JP2001052290A - Vehicle discrimination system using satellite communication - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an improved vehicle discrimination system which is enabled to transmit information to vehicles over a wide range. SOLUTION: The vehicle discrimination system is composed of an external communication means and a vehicle-side communication means mounted on a vehicle. The vehicle communication means is equipped with (a) storage devices (30, 70) which are installed at multiple positions of a vehicle and stored with identification information(ID) respectively and (b) a control means which compares the pieces of identification information stored in the storage device at constant intervals of time and allows the vehicle-side communication means to communicate with the external communication means only when those pieces of identification information match each other, where as sends a signal giving notice of abnormality occurrence when not. Further, an antenna (110) capable of receiving information from a communication satellite is provided to enable information transmission to vehicles which are present over a wide range.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates generally to vehicle identification systems. More specifically, a system for identifying a vehicle by attaching an IC chip to the vehicle as an identifier and performing communication between the vehicle and an external device. In particular, the vehicle identification is performed by using a communication satellite as the external device. The present invention relates to a system in which the possibility of vehicle identification is improved, such as expansion of a possible area.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In many cases, it is necessary to identify vehicles, such as collecting tolls on toll roads and toll parking lots, monitoring vehicles entering and leaving specific confidential facilities such as factories, and finding stolen vehicles.

[0003] For example, to collect tolls from vehicles using a toll road such as an expressway, a driver is given a toll ticket at the point where the vehicle enters the expressway and a toll ticket is issued at the point where the vehicle leaves the expressway. By collecting, the use section is specified and the toll is calculated. The same applies to the charging of a parking fee in a toll parking lot. When entering the parking lot, the ticket given to the driver is collected when leaving the parking lot, the parking time is determined, and the parking fee is calculated.

[0004] As described above, in order to calculate the usage fee of a highway or a parking lot, it must be determined that a certain vehicle exists at a specific time and place. The vehicle is identified using the ticket. However, in such a conventional method using a toll ticket or a ticket as an intermediary, it takes time especially for collection and calculation and settlement of a fee, and congestion is likely to occur at a toll gate or a parking lot exit. Although payments have been simplified by using prepaid cards or credit cards instead of cash, they are still handled individually by staff in charge. However, it cannot be said that it is a drastic improvement, and rationalization is still required.

[0005] Despite the fact that corporate confidentiality must be taken into consideration, such as factories, when entering and leaving a place where many vehicles have to enter and exit due to their nature, a permit or the like must be presented. Security is usually monitored by security guards. However, relying on humans may cause inaccuracies, and monitoring around the clock may be difficult.

[0006] The location of a stolen vehicle or a vehicle suspected of being involved in a crime also requires identification of the vehicle. For example, knowing that a stolen vehicle has passed a specific point at a certain time is useful for finding that vehicle. In addition, when a stolen vehicle that has been abandoned is found, a traffic history can be obtained if the vehicle can be identified at a plurality of points.

Thus, accurate and efficient identification of vehicles has a wide range of applications. The applicant has filed Japanese Patent Application Nos. 9-24934 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-222794), 9-101131 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-293898), 9-164349 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-16087), In an application such as Japanese Patent Application No. 9-164350 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-16088), a vehicle is provided with a transceiver, and communication is performed between the transceiver and an external device provided at a passage gate or the like. Has proposed a system that manages traffic.

More specifically, for example, Japanese Patent Application No.
At 4934, a vehicle-side communication device is installed in a vehicle, and a gate-side communication device is installed at a gate such as an entrance to a toll road, and communication is performed between these communication devices to identify the vehicle. A vehicle traffic management system that automatically performs calculations and collections without relying on humans is disclosed. The inventions disclosed in the following three cases are modified on the basis of the vehicle traffic management system, and the basic principle of performing communication between the vehicle-side communication device and the gate-side communication device. Are the same.

Further, the applicant filed Japanese Patent Application No. 11-20480.
0 proposes a modification of the vehicle-side communication device underlying the system in the above four cases. That is, the vehicle identification system is provided with external communication means and vehicle-side communication means mounted on the vehicle. A plurality of storage devices storing information are compared with (b) a plurality of identification information stored in the plurality of storage devices at regular time intervals, and only when the identification information matches, And a control means for enabling communication between the vehicle-side communication means and the external communication means, and transmitting a signal notifying occurrence of an abnormality when the identification information does not match.

[0010]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Japanese Patent Application No. 11-2048
At 00, only the configuration of the invention inside the vehicle is changed. External communication devices that communicate with the vehicle-side communication devices are individually located, as in the past, such as at a tollgate gate on an expressway, at an entrance gate of a factory, or along a road. Was supposed to be. However, such an individual communication device on the ground can only communicate with vehicles in a specific range, and it is difficult to comprehensively communicate with many vehicles.

