JPH06243385A - Vehicle discrimination device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To securely discriminate plural vehicle by employing a time-division multiple access system as a communications method using plural antennas. CONSTITUTION:The communications area of the antennas 5, 6 and 7 for charging is from about 1m ahead of a 1st gantry to about 3m ahead of it. Further, the communications area overlaps with an adjacent communications area. The antennas 5-7 make a radio communications by using microwaves. Cameras 8-13 for monitoring are so fitted as to photograph an image including the license plate of a passing vehicle right after it passes a 3rd gantry 3. In this case, an antenna controller employs the time-division multiple access system so as to avoid, specially, interference among the charging antennas 5-7 and securely charge plural vehicles. Antennas 20-22 for confirmation are connected to the antenna controller and receive vehicle information and individual information by the radio communications.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle identification device used in an electronic toll collection system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a toll road toll collection system, a toll collector directly receives cash from a driver at a tollgate, or a method in which a driver puts cash into an automatic machine to automatically receive a toll. Has been adopted. Therefore,
The driver had to stop at the toll booth and prepare cash. On the other hand, as a toll collection system in the near future, a system using a vehicle-side communication device such as a non-contact type IC card capable of recording vehicle-specific information in a vehicle and wirelessly communicating with the outside has been developed.

An example thereof will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 23, an IC card 06 is mounted as a vehicle-side communication device inside the windshield of the vehicle 07, and the IC card 06 is provided with an antenna 026.
Information such as an identification number unique to the vehicle is stored. on the other hand,
At the toll gate, each transmitting / receiving antenna 017,0 for each lane
A road machine 01 having 18 is arranged. Road machine 01
Is a data processing device (terminal computer) 05 in the tollgate
Further, the data processing device 05 is connected to the central computer 04.

Therefore, the vehicle 0 equipped with the IC card 06
When the 7 passes the side of the road machine 01, the antennas 017,
When entering the communicable area 018, vehicle-specific information and the like are wirelessly communicated between the roadside device 01 and the IC card 06. These pieces of information are recognized by the roadside device 01, then transmitted to the data processing device 05 and stored in the memory, and further,
It is transmitted from the data processing device 05 to the central computer 04, and billing processing such as automatic payment of the toll is carried out from the bank account in which the passing vehicle 07 is registered. In this way, the IC card 06 of the vehicle 07 and the road device 01
By identifying the vehicle in a non-contact manner by wireless communication between the two, a non-stop and cashless toll collection system can be realized, which greatly contributes to the convenience of the driver.

[0005]

Recently, in order to eliminate traffic congestion in the city center and ensure smooth operation, there is a plan to charge a vehicle entering the city center and provide an area where the vehicle is restricted from entering. In order to realize such a plan efficiently and unmanned,
It is necessary to provide control points on all roads approaching the above-mentioned area and electronically charge the entering vehicle using wireless communication means. In the vehicle, information that is unique to each vehicle is recorded, and it is legally obliged to install an in-vehicle device equipped with wireless communication means. A smart card such as an IC card that records the driver's personal information is attached to the in-vehicle device. I will do it.

[0006] However, in general, a road in the center of the city is composed of a plurality of lanes, and it is difficult to secure a site for providing a partition between lanes such as a tollgate of a toll road at a control point.
Therefore, a partition cannot be provided at the control point, and each vehicle translates in the lane, skews to another lane, crosses between lanes, or even runs at high speed (for example, 120 km / h). ) Or it is expected that there will be congestion. Even in the case of a single lane, it is expected that a vehicle such as a single vehicle may travel in the same lane in parallel.

Even in such a case, at the control point,
A wireless communication system and a vehicle separation method for clearly identifying each vehicle and accurately charging the vehicle are required. In addition, if the vehicle-mounted device that should be mounted on the vehicle is not mounted, or if the smart card is not mounted, the vehicle-mounted device or smart card is illegal, the vehicle-mounted device or smart card is on the blacklist. In this case, it is expected that there will be a shortage of smart card balance.

In the case of such an illegally-passed vehicle, the identification and billing of the vehicle cannot be carried out normally, so that even if the vehicle continues (for example, the distance between the vehicles is about 25 cm) or travels at high speed, the license plate of the vehicle is displayed. It is necessary to clearly capture the included image and send it to the central monitoring station for comparison without degrading the image quality. Furthermore, it is necessary to confirm whether there is any error in the vehicle identification and billing at the control point.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned prior art, and at a control point of a toll collection system, it is possible to accurately identify a vehicle even if the vehicle is translating or skewing a road composed of a plurality of lanes. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle identification device capable of performing the above.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A structure of the present invention for achieving the above object is a vehicle that freely travels between lanes on a road having one or more lanes, and is mounted on the vehicle.
An in-vehicle device that stores unique information and has wireless communication means,
In the vehicle identification device for identifying the vehicle by wireless communication with the vehicle-mounted device via the antenna, at least one or more antennas are installed above the road for each lane. If more than one,
It is characterized in that wireless communication by each antenna is performed in a time division manner to prevent interference between the antennas.

Here, in response to a response request signal from the antenna, a plurality of the vehicle-mounted devices simultaneously output response signals, and when the response signals collide with the antennas, the response signals are received until the response signals are normally received. A response request signal is repeatedly transmitted from the antenna to the vehicle-mounted device, while
The in-vehicle device, after transmitting the response signal, when the predetermined signal is not received from the antenna within a predetermined time,
It is preferable that the response signals are retransmitted in a time-division manner with respect to the response request signal after being delayed by different times by random numbers.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. [Embodiment 1] Electronic toll collection system (E
electronic Road Pricing S
system: ERP system) first embodiment of FIG.
It shows in FIG. The electronic toll collection system according to the present embodiment is applied to a plan for charging a vehicle entering the central part of the city and providing an area for restricting the entry of the vehicle, which is a so-called three gantry system.

