JPH11296709A - Automatic toll reception system for toll road - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the reliability of communication by eliminating the frequency selection error of an on-vehicle machine due to radio interference with plural road side machines of adjacent lanes with respect to communication between road side machines and the on-vehicle machine at the entrance or the exit of a toll road. SOLUTION: Frequency channel information output parts, which output radio frequency channel information used by road side machines to an on-vehicle machine 5 and are provided in respective lanes, and an information conversion part 24 which obtains the outputs of channel information output parts by a sensor 23 mounted on the vehicle and converts an analog signal being the sensor output to a sensing data string distinguishable as frequency channel information and adds a system designating data string and an application designating data string to generate a series of digital data strings are provided, and the on-vehicle machine 5 uses this information. Thus, a frequency is selected with high precision to improve the reliability of communication between road side machines and the on-vehicle machine.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toll on a toll road to which the vehicle is traveling or a toll to be passed on without passing through a toll gate on a toll road such as an expressway. The present invention relates to a toll road automatic toll collection system for collecting tolls on roads.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a toll road automatic toll collection system using a radio wave described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-287308 is known.

FIG. 12 schematically shows a conventional toll road automatic toll collection system. In FIG. 12, 90 is a first roadside antenna installed on the tollgate lane, and 91 is a second roadside antenna installed forward of the first roadside antenna in the traveling direction. The first roadside device antenna 90 and the second roadside device antenna 91 are connected to a transmission circuit, a reception circuit, or a modulation / demodulation circuit (not shown), and a roadside device (not shown) is configured as a whole. Reference numeral 92 denotes an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle 93 passing on a toll road. In order to reduce interference between a plurality of roadside units installed on each lane of a tollgate, two different frequencies are set alternately for the transmission and reception frequencies of radio waves used by the roadside units in each lane. ing. The in-vehicle device entering each lane of the tollgate selects a frequency used by the roadside device in the lane and performs wireless communication. Hereinafter, the frequency of the radio wave used by the roadside device is referred to as a frequency channel.

There are two types of toll roads: flat tolls, such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway, and types, such as the Tomei Expressway, which charge a toll according to the distance traveled. Since the former can be inferred from the latter collection method, the latter automatic fee collection method will be described with reference to FIG. The roadside machines are arranged on all lanes or a plurality of lanes on both the entrance side and the exit side of the toll road.

First, the processing on the entrance side will be described.
The roadside device periodically transmits a transmission timing signal from the first roadside device antenna 90 onto the lane. In this situation, the on-vehicle device 92 mounted on the vehicle 93 passing under the roadside antenna 90 sets the demodulation unit to the first frequency channel, receives the transmission timing signal, and then switches the demodulation unit to the second frequency channel. And the transmission timing signal is received. From the two transmission timing signals thus obtained, the on-vehicle device 92 selects a frequency channel used by the roadside device in the toll gate lane to be entered, and starts wireless communication with the roadside device.

[0006] The vehicle-mounted device 92 that has received the transmission timing signal transmitted from the first roadside device antenna 90 starts communication with the roadside device via the first roadside device antenna 90. Next, the vehicle-mounted device 92 communicates with the second roadside device antenna 91 as the vehicle 93 moves. The first roadside unit antenna 90 and the onboard unit 92 transmit vehicle information specific to the vehicle 93 from the onboard unit 92 and the entrance information from the roadside unit. The in-vehicle device 92 that has received the entrance information stores the information in the in-vehicle device 92. Vehicle type information of the vehicle 93 determined by an optical sensor or an image sensor (not shown) is transmitted from the roadside device to the onboard device 92 via the second roadside device antenna 91.

Next, an automatic toll collection method by communication between the roadside machine and the onboard machine 92 at the exit will be described. Using the frequency selection and communication method on the entrance side, the roadside device and the on-vehicle device 92 start communication using radio. First, the roadside device receives entrance information and vehicle type information from the vehicle-mounted device 92 via the first roadside device antenna 90, calculates a toll, and transmits the toll information to the vehicle-mounted device 92. The in-vehicle device 92 that has received the charge information is the in-vehicle device 92
The corresponding fee is subtracted from the electronic wallet represented by the IC card or the like connected to the IC card, and the end of the writing to the IC card in the vehicle-mounted device 92 is confirmed by the second roadside device antenna 91. As described above, the vehicle 93 can settle the toll electronically without stopping at the tollgates on the entrance side and the exit side.

[0008]

This toll road automatic toll collection system is required to have a high level of communication reliability in order to prevent fraudulent acts and malfunctions due to the nature of handling money.
In the selection of the frequency channel of the roadside device in the on-vehicle device, the frequency channel identification means using the radio wave output from the roadside device may cause interference from the adjacent lane A or C to the lane B shown in FIG. There is a problem that an error may occur due to a unique interference pattern due to the shape of the tollgate, and as a result, wireless toll collection cannot be performed.

