JPH04242497A - Charge receiving device for toll road - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize an unmanned toll-booth gateway, and also to surely prevent a dishonest act by comparing and collating number plate information read by a number plate reader and number plate information sent from an on-vehicle machine. CONSTITUTION:In a vehicle A for utilizing a toll road, an on-vehicle machine provided with a means for storing number plate information of its vehicle and a radio communication means is mounted. On the other hand, in a toll-booth, in order to read radio information from the on-vehicle machine, an on-road machine 16 provided with a radio communication means and a number plate reader 15 for reading and recognizing the number plate information of a passing vehicle are installed. In such a state, the number plate information read by this reader 15 and the number plate information sent through the on-road machine 16 from the on-vehicle machine 16 are compared and collated, and when both the information coincides with each other, passing is permitted, and also, based on the information from the on-vehicle machine, the charge is received later on. In such a way, the vehicle A does not stop but can pass through.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toll collection device applied to a toll collection system for a toll road.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, toll collection systems for toll roads include systems in which tolls are determined based on distance traveled, and systems in which tolls are fixed depending on distance traveled.

[0003] In the above-mentioned toll collection system that determines tolls based on travel distance, toll gates are provided at the entrance and exit of toll roads, and at the toll gate entrances a magnetic card with entrance toll gate information and relevant vehicle type information recorded is issued. A common method is to read the entrance information on a magnetic card at the exit of the tollgate and calculate the toll.

[0004] Furthermore, in a toll collection system where the toll is constant regardless of the distance traveled, the entrance to the toll road is a free pass, and the system collects the toll at the exit of the toll road and issues a receipt. is commonly practiced. In all conventional toll collection systems such as those described above, it is assumed that the vehicle must stop at a toll gate.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the toll collection system as described above, the vehicle must temporarily stop at the entrance or exit of the toll plaza, and furthermore, it must collect cash.

[0006] In contrast to such a system, AVI (Automatic Vehicle
cle identification) method has been proposed. This AVI system installs an on-vehicle device in the vehicle of a toll road user, and also installs a roadside device that can read wireless information from the on-vehicle device at the entrance/exit of the toll road or at a predetermined location. When a vehicle drives on a toll road equipped with an on-road device, the on-road device reads information from the on-vehicle device, processes the toll collection at a center, and collects the toll at a later date.

[0007] In order to realize such a system, it is necessary to record vehicle type information in the on-vehicle device and to determine the fare based on this information. In this case, fraud by the user is possible. In other words, it is conceivable that an on-vehicle device with a low toll fee may be installed illegally to allow the vehicle to pass at a lower toll fee. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent fraud by such users. Furthermore, it is necessary to register a personal identification number and the like in the in-vehicle device, and it becomes necessary to check this personal identification number.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to collect tolls at toll gates on toll roads without having to stop the vehicle, and to make toll payments cashless.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a toll collection device for a toll road that can make toll gate entrances and exits unmanned and can reliably prevent fraud by users.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] (1) The present invention equips a vehicle that uses a toll road with an on-vehicle device that is equipped with a means for storing license plate information of the vehicle and a wireless communication means, A roadside machine equipped with a wireless communication means for reading wireless information from the machine is installed at a toll gate of a toll road, and a license plate reading device that reads and recognizes the license plate information of passing vehicles is installed near the roadside machine, The license plate information read by the license plate reader is compared and verified with the license plate information sent from the in-vehicle device, and when a match is found through this comparison, the in-vehicle device is determined to be legitimate. The vehicle is characterized in that it is configured to determine that the vehicle is permitted to travel on the toll road, and to perform toll collection processing based on information sent from the on-vehicle device.

(2) Furthermore, the present invention provides a vehicle that uses a toll road with an on-vehicle device equipped with a means for storing vehicle type information of the vehicle and a wireless communication means, and further provides wireless information from the on-vehicle device. A roadside device equipped with a wireless communication means for reading the information is installed at a toll gate on a toll road, and a vehicle type identification device that recognizes the vehicle type information of passing vehicles is installed near the roadside device, and the vehicle type information determined by the vehicle type identification device is installed near the roadside device. and the vehicle type information sent from the above-mentioned on-board device, and when a match is found through this comparison, the above-mentioned on-board device is judged to be legitimate, and the above-mentioned vehicle is permitted to travel on the toll road. In addition, it is characterized in that it is configured to perform toll collection processing based on information sent from an on-vehicle device.