The electronic toll collection system of this embodiment can be functionally divided into three sections. One of them is a system (Automatic Vehicle Identity) for identifying a vehicle that freely travels on a road having multiple lanes and charging a toll.
fiction And Debiting Sys
tem: AVID system). The other is an unauthorized vehicle image capturing means (Enforcement) that captures an image of an unauthorized vehicle and sends the data to the central monitoring room.
Camera System (ECS). The other one is the in-vehicle device (In-Vehic) installed in the vehicle.
le unit): IU).

In this embodiment, in order to mainly realize the functions of the AVID system and ECS, an outstation as shown in FIG. 1 is arranged at each control point. At the out station,
There are three gantry (gate posts) 1, 2, 3 straddling the road and a control room 4 on the side of the road. The road is composed of three lanes, and multiple vehicles are free to travel. Each vehicle is required by law to have an in-vehicle device that has a wireless communication means. The in-vehicle device is a smart card (Smart Car) that records the driver's personal information.
d: SC) can be mounted, the details of which will be described later.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, the distance between the first gantry (hereinafter referred to as the first gantry) 1 and the next gantry (hereinafter referred to as the second gantry) 2 is about 7 m. And the second gantry 2
And the next gantry (hereinafter referred to as the third gantry) 3
The distance between and is about 5 m. On the first gantry 1, three charging antennas 5, 6 and 7 are attached along the lateral direction corresponding to each lane, and also six monitoring cameras 8 for photographing illegally passing vehicles, 9, 10, 11, 12,
13 is mounted along the lateral direction.

The communication area of the charging antennas 5, 6, 7 is within a range from about 1 m ahead of the first gantry 1 to about 3 m ahead. In addition, adjacent communication areas are assumed to partially overlap. Billing antennas 5, 6, 7
In order to perform wireless communication using microwaves, is designed especially considering the effects of natural conditions such as rain and snow. The surveillance cameras 8 to 13 are attached so as to be able to capture an image including a license plate of a vehicle passing through at a position immediately after passing through the third gantry 3. Surveillance camera 8〜
As 13, a black and white CCD camera with an electronic shutter is used so that the captured image can be processed digitally. still,
Although not shown in the figure, it is desirable to attach an illuminating device on the assumption that the amount of light due to outdoor light is insufficient.

In the second gantry 2, two vehicle detectors (Vehicle P) are provided, two for each lane.
(Resence Detector: VPD) 14, 1
5,16,17,18,19 are mounted along the lateral direction. The vehicle detectors 14 to 19 are one-dimensional C
A CD camera is used to take an image just below the second gantry 2, and a black and white periodic mark 2a is laid along the lateral direction on the road at that position. Therefore, when the periodic mark 2a is photographed by the one-dimensional CCD camera, a rectangular wave having the same period as the periodic mark 2a is observed, but when the vehicle interrupts the periodic mark 2a, the rectangular waveform is disturbed. . By analyzing this in time series, the position of the vehicle in the front-rear direction and the lateral direction can be detected.

When a one-dimensional CCD camera is used as the vehicle detectors 14 to 19 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to detect at intervals of about 25 cm in the road width direction and the passing direction, and the vehicle is separated from a motorcycle to a large vehicle. be able to. In this embodiment, the periodic mark 2a is a black and white grid-like mark, but another periodic pattern may be used.

The third gantry 3 is provided with three confirmation antennas 20, 21, 22 corresponding to each lane along the lateral direction, and two antennas for each lane, two for each lane, for a total of six. Vehicle Separator (Vehicle Separator)
or: VS) 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 are attached along the lateral direction. Confirmation antenna 2
The communication area of 0, 21, 22 is within a range from about 1 m ahead of the third gantry 3 to about 3 m ahead. In addition, adjacent communication areas are assumed to partially overlap. The confirmation antennas 20, 21, and 22 are designed in consideration of influences due to natural conditions such as rain and snow because radio communication is performed by microwaves.

The vehicle separators 23 to 28 are one-dimensional C
A CD camera is used to photograph just below the third gantry 3, and a black and white periodic mark 3a is laid along the lateral direction on the road at that position. Therefore, when the periodic mark 3a is photographed by the one-dimensional CCD camera, a rectangular wave having the same period as the periodic mark is observed, but when the vehicle interrupts the periodic mark, the rectangular waveform is disturbed. By processing this in time series, the position of the vehicle in the front-rear direction and the lateral direction can be detected.

When a one-dimensional CCD camera is used as the vehicle separators 23 to 28 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to detect at intervals of about 25 cm in the road width direction and the passing direction, and the vehicle is separated from a motorcycle to a large vehicle. be able to. In this embodiment, the periodic mark 2a is a black and white grid-like mark, but another periodic pattern may be used.
The vehicle can be detected by means of ultrasonic waves or microwaves other than the one-dimensional CCD camera, but the directivity is wide and separation of about 25 cm is impossible.

In order to control the above-mentioned charging antennas 5, 6, 7, confirmation antennas 20, 21, 22 and vehicle detectors 14-19 and vehicle separators 23-28, an antenna controller is provided in the control room 4. Local controller, V
A PD master controller, a VS master controller, an ECS, etc. are provided. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the billing antennas 5, 6 and 7 are connected to the antenna controller 29.
Is for receiving vehicle information and personal information by wireless communication with the vehicle-mounted device via the billing antennas 5, 6, 7 and transmitting billing information including a billing value.

As the antenna controller 29, in particular, in order to avoid the interference of the charging antennas 5, 6 and 7 and reliably charge a plurality of vehicles, as will be described later, a time division multiple access (Time Division Multi)
It is desirable to adopt the ple access (TDMA) method. The confirmation antennas 20, 21, 22 are connected to the antenna controller 30, and the antenna controller 30 receives vehicle information and personal information by wireless communication with the vehicle-mounted device via the confirmation antennas 20, 21, 22. It is what makes me.

