JPH09190554A - Toll collecting system for toll road - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system whereby an exclusive terminal for using toll road is unnecessitated for user on the vehicle side and also usage toll is accurately demanded payment to the user of the toll road. SOLUTION: An antenna 21 receiving radio wave and number signal originated from a portable terminal 10 through the use of a portable terminal 10 for mobile communication and a number plate reader 22 discriminating the kind of a coming-in vehicle 1 are provided at every lane 2. Then, portable information receiving devices 3 at every tollgate fetches the coming-in lane 2 of a passing vehicle 1, which is specified by radio wave and the number signal received from the antenna 21 by a mobile communication exchange system 30 and terminal information and a data storage device 4 obtains vehicle information from the number plate reader 22 so as to generate passage vehicle information adding a date and to store it. In the meantime, a central processing computer 5 collects vehicle passage data obtained by adding tollgate information to passage vehicle information from the whole tollgates and generates toll demand data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention collects passage data of a vehicle by transmitting and receiving radio waves to and from a data transmitting / receiving unit of a passing vehicle at a toll road tollgate, and creates toll data for automatically collecting toll road charges. The present invention relates to a toll road toll collection method, and more particularly to a toll road toll collection method that does not require a dedicated facility for toll road toll collection on the vehicle side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of toll road toll collection method, the toll payment method for highways and the like reduces the burden on users and toll gate staff, and also tolls can be collected without stopping the vehicle at the toll gate. A payment technology is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-242098.

In this method, each vehicle is equipped with an on-vehicle unit for collecting toll road charges, and when the vehicle approaches the entrance booth of the toll booth, the number assigned to this toll booth from the optical communication unit at the entrance booth is assigned. It is transmitted as entrance location data and written in the storage means of the vehicle-mounted unit. Next, the vehicle-mounted unit returns registration number data including vehicle type data registered in advance to the optical communication unit at the entrance booth. The optical communication unit at the entrance booth transmits the entrance location data of the toll booth to the host computer together with the received vehicle registration number.

On the other hand, when the vehicle approaches the exit booth, the entrance location data and the vehicle registration number data stored in the storage means of the vehicle-mounted unit are received by the data terminal device via the optical communication unit of the exit booth. . The data terminal device sends the exit place data to the host computer together with the received passing vehicle registration number data and the entrance place data, and the host computer instructs the toll road use fee collection.

In addition, there is another technique which is excellent in safety and reliability and can smoothly collect a fee with a small number of people, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
No. 120504.

In this system, the vehicle has a portable answering machine that transmits and receives data for toll collection when passing through an entrance and an exit of a highway. This answering machine has an ID by inserting a credit card. The (identification) code can be transmitted, and the stored data can be transmitted while the received data is stored.

With this configuration, when the entrance roadside machine receives the ID code transmitted from the responder at the entrance, the I
While sending this input date and toll gate name together with the D code to the answering machine and central device, at the exit, the exit roadside machine receives the stored data stored at the entrance toll gate from the answering machine and collects the toll charge for the toll road. It calculates and sends the necessary data such as the collection fee, exit toll gate name, passage time, etc. to the responder and the central unit.

Further, it is described that a toll booth is provided with a signal and a camera to monitor an illegal passing vehicle.

[0009]

Among the conventional toll road toll collection methods described above, the former publication discloses that the vehicle-mounted unit first stores in advance the correct registration number of the vehicle. The usage fee is collected for the vehicle number or vehicle, and it is not limited to the user or the user, so it is difficult to collect the usage fee promptly and accurately, and the price of the mounted unit is added. There is a problem that the price of the vehicle is increased. Also,
If all vehicles are required to have onboard units installed, smooth passage through the booth and reliable collection of charges can be expected. There is a problem that it cannot be prevented.