[0011]

A vehicle identification system according to the present invention comprises: (1) external communication means; and (2) vehicle-side communication means mounted on the vehicle, and (a) a plurality of positions of the vehicle. And (b) comparing a plurality of pieces of identification information stored in the plurality of storage apparatuses at regular time intervals, and comparing these pieces of identification information with each other. First control means for enabling communication between the vehicle-side communication means and the external communication means only when they match, and for transmitting a signal notifying the occurrence of an abnormality when the identification information does not match; And (3) a communication satellite, the vehicle-side communication means further comprising: (c) a satellite communication antenna capable of receiving information from a communication satellite; d) via satellite communication antenna The identification information included in the information received from the communication satellite is compared with the plurality of identification information stored in the plurality of storage devices, and when these identification information match, the occurrence of abnormality is also notified. Second control means for transmitting a signal.

In the simplest case, two storage devices are provided as a plurality of storage devices, one storage device is provided in one of the front and rear license plates of the vehicle, and the other storage device is provided. The plurality of identification information is installed at a position different from the license plate of the vehicle, and the plurality of identification information are two identification information stored in each of these two storage devices.

Further, the first and second control means may be configured to compare a plurality of pieces of identification information each time the engine of the vehicle is turned on. The information received from the communication satellite is, for example, stolen vehicle information.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of components mounted on a vehicle in the system according to the present invention.

License plate 10 for vehicle (not shown)
An integrated circuit (IC) chip 3 including a storage device in which identification information (ID) for uniquely identifying the vehicle is stored.
0 is attached. Since the IC chip 30 functions as a vehicle identifier, there must be a one-to-one correspondence between the vehicle and the ID, and the same ID is not assigned to different vehicles. This storage device is typically constituted by a read-only memory (ROM) which cannot be written later and whose storage contents cannot be changed.

At a position in the vehicle away from the IC chip 30,
The control board 20 is attached, and the control board 20
It is electrically connected to the IC chip 30. This electrical connection may be by wiring or wireless.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, communication is performed wirelessly. The control board 20 has therein
Transmission control unit 40, reception control unit 50, comparison control unit 60
, A storage unit 70, a chargeable power supply unit 80, and a power supply control unit 90. The power supply control unit 90 controls power supply from a power supply 100 mounted on the vehicle. Control board 2
No. 0 has a capability of communicating with an external device such as a transmission / reception device installed at a toll gate on an expressway via an antenna mounted on a vehicle. The storage unit 70 in the control board 20 stores the same identification information (ID) as that stored in the IC chip 30. Similarly to the storage device in the IC chip 30, the storage unit 70
Is also a ROM, and cannot be written later and the stored contents cannot be changed.

A vehicle communication device similar to that described in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-24934 described above is constituted by both the IC chip mounted on the license plate 10 and the control board 20. Communication is performed with an external communication device such as a gate-side communication device installed at a gate at a tollgate on the road, and the vehicle is identified.
Further, in the case of the present invention, an antenna 110 having an ability to communicate with a communication satellite is connected to the control board 20. Regarding the function of this satellite communication antenna,
This will be described later in detail in connection with FIG.

The present invention is based on Japanese Patent Application Nos.
Similar to the system in 4800, the vehicle-side communication device is divided into two parts and the same ID uniquely identifies the vehicle.
Are stored in two separate storage devices inside each part, and control is performed so that communication is performed between these two parts. The manner of communication between these two parts is outlined in the flowchart of FIG.
In FIG. 2, the operation on the IC chip 30 side is illustrated on the left side, and the operation on the control board 20 side is illustrated on the right side.

The basic operating principle of the present invention is that the IC chip 30
And that the ID stored in the control board 20 matches, and only when these two IDs match, the normal communication with the external communication device is performed. Is performed, and if the IDs do not match, it is determined that some abnormal situation has occurred, and a warning signal is transmitted.