Further, the vehicle detectors 14 to 19 are connected to the VPD master controller 31, and the VPD master controller 31 sends the front end and rear end positions of the vehicle detected by the vehicle detectors 14 to 19 to the antenna controller 30. It outputs and activates a specific confirmation antenna. Further, the vehicle separators 23 to 28 are connected to a VS master controller 32, and the VS master controller 32 transmits the rear end position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle separators 23 to 28 to the ECS to detect the illegal traffic In this case, an image including the license plate of the vehicle is taken by the surveillance cameras 8 to 13.

Further, the antenna controllers 29, 30,
The VPD master controller 31 and the VS master controller 32 are connected to a local controller 33, and the local controller 33 connects the charging antennas 5, 6 and 6.
Based on the vehicle information and the personal information received in step 7, it is determined whether or not the charging should be made and whether the vehicle information and the personal information are normal. When the charging is normally made, the charging value according to the vehicle type Is output to the antenna controller 29, and the vehicle information and personal information obtained from the antenna controller 29 are collated with a blacklist. If the vehicle information corresponds to the blacklist, it is considered that the vehicle is not normal. , ECS allows the vehicle to be photographed.

In the ECS, the vehicle controller 23 to 28 determines the position of an illegally passing vehicle which is judged by the local controller 33 that the vehicle information or the personal information is not normal, or which corresponds to the blacklist and is regarded as illegal. The surveillance cameras 8 to 13 corresponding to the position are used to capture an image of an illegally passing vehicle. ECS and local controller 33, VS master controller 3
It is possible to communicate with the No. 2 via the ECS interface 34. In addition, the local controller 33
Is a central computer (Central Computer)
It is possible to communicate with a high-speed digital communication network (Signet) such as ISDN that is connected to a system (CCS) via the Digital interface 35.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an on-vehicle device and a smart card. As shown in the figure, the in-vehicle device 36 has a structure in which a smart card 37 can be mounted, and a liquid crystal display portion 36a is provided on the front surface. The vehicle-mounted device 36 stores unique vehicle information such as an IU code, an IU type, a manufacturing date, and the like, and includes a wireless communication unit (not shown). The smart card 37 stores the driver's personal information such as a smart card code, a driver's license number, a billing history, and the like, and a prepaid card is used in this embodiment.

When the smart card 37 is inserted into the vehicle-mounted device 36, mutual confirmation is performed, and then the information of the smart card 37 is transmitted to and stored in the vehicle-mounted device 36. When an error occurs in the mutual confirmation, the history thereof is recorded. To record. When the smart card 37 is removed from the vehicle-mounted device 36, the information on the smart card 37 is deleted. still,
Public vehicles such as fixed-route buses, police and fire departments are exempt from charges, and vehicles of such types are, for example, I
U type = 4 and smart card 37 onboard device 36
Even if it is not installed, it will not be judged as an illegal vehicle.

As the payment method, the prepaid method shown in FIG. 5 is adopted. In the case of the prepaid system, an in-vehicle device registration system 38 connected via Diginet is provided. The in-vehicle device registration system 38 uses the in-vehicle device number input device 3
9, total processing device 40, prepaid card writer 4
1. The printer 42, and the IU code, the smart card code, and the deposit amount are input to the in-vehicle device number input device 39, and the prepaid card writer 41 converts the smart card into the smart card, the smart card,
The deposit amount is recorded and the information is transmitted to the CCS via the aggregation processing device 40.

Further, it is desirable to provide a violator confirmation system 43 in order to prevent fraud in the prepaid system. Furthermore, as a payment mode of a smart card, FIG.
A credit card system can also be adopted as shown in. In the case of the credit card system, a credit card management system 44 connected via Diginet is provided. The credit card management system 44 includes a central processing unit 45, a card history storage device 46, and a printer 47.
It consists of. The payment method is not particularly limited, and a postpaid method or a deposit method may be adopted.

As shown in FIG. 12, the ECS includes a plurality of surveillance cameras, a camera interface unit 48, an image compression / expansion unit 49, a hard disk unit 50, a CPU unit 51,
The transmission unit 52, the controller interface unit 53, the maintenance interface unit 54, the image display unit 55, and the other interface unit 56. CPU section 51
Is composed of a memory necessary for system operation, interrupt control, and other necessary control circuits, and controls the operation of the entire ECS.

The camera interface unit 48 is provided with a shutter command to the camera and image capturing, automatic control of the camera aperture, and two types of frame memories for holding the camera images. It can be read from the frame. The image compression / decompression unit 49 compresses or decompresses the image captured by the camera by hardware according to a predetermined method.

The hard disk unit 50 does not store the image after compression from the camera and the additional information. Transmission unit 5
Reference numeral 2 denotes a transmission interface for transmitting a compressed image and image additional information to the CCS, and also receiving a designated image communication command and time and other necessary variable information and setting information from the CCS. The controller interface unit 53 is an interface mainly to the local controller, and receives the illegal traffic vehicle information corresponding to the image capturing command interrupt and the image capturing command, and also transmits the image capturing processing state.

The maintenance interface section 54 is an interface for connecting a personal computer for maintenance or adjustment. The image display unit 55 is provided with a frame memory for display, a circuit in which alphanumeric characters, a cursor, a frame line and the like can be superimposed. The other interface unit 56 is provided with an interface for an external light illuminometer and an interface for controlling a lighting device as needed.

In the ECS described above, only illegally passing vehicles are photographed. For example, by photographing all the vehicles that have passed and deleting the image information of the vehicles that have passed normally, It is also possible to leave only the image information of the unauthorized vehicle.