Further, in the device disclosed in the latter publication, the ID code registered in the credit card carried by the individual is used, so that the charge collection destination can be specified to the user. Therefore, it is expensive to purchase a dedicated answering machine, and it is difficult to identify the answering machine, that is, the radio wave used, because multiple answering machines transmit and receive radio waves at a short distance, and identify the vehicle type of the passing vehicle. However, there is a practical problem that there is no technical explanation for this countermeasure.

An object of the present invention is to provide a toll road charge collecting system which can accurately charge a toll road user a usage fee and can eliminate the need for a dedicated terminal for toll road use to a vehicle user. It is to be.

[0012]

The toll road toll collection system according to the present invention collects vehicle passing data by exchanging wireless radio waves with a data transmission / reception unit of a passing vehicle at a toll road tollgate to collect toll road charges. In a toll road toll collection method for creating toll charge data to be automatically collected, the data transmission / reception unit is a mobile terminal for mobile communication, and an antenna and an entering vehicle for receiving a predetermined dial number and terminal number transmitted from the mobile terminal. A vehicle type discriminator that discriminates the type of each vehicle is provided for each lane, the entry lane of the passing vehicle is identified by the radio wave and the number signal received from the antenna, the terminal information is taken in, and the vehicle discriminated by the vehicle type discriminator Vehicle information is obtained from the type of vehicle, and passing vehicle information including date and time, lane information, the terminal information, and the vehicle information is formed and recorded. A central processing unit for preparing toll bill data by providing processing means for each tollgate, and collecting and collecting tollgate information including at least the tollgate identification code together with the passing vehicle information from the processing means of all tollgates. Equipped with a processing computer. Since the data transmission / reception unit of the tollgate uses a mobile terminal for mobile communication for ordinary telephones, which have recently become popular, there is no extra cost burden on the vehicle side using the toll road.

Further, the processing means specifies a lane of entry of a passing vehicle by a radio wave received by the antenna and takes in and outputs terminal information, and a lane information and terminal information received from the lane specifying system. , A data storage device that forms and stores passing vehicle information including vehicle information, lane information, and terminal information, and the central processing computer retrieves the toll gate information together with the vehicle passing information from the data storage device. Also, the lane identification system is a mobile communication switching system. The mobile communication switching system has a technique of detecting the closest antenna of a mobile (mobile) terminal that has transmitted, and can identify the entry lane of the vehicle based on the position of the mobile terminal in the vehicle.

[0014]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. The toll road collection system shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a lane 2 for passing a vehicle 1, a terminal information receiving device 3, a data storage device 4, a central processing computer 5, and a mobile communication switching system 30. I shall. When the vehicle 1 passes through the lane 2 of the toll road, it is assumed that the user of the vehicle 1 has the mobile terminal 10 for mobile communication. The difference from the conventional one is that the mobile communication switching system 30 connected to the communication network and the mobile terminal 10 connected by radio waves are used for a passage permission request when passing through a toll road toll gate. is there.

In this passage permission request, it is assumed that a dial of a specific number preset for route selection of the toll road toll collection method is transmitted from the mobile terminal 10, and when the mobile terminal 10 makes a call, it moves. The communication switching system 30 is activated. It is assumed that the specific number to be dialed selects a connection route from the mobile communication switching system 30 to the terminal information receiving device 3 at each tollgate.

For example, the first at least one digit of the specific number is for selecting a route of the toll road toll collection system. In this case, the mobile communication switching system 30
Is the first specific number of the dialed numbers by the received specific number, and it can be identified that the call is connected to the toll road toll collection system, not to the connection of the communication network.

In the lane 2, the specific number as a passage permission request is displayed in large size, the antenna 21 for transmitting and receiving radio waves to and from the mobile terminal 10, the number plate reader 22 as a vehicle type discriminator for identifying the vehicle type, and the traffic signal. 23 and a camera 24.

The antenna 21 receives radio waves transmitted from the mobile terminal 10, sends a predetermined specific number by channel setting and dialing to the mobile communication switching system 30, and transmits a signal from the mobile communication switching system 30. be able to. Further, the antenna 21 is assumed to be located on the center line of the straight lane 2 for the sake of convenience of determining the approach lane of the vehicle based on the level difference with the same radio wave received in the adjacent lane 2.