According to the present invention, in communication between a roadside device and a vehicle-mounted device at a toll road entrance side or an exit side, a frequency selection error of the vehicle-mounted device due to interference with a plurality of roadside devices in adjacent lanes is eliminated, and communication reliability is improved. The purpose is to increase.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve this problem, the present invention relates to an on-vehicle device mounted on a traveling vehicle using frequency channel information of a radio wave used by a roadside device installed on each lane of a tollgate. An L-bit digital signal that can be identified as frequency channel information from an analog signal that is a sensor output by obtaining the output of a channel information output unit using a sensor mounted on the vehicle and a frequency channel information output unit provided in each lane for output to the vehicle. A system-designated data sequence consisting of an N-bit digital signal that requires a device that converts the data into a sensing data sequence and uses the sensing data sequence, and an M-bit application that indicates processing that requires the sensing data sequence An information conversion unit that adds a designated data string and generates a digital data string of a total of L + M + N bits Only, it is to use this information in the vehicle-mounted device.

Further, the vehicle-mounted device is provided with a signal converter for converting information held by the vehicle-mounted device into a sensing data sequence and adding a system-designated data sequence and an application-designated data sequence.

[0012] Further, as the frequency channel information output section, two magnetism generating sections corresponding to the radio wave frequency used by the roadside unit are provided in each of the tollgate lanes behind the vehicle traveling direction with respect to the communication area between the roadside unit and the onboard unit. A frequency channel identification unit buried inside the road, obtaining information with a magnetic sensor mounted on the vehicle, and determining the frequency of a radio wave used by the roadside device in the lane is provided. This is to obtain frequency channel information.

Further, a vehicle position detecting section and a database section are provided and connected to an information converting section.

Further, a signal input connection unit and a signal output connection unit connected to a signal conversion unit are connected to a car navigation system mounted on a vehicle, so as to be connected to a vehicle-mounted device.

