unit 5 includes an identification data verification and storage section 6 and a toll calculation section 7 .

The identification data verification and storage unit 6 verifies whether the identification data received by the roadside radio device 1 is one of the identification data registered in advance in this system, and also checks whether the identification data received by the roadside radio device 1 is one of the identification data registered in advance in this system. , for storing it for - time.

The toll calculation unit 7 calculates the vehicle traffic section based on the data collated and stored in the storage unit 6, and
It is also used to calculate the toll at that time.

The control unit 5 including the identification data collation and storage section 6 and the toll calculation section 7 is usually configured using a microcomputer configured with an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU and a memory such as ROM or RAM. .

In the explanation of this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, a distinction is made between the identification data collation and storage section 6 and the toll calculation section 7, but when a microcomputer is used, such a distinction is made in the hardware. Not that there is.

The toll calculated by the toll calculation unit 7 of the control unit 5 is communicated to a financial institution 8 such as a bank with which a contract has been made in advance via an online line, and is transferred from the account of the holder of the vehicle 2 set up at that financial institution. The fee is automatically deducted. The existing system may be used for automatic withdrawal of fees from the account holder's account at the financial institution 8.

Furthermore, a camera 9 is connected to the control unit 5. When there is no response from the vehicle 2 to the request to transmit identification data by the roadside radio 1, the identification data collation and storage unit 6 operates the camera to detect at least the license plate portion of the vehicle 2 attempting to pass. It has a mechanism that allows you to take pictures.

The navigation camera 9 may be configured with a camera equivalent to an existing unmanned vehicle speed violation camera, or a dedicated camera may be designed.

A vehicle 2 whose license plate portion is photographed by the camera 9 is regarded as a vehicle illegally driving on a toll road, and can be notified to the police 10 having jurisdiction using an online line or the like.

Note that in this system, the online connection to the camera 9 and the competent police 10 may be omitted.

Alternatively, a system may be adopted in which the online connection to the financial institution 8 is omitted and the calculated bill is mailed to the person who owns the vehicle 2.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative diagram showing the installation situation of the roadside radio device 1 on a toll road. When the traveling direction of a vehicle on a toll road 11 is as shown by an arrow 12, a roadside radio device IA is provided at each entrance gate 13 to the toll road 11, and a roadside radio device IB is provided at each exit gate 14.

By doing so, when the toll road 11 has a toll that changes in stages according to the traffic section, the roadside radio IA provided at the entrance gate 13 and the roadside radio IB provided at the exit gate 14 can each receive signals. Based on the signals, it is possible to detect the traffic section of the vehicle and calculate the toll.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, in the case of a configuration in which a toll payment booth 16 is provided within the toll road 15 or at the entrance/exit of the toll road 15, the driving lanes of the toll road 15 are divided into two types, and the conventional toll By providing a lane B that passes through the payment station 16 and a lane A that passes through the roadside radio 1 related to the system of this embodiment, vehicles participating in this system can drive nonstop in lane A, and this system Vehicles that do not subscribe to this system can pass through lane B in the same manner as before.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, the present invention utilizes an in-vehicle transponder that transmits identification data of the own vehicle via radio waves and a roadside radio set on the roadside of the toll road. This system checks each vehicle that attempts to do so, and makes the owner of that vehicle pay a separate toll, eliminating the need to stop the vehicle and pay the toll when entering or exiting a toll road. , vehicle traffic at toll road entrances and exits will become smoother. As a result, it is believed that this will have a significant effect on alleviating vehicle congestion on toll roads.

In addition, the driver of the vehicle does not need to prepare for tolls on toll roads, and can concentrate on driving the vehicle, eliminating the risk of distracted driving and other causes, which contributes to safe driving.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a system configuration block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is an illustrative diagram showing how roadside radios are installed on toll roads; Figure 3 is another example of how roadside radios are installed on toll roads. FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Roadside radio, 2... Vehicle, 3... Antenna, 4... Responder, 5... Control unit, 6... Identification data collation and storage unit, 7... Traffic Charge calculation department,
9...Camera patent applicant Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Figure 3A→

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Self-vehicle identification in response to command signals An in-vehicle transponder that transmits data via radio waves, Toll road entrance gate or exit gate at least one of the Installed on the roadside, entering or exiting Or send radio waves to passing vehicles. At the same time as issuing the above command signal, Receive identification data sent by the transponder For roadside radio equipment and the above roadside radio equipment. connected and the identification data received by the radio Calculate tolls for vehicles identified by and a means of notifying the calculated charges. Toll road fees characterized by including Money automatic payment system. 2. The system according to claim 1 above In systems, the above roadside radios are available for a fee. Toll gates at road entrances and toll road exits They are installed at each tollgate, and the above Toll fee calculation method is available at the entrance toll gate above. Installed roadside radios and exit toll booths Each roadside radio installed in Vehicle traffic zones based on identification data to detect the distance and calculate the toll. Features automatic toll payment system for toll roads stem. 3. Claim 1 or 2 above The system described in Section 1 further includes the above roadside system. Identification occurs in response to command signals sent by the radio. How to detect vehicles that do not transmit separate data and the detection means based on the output of the detection means. At least the license plate part of the vehicle and a means for photographing the Automatic toll payment system for toll roads.