The number plate reader 22 reads the registration number of the passing vehicle by a well-known character reading technique and sends it to the data storage device 4 as one of the main pieces of vehicle type confirmation information for billing. In some cases, the current relationship between toll road charge setting and vehicle type cannot be determined only by the vehicle registration number, and the toll road charge setting vehicle type for the vehicle registration number is registered and stored in advance in the storage device of the central processing computer 5. I shall.

The traffic signal 23 has a function of detecting the passage of the vehicle 1. When the necessary information of the passing vehicle is surely obtained, the traffic signal 23 is instructed by the data storage device 4 to switch to the green signal and the blue signal to the camera 24. Notification shall be made to allow the vehicle to pass, and upon passing of the vehicle, the red light shall be returned. Traffic light 23
When the camera 24 takes an image with a red signal, the data storage device 4 is notified of this.

The camera 24 is interlocked with the traffic light 23. When the traffic light 23 is in the green light, the photographing is stopped, and when there is an illegal vehicle passing through despite the red traffic light, the camera 24 receives a notification from the traffic light 23. The front surface of the illegal vehicle is photographed for the driver's confirmation, and the traffic light 23 is notified of the photographing.

The mobile communication switching system 30 has a function corresponding to a charging function for the portable terminal 10. Therefore, the terminal information receiving device 3 determines the approach lane 2 of the vehicle 1 by connecting to the antenna 21 of each lane 2 and identifying the one antenna 21 that receives the strongest radio wave from the mobile terminal 10 in the vehicle 1. At the same time, the subscriber number or the terminal identification (ID) number of the mobile terminal 10 can be determined from the received signal.

That is, on the other hand, the mobile communication switching system 30 is assumed to have a plurality of antenna identification systems so as to be compatible with all mobile communication systems.
When specifying, the terminal information and the lane information are formed and sent to the terminal information receiving device 3. On the other hand, the mobile communication switching system 30 is usually integrated so that subscriber data such as the name and address of the payer corresponding to the subscriber number or the terminal identification number of the mobile terminal 10 and the payment method can be obtained as the terminal information. Since it is stored in advance in advance, the terminal information receiving device 3 moves the above-mentioned subscriber data as terminal information from the subscriber number or terminal identification number of the mobile terminal 10 in order to create billing data corresponding to the charging function. It shall be obtained from the communication switching system 30.

The terminal information receiving device 3 is provided for each tollgate, and lane information and terminal information are sent from the mobile communication switching system 30 to the received data storage device 4 for each lane.

The data storage device 4 receives the installed lane information and the read vehicle registration number (hereinafter, vehicle number) from the number plate reader 22, while receiving the terminal information and the lane information from the terminal information receiving device 3. The terminal information corresponding to the matched lane information and the normal vehicle number are confirmed.

Next, the data storage device 4 adds the date and time to the information for which normality has been confirmed and stores it as passing vehicle information, and further adds toll gate information to the stored information and sends it as vehicle passing data to the central processing computer 5. On the other hand, the traffic light 23 in the corresponding lane 2 is instructed to switch to the green light. Further, when the data storage device 4 receives the camera shooting notification from the traffic light 23, the data storage device 4 adds the date and time and the camera shooting information to the collected terminal information and lane information, and stores the information as the abnormally passing vehicle information. In addition, it is assumed that the vehicle passing data is sent to the central processing computer 5.

The central processing computer 5 collects vehicle passage data from all toll gates, and if there are entrance toll gates and exit toll gates, stores the data from the entrance toll gates as entrance toll gate data, while storing the data from the toll gates. The entrance toll booth data is indexed based on the data received from the toll booth, the toll road usage charge is calculated based on the data of both to create bill data, and the bill data is stored and stored as the bill data.
In the case of a flat fee, the central processing computer 5 can identify the collection of the flat fee from the toll booth name, so that the bill data can be immediately created from the data from the toll booth and stored as the bill data. The bill can be read out from the central processing computer 5 at regular intervals, created, and sent to the user.

