Enforcement transponder

• US 20060054680A1
• Filed: 08/18/2005
• Published: 03/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vertex Aerospace, LLC
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Feldman, Ira R., Patno, Brian E., Moosie, Paul A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,545,287 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G

Abstract

An enforcement transponder system includes an enforcement reader in communication with an enforcement transponder. The transponders are written to identify when and where toll has been collected from a user of a toll road. In one embodiment, the system includes one or more roadside toll collection systems. This allows enforcement/verification of toll collection from SOV traffic on HOT lanes.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an enforcement reader; and

an enforcement transponder adapted to communication with said enforcement reader.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said enforcement reader comprises:

an antenna;

a transmit/receive (TR) system coupled to said antenna;

a storage device adapted to store information provided to the reader from a first transponder; and

a reader processor coupled to said TR system and said storage device, said reader processor adapted to process information received from said enforcement transponder.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said enforcement transponder comprises:

an antenna;

a transmit/receive (TR) system coupled to said antenna;

a transponder type data store having stored therein an enforcement type transponder class value; and

a transponder processor coupled to said TR system, and said transponder type data store.

4. A reader comprising:

an antenna;

a transmit/receive (TR) system coupled to said antenna;

a storage device adapted to store information provided to the reader from a first transponder; and

a reader processor coupled to said TR system and said storage device.

5. The reader of claim 4 wherein said reader processor is adapted to process information for an enforcement agent.

6. A transponder comprising:

an antenna;

a transmit/receive (TR) system coupled to said antenna;

a transponder type data store adapted to store an enforcement type transponder class value; and

a transponder processor coupled to said TR system, and said transponder type data store.

7. The transponder of claim 6 wherein said a transponder type data store has stored therein at least one of:

(a) an enforcement class value;

(b) a toll class value;

(c) a safety class value;

(d) a toll class value;

(e) a commercial vehicle class value; and

(f) a government class value.

8. A process for operating a reader, the process comprising:

receiving information from a first transponder;

processing the information from the first transponder to generate an output indicator; and

relaying the information received from the first transponder to a second device.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein the second device is a second transponder which is different from the first transponder.

10. The process of claim 8 further comprising storing, in the reader, information received from the first transponder.

11. The process of claim 8 wherein the first transponder corresponds to a toll transponder and the second transponder corresponds to an enforcement transponder.

12. A process for operating an enforcement reader, the process comprising:

receiving information from a first transponder;

processing the information from the first transponder to generate an output indicator signal; and

providing the output indicator signal to a second different transponder.

13. The process of claim 12 wherein the first transponder is a first one of a toll transponder and an enforcement transponder and the second transponder is a second one of a toll transponder and an enforcement transponder.

14. The process of claim 13 wherein receiving information from a first transponder comprises at least one of:

receiving toll information from a toll transponder; and

receiving an enforcement class value from an enforcement transponder.

15. The process of claim 14 further comprising storing the information received from the one of the toll transponder and the enforcement transponder.

16. The process of claim 15 wherein processing the information from the first transponder to generate an output indicator signal comprises processing toll information from the first transponder.

17. The process of claim 15 wherein providing the output indicator signal to a second different transponder comprises:

receiving an enforcement class value from the second transponder;

in response to the reader receiving the enforcement class value from the second transponder, computing a time value corresponding to the difference in time between the reader receiving information from the first transponder and receiving the enforcement class value from the second transponder; and

in response to the time value being within a predetermined range of time values, providing to the second transponder information related to the first transponder.

18. A process for operating an enforcement transponder, the process comprising transmitting an enforcement class value to a reader.

19. The process of claim 18 in response to receiving transponder information from a reader, displaying information on a display.

20. The process of claim 19 wherein displaying information on a display includes providing an indication to an enforcement agent.