[0011]

[Operation] With the above configuration, vehicle confirmation and toll collection processing can be performed while the vehicle is running. Therefore, vehicles can drive on toll roads without stopping at toll gates.
Service time is improved. Furthermore, users do not need to bring cash, and toll collectors do not need to be stationed at toll gates on toll roads.

0012

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an equipment layout diagram of the present invention. A is a vehicle, 11 (11-a, 11-b) and 12
(12-a, 12-b) are first and second vehicle separators. 11-a is a phototube emitter group, and 11-b is a phototube receiver group.
1-a and 11-b), a light screen is formed perpendicular to the direction of travel of the vehicle. 12-a and 12-b are 1
Similarly to 1-a and 11-b, a light screen is formed perpendicularly to the traveling direction of the vehicle A using a group of phototube emitters and receivers. The first vehicle separator 11 is installed at the front with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle A, and the second vehicle separator 12 is installed at the rear with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle A, and detects passage of the vehicle A and determines whether the vehicle A is traveling forward or backward. .

Reference numeral 13 (13-a, 13-b) is a vehicle height detector, which detects the vehicle height of a passing vehicle and uses a detection signal as a vehicle type discrimination element. a
, 13-b. 14 (14-a, 14-b)
1 is a vehicle length detector which detects the vehicle length of a passing vehicle and uses the detection signal as a vehicle type discrimination element like the vehicle height detector 13. b)
is formed.

15 is a license plate reading device;
Reads license plate information of passing vehicles. The license plate information read by the reading device 15 is compared with license plate information included in the on-vehicle device information written in the on-vehicle device, which will be described later. 16 is a road machine;
A signal from the on-vehicle device, which will be described later, is received by the on-road device antenna 16-a, and information from the on-vehicle device is deciphered. 17 (17-
a, 17-b) is a barrier, which opens a barrier bar for vehicles that are allowed to pass through.

18 (18-a, 18b) is 11 (11
-a, 11-b) and 12 (12-a, 12-b). That is, 18
-a is a group of phototube emitters, and 18-b is a phototube receiver group. This group of phototube emitters and receivers forms a light screen perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle A, and the screen is connected to the vehicle A. When A completes passing, the circuit breaker 17-a,
Lower the bar 17-b.

FIG. 2 shows a system block diagram of the present invention. The first vehicle separator includes phototube projector groups 22, 23, 24, 25 and phototube receiver groups 26, 27.
, 28, 29. The second vehicle separator 12 is
It is composed of a group of phototube emitters 211, 212, 213, 214 and a receiver group of phototubes 215, 216, 217, 218.

Reference numeral 219 is an OR gate circuit, which connects the photocell receiver groups 26, 27, 28, 2 of the first vehicle separator 11.
9 is sending out a detection output signal, it sends a vehicle passage detection signal to the forward/reverse motion determining circuit 221. 220
is an OR gate circuit, and if any one of the phototube receiver groups 215, 216, 217, 218 of the second vehicle separator 12 sends out a detection output signal, the forward/reverse motion discrimination circuit 22
Send a vehicle passing detection signal to 1.

The forward/reverse determining circuit 221 determines the order of the output signals from the OR gate circuits 219, 220, and
It determines whether the vehicle is moving forward or backward, and the OR gate circuit 219
The signal from the OR gate circuit 220 is then sent out.
If this signal is sent out, it is determined that the vehicle detected by this detection signal has moved forward, and is outputted to the vehicle type determination unit 232 as a vehicle passing signal.

The light emitter 13-a and the light receiver 13-b of the vehicle height detector 13 detect the vehicle height of a passing vehicle, and the vehicle type discriminator 2
32. Floodlight 14- of vehicle length detector 14
a and the light receiver 14-b detect the length of a passing vehicle and send it to the vehicle type determination section 232.

Reference numeral 226 denotes a vehicle photographing camera of the license plate reading device 15, which is installed at a position where it can photograph the license plates of passing vehicles. The license plate reading device 15 photographs the license plate of a passing vehicle with a vehicle photographing camera 226, processes the photographed image, and sends a coded signal to the vehicle type discrimination section 232.

228 is an A/D converter, and the camera 22
In order to capture the video signal from 6 into the image memory 229, the analog signal is converted into a digital signal. The image memory 229 sequentially stores the digital signal from the A/D converter 228 for each frame.