The control board 20 includes a battery 10 mounted on the vehicle.
0, and every time the driver turns on the engine, an operation of confirming the coincidence of the two IDs is performed. Referring to FIG. 2, in the control board 20 in the standby state (step 110), when the driver turns on the engine, the transmission control unit 40 sends the ID toward the IC chip 30 on the license plate 10. A transmission command signal is transmitted (step 120). The IC chip 30 receives the signal (step 150), and transmits the stored ID to the control board 20 in response to a command carried by the signal (step 160). On the control board 20 side, the reception control unit 50 receives the ID from the IC chip 30 (step 130), and the received ID is compared with the comparison control unit 60.
Is determined to match with the ID stored in the storage unit 70 of the control board 20 itself (step 1).
70). When it is confirmed that the two IDs match, the control board 20 determines that an illegal act such as an unauthorized change of the license plate has not been applied to the vehicle, and performs a normal communication with an external communication device. Start communication. However, if the two IDs do not match in step 170,
It is determined that some abnormal situation has occurred, and a signal notifying the fact to the outside is continuously or intermittently transmitted (190). Although the control board 20 transmits the ID transmission command signal to the IC chip 30, the IC chip 3
If there is no response from 0, it is also determined that an abnormal situation has occurred, and a signal notifying the fact to the outside is continuously or intermittently transmitted (190).

By communication between the vehicle-side communication device (IC chip 30 + control board 20) and an external communication device (not shown), the external communication device allows the vehicle to pass a specific place at a specific time. Make a note and make a record. For example, by accumulating these records in a database that governs the area, a record of the running condition of the vehicle can be obtained. As described above, such a record can be used for charging and calculating the usage fee of a toll road or a toll parking lot, detecting the position of a stolen vehicle, managing vehicles entering and leaving a factory, and the like.

Also, it is determined that the IDs do not match,
If the IC chip 30 does not respond, the control board 20
Transmits an abnormal information signal to the outside continuously or intermittently. When any of the external communication devices receives the abnormality information signal, an organization or the like that manages the vehicle recognizes that an abnormal situation has occurred in the vehicle and takes necessary countermeasures.
Since the position of the vehicle transmitting the abnormality information signal can be detected, it is possible to determine in which region the countermeasures should be taken.

The control board 20 is equipped with a rechargeable power supply 80 for backup. Even when the power supply of the vehicle is turned off by using the power supply unit 80, it is possible to perform the operation of confirming the coincidence of IDs at regular time intervals.

In the above description, the storage device in which the identification information is stored is provided in two places: in the IC chip 30 mounted on one of the front and rear license plates and in the control board 20. did. However, for the purpose of maintaining security more strictly, more storage devices are provided at a plurality of positions in the vehicle, for example, by installing the above-mentioned IC chip on both front and rear license plates,
A configuration is also possible in which communication with the outside is enabled only when all pieces of identification information stored in the plurality of storage devices match.

The basic structure and functions of the present invention described above are described in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-20480 filed by the applicant earlier.
0 is substantially the same as the configuration and function of the system. As described above, the present invention is an improvement of the conventional vehicle identification system by adding a satellite communication function to the above-described system and improving the possibility of vehicle identification. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, in the improved vehicle identification system according to the present invention,
Satellite communication antenna 110 connected to control board 20
And the antenna 110 is connected to a communication satellite (not shown).
It is configured to receive information transmitted from a shower to a certain area on the earth.

The information sent from the communication satellite includes, for example, stolen vehicle information. When a certain vehicle is stolen and the ID uniquely assigned to the stolen vehicle is identified, a certain ground station (for example, a ground station in the area where the stolen vehicle is registered) is sent to the communication satellite. The ID is transmitted and notified. In response to the reception of the ID, the communication satellite transmits information indicating that the vehicle identified by the specific ID is a stolen vehicle to the ground. The stolen vehicle information transmitted from the communication satellite is received by the satellite passing antenna 110 in the vehicle, and the comparison control unit 60
Thus, the ID stored in the storage unit 70 of the control board 20 is compared with the received ID. Two IDs
If they match, the vehicle automatically starts sending information that "this vehicle is a stolen vehicle." The transmission from the vehicle side is performed using a terrestrial wave via a normal vehicle-mounted antenna (not shown), and is received at gates of ground stations in various places.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control process when receiving information from a communication satellite. At step 210, the communication satellite receives an ID transmission command including stolen vehicle information from the ground station. Next, in step 220, in response to the command, the vehicle information including the vehicle ID and the information associated with the vehicle ID is transmitted to the ground like a shower. On the vehicle side on the ground,
When the ID is received (step 240), it is determined whether or not the ID stored in the control board in the vehicle matches the received ID (step 250). If the two IDs do not match, that is, if the received ID is for another vehicle, the reception I
The D processing procedure ends (step 270). On the other hand, if the two IDs match, for example, it is determined that the vehicle is a stolen vehicle, and a warning signal indicating that "this vehicle is a stolen vehicle" is transmitted from the vehicle (step 260). . Of course, as described in step 260 of FIG. 3, what is determined at this stage is not limited to the stolen vehicle information, but may be any vehicle other than a stolen vehicle, such as a vehicle related to a crime. Whether an abnormal condition has occurred. What kind of abnormal situation is notified is determined by the information transmitted in association with the vehicle ID when the vehicle ID is transmitted from the ground station to the communication satellite. Accordingly, in step 260, the type of the abnormality is also determined based on the associated information.