According to the present invention, before the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the traveling vehicle enters a predetermined communication area for performing wireless communication with the roadside device at the tollgate, the radio wave output from the roadside device is not used. The frequency of the radio wave used by the roadside device in the tollgate lane where the vehicle is about to enter can be selected, and as a result, the communication reliability between the roadside device and the onboard device can be improved.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to a toll road automatic toll collection system for automatically collecting tolls of vehicles traveling on a toll road without stopping the vehicles at a toll gate. A roadside device installed for each of a plurality of lanes on both sides or one side of an entrance side and an exit side of a road, an onboard device mounted on the vehicle and communicating necessary information by wireless communication with the roadside device, A frequency channel information output unit connected to the roadside unit, wherein the onboard unit is connected to each unit of the onboard unit and controls an onboard unit CPU that controls each unit, and a radio wave for performing wireless communication with the roadside unit. An in-vehicle device antenna for transmitting and receiving waves, and a modulation unit for creating a transmission modulation signal,
A transmitting unit that feeds the transmission modulation signal to the in-vehicle device antenna, a receiving unit that inputs a reception signal from the in-vehicle device antenna, a demodulation unit that demodulates a signal from the receiving unit, and information outside the in-vehicle device. And a signal input connection unit for converting the data into a format that can be read by the on-vehicle device CPU unit.
A sensor for detecting a signal from the frequency channel information output unit, and an N-bit digital signal for digitally converting the signal detected by the sensor into an L-bit sensing data string and specifying a device requiring the sensing data string An information conversion unit that adds a system-designated data sequence consisting of the following and an M-bit application-designated data sequence indicating processing that requires this sensing data sequence to generate a total of L + M + N-bit digital data sequences;
By connecting the in-vehicle device and the information conversion unit,
The in-vehicle device obtains the information of the frequency of the radio wave used by the roadside device in the corresponding lane output from the frequency channel information output unit with a sensor, and converts the information into a signal in a format readable by the in-vehicle device CPU unit in the information conversion unit. Before entering the communication area for communication with the roadside unit, the onboard unit can convert the radio frequency used by the roadside unit in the toll gate lane to enter into the radio wave output from the roadside unit. It has the effect that it can be selected with high accuracy without using it.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the on-vehicle device converts information from the on-vehicle device CPU into a sensing data sequence, which is a digital signal of a predetermined format, and adds a system-designated data sequence and an application-designated data sequence. The toll road automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, further comprising: a signal conversion unit that generates a digital data sequence obtained by the above-described method, and a signal output connection unit that outputs the digital data sequence from a vehicle-mounted device. By connecting to a system other than the automatic toll collection system mounted on the vehicle, the information of the onboard unit is passed to other systems in the form of a series of digital signals consisting of a sensing data sequence, a system-specified data sequence, and an application-specified data sequence. It has the effect of being able to.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the frequency channel information output section is buried in the inside of the road in each lane behind the traveling direction of the vehicle with respect to the communication area between the roadside apparatus and the on-vehicle apparatus, and the roadside apparatus in the lane is used. A first and a second magnetic generator for generating magnetism corresponding to the frequency of the radio wave to be transmitted, and a channel signal controller connected to the first and second magnetic generators; A magnetic sensor that reads a magnetic field pattern from the first and second magnetic generators, and an analog output of the magnetic sensor is input and converted into digital information of a radio frequency used by a roadside device on the lane. 3. A toll road automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, further comprising: a frequency channel identification unit that outputs the information to an information conversion unit. The magnetic field pattern output by the provided magnetic generator is detected, the frequency of the radio wave used by the roadside device in the lane is determined by the frequency channel identification unit from this pattern, and the information conversion unit converts it into a sensing data sequence. The in-vehicle device CPU unit to which the system-designated data sequence and the application-designated data sequence are added can be converted into a readable format signal and output to the in-vehicle device, and the in-vehicle device enters a communication area for communicating with the roadside device. In addition, the radio frequency used by the roadside machine in the tollgate lane to be entered can be selected with high accuracy without using the radiowave output from the roadside machine.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a vehicle receives a radio wave from a plurality of satellites as a sensor to detect a current absolute position, and transmits information from the vehicle position detector. A database unit for converting the information into frequency information by referring to a pre-stored spatial position near the tollgate and a relationship between each lane and the roadside device, and outputting the frequency information to an information conversion unit. By adopting the toll road automatic toll collection system described in 1 or 2, the vehicle-mounted device can enter the communication area for communicating with the roadside device from the vehicle position information obtained from the vehicle position detection unit and the database unit. The radio wave frequency used by the roadside machine in the tollgate lane to be entered can be selected with high accuracy without using the radio wave output from the roadside machine.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toll road automatic toll collection system for automatically collecting tolls of vehicles traveling on a toll road without stopping the vehicles at a toll gate.
A roadside device installed for each of a plurality of lanes on both sides or one side of an entrance side and an exit side of a toll road, and an onboard device mounted on the vehicle and communicating necessary information by wireless communication with the roadside device, The on-vehicle unit is connected to each unit of the on-vehicle unit to control each unit, an on-vehicle unit antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves for performing wireless communication with the roadside unit, and a modulation for generating a transmission modulation signal. Unit, a transmission unit that feeds the transmission modulation signal to the on-vehicle device antenna, a reception unit that receives a reception signal from the on-vehicle device antenna, a demodulation unit that demodulates a signal from the reception unit, A first signal input connection unit that obtains the information and converts the information into a format that can be read by the on-vehicle device CPU unit; converts the information from the on-vehicle device CPU unit into a sensing data sequence that is a digital signal of a predetermined format; De First generating a first digital data sequence obtained by adding a data string and the application specified data string
And a first signal output connection unit for outputting the first digital data string from the on-vehicle device, wherein the vehicle is included in a car navigation system and performs overall control.
U signal, a second signal for converting the information of the CPU unit into a sensing data string which is a digital signal of a predetermined format, and generating a second digital data string to which a system-designated data string and an application-designated data string are added And a second signal converter connected to the second signal converter and transmitting the second digital data stream to the first signal input connector.
A signal output connection unit, and the first digital data string connected to the on-vehicle device and the CPU unit,
And a second signal input connection for converting the data into a readable format so that the radio wave used by the roadside machine in the toll gate lane to which the vehicle attempts to enter from the location information and the database selected by the car navigation system. The signal conversion unit converts the frequency information into a sensing data string and can add a system-specified data string and an application-specified data string. The onboard unit obtains this series of information, and the onboard unit obtains the roadside Before entering the communication area to communicate with the aircraft, the radio frequency used by the roadside machine of the toll gate lane to enter can be selected with high accuracy without using the radio wave output from the roadside machine Has an action.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the relationship between a roadside antenna and a traveling vehicle at a tollgate. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a first roadside unit antenna, and 2 denotes a second roadside unit antenna, which is installed on a gantry 4 on each toll gate lane and is connected to a roadside unit body (not shown). Reference numeral 37 denotes a frequency channel information output unit provided for each lane, and outputs information related to a frequency channel in the lane.
The in-vehicle device 5 is mounted on the traveling vehicle 6, and when the vehicle 6 passes through a tollgate, wireless communication is performed between the roadside device and the in-vehicle device 5, and the vehicle 6 is automatically charged without stopping the traveling. Receive.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the components of the on-vehicle device 5, 10 is an on-vehicle device antenna, and 11 is a signal separator connected to the on-vehicle device antenna 10 and comprises a switch or the like. The transmission unit 12 and the reception unit 13 connected to the signal separator 11 are configured by a filter, an amplifier, and the like.
The demodulation unit 14 connected to the transmission unit 3 and the modulation unit 15 connected to the transmission unit 12 include a synthesizer, a mixer, a modulation circuit,
It is composed of a demodulation circuit and the like. The demodulation unit 14 and the modulation unit 15 are the onboard unit CPU unit 1 that controls the entire onboard unit.
6 is connected. The pass band frequencies of the demodulation unit 14 and the modulation unit 15 are set by the vehicle unit CPU unit 16. 17
Is a comparing unit connected to the signal separator 11, and 18 is a level setting unit for giving a reference level to the comparing unit. Comparison section 17
Is connected to the in-vehicle device CPU unit 16. The IC card connection unit 19 is configured to be able to insert and remove the IC card 20. The IC card 20 and the in-vehicle device CPU unit 16 are electrically connected, and the in-vehicle device CPU unit 16 reads and writes information. Reference numeral 21 denotes a signal input connector, 22 denotes a signal input connection unit connected to the signal input connector 21, and the signal input connection unit 22 is connected to the on-vehicle device CPU unit 16. Reference numeral 23 denotes a sensor for detecting information from a frequency channel information output unit 37 provided for each lane of a tollgate, and 24 converts frequency information output from the sensor 23 into a digital data format that can be read by the on-vehicle device 5. It is an information conversion unit.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the components of the roadside unit. Reference numeral 30 denotes a signal separator connected to the roadside unit antenna 1, which is composed of switches and the like. The transmission unit 31 and the reception unit 32 connected to the signal separator 30 are configured by a filter, an amplifier, and the like, and the demodulation unit 3 connected to the reception unit 32
3, and the modulation unit 34 connected to the transmission unit 31 includes a synthesizer, a mixer, a modulation circuit, a demodulation circuit, and the like. The demodulation unit 33 and the modulation unit 34 are the roadside unit CPU unit 3
5 is connected. The roadside unit CPU unit 35 is connected to a central processing unit 36 that collectively manages toll collection by wire or wirelessly. The frequency channel information output unit 37 is controlled by the roadside unit CPU unit 35. The roadside device 3 includes a roadside antenna 1, a signal separator 30, a transmission unit 31,
It comprises a receiving unit 32, a demodulating unit 33, a modulating unit 34, and a roadside unit CPU unit 35.