A method of implementing the ERP system of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 7, in the first gantry 1, the antenna controller 29 controls the charging antennas 5, 6, 7 to constantly transmit a response request signal to the vehicle-mounted device 36. This response request signal is composed of data such as antenna number, time, place, and lane position. Further, the response request signal includes a random number for performing mutual confirmation (Authentication) between the charging antennas 5, 6, 7 and the vehicle-mounted device 36 for the purpose of preventing fraud.

The vehicle-mounted device 36 mounted on the vehicle passing through the first gantry 1 receives the response request signal, performs mutual confirmation with the billing antennas 5, 6 and 7 using a random number, and confirms the response request signal. After that, a response signal is transmitted to the charging antennas 5, 6 and 7. The vehicle-mounted device 36 is normally in a sleep state, but is activated by a response request signal. This response signal includes antenna number, time, location, lane position, IU code, smart card code, balance (Sto
red value) and data such as error information.
Further, the response signal includes a new random number for mutual confirmation between the charging antennas 5, 6, 7 and the vehicle-mounted device 36 for the purpose of preventing fraud. The error information includes error information for mutual confirmation between the vehicle-mounted device 36 and the smart card 37.

Further, before outputting the response signal, the vehicle-mounted device 36 has not already responded to the charging antennas 5, 6 and 7 (already response: double charging), or is traveling backward on the road. Before passing through the first gantry 1, it is confirmed whether or not there is a sequence error such as passing through the second gantry 2. The antenna controller 29, which has received the response signal from the vehicle-mounted device 36 via the charging antennas 5, 6, and 7, performs mutual confirmation with the vehicle-mounted device 36 using the new random number, and transmits the data to the local controller 33. In this embodiment, the mutual confirmation between the vehicle-mounted device 36 and the charging antennas 5 to 7 is performed by using random numbers, but it is preferable to encrypt the electronic message by some method in order to completely prevent fraud.

The local controller 33 is an in-vehicle device 36.
The in-vehicle information and personal information from the vehicle are received, and information confirmation is performed by the following processing as shown in FIG. Mutual confirmation error between vehicle-mounted device 36 and antenna Mutual confirmation error between vehicle-mounted device 36 and smart card 37 Effectiveness of IU Effectiveness of IU type smart card Effectiveness of smart card

Violation of the above (Violatio
In the case of n), it is an illegally passing vehicle and it is not possible to charge. If the above is normal, the billing target is normal. Further, in the above, when IU type = 4, since the vehicle is a public vehicle such as a bus exempt from charging, it is normally excluded from charging. These results are recorded as communication results. If it is a billing target, the billing value corresponding to the IU type is read out, and the billing value and the billing history (Transactio) are passed through the billing antennas 5, 6, and 7 specified by the antenna number.
The charging information including n) is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 36.

Upon receiving the billing information including the billing value and the like, the vehicle-mounted device 36 transmits to the billing antennas 5, 6, and 7 a reception completion signal indicating that the billing information such as the billing value has been normally received. Further, the antenna controller 29 which receives the reception completion signal via the billing antennas 5, 6 and 7
Transmits to the local controller 33 and the vehicle-mounted device 36 that the reception completion signal has been normally received. Also at this time, mutual confirmation is performed using random numbers as in the above. If the balance of the smart card 37 is less than or equal to the charge value, the charge cannot be withstood, and therefore, after the charge value is read, the vehicle is processed as an illegally-passed vehicle that cannot be charged normally. However, the process is omitted in the figure.

Next, the local controller 33 operates as shown in FIG.
After the reception completion signal is received, the following processing is performed until the vehicle arrives at the second gantry as shown in FIG. Blacklist check of vehicle-mounted device 36 Blacklist check of smart card In the case of the above, it is regarded as an illegally-passed vehicle that cannot be charged normally.

This result is recorded as a communication result for confirmation processing when passing through the second gantry 2. The black list is a list in which IU codes, smart card codes, and the like that have been illegally modified in the past have been registered in advance. The blacklist should be stored on all outstations and regularly CCS
Shall be communicated with and updated. When the post-payment method is adopted as the charging method, the black list includes those that cannot be normally deducted from the deposit value of the bank account and processed.

The vehicle-mounted device 36 performs the following processing before the vehicle reaches the second gantry 2. First, the vehicle-mounted device 36 transmits an instruction to withdraw the charge to the smart card 37, and the smart card 37 that has received the withdrawal instruction
Pays the charge from the balance in the smart card, and sends the completion of the charge to the in-vehicle device 36. Next, the in-vehicle device 36 that received the removal completion sends an instruction to write the charging history to the smart card 37, and the smart card 37 that receives the instruction to write the charging history
The billing history is written and the writing is completed.
Send to. Further, the in-vehicle device 36 that has received the writing completion
However, when an instruction to read the updated balance is issued to the smart card 37, the smart card 37 that has received the instruction to read reads the updated balance and transmits the updated balance to the vehicle-mounted device 36. The vehicle-mounted device 36 that has received the updated balance records the balance internally.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 10, the VPD master controller 31 controls the vehicle detectors 14 to 19 to detect the front and rear ends of the vehicle passing through the second gantry 2, and detects the detected vehicle. The information is transmitted to the local controller 33. The vehicle detection information includes date, time and the like. Further, it is desirable to include identification information for single vehicles and non-single vehicles, and translation information for single vehicles in the same lane, depending on the vehicle width. Then, the local controller 33
The vehicle detection information is received and recorded, and only the confirmation antennas 20 to 22 specified by the position of the vehicle passing through the third gantry 3 are activated, that is, when the vehicle travels in the lane, Although the confirmation antennas 20 to 22 corresponding to the lanes are activated, when the vehicle crosses two lanes, the two confirmation antennas 20 to 22 corresponding to the lanes straddling are activated (not shown in the flowchart. did).