When a signal notifying the abnormality is transmitted from the vehicle, the ground base station in the area where the vehicle is present receives the signal (step 290) and arranges necessary emergency deployment and the like (300).

[0029]

The present invention is based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-20 / 1999.
At 4800, the same ID is stored in at least two separate storage devices in the vehicle-side communication device, and at regular time intervals, it is confirmed that the IDs stored in these at least two storage devices match. . And all IDs
The communication between the vehicle-side communication device and the external communication device is enabled only when matches. If they do not match, an alarm signal is issued. With this configuration, particularly when the vehicle-side communication device is illegally changed,
If any of the IDs are changed, normal communication is not performed, and normal vehicle identification becomes impossible. Instead, an alarm signal causes an abnormal situation in the vehicle from outside the vehicle. Is automatically announced.

Further, unlike the simple vehicle-side communication device in the prior art, as described above, by configuring the vehicle-side communication device to operate only when the communication function satisfies certain conditions, The reliability of the vehicle identification system is improved.

Vehicle identification has a very wide range of applications, including automatic deduction of highway tolls from bank accounts and criminal investigations. Therefore, if reliable and accurate identification is not performed, the reliability of the vehicle identification system will be lost. For that purpose, identification information (ID), which is an identifier of the vehicle, must be strictly protected. In this regard, the vehicle identification system according to the present invention realizes an effective ID protection mechanism with a simple configuration in which the ID is stored in at least two places as compared with the conventional system.

In contrast to the vehicle identification system of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-204800, in which an effective protection mechanism for storing IDs in two or more places is realized, the present invention provides the following. Is transmitted from the communication satellite to the ground like a shower, so that a vehicle located in a wide range can receive the information.
As a result, conventionally, transmission of some information to the vehicle had to be performed individually from each ground station, but by using a communication satellite,
Comprehensive transmission of information becomes possible. Therefore, a system that can transmit information to a wide range of vehicles and improves the possibility of capturing vehicles is realized.

Examples of new effects obtained by adding the satellite communication function to the basic system in the present invention will be described. If the vehicle is stolen, the stolen person does not know that the IC chip is installed on the license plate of the vehicle, so if the vehicle is not modified at all, it is stored in two places. The existing ID is not changed and remains as it is, so the control board determines that the two IDs match, and no abnormality occurrence signal is transmitted. However, even in such a case, when the stolen person submits a stolen notification to the police, for example, the stolen vehicle information is transmitted from the ground station to the ground in a shower from the ground station via a communication satellite. . When the stolen vehicle information is received by the stolen vehicle itself from the communication satellite, the ID sent from the communication satellite and the ID stored in the vehicle match in this case, so that an abnormality occurrence signal is transmitted. . Therefore, although the abnormality is not notified to the outside only by the basic system, by providing the satellite communication function added by the present invention,
Notification of abnormalities becomes possible. As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the security function is duplicated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle-side communication device in a vehicle identification system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a basic operation of the vehicle-side communication device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating transmission and reception of information between the vehicle-side communication device and the communication satellite in FIG. 1;

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle identification system, comprising: (1) external communication means; (2) vehicle-side communication means mounted on the vehicle; (a) installed at a plurality of positions on the vehicle; A plurality of storage devices each storing identification information, and (b) comparing a plurality of identification information stored in the plurality of storage devices at regular time intervals, and when these identification information match. And a first control means for enabling communication between the vehicle-side communication means and the external communication means, and transmitting a signal notifying occurrence of an abnormality when the identification information does not match. (3) a communication satellite, comprising: (c) a satellite communication antenna capable of receiving information from the communication satellite; and (d) ) Via the satellite communication antenna Comparing the plurality of identification information stored in said plurality of storage devices and the identification information included in the received information from the communication satellite Te,
And a second control means for transmitting a signal notifying the occurrence of an abnormality when the pieces of identification information match with each other. 2. The vehicle identification system according to claim 1, wherein two storage devices are installed as the plurality of storage devices, and one of the storage devices is installed in one of the front and rear license plates of the vehicle. And the other storage device is
The vehicle identification system is installed at a different position from the license plate of the vehicle, and the plurality of pieces of identification information are two pieces of identification information stored in each of these two storage devices. 3. The vehicle identification system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second control means compare the plurality of identification information every time the engine of the vehicle is turned on. Vehicle identification system characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. The vehicle identification system according to claim 1, wherein the information received from the communication satellite is stolen vehicle information.