EP0632410A2 - Arrangement for data detection and exchange between moving objects and fixed stations - Google Patents

Abstract

2.1 The invention relates to an arrangement for recording of data of movable objects at a fixed station, n fixed stations (4, 4', 4'') succeeding one another at a distance. The objects are each provided with a device which executes a transaction and which transmits signals in each case to the fixed station (4, 4', 4''), in the zone (2) of which the corresponding object (1) is moving. The reliability of the system is to be increased. 2.2 The devices each have a memory, in which, after the transaction with a fixed station has been executed, a code for this and the time are filed. Each fixed station has a test module, in which the content of the memory is evaluated before the code of the current fixed station is filed. The conventional transaction with the current fixed station is carried out if a timespan Ti greater than a predetermined first timespan Tv1 has elapsed since the time filed in the memory, or if the code filed in the memory is the code of the fixed station preceding the current fixed station. In addition to the conventional transaction with the current fixed station, further transactions provided at fixed stations preceding the current fixed station are carried out or a transaction comprising the transactions at the preceding and current fixed stations is carried out if the filed code is that of a farther preceding fixed station and the timespan Ti is smaller than a predetermined time Tv2. 2.3 The invention can be used in systems for the automatic recording of charges in road traffic. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to an arrangement for capturing and exchanging data between moving objects and base stations, n base stations (ne IN) following one another at a distance, the objects being provided with a device which, after activation from the outside, initiates a transaction and the signals in each case to the base station in the defined zone in which the corresponding object is moving.

The invention can be used in systems for automatic fee collection.
Automatic fee collection systems are based on the fact that a base station uses microwaves or infrared to establish a connection to a device in the vehicle via which a transaction is processed, for example a debiting process from a check card storing an amount of money or the transfer of an identification number for subsequent debiting from an account becomes. This transaction takes place as long as the vehicle or the device in the vehicle is within range of the transmitter and receiver of the base station. This is the case as long as the device is in the vehicle in a defined area, the communication zone. An automatic toll collection system often consists of a number of fixed stations, each of which is arranged between entrances and exits on certain roads.

Such a fee collection system is known from DE 41 07 803 A1. If a device in a vehicle fails temporarily, for example because of an empty battery, there is no communication with a base station that has been driven through. Since the fees are not debited, the corresponding vehicle is photographed in order to be able to use the vehicle registration number to determine the vehicle owner to pay mostly much higher fees. This causes damage to the vehicle owner. Likewise, charges are not debited if a base station is temporarily out of order due to external influences, such as lightning strikes or the like. This damage is borne by the system operator.

It is an object of the invention to provide an arrangement for capturing and exchanging data between moving objects and fixed stations, the reliability of which is increased, in particular in the event of failures of the fixed station and against temporary failures of the device. It is a particular object of the invention to provide an arrangement for charging vehicles, which has increased reliability even if a system component fails.

The object is achieved with the features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments are specified in the subclaims.

In known systems for automatic fee entry, it is provided that the vehicle registration numbers of the vehicles which do not charge a fee at a fixed station can be determined. The fact that no debiting takes place can happen, for example, in that the battery of the device in the vehicle is empty. If the empty battery is then exchanged for a new one, the invention enables the charges of the station at which the device has failed was to be debited at the next station. In the same way, the invention enables charges from one base station to the next base station to be debited if the first base station has failed due to external influences. Means are provided at each base station that transmit an identifier of the base station. Each device in the movable object has a memory in which the identifier of the base station is stored after the transaction has taken place. The time, for example the time of the transaction, is also stored in this memory.

If a vehicle now travels, for example, via a motorway which has a number of fixed stations which follow one another at a distance, the identifier and time stored in the memory change from station to station. The memory must be battery-independent and only large enough to contain an identifier and a time, which is then overwritten at the next base station. At the beginning of a transaction, the data stored in the memory can be sent from the device to the base station. The content of the memory is then evaluated in a test module of the base station. If this is older than, for example, two hours, ie the time period T _i that has elapsed since the stored time is greater than the predetermined time period T _V1 , it is assumed that the content is no longer current and a normal transaction takes place with the current base station , ie the fee for this base station is debited. If the identifier of the base station located in front of the current base station is in the memory, the fee required there is also debited at the current base station. So a normal transaction takes place. If there is an identifier in the memory which belongs to a base station which is still before the last base station, then the time period T _i which has elapsed since the identifier was stored is compared with predetermined time periods.