The roadside machine 3 periodically radiates a transmission timing signal of the frequency f1 onto the lane via the roadside machine CPU 35, the modulator 34, the transmitter 31, the signal separator 30, and the roadside antenna 1. . Further, the frequency channel information output unit 37 outputs frequency channel information of radio waves used by the roadside device 3 in the lane to the traveling vehicle 6. Similarly, the roadside device 3 in the adjacent lane emits a transmission timing signal of the frequency f2 and outputs frequency channel information. In other words, each roadside machine 3 having a plurality of lanes at a toll gate alternately transmits and receives on two different frequency channels for each lane.

When the information conversion unit 24 is connected to the signal input connector 21, the on-vehicle device 5 acquires from the signal input connector 21 the frequency channel information of the lane to which the vehicle is going to enter. The connection status between the signal input connector 21 and the information conversion unit 24 may be determined when the vehicle 6 is operating, for example, when the initial setting of the in-vehicle device CPU unit 16 such as when the ignition is turned on. As the sensor 23,
It is arranged according to the frequency channel information output unit 37 of the tollgate. However, the frequency channel information output unit 3 of the adjacent lane
In order to separate from the information source 7, it is composed of a pinpoint information source. For example, it is possible to use light having excellent straightness by the light receiving sensor for the communication method, or to extract only the image in the traveling direction of the vehicle 6 by the image sensor. In addition, this sensor 23 may be a plurality of types.

The output of the sensor 23 outputs an analog signal corresponding to the type of the sensor. The information converter 24 receiving the analog signal converts the signal into a digital signal format that can be read by the on-vehicle device CPU 16. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, it is represented by a 2-bit digital signal. When the frequency f1 is used, "01" is used as the frequency channel information, and the frequency f1 is used.
When using 2, "10" is used as frequency channel information.
Convert to

The on-vehicle unit 5 sets the receiving frequency of the demodulation unit 14 to f1 by the on-vehicle unit CPU unit 16, receives the transmission timing signal from the roadside unit 3, and outputs the output of the demodulation unit 14 to the on-vehicle unit CPU unit. 13 for transfer and storage. The demodulation unit 14 has a downconverter including a mixer and a filter, and prevents signal components in a frequency band other than the set reception frequency f1 from passing therethrough. Next, the in-vehicle device CPU unit 16 sets the reception frequency of the demodulation unit 14 to f2, demodulates and detects a transmission timing signal in the same manner, and transfers and stores it to the in-vehicle device CPU unit 16. Next, the in-vehicle device CPU unit 16 compares the stored transmission timing signal for each frequency channel with a predetermined signal, and selects the frequency channel of the roadside device in the toll gate lane to which the vehicle 6 is going to pass. .