The checking antennas 20 to 22 are always activated in the same manner as the charging antennas 5, 6 and 7, and the vehicle-mounted device 36
Although it is possible to wirelessly communicate with
It is assumed that the system is activated only by what is specified by the local controller 33. Therefore, the activated specific confirmation antennas 20 to 22 output the response request signal, and
In-vehicle device 36 mounted on a vehicle passing through the gantry 2
Receives the response request signal and, after mutual confirmation, transmits the response signal to the confirmation antennas 20 to 22. On this occasion,
Also check if there is double charging and if there is a sequence error. The response request signal and the response signal have the same contents as those when passing through the first gantry 1. However, the balance included in the response signal is a value that has already been deducted by the billing value and processed.

The antenna controller 3 which receives the response signal from the vehicle-mounted device 36 via the confirming antennas 20 to 22.
After the mutual confirmation, 0 transmits the data to the local controller 33, and the local controller 33 confirms the information of the vehicle-mounted device 36 by the method shown in FIG.
Based on the U-code, it is collated with the result of communication with the billing antennas 5, 6 and 7 for any error in vehicle identification. Further, for the vehicle to be charged, it is confirmed from the charge value whether or not the balance value is normally removed. A vehicle whose charge value has been normally removed and which has not been processed is determined as an illegally-passed vehicle and the communication result is recorded.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 11, the VS master controller 32 controls the vehicle separators 23 to 28 to detect the rear end of the vehicle passing through the third gantry 3 and outputs the detected vehicle detection information. Local controller 3
Send to 3. The vehicle detection information includes date, time and the like. Further, it is desirable to include identification information for single vehicles and non-single vehicles, and translation information for single vehicles in the same lane, depending on the vehicle width. The local controller 33 includes the vehicle separator 23-
Whether the vehicle detection signal from 28 is received and recorded, and the vehicle detection signals from the vehicle detectors 14 to 19 are matched to identify the passing vehicle, whether the vehicle does not have an IU or did not respond to the communication. Further, it is judged from the record of the communication result about the vehicle whether or not the vehicle is an illegally-passed vehicle, or whether it is regarded as an illegally-passed vehicle by being in the black list.

Here, as a general rule, the passing vehicle is specified.
It is assumed that all vehicles other than a single vehicle travel straight in the lane, and lane movement due to skewing is considered to be within 3 lanes at the maximum. If the vehicle is not carried by the IU, the vehicle is illegal, or if the vehicle is regarded as an illegal vehicle due to the blacklist,
It is determined whether or not the shooting conditions of ECS are met. If the shooting conditions are met, the monitoring cameras 8 to 13 corresponding to the vehicle specified by the vehicle detection signal are designated, and a shooting command is transmitted to the ECS.

The ECS captures the rear image of the illegally-passing vehicle including the license plate by the designated monitoring cameras 8 to 13 according to the imaging command received through the controller interface unit 53. The image information of the photographed illegally-passed vehicle is temporarily stored in the camera interface unit 48, and then the vehicle detection information, time, place, and other additional information of the vehicle received by the controller interface unit 53 are input. The paused image is displayed on the image display unit 55 and the image compression / decompression unit 49 is displayed.
And is recorded in the hard disk unit 50.

The image communication command from the CCS is transmitted by the transmission unit 5.
When it is received at 2, the compressed image information (including additional information) designated by the image communication command is transmitted to the CCS via the transmission unit 52. On the other hand, when the ECS imaging conditions are not met, the imaging is stopped and the vehicle detector 14-
The vehicle detection signal and the communication result obtained by 19 and the vehicle separators 23 to 28 are transmitted to the CCS and recorded as a CCS traffic history. After transmitting to the CCS, the vehicle detection signal and the communication result are deleted.

Next, FIG. 13 shows the TDMA method adopted as a wireless communication method between the charging antenna and the IU.
~ It demonstrates with reference to FIG. For convenience of explanation, as shown in FIG. 13, there are five lanes, and the charging antennas ANT1 to ANT1
The communication area of NT5 is arranged so as to cover each lane, and the adjacent communication areas partially overlap. In this way, if signals are simultaneously transmitted from the antennas ANT1 to ANT5 in a state where the communication areas of the billing antennas partially overlap with each other, mutual signals may interfere with each other and normal reception may not be possible.

Therefore, the antenna controller controls each AN.
The time-division multiplex antenna is activated for T1 to ANT5. That is, as shown in FIG. 14, ANT1 and LANE1
Communicate with the IU of the vehicle passing through, and then
In order to communicate between the ANT2 and the IU of the vehicle passing through the LANE2, and then to communicate between the ANT3 and the IU of the vehicle passing through the LANE3, the following processes are sequentially started in the same manner. is there. Then, one slot is set until the communication between all the antennas ANT1 to ANT5 and the vehicle IU passing through LANE1 to LANE5 is completed, and then the communication between the vehicle IU passing through ANT1 and LANE1 is continued. It repeats in order.

Here, as the contents of communication, first, in response to the response request signal E from the antenna to the IU, vehicle information such as IU code, smart card code, etc. from the IU to the antenna, and It responds with a response signal A consisting of personal information. Based on the IU code, smart card code, etc. included in this signal A, the antenna controller determines whether or not to be charged, and further determines the charge value. Then, after the lapse of one slot, when the charging is to be performed, information including the charging value is transmitted as a signal R from the antenna. Upon receiving this, the IU transmits a response completion signal D indicating that the IU has been normally received. That is, the antenna and the IU exchange the response request signal E and the response signal A, then send the specific transmission content as the signal R, and further confirm the response completion signal D.