• 1.) ganz gleich zu welcher Feststation die abgelegte Kennung gehört, die Zeitspanne T_i wird mit einer vorgegebenen Zeitspanne T_V2 verglichen, wobei T_V2 ≦ T_V1;
• 2.) je nachdem zu welcher Feststation (j-i-1), i=1,2,3,..., vor der letzten Feststation (j-1) die abgelegte Kennung gehört, wird die Zeitspanne T_i mit einer zu dieser Kennung gehörigen vorgegebenen Zeitspanne
  
  mit
  
  verglichen.

There are several options:

• 1.) irrespective of which base station the stored identifier belongs to, the time period T _i is compared with a predetermined time period T _V2 , where T _V2 ≦ T _V1 ;
• 2.) Depending on which base station (ji-1), i = 1,2,3, ..., the stored identifier belongs to before the last base station (j-1), the time period T _i becomes one with this identifier appropriate predetermined period of time
  
  With
  
  compared.

vorgegeben und im aufwendigsten Fall sind die Zeiten T_V1,

vorgegeben, wobei m eine sinnvolle obere Schranke für die Zahl der ausgefallenen und nachholbaren Transaktionen darstellt.

ergibt zum Beispiel eine solche Schranke.
Die Dimensionierung der Zeitspannen im Prüfmodul muß entsprechend den Abständen der Feststationen und den zugelassenen Geschwindigkeiten sinnvoll gewählt werden. Zu große Werte können zu unkorrekten Abbuchungen führen, im Falle, daß ein Fahrzeug die Autobahn verläßt und später wieder auffährt.In the simplest case, there is only time in the test module ${\text{T}}_{\text{V1}}{\text{= T}}_{\text{V2}}$

specified and in the most complex case the times are T _V1 ,

given, where m represents a reasonable upper bound for the number of failed and repeatable transactions.

results in such a barrier, for example.
The dimensioning of the time spans in the test module must be sensibly chosen according to the distances between the base stations and the permitted speeds. Values that are too large can lead to incorrect debits in the event that a vehicle leaves the motorway and later returns.

In the event that the time periods T _V2 and T _{V1 are} stored in the test module and the time period T _i that has passed since the storage of this identifier is smaller than the predetermined time period T _V2 (T _V2 ≦ T _V1 ), the procedure is followed assume that either the device at the last base station has failed or the base station itself was not in operation. Instead of a usual transaction with the current base station, in which the fee required at this base station is debited, a fee is then debited, the consists of the sum of the current station fee and the previous station fee. It can therefore be said that in addition to the usual transaction, another transaction is carried out, but this can certainly be done in a single transfer by debiting the sum of the fees. A transaction can therefore be carried out which comprises the transaction of the current base station and that of the station at which no transaction took place. After the transaction has taken place, the identifier of the corresponding base station and the time are then stored in the memory. In addition to comparing the identifiers of base stations, it is also necessary to take the time into account, since it would also be possible for a vehicle to leave a road on an exit in front of a base station and to drive back onto the road via the driveway behind the base station. Then of course no toll is due for the bypassed base station and therefore no toll may be deducted. However, this can be covered by predefined time intervals. Fees will then be collected retrospectively for all vehicles that have fallen below a certain time span since the time stored in the memory. A large number of vehicles could be registered in this way. Only the vehicles that take a break or breakdown while driving are not recorded. This case can be solved with a different arrangement. It is also important that if a device in a vehicle has failed and the vehicle has been photographed from a fixed station, the vehicle owner will not be determined if the fee due at the next station is subsequently debited. In order to achieve this, photographs of the vehicles are also taken at stations at which fees are subsequently debited, in order to compare them with the photographs of vehicles for which no fee has been deducted in a central computer to which the photographs are transported (via data line, by radio link or by courier). The Events of "not debiting" at a first station and "subsequently debiting" at a second station are then combined, with the result that the sequence in the central computer for determining the vehicle owner can be stopped automatically.