The frequency channel information obtained by the two methods is supplied to the signal conversion connector 2 by the signal input connector 21.
4 is connected, priority is given to the information selected from the sensor 23. If the information converter 24 is not connected, priority is given to a selection method from the transmission timing signal. Based on the frequency channel information obtained in this way, the on-vehicle device CPU unit 16 sets the transmission frequency of the modulation unit 15 and the reception frequency of the demodulation unit 14, performs wireless communication with the roadside device 3, and performs toll collection. Perform the procedure. The amount of information for toll collection is several thousand bits, and the roadside device 3 and the on-vehicle device 5 repeat transmission and reception a plurality of times in order to transmit and receive this information amount. The wireless communication on the entrance side and the exit side and a specific toll collection method by the IC card 20 are described in the conventional example, and thus the description is omitted. Each roadside device 3 transfers the toll collection information to the central processing unit 36 that manages the toll collection information for the entire tollgate. In the above description, the IC card 20 is connected to the vehicle-mounted device 5 to enable electronic payment. However, the user registers a bank account in advance, and the central processing unit 36 and the bank Electronic settlement by connecting a computer to a line is also possible.

The concept of the data format output from the information converter 24 has been described in the form of a digital signal as shown in FIG.
In the future, the data that the in-vehicle device 5 needs from the outside is not limited to the frequency channel information, and the vehicle 6 includes not only the on-vehicle device 5 for toll road automatic toll collection but also car navigation, road-to-vehicle communication, A plurality of system terminals such as inter-vehicle communication and automatic driving support terminals are arranged. Therefore, it is desirable that the sensor 23 can be shared by each system, and a configuration that allows the sensor 23 to be used efficiently leads to a reduction in size and cost of the entire apparatus. To realize this, the information conversion unit 24 needs to convert the signal into a signal that can be used by each system. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, an analog signal of the sensor 23 is converted into an L-bit sensing data sequence 60 as a digital signal indicating frequency channel information itself that is used only by the frequency channel selection processing of the vehicle-mounted device 5. At the same time, an M-bit application specification data string 61 for specifying what kind of processing this information is needed, and N for specifying which system this sensing data string 60 is needed for.
A series of data consisting of a bit system designation data string 62 is created. In addition, by defining the number of bits and the meaning of digital data, information can be exchanged in future system terminals by performing input / output in this data format.

The signal input connection unit 22 detects only the system designation data string 62 from the input information, and
The sensing data sequence 60 and the application designation data sequence 61 are transferred to the in-vehicle device CPU unit 16 only in the case of The in-vehicle device CPU unit 16 can determine whether the sensing data sequence 60 is data indicating frequency channel information by focusing only on the application designation data sequence 61 of the transmitted information, and when indicating the frequency channel information, The sensing data sequence 60 is read to set the frequency required for wireless communication.

The timing at which the onboard unit 5 reads the frequency channel information from the sensor 23 is determined by the signal separator 1.
1 is compared with the signal of the level setting unit 17 by the comparison unit 18. That is, the level setter 1 is set according to the received signal level obtained by the on-vehicle device antenna 10 in the communication area where the on-vehicle device 5 and the roadside device 3 are assumed to perform wireless communication.
By setting 7 in advance, the transmission timing signal output by the roadside device 3 before the communication area can be detected, whereby the in-vehicle device CPU unit 16 starts the operation of reading the frequency channel information from the sensor 23. Regardless of the frequency channel of the roadside unit 3, the frequency interval between the different frequency channels is several tens of MHz, and by expanding the band of the vehicle-mounted unit antenna 10 more than this, the frequency of the input signal to the comparison unit 18 is increased. The dependence can be ignored and can be used as the timing for reading the frequency channel information from the sensor 23.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the on-vehicle device 5 receives the frequency channel information used by the roadside device 3 of the lane to which the vehicle 6 is about to enter due to the interference of the plurality of roadside devices 3. Selection can be performed accurately, and the reliability of communication between the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the roadside device 3 can be improved. Further, an analog signal which is an output of a sensor for acquiring frequency channel information is converted into a system designation data sequence 62,
By converting into digital signals of the application designation data string 61 and the sensing data string 60, one sensor can be used in various systems.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the on-vehicle device 5, which is different from FIG.
, A signal output connector 26 and a signal output connector 27.

It is assumed that the vehicle-mounted device 5 will be connected to another system in the future and will be treated as a useful information source from the viewpoint of the other system. The signal conversion unit 25 is provided in the vehicle unit CPU unit 16.
Is converted into the data format shown in FIG. 5, for example, and the signal output connection unit 26 outputs the output of the signal conversion unit 25 from the signal output connector 27 to another system. Therefore, transmission / reception of information relating to toll collection obtained from the roadside device 3 and data transmission / reception with another system that wants to use the in-vehicle device 5 as a transceiver for wireless communication is performed by a series of sensing data sequence 60, application designation data sequence 61, It can be transferred as an L + M + N-bit digital signal sequence of the system designation data sequence 62.