Even when the communication areas of a plurality of antennas overlap each other in this way, they are activated in a time-division multiplex manner.
It is possible to prevent interference between the antennas. But,
When multiple IUs respond to one antenna at the same time, for example, two motorcycles translate in one lane and each IU responds to one antenna at the same time, the antennas Radio waves collide (Collisio
n). Of course, the probability is considered to be extremely rare, but it cannot be said that it is impossible.

Therefore, assuming such a case, the time division multiplex antenna activation is repeated with an arbitrary time delay. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, two IU1 and IU2
Exists in the communication area of ANT2, and IU3 is A
When it exists in the overlapping portion of the communication area of NT2 and ANT3, the IU is received in response to the response request signal E from ANT2.
1, IU2, IU3 simultaneously respond with a response signal A, and AN
At T2, the three response signals A collide. When such a radio wave collision occurs, the antenna controller cannot recognize that the IU exists in the lane. Therefore, the response request signal E is repeatedly transmitted via the antenna.

On the other hand, when IU1, IU2 and IU3 simultaneously transmit the response signal A and the signal R for the billing information is not transmitted from the antenna within a predetermined time, it is estimated that a radio wave collision has occurred, and the random number After an arbitrary time delay by N, the response signal A is responded to the response request signal E. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, a random number N =
In the case of 3, the response signal A is responded to the response request signal E from the ANT 2 after delaying three times the time of one slot. When the random number N = 2 in IU2, after delaying twice the time of one slot,
The response signal A is responded to in response to the response request signal E from the ANT2. When the random number N = 3 in the IU3, the response signal A is responded to the response request signal E from the ANT3 instead of the ANT2 after delaying three times the time of one slot.

Here, if the random numbers of the respective IUs coincide with each other by accident, the radio waves will collide again, but until the communication is completed normally, the random numbers are further repeatedly generated and delayed for an arbitrary time. Then, by repeating the communication, it becomes possible to respond normally in the end. in this way,
When the TDMA system is adopted, even when a plurality of vehicles translate and continue in the communication area of one antenna, or
Even if the vehicle travels at a high speed and is congested, the IUs and the antennas can communicate with each other in order, so that the vehicle can be reliably identified and the billing can be accurately performed. In the above description, the case of multiple lanes has been described for the sake of convenience. However, even in the case of a single lane, translation of a vehicle such as a single vehicle is expected, and thus the TDMA method described above is very effective. Is.

[Embodiment 2] A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
7, shown in FIG. This embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment, and includes vehicle separators 23 to 28 and vehicle detectors 14 to 19.
In this case, a photoelectric tube is used instead of the one-dimensional CCD camera. That is, the light receiving portion 57 is provided in the second gantry 2.
A large number of light receiving parts 58 are arranged in the third gantry 3 along the lateral direction, and a large number of light emitting parts 59, 60 are arranged in the lateral direction on the road vertically below the light receiving parts 57 and 58. The rest of the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and the description is omitted.

In this embodiment, when the vehicle does not pass through the second gantry 2 and the third gantry 3, the light emitting portion 59,
The light emitted vertically upward from the light receiving portion 57,
Although it reaches 58, when the vehicle passes through the second gantry 2 and the third gantry 3, the light emitted vertically upward from the light emitting portions 59, 60 is blocked by the vehicle, and the light receiving portion 57,
Does not reach 58. Therefore, by analyzing the signals detected by the light receiving units 57 and 58, the position of the vehicle in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction can be detected.

Particularly, in the method of using the photocells as the vehicle separator and the vehicle detector as in this embodiment, the one-dimensional CCD is used.
Since blind spots are less likely to occur as compared with the case where a camera is used, it becomes possible to reliably detect, for example, a single vehicle that translates beside a large vehicle. Further, since the vehicle separation accuracy depends on the arrangement interval of the phototubes, the closer the phototubes are arranged, the more the vehicle separation accuracy can be improved.
It should be noted that the light emitting parts 59, 6 laid on the road along with the passage of vehicles
Since the surface of No. 0 is expected to be dirty, maintenance such as periodical cleaning is required.

[Embodiment 3] A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
9 to 22. This embodiment relates to a so-called two gantry system in which the functions of the second gantry and the third gantry in the first embodiment are integrated into one gantry. That is, as shown in FIG. 19, in the out station, two gantry 61 and 62 and the control room 4 are provided mainly for realizing the functions of AVID and ECS.

As shown in FIG. 20, the distance between the first gantry (hereinafter, referred to as the first gantry) 61 and the next gantry (hereinafter, referred to as the second gantry) 62 is about 20 m in the traveling direction of the vehicle. The height of the first and second gantry 61, 62 is about 6 m. The first gantry 61 has three charging antennas 6 for each lane.
3, 64, 65 are mounted along the lateral direction, and
6 surveillance cameras 6 for taking pictures of unauthorized vehicles
6, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71 are attached along the lateral direction.

The communication area of the charging antennas 63, 64 and 65 is about 3 m further from about 1 m in front of the first gantry 61.
It is a range up to the front of m (indicated by hatching in the figure).
The surveillance cameras 66 to 71 are attached so as to be able to capture an image including a license plate of a vehicle passing through at a position immediately after passing through the second gantry 62. As the monitoring cameras 66 to 71, black-and-white CCD cameras with electronic shutters are used so that captured images can be digitally processed. Although not shown in the figure, it is desirable to attach an illuminating device on the assumption that the amount of outdoor light is insufficient.

Further, three vehicle detectors 72, 73, 74 corresponding to the respective lanes are attached to the first gantry 61 as one-dimensional CCD cameras in the lateral direction, and these vehicle detectors 72, 73 are mounted. , 74 are charging antennas 63,
It is assumed that an image is taken obliquely about 1 m ahead of the communication areas 64 and 65, and black and white periodic marks 61a are laid along the lateral direction on the road at that position. Further, immediately before the periodic mark 61a, loop coils 75, 76, 77 are laid corresponding to the respective lanes. These loop coils are used by the vehicle detectors 72, 7
It is provided so that the vehicle can be detected more reliably in cooperation with 3,74.

