GB2399923A

GB2399923A - Vehicle location system

Info

Publication number: GB2399923A
Application number: GB0307209A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Maxwell Creasey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-03-28
Filing date: 2003-03-28
Publication date: 2004-09-29
Anticipated expiration: 2023-03-28
Also published as: GB2399923B; GB0307209D0

Abstract

A vehicle tax disc comprises a 'smart label' - i.e. a low cost data memory programmed to act as a key to enable the operation of a wireless transmitter in a tax disc holder (the wireless transmitter could also be at another location in the car). The wireless transmitter stores data that uniquely identifies the vehicle (e.g. vehicle log book or "v5" data, such as registration number, chassis number etc) and can transmit that data to wireless receivers placed by the road side. This enables vehicle location to be determined and hence allows electronic road pricing to operate.

Description

1 2399923

VEHICLE LOCATION SYSTEM

This invention relates to a vehicle location system, and in particular to a wireless radio based system that can determine when a vehicle crosses into a pre-defined area, such as a congestion zone.

Prior art

Metropolitan areas are increasingly affected by traffic congestion; one approach to tackling this is to operate an electronic road pricing system, or ERP. In the London, UK congestion charging zone, ERP is implemented using cameras that record the number plates of vehicles entering the congestion charging zone; computers equipped with pattern recognition software then interpret the visual data so that vehicle registration number plates can be determined and fines sent to any vehicle owners that do not voluntarily pay a congestion charge. The disadvantages with this approach are the Àe infrastructure costs of placing cameras at all major road entry and exit points and the performance of the pattern recognition systems. À. À

In other areas, such as Singapore, wireless transponders are used: a vehicle owner can purchase a transponder card which gives prepaid access to the congestion controlled area: when the transponder, placed on the inside of the vehicle windscreen, is detected as passing under a gantry over a road on the perimeter of the charging zone, a pre-set amount is deducted from the value stored on the transponder card.

Summary of the present invention

In a first aspect, there is a vehicle location system that enables a vehicle location to be wirelessly detected, comprising the following, all mounted in a vehicle: (a) a vehicle tax disc comprising or communicating with an electronic data memory storing data that uniquely identifies the vehicle,; i (b) a wireless transmitter that can transmit the unique data to a wireless receiver positioned at a road side.

The vehicle tax disc is, in most countries, a paper disc with handwritten information that uniquely identifies the vehicle; it is purchased from a government agency and is in effect a tax on vehicle ownership. Possession of such a tax disc is generally mandatory and is easily verified since it has to be placed on the inner surface of the windscreen. The present invention envisages coupling a wireless vehicle location system to the tax disc; in one implementation, the tax disc comprises a 'smart label'- i.e. a low cost data memory programmed to act as a key to enable the operation of a wireless transmitter in a tax disc holder (the wireless transmitter could also be at another location in the car). The wireless transmitter stores data that uniquely identifies the vehicle (e. g. vehicle log book or "v5" data, such as registration number, chassis number etc) and can transmit that data to wireless receivers placed by the road side. This enables vehicle location to be determined and hence allows ERP to operate. The tax disc smart label may include the dates for which it is valid: hence, it readily enables the automatic detection of any vehicle with an out of date tax disc. The smart label key may only enable the transmitter for a pro- defined vehicle; at its point of distribution to end-users, it may be programmed with a unique number (possibly the vehicle registration number) which must be matched by the À transmitter to a number it itself stores in order for the transmitter to operate. À In another implementation, the tax disc itself incorporates both the data memory and the wireless transmitter. A RFID Tag (MCRF 450 series) from Microchip Technology Inc. is

suitable.

Instead of transmitting the full registration number etc. the transmitter could instead transmit a much shorter data sequence, such as a unique code that, in a central database remote from the vehicle and perhaps operated by a vehicle licensing authority, is uniquely linked to a database record including the vehicle owner, vehicle registration number, chassis number etc. information. Shorter data sequences are preferable since they need shorter transmit times (relevant for a vehicle rapidly moving past a receiver) and draw lower power.

Vehicle location data can also be readily established in any area where it is useful to know about the presence or movement of vehicles. Hence, the present system could be used to monitor all traffic entering sensitive areas, such as airports, ports etc for security, surveillance and stolen vehicle recovery purposes. It can also be used for more mundane ends, such as in a car park or parking meter; receivers in the car park or parking meters could determine when a vehicle was parked within an area covered by their operational range and could be connected to an automated electronic payment system, so that a vehicle owner could be automatically billed for the appropriate time spent parked in an authorised zone. A network of receivers along a road could record the exact time at which a vehicle passes each receiver, enabling its speed to be determined and for the vehicle owner to be fined if exceeding the speed limit.

In the present invention, the tax disc itself becomes a critical component to enable the vehicle location system. This has several practical advantages: À The tax disc itself includes the vehicle registration number on it, so that it is easy for police and traffic wardens to verify that the tax disc is being used on the associated vehicle. With prior art wireless ERP systems, there was no reliable À - way to link a wireless transponder fitted to a card (e.g. a pre-paid card) to a.. . particular vehicle; ... À

À The tax disc distribution system is very well established, controlled and audited; alp. ÀÀ

À Vehicle owners are used to the tax disc system as part of road related taxation À. ..

and are thus likely to be more accepting of a ERP system which uses it as a foundation.

Claims

1. A vehicle location system that enables a vehicle location to be wirelessly detected comprising the following, all mounted in a vehicle: (a) a vehicle tax disc comprising or communicating with an electronic data memory storing data that uniquely identifies the vehicle; (b) a wireless transmitter that can transmit the unique data to a wireless receiver positioned at a road side.

2. The system of Claim 1 in which the tax disc comprises a low cost data memory programmed to act as a key to enable the operation of a wireless transmitter.

3. The system of Claim 2 in which the transmitter is located in a tax disc holder which holds the tax disc. ...

4. The system of Claim 1 in which the transmitter stores data that uniquely identifies the vehicle and can transmit that data to wireless receivers placed by the road À side. À À

5. The system of Claim 1 in which the tax disc includes a memory programmed.. À À

with the dates for which it is valid. À. À.

6. The system of Claim 1 in which the tax disc itself incorporates both the data memory and the wireless transmitter.

7. The system of Claim 1 in which the data that uniquely identifies the vehicle comprises the vehicle registration number.

8. The system of Claim 1 in which the data that uniquely identifies the vehicle comprises data that codes for the vehicle registration number in a remote database.

9. The system of Claim 1 when used for electronic road pricing.

10. The system of Claim 1 when used for security, surveillance or stolen vehicle recovery purposes.

11. The system of Claim 1 when used to detect use of a car parking space.

12. The system of Claim 1 when used to detect the speed of a vehicle. À ÀÀ Àe e. À.. À e À. e :-e À... eeee e e Àe À À e Àe.e