WO2011039398A1

WO2011039398A1 - Traffic control and regulation system

Info

Publication number: WO2011039398A1
Application number: PCT/ES2010/070625
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andres GARCÍA HIGUERA; Javier De Las Morenas De La Flor
Original assignee: Universidad De Castilla La Mancha
Priority date: 2009-09-30
Filing date: 2010-09-28
Publication date: 2011-04-07
Also published as: ES2356544A1; ES2356544B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a traffic control and regulation system based on radio frequency identification (RFID), which allows the integration and optimisation of different services governing regulated vehicle (2) parking, traffic circulation in restricted access areas, and urban and interurban tolls. Said system comprises: at least one active RFID tag (1) which is intended to be disposed inside a vehicle (2) and which contains personal information unique to each vehicle (2), identifying the owner and contracted parking and/or circulation services, whereby said tag can be used to manage the activation of said services; a radio frequency reader (4) designed to read and receive the information contained in the active RFID tags (1); and an electronic device (5) designed to recompile the information received by the radio frequency reader (4) and to detect the activation or deactivation of each of the active RFID tags (1) read by the radio frequency reader (4).

Description

SYSTEM OF REGULATION AND ROAD CONTROL

D E S C R I P C I O N

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to the field of object detection devices by the use of radio waves, and more specifically to vehicle identification devices.

The main object of the present invention is a system of regulation and road control based on radio frequency identification (RFID), which allows the integration and optimization of regulated parking systems for vehicles, and circulation in areas of restricted access and tolls. urban and interurban

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

At present, various types of radio frequency identification systems, known as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), are known, which consist of the storage and retrieval of data using devices such as cards or "RFID tags" that contain antennas for allow to receive and respond to requests by radiofrequency from an RFID transmitter-receiver. There are passive cards that do not need internal power supply, and active cards that do incorporate it. Said systems are used for the identification or labeling of a large number of products, animals, objects or even people, with a single label always being applied per object or product to be identified.

Currently, with the massive increase of vehicles in large cities, it is necessary to distribute the limited and scarce parking spaces. parking with the public road; as well as managing the circulation of vehicles optimally to reduce congestion during rush hour traffic. Therefore, the implementation of regulatory systems such as: regulated parking areas (blue zone), parking for residents, restricted circulation zones and tolls is increasing.

In the case of the blue zone and the resident zone, an agent is in charge of patrolling these zones and checking if the vehicles have acquired a parking ticket and this is valid. If any of these circumstances is not met, the agent prescribes a fine. In areas of restricted traffic (usually in the centers of large cities), bolts and / or barriers are used to limit the entry of vehicles that are not allowed. In the tolls, it pays for the right to be able to circulate in one way. These existing regulation systems have the great inconvenience of being uncomfortable for users for the time lost in their formalities, since the user has to travel to the nearest parking meter, take a ticket and return to your car to leave it in a visible place. In addition, said parking meters charge the parking time for fractions, with the consequent cost for the users.

Finally, it should be mentioned that these regulatory systems operate in a totally isolated manner, since they do not allow simultaneous operation and integration between the different regulatory systems (blue zone, residents area, restricted access area, etc.).

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION By means of the present invention, the aforementioned drawbacks are solved by providing a regulation and road control system based on radiofrequency identification RFID, by means of which a quick and easy identification of the vehicles that are parked in a regulated parking area (blue zone, residents area, parking lots, etc.), as well as vehicles that pass through a restricted area, or by tolls, facilitating their identification and making the access of users to the different regulation services more flexible without the need to use parking tickets or the like.

The system of regulation and road control, object of the present invention, comprises:

- at least one active RFID tag, intended to be carried inside a vehicle, which contains unique and personal identification information of each vehicle, preferably make, model and owner, as well as the regulated parking services contracted (zone blue, of residents, and / or circulation by restricted access areas or tolls), being adapted for the management of activation of said services,

- a radiofrequency reader, adapted to read and receive the information contained in the active RFID tags, and

- an electronic device, adapted to generate a record of all the data received by the radio frequency reader during a working day, and adapted to detect the activation or deactivation of each of the active RFID tags read by said reader. radiofrequency, and from that information carry out the appropriate actions. Preferably the radio frequency reader is connected to the electronic device via Bluetooth connection, and / or USB.