A reading device 230 receives a vehicle detection signal from the forward/reverse motion determining circuit 221 and sends one frame image of the image memory 229 to the character recognition device 231. The character recognition device 231 recognizes the characters on the license plate and sends the coded character signal to the vehicle type discrimination unit 2.
32. The vehicle type discrimination unit 232 receives the vehicle height signal from the light receiver 13-b of the vehicle height detector 13, the vehicle length signal from the light receiver 14-b of the vehicle length detector 14, and the license plate from the character recognition device 231. The vehicle type is determined based on the information, and the determined vehicle type signal is sent to the comparator 243.

The on-road device 16 wirelessly receives a signal from an on-vehicle device, which will be described later, using the on-road device antenna 16-b, and decodes the signal content. 235 is a transmission/reception switching circuit;
6 to the on-vehicle device, the amplifier circuit 236
When transmitting a signal from the vehicle to the antenna 16-a and receiving a signal from the on-vehicle device, the antenna 1 of the road device 16
The signal from 6-a is input to the amplifier circuit 236. 237
is a modulation circuit, which modulates the signal sent from the on-road device 16 to the on-vehicle device and outputs the modulated signal to the amplifier circuit 236. A demodulation circuit 239 demodulates the signal from the on-vehicle device amplified by the amplifier circuit 238 and outputs it to the transmission/reception switching circuit 240.

The transmission/reception switching circuit 240 switches the operating mode of the CPU 241 depending on whether a signal is received from an on-vehicle device or when a signal is sent from an on-road device to an on-vehicle device. This CPU 241 controls transmission and reception of signals from the road device 16. 246 is a memory circuit, and road machine 16
It stores data (specifically, an on-vehicle device signal transmission request signal) to be sent from the on-vehicle device to the on-vehicle device.

245 is a recognition circuit, which receives "
Recognizes "vehicle model information" and "license plate number information." Reference numeral 243 is a comparison circuit, which compares the vehicle type information and license plate information of the vehicle determined by the vehicle type determination unit 232;
The vehicle model information from the on-vehicle device recognized by the recognition circuit 242 is compared and verified with the license plate information, and if they match, a match signal is output to the barrier 17. The circuit breaker 17 is
If a match signal (breaker open signal q) is received from the comparison circuit 243, the bar of the circuit breaker is raised.

The third vehicle separator 18, like the first vehicle separator 11 and the second vehicle separator 12, is composed of a group of phototube emitters and receivers, and shuts off when the vehicle completes passage. The circuit breaker close signal p is sent to the machine 17.

FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) are a front view and a side view showing an example of the external configuration of the vehicle-mounted device 30 according to the present invention. A display section 32 and a keypad 33 are provided on the front surface of the vehicle-mounted device main body 31, a card insertion slot 34 is formed on the top surface, and a transmitting/receiving antenna 35 is built inside the back surface. The display unit 32 displays information received from the on-road device 16 installed at the entrance/exit of the toll road or along the way, and information to be transmitted to the on-road device 16. The keypad 33 consists of numeric keys from 0 to 9 and various function keys, and is used to input a user's unique password. The card insertion slot 34 can be used to insert various cards such as bank cards and credit cards, and in this embodiment, an IC (
IC cards with built-in integrated circuits are applicable. The transmitting/receiving antenna 35 is an antenna for transmitting data between the vehicle-mounted device 30 and the road device using wireless communication means.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram in this embodiment. 416 is a main control section of the on-vehicle device 30. On-vehicle device 3
0 and the IC card 415 are connected through a contact portion 41 for data exchange and power supply. Switching circuit 4
2 controls switching between the transmitting and receiving operations of the transmitting and receiving antenna 35, and the signal from the roadside device 16 received by the transmitting and receiving antenna 35 is amplified by an amplifier circuit 43 via a switching circuit 42. After being demodulated by the demodulation circuit 44, it is applied to the transmission/reception control circuit 45. The transmission/reception control circuit 45 has a function of transmitting a signal from the road device 16 to the CPU 46 and a function of transmitting a signal from the CPU 46 to the transmission/reception antenna 35. The signal transmitted from the CPU 46 of this transmission/reception control circuit 45 is transmitted to the modulation circuit 4
7 and amplified by the amplifier circuit 48, the signal is transmitted from the transmitting/receiving antenna 35 to the roadside device 16 via the switching circuit 42.
sent to. The CPU 46 controls data exchange between the on-vehicle device 30 and the IC card 415 and between the on-vehicle device 30 and the on-road device 16, and data received from the on-vehicle device 30 to the on-road device 16 is temporarily stored in the memory 49. Ru. 410 is a read/write control circuit, and the IC card 4
15 into the CPU 46, and read information from the on-vehicle device 30 from the memory 49.
It has a function of sending data to the IC card 415 via the IC card 415. A battery 411 serves as a power source for driving the on-vehicle device 30 and the IC card 415.