Thus, with an automatic fee entry system according to the invention, advantages arise both for the operator of the system and for the user. The operator escapes fewer fees because the reliability of the overall system is increased without having to double the individual devices to increase operational safety and the system is thus significantly more expensive. In addition, for the operator, the administrative effort in determining the vehicle owner, of the vehicles that did not initially pay at a fixed station, is significantly reduced if fees can be paid at the subsequent station. It is also much more convenient for the user that he does not have to pay an increased fee just because his equipment in the vehicle has failed.

In addition to the application of the invention to automatic toll registration systems for vehicles in road traffic, this system can of course also be used for other objects that move along predetermined routes. A transaction does not necessarily have to be the debiting of a fee, but it can also be another identification or the like that takes place between the base station and the facility through communication.

• Figur 1 eine Aufsicht auf eine Zone, innerhalb derer eine Gebührenerfassung von Fahrzeugen stattfindet, und
• Figur 2 eine verkürzte Ansicht von einer Fahrbahn mit mehreren Feststationen und Fahrzeugen, die unterschiedliche Wege fahren und unterschiedliche Gebühren zahlen.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained on the basis of the figures. Show it:

• Figure 1 is a supervision of a zone within which a fee entry of vehicles takes place, and
• Figure 2 is an abbreviated view of a roadway with several fixed stations and vehicles that drive different routes and pay different fees.

The arrangements described below serve to locate moving objects within a predetermined zone and to carry out a transaction. As can be seen from the figures, these moving objects can be vehicles 1, for example. The predetermined zone 2 is then a section of a road on which communication with a base station 4 is made possible. The specified zone 2 is also referred to as the communication zone. Each vehicle 1 has a device which is preferably visible from the outside and which is arranged on the windshield and has a receiver, a transmitter, a processor which, for example, debits a required fee from a check card which stores an amount of money, and a memory, for example an EEPROM. A vehicle is initially in zone 3, in which there is no communication. If it enters the communication zone 2 of a base station 4, the transaction takes place with the device. This can be done, for example, by a microwave signal that is transmitted by the antenna of the fixed station 4.

ist, wird an der Feststation 4'' die Gebühr, die an der Feststation 4', und die Gebühr, die an der Feststation 4'' fällig, ist abgebucht. Fährt ein Fahrzeug 1' nach der ausgefallenen Feststation über die Ausfahrt 6 von der Straße 7 ab, so wird die Gebühr nicht nachgezahlt. Ebenso ist es bei einem Fahrzeug 1'', das erst kurz vor der Feststation 4', die ausgefallen ist, auf die Straße 7 über die Einfahrt 5 auffährt. Auch dort wird an der Feststation 4'' nur die an dieser Station fällige Gebühr kassiert. Die Fahrzeuge 1 und 1'', die die Feststation 4'' passiert haben, erhalten die Kennung j dieser Station und die entsprechende Zeit von der Feststation übermittelt und legen diese im Speicher der Einrichtung ab. Analog zum Fall einer ausgefallenen Feststation ist der Fall daß beispielsweise im Fahrzeug 1 im Bereich der Station 4' die Einrichtung ausgefallen ist. Auch dann kann in der Station 4'' die entsprechende Gebühr nachgezahlt werden. Da an der Station 4' ein Foto des Fahrzeuges 1 aufgenommen wurde wird auch an der Station 4'' ein Foto des Fahrzeuges 1 aufgenommen. Beide Fotos werden zu einem Zentralrechner übermittelt und dort zusammengeführt, damit keine Ermittlung und Verfolgung des Fahrzeuginhabers von Fahrzeug 1 eingeleitet wird.FIG. 2 shows a street 7 with a driveway 5 and an exit 6 on or from this three-lane street 7. On this street 7, three fixed stations 4, 4 'and 4''are arranged. Different identifiers j, j-1 and j-2 are assigned to the base stations. On the basis of individual vehicles covering different distances, this is the inventive method System explained. Vehicle 1 first passes base station 4 and receives the identifier j-2 there. Then vehicle 1 passes base station 4 '. In the present example it is assumed that the base station 4 'has failed, for example due to a lightning strike. This is indicated by a cross through the base station 4 'in Figure 2. Vehicle 1 has therefore also stored the identifier j-2 of base station 4 with the corresponding time in the memory of the device even after passing from base station 4 '. Vehicle 1 now continues and passes base station 4 ''. There the test module recognizes that vehicle 1 has stored the identifier of base station 4 in the memory of the device. Since the time period T _i has been shorter than a time period stored in the test module since the time stored in the memory of the device of the vehicle 1 ${\text{T}}_{\text{V}}{\text{(T}}_{\text{V}}{\text{= T}}_{\text{V1}}{\text{= T}}_{\text{V2}}\text{)}$