Next, referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 together, a procedure of forming data transmitted from the tollgate will be described.

First, when the vehicle 1 enters the lane 2, the number plate reader 22 identifies the lane information and the vehicle number of the vehicle entering the lane 2 of the booth (step S).
1), send to the data storage device 4. On the other hand, when the mobile communication switching system 30 receives a call from the mobile terminal 10 via the antenna 21, the mobile communication switching system 30 sets a channel and sends a dial tone to accept a passage permission request by a specific number on the lane (procedure). The lane 2 is specified together with S2) (procedure S3), at the same time, terminal information including the billing destination is obtained (procedure S4), and the lane information and the terminal information are sent to the data storage device 4 via the terminal information receiving device 3.

The data storage device 4 adds the lane information to the terminal information and the vehicle number that match the received lane information,
Lane information and date and time are stored as passing vehicle information (step S5), while normality is checked (step S).
6).

If step S6 is "YES" and the stored information is normal, the data storage device 4 sends an instruction to switch the red signal to the green signal to the traffic light 23 to allow the vehicle 1 to pass (step S7), and the camera Prohibit shooting 24. Next, when the vehicle 1 passes the traffic light 23 (step S8), the data storage device 4 sends an instruction to return the green signal to the red traffic light to the traffic light 23 (step S9), prohibits the vehicle from passing, and causes the camera 24 to operate. While releasing the photography prohibition, the passing vehicle information of the passing vehicle including the lane information and the toll gate information are sent to the central processing computer 5 as "vehicle passing data" together with the date and time (step S10).

If step S6 is "NO" and the stored data in the data storage device 4 is abnormal, the data storage device 4 requests a passage permission request via the terminal information receiving device 3 and the mobile communication switching system 30. Yes (procedure S11). In this case, the traffic light 23 is still a red traffic light, and when entering the position of the traffic light 23 in this state (NO in step S12),
The camera 24 takes an image in accordance with an instruction from the traffic light 23, and abnormally passing vehicle information is stored in the data storage device 4 (step S1).
3), the procedure proceeds to step S10.

If step S12 is "NO" and the vehicle is still stopped because the traffic light 23 is a red light, the procedure is step S1.
Procedure S for receiving a passage permission request from the vehicle which has received the request 1
Return to 2.

Next, referring to FIG. 1 together with FIG. 3, a main operation procedure for forming charge data when there are a plurality of entrance toll gates and exit toll gates will be described.

First, the central processing computer 5 accepts "vehicle passing data" from the data storage device 4 of each tollgate (step S21). When it is received from the entrance toll gate (YES in step S22), the central processing computer 5
The vehicle passage data is stored and stored as the entrance data (step S23) while the received data is abnormal (step S23).
If YES at 24, predetermined abnormal data processing is performed (step S25).

On the other hand, if the procedure S22 is "NO" and it is accepted from the exit toll booth, the central processing computer 5 searches the entrance data with the vehicle number of the vehicle passage data accepted from the exit toll booth (step S31), and the same. The vehicle passage data of the vehicle number is indexed (YES in step S32). If there is no abnormality in the indexed calling terminal information (NO in step S33), the central processing computer 5 creates charge bill data for the registered subscriber of the sent mobile terminal (step S34) while indexing. If the calling terminal information is abnormal (YES in step S33), charge bill data for the retrieved vehicle number is created (step S35).

If the same vehicle number cannot be indexed in step S32 because of "NO", the central processing computer 5 performs a predetermined process as an illegally approaching vehicle (step S3).
6).

In the above description, the vehicle type discriminator is provided with the number plate reader and the vehicle type data based on the vehicle number to discriminate the vehicle type. However, as in the conventional case, a tread plate and an optical detector may be provided. Good. In this case, the vehicle type of the approaching vehicle is determined and determined by the number of axles or the like, so it is desirable to temporarily stop the vehicle.