On the other hand, the IC card 415 is a normal one, and is composed of a CPU 412, a memory 413, and a transmitting/receiving interface 414 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the vehicle-mounted device 30.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the data contents of the memory 413 in the IC card. Reference numeral 51 is a data area for toll collection information, and for example, in a toll road with multiple sections where tolls vary depending on travel distance, this is a data area that temporarily stores entrance toll gate information sent from the on-vehicle device 30. Reference numeral 52 denotes a fee collection history, which stores the history such as the date and time when the fee was collected. 53 is car model information, 54
is license plate information. Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

In FIG. 1, a passing vehicle A is currently entering the toll gate entrance of a toll road and is passing through the first vehicle separator 11 (11
-a, 11-b), Fig. 2
A detection signal is outputted from one of the light receivers 26 to 29 of the vehicle separator 11 in , and is sent as a pass signal to the forward/reverse motion determination circuit 221 via the OR gate circuit 219 .

Next, the passing vehicle passes through the second vehicle separator 12 (1
2-a, 12-b), a detection signal is output from one of the light receivers 215 to 218 of the vehicle separator 12, and a passing signal is sent to the forward/reverse motion determination circuit 221 via the OR gate circuit 220. sent as. The forward/reverse motion determining circuit 221 determines that the passing vehicle A has moved forward and sends it as a vehicle detection signal to the vehicle type determining section 232 and the reading device 230 of the license plate reading device 15. Next, the detection signals of the vehicle height detector 13 and vehicle length detector 14 are sent from the light receivers 13-b and 14-b to the vehicle type discrimination section 232, and are used as vehicle type discrimination elements.

On the other hand, the vehicle photographing camera 226 photographs the license plate number of a passing vehicle. This camera 226
The image signal photographed is sent to the A/D converter 228, where it is digitally converted and stored in the image memory
One frame is stored. Since the readout device 230 receives the vehicle detection signal from the forward/reverse motion determination circuit 221, it sends one frame worth of image of the license plate to the character recognition device 231. Character recognition device 231
cuts out the character part of the license plate portion, recognizes it, encodes the license plate number and symbol, and sends it to the vehicle type discrimination section 232. Next, the operation when the vehicle A carrying the on-vehicle device 30 of this embodiment passes through a location where the road device 16 is installed will be described.

The toll road user inserts the IC card 415 from the IC card insertion slot 34 before entering the toll road. Although not shown, when the IC card 415 is inserted until the card insertion is detected by a rear contact sensor, the electrodes of the in-vehicle device 30 and the electrodes of the IC card 415 come into contact and become electrically energized. It becomes possible to exchange data between each other. Further, card ejection is suppressed by a lock mechanism (not shown).

In this state, the toll road user inputs his or her own personal identification number from the keypad 33. Then, this password information is temporarily stored in a predetermined area of the memory 49 under the control of the CPU 46. Thereafter, an inquiry signal is given from the on-road device 16 to the on-vehicle device 30 of the vehicle.

That is, the inquiry signal is stored in the memory circuit 246 of the roadside machine 16, and is sent to the modulation circuit 237 by the action of the CPU circuit 241 and the transmission/reception switching circuit 240.
is sent to and modulated. Further, this inquiry signal is inputted to an amplifier circuit 236 by a switching circuit 235, amplified, and sent from the antenna 16-a to the antenna 35 of the vehicle-mounted device 30.

In the vehicle-mounted device 30, the switching circuit 42 is switched to the amplifier circuit 43 side, so the inquiry signal from the road device 16 is amplified by the amplifier circuit 43 and demodulated by the demodulation circuit 44. Further, the transmitting/receiving circuit 45 enters a receiving state and inputs the above-mentioned inquiry signal to the CPU 46. Under the action of the CPU circuit 46, the read/write control circuit 410 sends an inquiry signal to the IC card 415. This inquiry signal is sent to the CPU 4 via the contact section 41 and the interface 414.
Reach 12.

