TW587218B - Electronic mobile positioning and payment method and system thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic mobile positioning and payment system (e-MPS) comprises at least a wireless communication base station for a particular billing authentication purpose, an on-board unit and a control center. The base station is installed at a billing point for sending a downlink signal informing to proceed billing process; the on-board unit is installed in a vehicle capable of communicating with the base station using GSM, GPRS or 3G (hereinafter called GSM/GPRS/3G) mobile communication protocol. While operating, the system can select an uplink channel to transmit the authentication information pertinent to the vehicle to the base station based on the downlink signal. The control center connects to the base station and can proceed billing process in accordance with the relevant authentication information of the vehicle. As such, it can reduce the engineering cost for installing multiple gate frames in conventional dedicated short range communication (DSRC) technology, attaining the cost-down goal of construction.

Description

587218

[Technical field to which the invention belongs] The present invention relates to an electronic charging method and a system thereof, and particularly to an electronic mobile communication method and a system thereof for collecting fees by using a GSM / GPRS / 3G communication protocol. 5 [Prior art] In the past, manual methods were used to collect tolls, bridge tolls, or parking fees. As vehicles must slow down when they pass through toll stations, or even stop the car to pay, it not only causes traffic jams, but also Vehicles decelerating and accelerating have caused a lot of unnecessary air pollution. 10 As a result, electronic toll collection systems have emerged. As shown in the first and second figures, a general electronic toll collection system includes a roadside unit 71 installed on a tollgate of a highway and an onboard communication unit (onboard) provided in a vehicle 7. unit) 72 and a 1C card 73 (which is an optional device, which is not available if the latter 15 type is used), and a vehicle identification device 74 and a camera 75 for vehicle identification. The roadside unit 71 has a control host 710, a first antenna 711 connected to the control host 710, and a second antenna 712, wherein the first antenna 711 is the first channel provided at the toll booth. The gate (or entrance gate) and the second antenna 712 are arranged on the second gate (or exit gate) of the 20 toll station. The principle is to use the first and second antennas 711 and 712 to perform wireless short-range communication (Dedicated Short Range Communications, DSRC) with the vehicle communication unit 72. Because it uses microwave or infrared to communicate, its effective communication distance Both are under 50 meters. When vehicle 7 first 5 587218 country (2) ... 'sound. As soon as it is within the effective communication range of the first antenna 711, the control host 71 will cause the first antenna 711 to wake up wirelessly and check the vehicle communication unit η and IC Card 73, and at the same time write the relevant time and place of the vehicle 7 through this entrance gate into the 1C card, and then when the vehicle 7 wants to leave the exit door through the second antenna 712, the control host 7) will pass Second antenna 712. Pay out the information stored on the 1C card 73 and perform the charge operation. And the right has violations or not. If the vehicle has a vehicle communication unit 72, it will be recorded by a camera 75 'and recognized by a vehicle identification device 74 before proceeding. ° 10 15 ❿. It must be stated that '1C card 73 is used as a pre-paid card (pre_paid card), so the vehicle communication unit is used to read or write the ride data on the buckle 73 and the cost. During calculation and deduction, the speed is slower than the wireless communication speed between the vehicle communication unit 72 and the roadside unit 71. Therefore, unless the vehicle communication unit 72 is equipped with a relatively efficient central processing unit, it is possible to simultaneously Carry out wireless communication and write, read and charge data to the 1C card 73. 2. Another way is to set up a global fixed system (ah 20GSM or Mobbledata wireless communication technology in the car) to achieve the electronic charging month b of the vehicle. However, no matter which method is used for electronic charging It is impossible to avoid the large amount of instantaneous data processing of the communication unit 72 of the vehicle. == This causes the high cost and excessive power consumption of the vehicle information unit 72, and it is expected that 2 ~ gates will be installed at each receiving station. [Summary of the Invention] 6

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic communication charging method and system which can reduce the instantaneous data processing volume of a vehicle communication unit to reduce its cost, and can provide a better charging mechanism. Therefore, the electronic mobile communication charging system (Electronic 5 Mobile positioning & Payment System, abbreviated as e-MPS) of the present invention can charge a vehicle that passes a first toll point and a second toll point in sequence, etc. The mobile communication charging system includes a first base station, a second base station, a vehicle communication unit, and a management center. (Note: Unless otherwise stated, the base station referred to in this article refers to a wireless communication base station with a specific charge certification of 10 purposes, that is, it has one more charge certification function than a general base station.) The first base station is set at The first charging point can also send a first downlink signal for notifying the charging operation. The second base station is located at the second charging point, and can also send a 15th downlink signal to notify the charging operation, and so on. The vehicle communication unit is installed on the vehicle and stores relevant authentication information of the vehicle, and can communicate with the first and second base stations by using the GSM / GPRS / 3G communication protocol, and according to the first and second base stations, The two downlink signals upload the vehicle's authentication information to the first and second base stations respectively. 20 The management center is connected to the first and second base stations, and can record the relevant data of the vehicle passing the first and second base stations according to the certification data, and correspond to a certification data of the vehicle. Account calculation and collection. Therefore, it is necessary to use the method of setting up a specific charging authentication base station at the charging location 7