Other systems include such a series of sensing data strings 60 and application-specified data strings 61.
And a signal input connection unit for receiving and identifying the L + M + N-bit digital signal sequence of the system designation data sequence 62, and a signal output connection unit for further transferring to another system. Detects only the system-designated data string 62 and judges whether it is information for the system concerned, and if so, receives a sensing data string corresponding to the application-designated data string; otherwise, receives a system-designated data string and an application-designated data string By transferring or ignoring the entire sensing data string from the signal output connector 27 to another system or ignoring the same, information can be exchanged between a plurality of systems. Further, the signal input connector 21 and the signal output connector 27 may also serve as input and output.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the vehicle-mounted device 5 of the toll road toll collection system can be easily diverted as a sensor of another system mounted on the vehicle 6.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle device 5 according to the present embodiment. The sensor 23 shown in FIG. A channel identification unit 41 for outputting frequency channel information is provided. FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of the vicinity of the tollgate including the roadside device 3, and reference numeral 42 denotes a communication area where the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the roadside device 3 can perform wireless communication. 43, 44
Reference numeral 45 denotes a first and second magnetic generators buried below each lane in each lane road at the tollgate, and reference numeral 45 denotes a channel signal controller connected to the respective magnetic generators 43 and 44.

For the purpose of reducing vehicle accidents and traffic congestion, transmission and use of traffic information outside the voice band of FM radio broadcasting, and installation of leaky coaxial cables on the roadside, road-to-vehicle communication between leaky coaxial cables and traveling vehicles Traffic information delivery service is being put to practical use. In the future, the data source will be a data source for the automatic driving of the vehicle 6. As one of the methods, the vehicle 6 equipped with a magnetic sensor 26 with a magnetic generation unit embedded at regular intervals inside the traveling road is embedded. In some cases, the generated magnetic field is detected and followed by the magnetic sensor 40. The magnetic generator near the tollgate buried on this road is divided into a first magnetic generator 43 and a second magnetic generator 44, and connected to the channel signal controller 45. As shown in FIG. 8, the first magnetic generator 43 and the second magnetic generator 4
4 are arranged in the lane A, the lane B, and the lane C, respectively.
Are arranged in relation to f1, f2, f1. Specifically, the lane A, C has a first magnetic generator 43, the lane B has a second magnetic generator 44, It is buried behind the communication area 42 for performing wireless communication between the on-vehicle device 5 and the roadside device 3 in the traveling direction.

The first magnetic field generating section 43 and the second magnetic field generating section 44 generate different magnetic field patterns by the channel signal control section 45. For example, as shown in FIG.
Both the magnetic generation unit 43 and the second magnetic generation unit 44 change the magnetic pole on the road surface from the S pole to the N pole or from the N pole to the S pole at different timings. The running vehicle 6 obtains the output from the magnetism generating units 43 and 44 by the magnetic sensor 40, detects the difference between the first magnetism generating unit 43 and the second magnetism generating unit 44 by the channel identification unit 41, and determines the frequency. The channel information is obtained and converted into a sensing data string 60 having a digital signal configuration that can be read by the on-vehicle device 5 by the information conversion unit 24, and an application-designated data sequence 61 and a system-designated data sequence 62 are added and transferred to the on-board device 5. The vehicle-mounted device 5 selects a transmission / reception frequency according to the procedure described in the first embodiment and communicates with the roadside device 3. The toll collection by wireless communication with the roadside device 3 is described in the first embodiment, and thus the description is omitted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the on-vehicle device 5 receives the frequency channel information used by the roadside device 3 of the lane to which the vehicle 6 is about to enter due to the interference of the plurality of roadside devices 3. Selection can be performed accurately, and the reliability of communication between the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the roadside device 3 can be improved.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle device 5 according to the present embodiment, in which a vehicle position detector 50 is provided instead of the sensor 23 of FIG. Reference numeral 51 denotes a database unit connected to the vehicle position detection unit 50, and the database unit 51 is connected to the information conversion unit 52.

While the vehicle 6 is traveling, the vehicle position detector 50 detects the current position of the vehicle 6. Specifically, the vehicle position detection unit 50 is a global positioning system (Global Po
Configuration System). The database section 51 stores in advance a database in the vicinity of the tollgate, specifically, lane information and frequency channel information used by the roadside device 3 in each lane. The position information of the lane to which the vehicle 6 intends to enter, which is the output of the vehicle position detection unit 50, is stored in the database of the database unit 51 as the frequency channel information used by the roadside machine of the toll gate lane to which the vehicle 6 will pass. The information conversion unit 52 converts the data into a digital signal sequence of a sensing data sequence 60, an application designation data sequence 61, and a system designation data sequence 62 as shown in FIG. When the vehicle 6 approaches the toll booth, the vehicle unit CPU 16
Obtains this series of digital signal sequences, which is the output of the information conversion unit 52 via the signal input connector 21 and the signal input connection unit 22. The timing for acquiring the frequency channel information can be realized by using the comparing unit 18 and the level setting unit 17 as described in the first embodiment.
Since the toll collection by wireless communication between the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the roadside device 3 based on the frequency channel information thus selected is described in the first embodiment, the description is omitted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the frequency channel information used by the roadside device 3 in the lane to which the vehicle 6 is about to enter, and the vehicle-mounted device 5 is used to determine the influence of interference by the plurality of roadside devices 3. It is possible to select accurately without receiving
The reliability of communication between the on-vehicle device 5 and the roadside device 3 can be improved.