[0039] By the action of the CPU 412, the IC card 415
The IC card information (toll collection information, vehicle type information, license plate information) stored in the memory 413 of the vehicle is taken into the CPU 46 of the on-vehicle device 30 via the transmission/reception interface 414, the contact section 41, and the read/write control circuit 410. The signal is further modulated by a modulation circuit 47 via a transmission/reception control circuit 45, amplified by an amplifier circuit 48, and then transmitted from the transmission/reception antenna 35 to the roadside device 16 by the action of the switching circuit 42. Further, the password information temporarily stored in the memory 49 of the on-vehicle device 30 is read out by the action of the CPU 46, and from then on the transmitting/receiving antenna 3 is read out by the action of the CPU 46.
5 to the antenna 16-a of the roadside device 16. The signal received by the antenna 16-a is transferred to the switching circuit 235.
is input to the amplifier circuit 238 via the demodulator circuit 23
It is demodulated at 9. Then, the vehicle type information and license plate information of the on-vehicle device 30 are sent to the recognition circuit 242 by the action of the CPU 241 .

The vehicle type information and license plate information of the vehicle A identified by the vehicle type discriminator 232 and the vehicle type information and license plate information of the vehicle are compared and verified in the comparator circuit 243, and if they match, a match signal (barrier opening) is sent. signal q)
is sent to the circuit breaker 17. After that, vehicle traffic continued,
After passing through the third vehicle separator 18, the vehicle separator 1
8 sends the breaker close signal p to the breaker 17, and the breaker 1
7 is closed.

[0041]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(a) It becomes possible for the vehicle to travel on the toll road without having to temporarily stop at the toll gate of the toll road, and service time is improved. Furthermore, users do not have to bring cash, and it goes without saying that there is no need to station toll collectors at toll gates on toll roads.

(b) Since a vehicle type discrimination device is installed at the toll gate and the vehicle type discriminated by the vehicle type discrimination device is compared and verified with the vehicle type of the on-vehicle device, it is possible to prevent fraud by users.

(c) The PIN number to be registered on the on-vehicle device,
To register the license plate number of a vehicle, and to check the license plate number, a license plate reader is installed at the tollgate, and the license plate number read by the license plate reader is matched with the license plate number of the on-board device. By comparing and collating the information, it becomes possible to increase the security effect of the in-vehicle device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an equipment layout diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an external configuration diagram of the on-vehicle device.

FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram of the on-vehicle device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of memory contents in an IC card.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 12, 18...first to third vehicle separators, 14...vehicle length detector, 15...number plate reader, 16...road equipment, 17...breaker, 22-25, 211-214...phototube floodlight Groups, 26 to 29, 215 to 218... Phototube receiver group, 30... Vehicle-mounted device, 31... Vehicle-mounted device body, 32... Display unit, 33... Keypad, 34... Card insertion slot, 35... Transmitting/receiving antenna, 415... IC card.

Claims (2)

[Claims] [Claim 1] Mounted on a vehicle using a toll road,
An on-vehicle device equipped with a means for storing license plate information of the vehicle and a wireless communication means, and a wireless communication means for reading wireless information from the on-vehicle device installed at a toll gate of a toll road and mounted on a passing vehicle. A roadside device, a license plate reader installed near the roadside device that reads and recognizes the license plate information of passing vehicles, and the license plate information read by the license plate reader and the number plate information sent from the vehicle-mounted device. a comparison means for comparing and collating the license plate information received by the vehicle; and a means for determining that the on-vehicle device is legitimate when a matching signal is output from the comparison means, and permitting the vehicle to travel on the toll road. A toll collection device for a toll road, comprising: means for performing toll collection processing based on information sent from the on-vehicle device. [Claim 2] Mounted on a vehicle using a toll road,
An on-vehicle device equipped with a means for storing vehicle type information of the vehicle and a wireless communication means, and a wireless communication means installed at a toll gate of a toll road and reading wireless information from an on-vehicle device mounted on a passing vehicle. installed near the machine and this roadside machine,
A vehicle type discrimination device that recognizes vehicle type information of a passing vehicle; a comparison means that compares and matches the vehicle type information determined by the vehicle type discrimination device with the vehicle type information sent from the on-board device; and a matching signal is output from the comparison means. means for determining that the on-vehicle device is legitimate and allowing the vehicle to travel on the toll road, and means for performing toll collection processing based on information sent from the on-board device. A toll collection device for a toll road.