In the above description, the subscriber data of the mobile terminal is explained as a part of the charging function of the mobile communication switching system and is included in the terminal information and sent from the mobile communication switching system. The exchange system may send the subscriber number or terminal identification number of the mobile terminal and the corresponding subscriber data may be indexed by the central processing computer.

Although it has been described that the mobile communication switching system antenna is provided in each lane and the mobile communication switching system identifies the lane, if the mobile communication switching system can identify a call to the toll road toll collection system. A lane specifying system having a function equivalent to the antenna specifying function of the mobile communication switching system may be provided for each tollgate, and the terminal information receiving device may be included.

In the above description, only a part of the procedure for an abnormal state is shown and the other steps are omitted.

In the above description, the functional blocks and the operation procedure are illustrated and explained. However, distribution of functions such as separation / merging, rearranging of procedures, parallel operation, etc. are free as long as the above functions are satisfied. It does not limit the invention.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, the data transmission / reception unit is a mobile terminal for mobile communication, and a predetermined dial number transmitted from the mobile terminal and an antenna for receiving the terminal number and the type of the entering vehicle. A vehicle type discriminator that determines the vehicle type is provided for each lane to identify the entry lane of the passing vehicle by the radio wave and the number signal received from the antenna and take in the terminal information, and the vehicle type is determined by the vehicle type discriminator. Each tollgate is provided with a processing means for obtaining information and forming and storing passing vehicle information including date and time, lane information, terminal information, and vehicle information, and tollgate information is provided to passing vehicle information from all tollgates. A toll road toll collection system is provided that includes a central processing computer that collects the added vehicle transit data and creates toll data.

By using a mobile communication mobile terminal as the data transmission / reception unit, it is possible to eliminate the need for a dedicated terminal for the use of toll roads for the user on the vehicle side, and to determine the type of the approaching vehicle. By using the vehicle type discriminator together, it is possible to accurately charge the usage fee to the users of the toll road.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flow chart showing a main operation procedure of vehicle passing data generation in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main operation procedure of generating the bill data in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vehicle 2 Lane 3 Terminal Information Receiving Device 4 Data Storage Device 5 Central Processing Computer 10 Mobile Terminal 21 Antenna 22 Number Plate Reader 23 Traffic Light 24 Camera 30 Mobile Communication Switching System

Claims (4)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A toll road toll collection method for creating toll data for automatically collecting toll charges for toll roads by collecting wireless data from the data transmission / reception unit of the passing vehicle at the toll road tollgate In the above, the data transmission / reception unit is a mobile terminal for mobile communication, and an antenna for receiving a predetermined dial number and a terminal number transmitted from the mobile terminal and a vehicle type discriminator for discriminating a type of an approaching vehicle are provided for each lane. Provided, the entry lane of the passing vehicle is specified by the radio wave and the number signal received from the antenna, the terminal information is taken in, and the vehicle information is obtained from the type of the vehicle discriminated by the vehicle type discriminator, the date and time, the lane information, Each tollgate is provided with a processing unit for forming and storing the passing vehicle information including the terminal information and the vehicle information, and A toll road toll collection system, comprising: a central processing computer for extracting and collecting toll gate information including at least toll gate identification code from the processing means and creating toll bill data. 2. The vehicle type discriminator according to claim 1,
A toll road toll collection method, which is a number plate reader that reads the vehicle number of the number plate of the approaching vehicle. 3. The lane identification system according to claim 1, wherein the processing means identifies an entry lane of a passing vehicle by an electric wave received by the antenna, and fetches and outputs terminal information, and a lane information and a terminal from the lane identification system. A data storage device that receives information and forms and stores passing vehicle information including date and time, vehicle information, lane information, and terminal information, the central processing computer from the data storage device together with the passing vehicle information, and the tollgate. A toll road toll collection method characterized by extracting and collecting information. 4. The toll road toll collection method according to claim 3, wherein the lane identification system is a mobile communication switching system.