the fee payable at base station 4 '' and the fee payable at base station 4 '' is debited at base station 4 ''. If a vehicle 1 'leaves the failed base station via exit 6 from road 7, the fee is not paid. It is the same with a vehicle 1 ″ that only enters road 7 via entrance 5 shortly before fixed station 4 ′, which has failed. There, too, only the fee due at this station is collected at base station 4 ''. The vehicles 1 and 1 ″ that have passed the base station 4 ″ receive the identifier j of this station and the corresponding time from the base station and store them in the memory of the device. Analogous to the case of a failed base station, the case has failed, for example, in vehicle 1 in the area of station 4 '. Even then, the corresponding fee can be paid in station 4 ''. Since a photo of vehicle 1 was taken at station 4 ', a photo of vehicle 1 is also taken at station 4''. Both photos are transmitted to a central computer and merged there, so that no determination and tracking of the vehicle owner by vehicle 1 is initiated.

Claims (9)

Arrangement for capturing and exchanging data between moving objects (1) and fixed stations (4), n fixed stations (4) (nε lN) following one another at a distance, the objects (1) being provided with a device which, after activation initiates a transaction from the outside and transmits the signals to the base station (4) in whose defined zone (2) the corresponding object (1) is moving, characterized in that
that the device has a memory in which, after the transaction with a base station, an identifier for this and the time is stored,
that each base station has a test module, from which the content of the memory is evaluated before the identification of the current j-th base station (jε {1, ..., n}) is stored,
that the usual transaction is carried out with the current base station if a period of time T _{i has} elapsed since the time stored in the memory, which is greater than a predetermined first period of time T _V1 , or if the identifier stored in the memory is the identifier of the before the current j -th base station (j-1) -th base station,
that in addition to the usual transaction with the current base station, further transactions provided at i base stations (iε IN) before the current jth base station are carried out at the jth current base station or a transaction is carried out which is carried out before and at the i base stations Transactions provided for the current base station, if the stored identifier is that of the (j-1-i) -th base station and the time period T _{i is} less than a predetermined time period belonging to the (j-1-i) -th base station

is. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one predetermined time period T _{V1 is} stored in each test module. Arrangement according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the device sends the data stored in the memory to the base station at the start of a transaction. Arrangement according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the data stored in the memory are overwritten with the current data, identifier of the current base station and time after a transaction with a base station. Arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the data are retained in the memory, even if the device between two fixed stations is intentionally or not intentionally deactivated. Arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the base station is connected to a central computer, that objects are photographed at base stations if a) no transaction takes place or b) other transactions are carried out in addition to the usual transaction, and that the data of the photographs are transported to the central computer and compared there. Arrangement according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the arrangement is used to record charges for vehicles (1) traveling on a road. Arrangement according to claim 7, characterized in that the vehicles (1) are provided with a device which, after activation from the outside, causes the required fee to be debited from a check card or an identification number is sent out to subsequently debit the required fee from an account. Arrangement according to claim 8, characterized in that if the stored identifier is that of the (j-1-i) th base station and the time period

the required fee is the sum of the fees of the jth to (ji) th base stations.

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