Likewise, a central computer is preferably available, where records of the data stored in the electronic devices are downloaded daily to check this information and carry out routine checks to detect possible frauds or copies of active RFID tags. Said central computer is also adapted for the management, modification or issuance of new active RFID tags, allowing said tags to function as a "purse" for their application in the different parking or circulation areas mentioned above. In this way the user is allowed to surcharge their active RFID tag with the required services and a balance.

In case of being a blue zone, a patrol agent verifies the activation of the active RFID tags of the vehicles parked around them through the information shown on their electronic device, preferably a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). If you do not receive information from a parked vehicle (because it does not have an active RFID tag, it is not activated due to forgetfulness of the driver or because it has no balance), the agent goes on to prescribe a fine.

In the case of a zone of residence, the patrol agent simply verifies the activation of the active RFID tags of the parked vehicles. If the electronic device carried by the agent does not show information of a vehicle parked in this area, it will be fined.

In the case of restricted access areas or toll control points, surveillance cameras record and / or take pictures of infringing vehicles that do not have an active RFID tag, for subsequent fine.

Preferably the range of effectiveness or read range of the radiofrequency reader is 8 meters, this reader can incorporate an external antenna, through which this range is considerably increased, being of special application in areas of tolls and access control areas restricted where the radio frequency reader is fixed.

The active RFID tag is comprised in turn by: - a printed circuit inside which comprises a microcontroller, adapted to control the operation of the active RFID tag; a transceiver, linked to the microcontroller and adapted for the reception and transmission of information by radio frequency through an antenna, and a real-time internal clock that has a calendar, linked to the microcontroller and adapted to account for the parking time of a vehicle in a blue Zone,

- an internal battery, linked to the microcontroller, adapted for feeding the active RFID tag, and

- a button, linked to the microcontroller and intended to be pressed by a driver when parking his vehicle and when removing it from a blue zone, being adapted to activate and deactivate the internal clock for later collection. Preferably the active RFID tag additionally comprises a light-emitting diode, LED, adapted to emit an intermittent or continuous light signal, informing the driver of the activation or deactivation status of its active RFID tag.

Likewise, the RFID active tag preferably has a connector adapted to be connected to a car cigarette lighter, so it is possible to feed said active RFID tag, thus maximizing the autonomy of the internal battery, this power being controlled by a voltage regulator located in the printed circuit. The road regulation system, object of invention, preferably has five modes of operation, which correspond to different areas by which a vehicle can park and / or circulate, and which are cited below: - Blue zone: In this mode of operation, in which a driver wishes to park his vehicle in a blue zone, he activates the active RFID tag by pressing the button at the time of leaving your vehicle. From this moment the internal clock of the label begins to count the parking time until the driver returns and press the button again to stop the time counter. It is worth mentioning that the charging of the parking time is done per seconds, not fractions.

An intermittent light signal emitted by the LED informs the driver of the activation of the internal clock count, while a continuous signal informs of its stop. - Resident zone: In this operating mode, the active label

RFID works continuously, without the need to be activated, since it is instantly identified by the radio frequency reader. Its function is simply to identify the owner, vehicle and area of residents to which it belongs.

- Restricted area: Analogous to the previous mode of operation, the active RFID tag operates continuously, being identified by a fixed radio frequency reader installed at the access control points, giving way to the vehicle to said restricted area in case of positive identification

- Tolls: This mode of operation allows users of urban and interurban tolls to pass through the control points without having to stop and take a ticket, being the active RFID tag, identified by a fixed radiofrequency reader similar to the mode of previous operation, which is responsible for it.

- Simultaneous operation of several modes: The active RFID tag allows compatibility between different operating modes, being adapted to act in blue zone, residents area, restricted area, tolls etc., or all at once.

Therefore, through the system of regulation and road control, object of the present invention, the processes of control, identification and charging for parking in a certain area, and the passage through tolls, are also optimized, this system also allowing the integration of the different existing regulation services.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical realization thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. where, with illustrative and non-limiting character, the following has been represented: Figure 1.- It shows a general view of the elements that make up the system of regulation and road control, object of invention, for operation in blue zone or an area of residents.

Figure 2.- Shows a perspective view of the active RFID tag according to a preferred embodiment.