(Embodiment 5) FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a system mounted on a vehicle 6 of the present embodiment.
The on-vehicle device 5 has the configuration shown in FIG. Reference numeral 70 denotes a car navigation system main unit, which includes a signal conversion unit 71, a signal output connection unit 72, a signal output connector 73, a signal input connector 74, and a signal input connection unit 75, which are the signal input connector 21 and the signal output connector 27 of the vehicle-mounted device 5. It is connected to the. The car navigation system main body 70 includes a global positioning system (Global Positioning S).
positioning system unit 76 comprising a CD-RO
Database unit 7 composed of M and DVD-ROM
7. It is roughly composed of a CPU unit 78. The database 77 is preliminarily provided with a site near a tollgate, particularly lanes, and frequency channel information used by the roadside device 3 in each lane.

When the vehicle 6 approaches the toll booth, the vehicle-mounted device 5 obtains from the vehicle-mounted device CPU 16 the frequency channel information used by the roadside device 3 of the lane to which the vehicle 6 is to enter at the current position. The request signal is transmitted to the signal conversion unit 25 in FIG.
Are converted into the data format of the sensing data sequence 60, the application designation data sequence 61, and the system designation data sequence 62 as shown in FIG. 1, and the signal output connection unit 26 outputs this signal from the signal output connector 27 to the car navigation system main unit 70. . The car navigation system main body 70 is connected to the signal input connector 7 by the signal input connector 75.
4 and transfers the signal to the CPU section 78. CPU
The unit 78 obtains, from the positioning system unit 76 and the database unit 77, frequency channel information of the lane to which the vehicle 6 is to enter.

The frequency channel information is converted by the signal conversion section 71 into a sensing data sequence 60, an application designation data sequence 61, and a system designation data sequence 62 as shown in FIG.
The signal output connection unit 72 outputs the signal to the vehicle-mounted device 5 from the signal output connector 73. Onboard unit CPU unit 16
Obtains frequency channel information through the signal input connector 21 and the signal input connection unit 22.

The timing of acquiring the frequency channel information can be realized by using the comparing unit 18 and the level setting unit 17 as described in the first embodiment. Since the toll collection by wireless communication between the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the roadside device 3 based on the frequency channel information thus selected is described in the first embodiment, the description is omitted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the vehicle-mounted device 5 receives the frequency channel information used by the roadside device 3 of the lane to which the vehicle 6 is about to enter, and the vehicle-mounted device 5 is affected by the interference caused by the plurality of roadside devices 3. Selection can be performed accurately, and the reliability of communication between the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the roadside device 3 can be improved.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, the wireless communication between the roadside device installed at the tollgate and the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle automatically enables the vehicle to run automatically without stopping. In a system for collecting tolls on toll roads, the onboard unit does not use the transmission radio wave of the roadside unit, for example, obtains information related to the frequency of the radio wave used by the roadside unit, or detects the vehicle position, and the information conversion unit. By converting the data into a predetermined digital signal format sensing data string and adding an application-specified data string and a system-specified data string to output to the in-vehicle device, the in-vehicle device enters a communication area for performing communication with the roadside device. The radio frequency used by the roadside machine in the toll gate lane to be entered can be selected with high accuracy without using the radio waves output from the roadside machine, and as a result, the communication reliability between the roadside machine and the onboard machine It has an effect that can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the vicinity of a tollgate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of an on-vehicle device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a configuration block diagram of a roadside device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a signal format between a vehicle-mounted device and a sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a signal format between a vehicle-mounted device and a sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration block diagram of an on-vehicle device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a configuration block diagram of an on-vehicle device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing the vicinity of a tollgate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating the operation of the magnetic field generating unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration block diagram of an on-vehicle device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a configuration block diagram of a system mounted on a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional toll road automatic toll collection system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 first roadside unit antenna 2 second roadside unit antenna 3 roadside unit 4 gantry 5 onboard unit 6 vehicle 10 onboard unit antenna 11 signal separator 12 transmission unit 13 reception unit 14 demodulation unit 15 modulation unit 16 onboard unit CPU unit 17 Level setting unit 18 comparison unit 19 IC card connection unit 20 IC card 21 signal input connector 22 signal input connection unit 23 sensor 24 information conversion unit 25 signal conversion unit 26 signal output connection unit 27 signal output connector 30 signal separator 31 transmission unit 32 Reception unit 33 Demodulation unit 34 Modulation unit 35 Roadside unit CPU unit 36 Central processing unit 37 Frequency channel information output unit 40 Magnetic sensor 41 Channel identification unit 42 Communication area 43 First magnetic generation unit 44 Second magnetic generation unit 45 Channel signal Control unit 50 Vehicle position detection unit 51 Database unit 52 Information Conversion unit 60 Sensing data sequence 61 Application designation data sequence 62 System designation data sequence 70 Car navigation system main unit 71 Signal conversion unit 72 Signal output connection unit 73 Signal output connector 74 Signal input connector 75 Signal input connection unit 76 Positioning system unit 77 Database Unit 78 CPU unit 90 First roadside unit antenna 91 Second roadside unit antenna 92 Onboard unit 93 Vehicle