On the other hand, on the second gantry 62, three confirmation antennas 78, 79, 80 corresponding to the respective lanes are attached along the lateral direction. Confirmation antenna 78,7
The communication area of 9,80 is approximately 1 m from the second gantry 62.
It is the range from the front to the front about 3 m further (indicated by hatching in the figure). In the second gantry 62, three vehicle separators 81, 82, 83 corresponding to each lane are arranged in the lateral direction, and three vehicle detectors 84, 85 corresponding to each lane are provided. 86 are arranged along the lateral direction.

The vehicle separators 81, 82, and 83 are for photographing the area immediately below the second gantry 62, and black and white periodic marks 62a are laid along the lateral direction on the road at that position. The vehicle detectors 84, 85, 86 are assumed to capture an image diagonally about 1 m ahead of the communication area of the confirmation antennas 78, 79, 80, and a black and white periodic mark 62b is laterally present on the road at that position. Is laid along.

Immediately before the periodic mark 62a, the loop coils 87 and 8 are provided corresponding to the respective lanes.
8,89 are laid. These loop coils 87,
88 and 89 are provided so as to detect the vehicle more reliably in cooperation with the vehicle detectors 84, 85 and 86. The periodic marks 61a, 62a and 6 of this embodiment
The pattern 2b has a checkered pattern, but it may have a grid pattern as in the above-described embodiment.

Charging antennas 63, 64, 6 described above
5, confirmation antennas 78, 79, 80, vehicle detector 7
2, 73, 74, 84, 85, 86, vehicle separator 81,
82, 83 and loop coils 75, 76, 77, 87,
In order to control 88 and 89, the control room 4 is provided with an antenna controller, a local controller, a VPD master controller, a VS master controller, an ECS and the like. That is, as shown in FIG. 21, the charging antennas 63, 64, 65 are connected to the antenna controller 90, and the antenna controller 29 wirelessly communicates with the vehicle-mounted device via the charging antennas 63, 64, 65. By communication, the vehicle information and the personal information are received and the charge value is transmitted.

Further, the vehicle detectors 63, 64, 65 and the loop coils 75, 76, 77 are connected to the VPD master controller 91, and this VPD master controller 9 is connected.
1 is a vehicle detector 63, 64, 65 and a loop coil 7
The front end position and the rear end position of the vehicle detected by 5, 76 and 77 are output to the antenna controller 90 to activate a specific confirmation antenna. Vehicle detector 6
With only 3,64,65, things other than vehicles, such as
There is a possibility that people, dust, leaves, etc. may be erroneously detected, but by using the loop coils 75, 76, 77 together, it is possible to detect that the vehicle is not a vehicle other than metal. The loop coils 75, 76, 77 may be used all the time or may be used in a limited manner in terms of time and period.

The confirmation antennas 78, 79, 80 are connected to an antenna controller 92, and the antenna controller 92 wirelessly communicates with the vehicle-mounted device via the confirmation antennas 78, 79, 80 to obtain vehicle information and personal information. The information is received. Furthermore, vehicle detectors 84, 85,
85 and loop coils 87, 88, 89 are connected to a VPD master controller 93 which includes vehicle detectors 84, 85, 85 and loop coils 87, 88, 89 which detect the front end of the vehicle and The rear end position is output to the antenna controller 92 to activate a specific confirmation antenna.

The vehicle detectors 84, 85, 86 alone may erroneously detect objects other than the vehicle, such as people, dust, and leaves, but by using the loop coils 87, 88, 89 together, If it is not made of metal, it can be detected that it is not a vehicle. Loop coil 87, 8
8, 89 may be used all the time or may be used in a limited manner in terms of time and period. In addition, the vehicle separators 81, 82,
83 is connected to the VS master controller 94,
This VS master controller 94 is a vehicle separator 81,
The rear end position of the vehicle detected by 82, 83 is transmitted to the ECS, and in the case of an illegally passing vehicle, an image including the license plate of the vehicle is captured by a surveillance camera (not shown).

Further, the antenna controllers 90, 92,
The VPD master controllers 91, 93 and the VS master controller 94 are connected to a local controller 95. Should this local controller 95 be charged by the vehicle information and personal information received by the charging antennas 65, 66, 67? It is determined whether or not the vehicle information and the personal information are normal, and when normally charged, the charging value according to the vehicle type is output to the antenna controller 90, and further, the antenna controller 90.
The vehicle information and the personal information obtained from the above are collated with the blacklist, and if the vehicle is found to be in the blacklist, the vehicle is regarded as not normal and the vehicle is photographed by ECS.

The ECS determines the vehicle information or the personal information as not normal by the local controller 95, or determines the position of the illegally passing vehicle which is regarded as illegal because it corresponds to the black list. And the monitoring cameras 66 to 71 corresponding to the position.
This allows the camera to capture an image of an unauthorized vehicle. EC
The S, the local controller 95, and the VS master controller 94 can communicate with each other via the ECS interface 96. Further, the local controller 95 can communicate with a high-speed digital communication network such as ISDN connected to the central processing unit via the Digitalt interface 97.

As the in-vehicle device, smart card and ECS, the same ones as in the first embodiment described above can be used. The method of implementing the ERP system of this embodiment is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. However, the charging antennas 65, 66, 67 are not always activated, and the vehicle detectors 63, 64, 65 and the loop coil 7 are not always activated.
The difference is that only those which cover the vehicle detected by 5, 76, 77 are specified and activated. That is, the vehicle approaching the first gantry 61 is detected by the vehicle detectors 63, 64, 6
5 and the loop coils 75, 76, 77 detect the lane position, and when the lane position is transmitted to the local controller 95 via the VPD master controller 91, the local controller 95 uses the lane position for billing. The antenna is activated to communicate with the vehicle's in-vehicle device.