Figure 3.- Shows a schematic view of the active RFID tag where the different elements that compose it are appreciated, according to a preferred embodiment.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In figure 1, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown, valid for cases in which the regulation and road control system is used in a blue area or a resident area. Said system comprises at least one active RFID tag (1), located inside a vehicle (2), which contains identification information of each vehicle (2) and its owner, this information being compiled by a patrol agent (3) that has a radio frequency reader (4) with an approximate range of 8 meters, adapted to read and receive the information contained in the active RFID tags (1), and of an electronic device (5) PDA with bluetooth connection, adapted to collect and display the information collected by said radiofrequency reader (4), and adapted to detect the activation or deactivation of each one of the active RFID tags (1) read by said radiofrequency reader (4).

In figures 2 and 3, an active RFID tag (1) is represented, which is comprised in turn by:

- a printed circuit (10) inside which comprises a microcontroller (11), adapted to control the operation of the active RFID tag (1); a transceiver (12), linked to the microcontroller (11), and adapted for the reception and transmission of information by radio frequency through an antenna (13); an internal real-time clock (15) linked to the microcontroller (11), adapted to account for the parking time of a vehicle (2) in a blue zone,

- an internal battery (14), linked to the microcontroller (11), adapted for feeding the active RFID tag (1),

- a push button (16), linked to the microcontroller (11) and intended to be tightened by a driver when parking his vehicle (2) and when removing it from a blue zone square, adapted to activate and deactivate the internal clock (15) for its subsequent charge for the time parked,

- an LED light emitting diode (17), adapted to emit an intermittent or continuous light signal, informing the driver of the activation or deactivation status of the active RFID tag (1), and

- a connector (18) adapted for connection with the cigarette lighter of a vehicle (2), so it is possible to feed the active RFID tag (1), this feed being controlled by a voltage regulator (19) located in the printed circuit (10).

Claims

1. - Regulation and road control system based on radio frequency identification (RFID), through which the integration and optimization of regulated parking services of vehicles, and circulation through restricted access areas and urban and interurban tolls, characterized because it comprises:

- at least one active RFID tag, (1) intended to be carried inside a vehicle (2), which contains identifying, unique and personal information of each vehicle (2), owner, as well as parking services regulated contracted (blue zone, of residents), and / or circulation by areas of restricted access or tolls, and adapted for the management of activation of said services,

- a radiofrequency reader (4), adapted to read and receive the information contained in the active RFID tags (1), and

- an electronic device (5), linked to the radiofrequency reader (4) and adapted to generate a record of all the data received by it during a working day, adapted to detect the activation or deactivation of each of the active RFID tags (1) read by said radio frequency reader (4), and from that information carry out the appropriate actions.

2. - System of regulation and control according to claim 1, characterized in that the active tag RFID (1) is comprised in turn by:

- a printed circuit (10) inside which comprises a microcontroller (11), adapted to control the operation of the active RFID tag (1); a transceiver (12), linked to the microcontroller (11), and adapted for the reception and transmission of information by radio frequency through an antenna (13); and a real-time internal clock (15) linked to the microcontroller (11), adapted to account for the parking time of a vehicle (2) in a blue zone, - an internal battery (14), linked to the microcontroller (11), adapted to feed the active RFID tag (1), and

- a push button (16), linked to the microcontroller (11) and intended to be tightened by a driver when parking his vehicle (2) and when removing it from a blue zone square, adapted to activate and deactivate the internal clock (15) for your subsequent charge for the time parked.

3. - System for regulation and road control according to claim 2, characterized in that the active tag RFID (1) additionally comprises a LED light emitting diode (17), adapted to emit an intermittent or continuous light signal, informing the driver of the activation or deactivation status of the internal clock account (15).

4. - Regulation and road control system according to any one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the active tag RFID (1) further comprises a connector (18) adapted for connection with the cigarette lighter of a vehicle (2) for feeding said active RFID tag (1).

5. Regulation and road control system according to claims 2 and 4, characterized in that the printed circuit (10) of the RFID active tag (1) additionally has a voltage regulator (19) adapted to control the power supply of the active RFID tag (1) obtained through the connector (18).

6. System of regulation and road control according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic device (5) is a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).

7. System of regulation and road control according to claim 1, characterized in that the radio frequency reader (4) and the electronic device (5) have a Bluetooth connection, and / or USB for communication.

8. System for regulation and road control according to claim 1, characterized in that the radio frequency reader (4) additionally has an external antenna for a greater reading range.