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A toll road automatic toll collection system for automatically collecting tolls of vehicles traveling on a toll road without stopping the vehicle at a tollgate. It has a roadside device installed for each lane, an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle and communicating necessary information with the roadside device by wireless communication, and a frequency channel information output unit connected to the roadside device for each lane. The on-vehicle unit is connected to each unit of the on-vehicle unit to control each unit, an on-vehicle unit antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves for performing wireless communication with the roadside unit, and creating a transmission modulation signal. A transmitting unit that feeds the transmission modulation signal to the on-vehicle device antenna, a receiving unit that receives a reception signal from the on-vehicle device antenna, a demodulation unit that demodulates a signal from the receiving unit, Outside the machine A signal input connection unit that obtains the information of the on-vehicle device and converts the information into a format that can be read by the on-vehicle device CPU unit, wherein the vehicle detects a signal from the frequency channel information output unit and a signal detected by the sensor. A system-designated data sequence consisting of an N-bit digital signal that specifies a device that requires the sensing data sequence while converting it into an L-bit sensing data sequence, and an M-bit application that indicates processing that requires the sensing data sequence Total L +
An automatic toll road toll collection system, comprising: an information conversion unit that generates an M + N-bit digital data string; wherein the on-vehicle device and the information conversion unit are connected. 2. The on-vehicle device converts information from the on-vehicle device CPU unit into a sensing data sequence, which is a digital signal in a predetermined format, and generates a digital data sequence to which a system designation data sequence and an application designation data sequence are added. The toll road automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, further comprising: a signal conversion unit; and a signal output connection unit that outputs the digital data string from the vehicle-mounted device. 3. The frequency channel information output unit is embedded in the road in each lane behind the vehicle in the vehicle traveling direction with respect to the communication area between the roadside device and the on-vehicle device, and corresponds to the frequency of a radio wave used by the roadside device in the lane. And a channel signal control unit connected to the first and second magnetism generating units, wherein the vehicle has the first and second magnetism sensors as sensors. A magnetic sensor that reads a magnetic field pattern from a magnetic generator, and a frequency that receives an analog output of the magnetic sensor, converts the analog output into digital information of a radio frequency used by a roadside device on the lane, and outputs the digital information to an information converter. 3. The toll road automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, further comprising a channel identification unit. 4. A vehicle position detector for detecting a current absolute position by receiving radio waves from a plurality of satellites as a sensor, and a tollgate storing information from the vehicle position detector in advance. 3. The toll road according to claim 1, further comprising a database unit that converts the frequency information by referring to the spatial position in the vicinity and the relationship between each lane and the roadside device and outputs the frequency information to the information conversion unit. Automatic toll collection system. 5. A toll road automatic toll collection system for automatically collecting tolls of vehicles traveling on a toll road without stopping the vehicles at a tollgate, wherein a plurality of toll roads on both sides or one side of an entrance side and an exit side of a toll road are provided. A roadside device installed for each lane, and has a vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle and communicates necessary information by wireless communication with the roadside device, the vehicle-mounted device,
In-vehicle equipment CPU connected to each part of the in-vehicle equipment to control each part
Unit, an in-vehicle device antenna that performs transmission and reception of radio waves for performing wireless communication with the roadside device, a modulation unit that creates a transmission modulation signal, a transmission unit that supplies the transmission modulation signal to the in-vehicle device antenna, A receiving unit for inputting a reception signal from an on-vehicle unit antenna, a demodulation unit for demodulating a signal from the receiving unit, and a first signal for obtaining information external to the on-vehicle unit and converting the information into a format readable by the on-vehicle unit CPU unit An input connection unit converts information from the CPU unit of the on-vehicle device into a sensing data sequence which is a digital signal of a predetermined format, and generates a first digital data sequence to which a system designation data sequence and an application designation data sequence are added. A first signal conversion unit;
A first output of the first digital data string from the vehicle-mounted device;
A signal output connection unit, the vehicle includes a CPU unit included in car navigation and performing overall control, and the CP
A second signal conversion unit that converts the information of the U part into a sensing data sequence that is a digital signal of a predetermined format and generates a second digital data sequence to which a system-designated data sequence and an application-designated data sequence are added; A second signal output connection unit connected to a second signal conversion unit and transmitting the second digital data string to the first signal input connection unit; and a first signal connection unit connected to the on-vehicle device and the CPU unit. And a second signal input connection unit for inputting the digital data string and converting the data into a format readable by the CPU unit.