It also uses the back-end management center to calculate and collect the relevant record movements and charges of the vehicle through the toll point, so it can establish a perfect road pricing mechanism. At the same time, reduce the data load of the vehicle communication unit to reduce Its construction cost. 5 [Embodiment] The foregoing and other technical contents, features, and advantages of the present invention will be clearly understood in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to the third figure, the electronic mobile communication toll system 100 of the present invention includes a plurality of base stations 1, 2, at least one vehicle communication unit 3, and a management center 4 disposed on a highway. Base stations 1 and 2 are located next to the expressway, and a base station is set in the middle of every two interchanges. In this embodiment, the configuration of base stations 1 and 2 is to establish an overall charging mechanism. And can be charged according to the distance between the two communication channels where the base station is located, or road pricing based on the "differential rate" method. Further explanation of the charging mechanism will be made later. Elaborate. In addition to being located beside a highway, the base station can also be located on a separate island in the middle of the highway, or a field or hillside near the highway. Mainly, the electromagnetic wave receiving and transmitting range of 20 base stations can cover a certain highway. A specific charging point is used as a benchmark. To simplify the description, in this embodiment, only a first base station 1 and a second base station 3 are used for description, but this should not be taken as a limitation of this embodiment. I should also understand that each base station 1 and 2 contains a base station connection 8 587218

Receiving station (BTS) and a base station controller (BSC) (not shown). The base station receiving station is used to provide a wireless transmission channel between a mobile station and base stations 1, 2. The base station controls The device is responsible for allocating wireless resources, that is, the use of channels. Because this is a conventional technology, it will not be repeated here. 5 The first and second base stations 1, 2 use the GSM / GPRS / 3G communication protocol to communicate with The mobile station performs wireless communication, and its frequency band can be, for example, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz, etc. In other words, the base stations 1 and 2 can use the logical channel 10 or the physical channel defined by their communication protocol. To send a downlink signal containing control data and other related data to the mobile station. In this embodiment, the first base station 1 is defined as a first charging point within the electromagnetic wave receiving and transmitting range, and the second base station 2 is defined as a second charging point within the electromagnetic receiving and transmitting range. 15 In accordance with the fourth figure, the vehicle communication unit 3 is disposed in a vehicle 5 and has a radio transceiver 31 (receiver / transmitter), a controller 32, a read-only memory (ROM) 33, and an input panel. 34, and a display 35. The radio transceiver 31 can convert signals from the fundamental frequency to the radio frequency, or from the radio frequency to the fundamental frequency, so as to transmit and receive wireless electromagnetic waves 20. In other words, the radio transceiver 31 makes the vehicle 5 into a GSM / GPRS / 3G system. Defined mobile station. The read-only memory 33 stores computer code for the controller 32 to execute and related certification data of the vehicle 5, such as the serial number, license plate number, and vehicle type of the communication unit 3 for the vehicle. 9 587218 _ ·..--· 7; r ^ v, platform 1, 2. The vehicle's L information unit 3 is burned into the read-only memory M from Annon to vehicle 5. Therefore, the vehicle communication unit 3 can wirelessly transmit the authentication data stored in the read-only memory 33 through the radio transceiver 31. The transmission to the base panel 34 has multiple buttons for the user to press: for the user to turn the controller 32 on and off, that is, when the vehicle driver wants to choose this system when entering the toll road, It is necessary to turn on the power of controller W to confirm the use of electronic payment; if it is not on a toll road, the power should be turned off to save power. The display 35 is capable of outputting 1 to the controller M. , The signal is displayed, such as the charging situation, charging time, charging confirmation bluff, charging mileage amount, and error information. In addition, the vehicle flood-passing unit 3 also has a flash memory 36 for the controller 32 to read and write data, which can be used by the controller 32 to temporarily store the relevant charging situation, charging time, amount of charging mileage, etc. For users 5 to use the display 3 5 to view. The management center 4 is connected to the base stations 丨 and 2 in a wired or wireless manner. The management center 4 has an account settlement system 41 and a vehicle data connected to the account settlement system and storing related data of the vehicle 5 Library 42. The basic information of vehicle 5 has been established in the vehicle database 42. For example, the serial number 3 of the female vehicle's Tongong unit 3, the model of the vehicle 5, the low-priced brand, the engine number, the license plate number, the type of vehicle, and the name and address of the owner of the vehicle It can be used as a source of information for authentication, comparison during charge operations, and for subsequent necessary contacts. '^ The accounting clearing system 4 丨 is able to communicate with the base stations 1 and 2 to receive 10 authentication information of the vehicle communication unit 3 in the vehicle 5 and compare the authentication information with the information in the vehicle database 42 To charge for one of the owners ’accounts, the calculation and collection of fees will be explained below. In addition, the electronic mobile communication charging system 100 of the present invention further includes a first vehicle identification device 61 provided at one of the first charging points, a second vehicle identification device 62 provided at the second charging point, and a plurality of devices The first camera 611 and the second camera 612 at the first and second charging points. The first camera 611 is used to capture the image data of the vehicle 5 passing the first toll point, and the first vehicle identification device 61 automatically reads the license plate number with optical analysis technology, and can know the vehicle 5 passing the first toll point The first vehicle identification device 61 is also capable of transmitting the license plate number to the management center 4 for further processing, such as procedures for law enforcement violations, photo taking and certificate storage. In the same way, the second camera 612 and the second vehicle identification device 62 are also performed in the same manner to be able to transmit the license plate number of the vehicle 5 passing the second toll point to the management center 4. In conjunction with the fifth figure, step 501, when the vehicle 5 equipped with the vehicle communication unit 3 enters the first charging point, the steps of the electronic mobile communication charging method of the present invention are started, as shown in steps 502 and 503. After the first camera 611 performs a video recording operation, the first vehicle identification device 61 performs the license plate identification of the vehicle 5, and at the same time, the first base station 1 sends a downlink signal to ask the vehicle communication unit 3 to start the charging operation. Of course, there is no specific order of steps 502 and 503, depending on the first camera 587218 y ;: \ -r; rt: ΐ? ≪ ^

