JPH04315285A - Toll collecting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To secure time for communication by successively switching plural antennas along the entrance position of a vehicle without enlarging the communication area of one antenna. CONSTITUTION:This system is equipped with plural antennas 5A and 5B provided along the entrance lane of the vehicle so as to read the information of a radio card 4 in a vehicle 3, vehicle detectors 8 and 81 provided in front of these antennas (at the entrance of the entrance lane) and step board 9, the passing position of the vehicle 3 is detected by the vehicle detectors 8 and 81 and the step board 9, the antennas 5A and 5B are switched, and the information of the radio card 4 is read.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless communication toll collection system that is applied to unmanned toll road toll collection systems, parking lot systems, FA (factory automation) systems, and the like.

0002

[Prior Art] Contactless IC cards, which are wireless tags for individual identification and IC (integrated circuit) cards equipped with wireless communication functions, are beginning to be put into practical use as information media for FA systems and toll road toll collection systems (hereinafter referred to as These information media are collectively called a wireless card).

[0003] Here, a conventional example in which a wireless card is used in a toll collection system will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, 1 is an approach road for vehicles at a toll plaza, 2 and 21 are islands for guiding vehicle traffic, 3 is a passing vehicle, and 4 is a wireless card attached to vehicle 3. .

[0005] The toll collection system includes the above-mentioned island 2,
21, and a reading device 6 that reads the information of the wireless card 4 received by the antenna 5.

When the vehicle 3 passes through the communication area S (indicated by the two-dot chain line) of the antenna 5, the wireless card 4
Communication is carried out, and the payment process is performed unattended.

[0007]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional system described above, in order to enable communication even when the vehicle is passing at high speed, in order to secure communication time, it is necessary to expand the communication area of the antenna 5 as shown in S1. There is. However, expanding the communication area caused problems such as interference with the communication cards of following vehicles and interference with communication cards in adjacent lanes.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a plurality of antennas along an approach road for vehicles, and a vehicle detection device and a footboard provided in front of the antenna (at the entrance of the approach road). This feature is characterized in that the antenna is switched by detecting the passing position of the vehicle.

[0009]

[Operation] As described above, the present invention has a configuration in which multiple antennas are switched according to the approach of a vehicle, and the multiple antennas are sequentially switched along the approach position of the vehicle without expanding the communication area of one antenna. This allows the communication time to be secured.

0010

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a toll collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a vehicle approach road, 2 and 21 are islands, 3 is a vehicle, and 4 is a wireless card attached to the vehicle 3.

Reference numerals 5A and 5B designate antennas (only two of the plurality of antennas are shown here), 7 a switching circuit for the antennas 5A and 5B, and 6 a reading device for the wireless card 4.

Reference numerals 8 and 81 designate well-known vehicle detection devices, which here consist of a light transmission type area sensor and are provided with a light screen in a direction perpendicular to the road surface.

[0015] 9 is a known step board. This footboard 9 is installed on the road surface under the optical axis of the vehicle detection devices 8 and 81, and has a known configuration capable of detecting the identification and axis position of a single vehicle.

The installation of the footboard 9 and the antennas 5A and 5B is determined based on the following assumptions.

(1). The driver holds up the wireless card (points it at the antenna).

(2). The driver's seat of the vehicle is directly behind the first axis.
The second axis is distributed evenly behind the driver's seat.

(3). The effective communication area of the antenna is 3 m in the width direction on the center line (not exceeding the road width of 3 m, to prevent interference with adjacent lanes), and 3 m in the direction of travel (not exceeding the minimum vehicle length of 3 m, to prevent interference with following vehicles). (for this reason).

Therefore, when the vehicle is on the first axis, the antenna 5A is installed behind the treadle so that the front edge of the antenna 5A and the communication area SA are covered, and the antenna 5B is installed further behind the treadle so that the front edge of the antenna 5A and the communication area SA are covered when the vehicle is on the first axis. 5-3m) installed at the rear.

The switching from the antenna 5A to the antenna 5B is performed by the second axis signal output from the vehicle detection devices 8, 81 (including the axis number counter of the footboard 9), and the return of the antenna 5A is performed by the reading device. Communication completion from 6 or a timeout signal. Note that if a communication completion signal is output before switching to antenna 5B, there is no need to switch to antenna 5B.

According to the above configuration, the communication area can also be moved as the vehicle moves (SA → SB).
, communication time is substantially increased, and the lack of communication time when a vehicle passes at high speed can be resolved.

[0023] In the case of high-speed passing, since vehicles do not substantially follow each other, a following vehicle will not run into the vicinity of the footboard 9 when the operating antenna is switched to the antenna 5B.

In the case of low speed, the vehicle approaches, but since the communication time is long enough, the operating antenna is not switched to antenna 5B, and the communication area SA of antenna 5A is
Since the distance will not extend beyond the minimum vehicle length of 3 meters, there will be no interference with vehicles following.

Although the present invention has been described as an example in which the antenna is installed on the side of the road, as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. The antennas 5A and 5B are placed in the upper front, or
It goes without saying that modifications such as mounting the communication card 4 on the roof of the vehicle and arranging the antennas 5A and 5B directly above, as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 2(b), are also included within the scope of the present invention. stomach.

[0026]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate reading errors caused by insufficient communication time when a vehicle passes by, and it is also possible to eliminate the need to expand the communication area even when a vehicle approaches at low speed. Because there is no interference with following vehicles, highly reliable toll collection and communication is possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a toll collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a toll collection system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional toll collection system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1... Approach road, 2, 21... Island, 3... Vehicle, 4... Wireless card, 5A, 5B... Antenna, 6... Reading device, 7...
Switching circuit, 8, 81...Vehicle detection device, 9...Treadboard, S, S
', SA, SB...Communication area.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A vehicle detection device at a toll road toll gate, a step board for detecting the axis position of the vehicle, a plurality of antennas for reading a wireless card attached to the vehicle, and a switch for switching between the plurality of antennas. A toll collection system comprising: a circuit; and a reading device that reads information on the wireless card via the plurality of antennas.