In this way, the plurality of billing antennas are not always in the activated state, which contributes to cost saving. Also, since the loop coils 75, 76, 77 are used in combination, the antenna other than the vehicle is used. There is no fear of erroneously detecting.
However, a plurality of vehicles may be translated at the same time, and in this case, a plurality of billing antennas are activated at the same time. Therefore, as described above, the TDM is used to prevent interference between the antennas.
It is desirable to adopt the A method.

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 2 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
2 shows. This embodiment relates to a so-called one gantry system in which the functions of the first gantry, the second gantry and the third gantry in the first embodiment are integrated into one gantry. That is, as shown in FIG. 22, one gantry is provided with charging antennas 98, 99, 100, vehicle detectors 101, 102, corresponding to each lane.
103, vehicle separators 104, 105, 106 are installed,
These are the antenna controller 107, VPD master controller 108, VS master controller 10
It is controlled by the local controller 110 via the switch 9.

In this embodiment, the credit card system (post-payment system) is adopted as the charging system, the balance is not recorded on the smart card, and the charging antenna is I.
No charge value is sent to U. The charge value shall be deducted at a later date from the deposit value of a given bank account, not from the smart card balance. Therefore, in this embodiment,
A confirmation antenna for confirming whether or not the removal process is normally performed in each IU becomes unnecessary. However, E
In order for the CS to take a rear image of an illegally-passed vehicle,
The time from the vehicle separators 104, 105, 106 to the shooting position must be predicted, and for that purpose, a vehicle speed sensor for measuring the speed of the vehicle is required.

Also, the local controller is E
Since there is no time to check with the blacklist before reaching the shooting position by CS, all the vehicles are taken by ECS for the time being, and after checking with the blacklist, the image signals of the vehicles not corresponding to the blacklist are displayed. Should be deleted.

[0080]

As described above in detail with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is a time division method as a communication method using a plurality of antennas when a vehicle freely travels on a road having a plurality of lanes. By adopting the multiple access method, it is possible to reliably identify a plurality of vehicles even when a plurality of vehicles translate, continue, and travel at high speed or are congested in one communication area.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overhead view showing a three gantry system according to a first embodiment of an electronic toll collection system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a layout view of the three gantry system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the three gantry system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an in-vehicle device and a smart card.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a prepaid card system.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a credit card system.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method of implementing the electronic toll collection system of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a method of implementing the electronic toll collection system of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a method of implementing the electronic toll collection system of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a method of implementing the electronic toll collection system of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a method of implementing the electronic toll collection system of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an illegally passing vehicle photographing means.

FIG. 13 is a layout view of a billing antenna corresponding to a multi-lane road.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a time division multiple access method.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a communication area of a charging antenna and a vehicle.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a time division multiple access method.

FIG. 17 is a second electronic toll collection system of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an overhead view showing a modified example of the three gantry system according to the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a layout view of the three gantry system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a third electronic toll collection system of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an overhead view showing a two-gantry system according to the example of FIG.

FIG. 20 is a layout view of the three gantry system of the third embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a three gantry system of a third embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a fourth example of the electronic toll collection system of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an overhead view showing a two-gantry system according to the example of FIG.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional fee collection system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 1st gantry 2 2nd gantry 3 3rd gantry 4 Control room 5,6,7 Charging antenna 8,9,10,11,12,13 Monitoring camera 14,15,16,17,18,19 Vehicle detection Device 20, 21, 22 Confirmation antenna 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 Vehicle separator 29, 30 Antenna controller 31 VPD master controller 32 VS master controller 33 Local controller 34 ECS interface 35 Diginet interface 36 In-vehicle device 37 Smart card 38 In-vehicle device registration system 39 In-vehicle device number input device 40 Aggregation processing device 41 Prepaid literator 42 Printer 43 Violation vehicle confirmation system 44 Credit card management system 45 Central processing device 46 Card history storage device 47 Centers 48 camera interface 49 the image compression decompression unit 50 hard disk unit 51 CPU 52 Transmission unit 53 controller interface unit 54 for maintenance interface 55 image display unit 56 and other interface

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Keiichi Morishita Keiichi Morishita 2-1-1, Niihama, Arai-cho, Takasago-shi, Hyogo Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Takasago Research Institute (72) Inventor Fumitoshi Tachikawa Iwazuka-cho, Nakamura-ku, Aichi Road No. 1 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Nagoya Machinery Works (72) Inventor, Hisao Shigenaga 1-1-1, Wadasaki-cho, Hyogo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Kobe Shipyard (72) Inventor, Tsuneo Hamana Takasago, Hyogo Prefecture 1-1, Niihama, Arai-cho, Yokohama-shi

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle that freely travels between lanes on a road having one or more lanes, an on-vehicle device that is mounted on the vehicle, stores unique information, and has wireless communication means, and In a vehicle identification device that has at least one antenna installed above each lane and identifies the vehicle by wireless communication with the vehicle-mounted device via the antenna, if there are a plurality of antennas The vehicle identification device is characterized in that wireless communication by each antenna is performed in a time division manner in order to prevent interference between the antennas. 2. In response to a response request signal from the antenna, a plurality of the vehicle-mounted devices simultaneously output a response signal, and when the response signal collides with the antenna, the response signal is received until the response signal is normally received. A response request signal is repeatedly transmitted from the antenna to the vehicle-mounted device, while
The in-vehicle device, after transmitting the response signal, when the predetermined signal is not received from the antenna within a predetermined time,
The vehicle identification device according to claim 1, wherein the response signal is retransmitted in a time division manner with respect to the response request signal after being delayed by different times by random numbers.