The effective recording range of Siliill Nianjiang Wounding Vine 611 depends on the effective communication range of the first base station 61, but basically both steps will be performed within the first charging point.

Next, as shown in step 504, if the vehicle communication unit 3 in the vehicle 5 operates normally, so that the first base station 61 sends a downlink signal, the vehicle 5 communication unit 3 will know which ones are on the downlink signal. The chain channel can be used, and one of the chain channels can be used to transmit the authentication data of this vehicle 5 to the first base station 1, so that the first base station 1 obtains the authentication data of this vehicle 5. After obtaining the authentication data, as shown in step 505, the first base station 1 will transmit the authentication data of this vehicle 5 to the management center 4 for authentication actions, that is, after receiving this authentication data using the accounting settlement system 41 Compare with the data in the vehicle 5 database, so you can determine the model and type of vehicle, and record the date and time when the vehicle 5 passed the first toll point in the vehicle database 42 for subsequent cost calculation and collection operations At the same time, the account settlement system 41 will also inform the first base station 1 to return a 15 related message (through the code and amount of the specific toll base station 1) to the vehicle communication unit 3 for users to understand the management center 4. The relevant data of vehicle 5 passing the first tolling point has been recorded. When the vehicle 5 passes the first tolling point, the relevant data has been recorded. If the vehicle 5 is approaching another tolling point at this time, step 506 returns to step 20 502 and performs the same procedure as above. If not, the charging operation that has passed the charging point code is performed in step 507. After the charging is completed, the vehicle communication unit 3 returns to the standby state, waiting for the next charging certification and operation. As in this example, since the management center 4 has recorded the date and time when the vehicle 5 passed the first and second toll points, the authentication data and vehicle information 12 587218

The information in the database 42 confirms its model, so you can calculate the cost according to the size of the model. In particular, you can also calculate the cost by incorporating the distance between the first toll point and the second toll point, in other words, based on the vehicle. 5 The distance traveled on the expressway is a reasonable toll, in order to achieve the fairness of the toll mechanism. In this embodiment, since a base station is provided every two communication lanes, the "user" payment principle can be fully implemented, and there will be no unfair treatment of charging fees only for medium and long-distance driving vehicles 5. On the other hand, if the vehicle 5 passes N toll points, steps 502 to 506 will be repeated, and the management center 4 records the relevant records of this vehicle 5 passing all 10 toll points, so a "different rate" can also be implemented That is, the farther the total mileage traveled by vehicle 5, the lower the level of the rate for each additional kilometer traveled to encourage users of vehicle 5 to treat the highway as a medium- and long-distance transportation pipeline. After the management center 4 calculates the cost, it will send related information to the vehicle communication unit 3 through the base stations 1, 15 2 such as the total cost, the toll point passed, time, date, etc., and save it for backup. It is displayed in the flash memory 36 or directly displayed by the display 35 for the user to check. If the charging operation is not completed at the specific toll base stations 1, 2 at that time, it can be completed at other specific or non-specific toll base stations. As long as the certification of a particular base station 20 is completed, charging operations can be performed at other base stations. The charge collection operation can be performed by the management center 4 based on the information in the database of the vehicle 5, sending a payment notice letter, or informing the user of the vehicle 5 by email, mobile phone, etc. Period; or the management center 4 can be connected with the financial transaction center directly by the vehicle 13 587218

