Method of making payment of vehicle charge for transport within a toll zone

• US 20060219781A1
• Filed: 01/26/2004
• Published: 10/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tagmaster AB
• Original Assignee: Tagmaster AB
• Inventors: Willgert, Mikael
• Application Number:
  US10/545,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20060219781A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/384
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G

Abstract

A method for carrying out payment of a vehicle toll for travel within a zone subject to a toll. The vehicle is equipped with a transponder that can be read by a transmitter/receiver unit that transmits a query signal to the transponder. The transponder replies to the query signal and transfers information from a memory in the transponder to the transmitter/receiver unit, which is located at a boundary of the toll zone. The transmitter/receiver unit is connected to a supervisory computer system that debits the owner of the transponder when it is read. When the computer system has received information that a transponder has been read, the computer system sends an SMS message to the mobile telephone of the owner of the transponder, and/or an e-mail message to the mobile telephone of the owner or to a computer that is possessed by the owner.

Claims

1. A method for carrying out payment of a vehicle toll for travel within a zone subject to a toll, where the vehicle in question is equipped with a transponder (6, 8, 9) that can be read by means of a transmitter/receiver unit (10, 11, 12) arranged to transmit a query signal to the transponder, where the transponder (6, 8, 9) is arranged to reply to the query signal and at this time to transfer information into a memory in the transponder, and where the transmitter/receiver unit (10, 11, 12) is arranged to receive this information, which transmitter/receiver unit is located at the boundaries of the zone and is connected to a supervisory computer system (16), which computer system is caused to debit the owner of the transponder (6, 8, 9) when it is read, characterised in that, when the computer system (16) has received information that a certain transponder (6, 8, 9) has been read, the computer system (16) is caused to send an SMS message to the mobile telephone (15) of the owner of the transponder and/or an e-mail message to the mobile telephone (15) of the owner or to a computer (14) that is possessed by the said owner.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the said SMS message or the said e-mail message contains information about the time that is covered by the payment.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the computer system (16) is caused to debit an account or a credit card that belongs to the owner.

4. A method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the said transponder (6, 8, 9) is an RFID transponder.