~ 5 Debits are made to the transfer account designated by the user.

In addition, as shown in steps 504 and 508, if the base stations 1 and 2 cannot obtain the authentication data of the vehicle 5, it may indicate that the vehicle 5 is not equipped with the vehicle communication unit 3, or the vehicle communication unit 3 has been damaged and cannot function normally. Operation 5, but since the images of all vehicles 5 passing through the toll point have been taken through the first and second cameras 611 and 612, after all the vehicles 5 are identified by the first and second vehicle identification devices 61 and 62, Can transfer the identified license plate data to the management center 4. The management center 4 can compare the recognized license plate data with the authentication data from the base stations 1, 2 to get 10 to know which vehicles 5 are not in accordance with the regulations. Therefore, it is possible to report according to the license plate number of the violating vehicle 5, notify the violating vehicle 5 to pay the fee within a time limit or install a communication unit 3 for the vehicle, etc. based on the registration information of the vehicle supervision unit.

Finally, the electronic mobile communication charging system of the present invention may optionally include a 1C card 6 connected to the vehicle communication unit 3. The 1C card 6 serves as a 15 prepaid card or a credit card, and provides a certain amount for the management center 4 Perform charge operations. The user can use the input unit to control whether or not the 1C card 6 is used for payment. In particular, in order to reduce the data load of the vehicle communication unit 3, the management center 4 calculates the cost and then informs the vehicle communication unit. 3 Perform a chargeback action. 20 In summary, the electronic mobile charging system 100 of the present invention uses the GSM / GPRS / 3G base station as a roadside unit, so there is no need to build a charging gate, which has a lower cost and a wider range of effective electromagnetic wave transmission. The back-end management center 4 performs cost calculation and collection operations, so the data processing volume of the vehicle communication unit 3 can be reduced, and it can also be compared with 14 587218.

Constructing the vehicle communication unit 3 at a low cost can indeed achieve the purpose of the present invention. However, the above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention. When the scope of implementation of the present invention cannot be limited by this, that is, the simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application 5 of the present invention and the content of the invention specification , All should still fall within the scope of the invention patent. [Brief description of the drawings] The first diagram is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional electronic toll collection system; the second diagram is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the vehicle communication 10 units, the 1C card and the roadside unit installed in a vehicle; The third diagram is a schematic diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of the electronic mobile communication charging system of the present invention; the fourth diagram is a schematic diagram illustrating a vehicle communication unit and a 1C card according to one of the preferred embodiments; and the fifth diagram of FIG. It is a flowchart illustrating the steps of the charging method for electronic mobile communication of the present invention. 587218 玖 V. Faoh Ming⑽

[Simplified description of the main components of the figure] 1 First base station 36 Flash memory 2 Second base station 41 Accounting settlement system 3 Vehicle communication unit 42 Vehicle database 4 Management center 61 First vehicle identification device 5 Vehicle 62 Second vehicle identification device 6 1C card 611 First camera 31 Radio transceiver 612 Second camera 32 Controller 501 ~ 508 Step 33 Read-only memory 100 Electronic mobile communication charging system 34 Input panel 35 Display

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Claims (1)

587218 ^ 'vv :: 1. An electronic mobile communication charging method is performed between a vehicle, a base station installed at a toll point, and a management center connected to the base station. The vehicle is equipped with a A vehicle communication unit capable of wireless communication with the base station using the GSM / GPRS / 3G communication protocol. The vehicle communication unit stores relevant authentication information of the vehicle. The electronic mobile communication charging method includes the following steps: Α) When the When the vehicle is within the coverage range of the wireless signal of the base station, the base station sends a notification to perform the charging down-chain signal; B) The vehicle communication unit returns the certification from an uplink channel based on the downlink signal. Information to the base station; and C) the management center confirms the authentication information and performs a charge operation on an account corresponding to the authentication information. 2. The charging method for electronic mobile communications as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the charging operation for the account is to deduct from the account after calculating the fees to be paid. 3. The charging method for electronic mobile communications as described in item 2 of the scope of patent application, wherein the charging operation for the account is to calculate a fee to be paid, and then issue a payment notice to the user of the account. 4. The charging method for electronic mobile communication as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, further including step D) after step C), returning a message related to the completion of the charging operation to the vehicle communication unit via the base station. ). 5. An electronic mobile communication charging system capable of charging a vehicle passing through a toll point. The electronic mobile communication charging system includes: a base station provided at the charging point for sending a notification to perform 17 587218 丨Please request the down-chain signal for charging operation; 'A vehicle communication unit is set on the vehicle and communicates with the base station using the GSM / GPRS / 3G communication protocol to select one based on the down-chain signal. The chain channel transmits relevant authentication information of the vehicle to the base station; and a management center connected to the base station for performing charging operations based on the relevant authentication information of the vehicle. 6. The electronic mobile communication charging system according to item 5 of the scope of patent application, wherein the vehicle communication unit has a read-only memory storing the authentication data, and a controller connected to the read-only memory And a radio transceiver connected to the controller and capable of transmitting and receiving wireless electromagnetic waves. 7. The electronic mobile communication charging system described in item 6 of the scope of patent application, further includes a 1C card connected to the controller, and the 1C card can provide a certain amount for the management center to control the base station to the 1C Card for charging operation 8. The electronic mobile communication charging system described in item 6 of the scope of patent application, further includes a vehicle identification device provided at the charging point, and a video recording device for recording the image of the vehicle passing through the charging point. A camera, and the vehicle identification device can identify relevant data of the vehicle according to the image recorded by the camera, and send it to the management center for verification. 9. An electronic mobile communication charging system capable of charging vehicles passing through a first charging point and a second charging point in sequence, the electronic mobile communication charging system comprising: a first base station disposed on the first Toll points for sending an 18 587218 Pick up and apply for a patent scope. ~ ~ A first downlink signal to notify the charging operation; a second base station is set on the second charging point and is used to send a second downlink signal to notify the charging operation; A vehicle communication unit is installed on the vehicle and stores relevant authentication information of the vehicle. It can communicate with the first and second base stations using the GSM / GPRS / 3G communication protocol, and according to the first and second base stations, Two down-chain signals upload the vehicle's certification data to the first and second base stations respectively; and a management center, connected to the first and second base stations, can record that the vehicle passes the vehicle according to the certification data. Relevant information of the first and second base stations, and calculate and collect fees for an account corresponding to the certification information of the vehicle. 10. The electronic mobile communication charging system as described in item 9 of the scope of patent application, wherein the communication unit for the vehicle has a read-only memory storing the authentication data, and a controller connected to the read-only memory And a radio transceiver connected to the controller and capable of transmitting and receiving wireless electromagnetic waves. 11. The electronic mobile communication charging system as described in item 9 of the scope of patent application, wherein the management center has a vehicle database storing relevant information of the vehicle, and an account settlement connected to the vehicle database System, the account settlement system is capable of receiving the authentication information of the vehicle and checking it with the information in the vehicle database, and performing the calculation and collection of fees based on the distance between the first and second toll points. 12. The electronic mobile communication charging system described in item 9 of the scope of patent application, further comprising two first and second vehicle identification devices respectively disposed on the first and second charging points, and two disposed on the first , The first 19 on the second charging point 587218, the second camera, the first and second cameras are used to record the image of the vehicle passing through the first and second toll points respectively, and the first and second vehicle identification devices are based on the first and second The image recorded by the camera identifies the relevant data of the vehicle and sends it to the management center for verification. 13. The electronic mobile communication charging system described in item 9 of the scope of the patent application, further includes a 1C card connected to the vehicle communication unit. The 1C card can provide a certain amount for the management center to perform charging operations. 14. An electronic mobile communication method capable of charging a vehicle that passes a first toll point and a second toll point in sequence, the first toll point is provided with a first base station, and the second toll point is provided with a first base station. Two base stations, and the vehicle is equipped with a vehicle communication unit capable of communicating with the first and second base stations using the GSM / GPRS / 3G communication protocol. The electronic mobile communication charging method includes the following steps: a) A base station communicates with the vehicle communication unit to record relevant information of the vehicle passing the first toll collection point; b) the second base station communicates with the vehicle communication unit to record the vehicle passing through the first toll collection point; Related information of the two charging points; and c) A management center connected to the first and second base stations confirms the data recorded by the first and second base stations, and performs billing and charging operations. 20