Open road vehicle emissions inspection

• US 20060255967A1
• Filed: 04/24/2006
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mark IV Industries Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mark IV Industries Corporation
• Inventors: Tong, Roger, Terrier, Daniel, Tang, Wai-Cheung, He, Weimin, Manuel, Paul Anthony Laing, Woo, Henry Sun Yee
• Application Number:
  US11/409,741
• Publication Number:
  US 20060255967A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/928
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence

Abstract

Methods and systems for obtaining vehicle emissions data from on-board vehicle information systems under on-road or open-road conditions. The vehicle may be equipped with a transponder for relaying emissions data to a reader. The reader includes antennas defining a communications zone within a roadway. The transponder and reader are capable of engaging in RF communications as the vehicle-mounted transponder traverses the communications zone.

Claims

1. A vehicle emissions testing system for collecting emissions data from vehicles travelling in a roadway, the vehicle having a vehicle information system with an access port, the vehicle information system providing access to vehicle data including emissions data, the system comprising:

a vehicle-mounted transponder having an input port connected to the access port for extracting the emissions data, and having an RF transceiver and antenna for transmitting the emissions data in response to a request signal; and

a reader disposed proximate the roadway, the reader including a plurality of antennas having radiation patterns defining a capture zone within the roadway, wherein the reader is capable of engaging in RF communications with the transponder when the transponder is within the capture zone, and wherein the reader includes a controller for implementing a communications protocol, including transmission of the request signal and reception of the emissions data.

2. The vehicle emissions testing system claimed in claim 1, wherein said system comprises an open-road system wherein said controller for implementing said communications protocol is configured to conduct RF communications with the transponder as it traverses the capture zone at highway speed.

3. The vehicle emissions testing system claimed in claim 2, wherein said controller further implements an electronic toll collection protocol for conducting toll transactions with toll transponders within said capture zone.

4. The vehicle emissions testing system claimed in claim 2, wherein said transponder further includes an ETC module implementing an ETC communications protocol via said RF transceiver for conducting toll transactions with an ETC reader.

5. The vehicle emissions testing system claimed in claim 1, further including a central database connected to said reader via one or more communication networks, and wherein said controller is configured to relay said emissions data to said central database over said one or more communications networks.

6. The vehicle emissions testing system claimed in claim 5, wherein said central database includes a plurality of vehicle emissions records, each record including a vehicle identifier and a vehicle emissions status, and wherein said central database updates at least one of said records based upon the emissions data relayed by said controller.

7. The vehicle emissions testing system claimed in claim 6, wherein said central database includes a fraud detection module for detecting possible fraud by comparing the emissions data to one of said records corresponding to the same vehicle.

8. The vehicle emissions testing system claimed in claim 5, wherein said central database includes a plurality of records and wherein said central database is configured to identify one of said records corresponding to the emissions data relayed by said controller, and wherein said central database is configured to issue a notice to a vehicle owner identified by said one of said records.

9. The vehicle emissions testing system claimed in claim 1, wherein said transponder further includes a buffer memory for buffering the emissions data before transmitting the emissions data to the reader.

10. The vehicle emissions testing system claimed in claim 1, wherein said reader further includes a position determination system for identifying the position of the vehicle within a multilane roadway.

11. A method of obtaining emissions data from a vehicle, the vehicle having a transponder, the transponder having an input port connected to an access port of a vehicle information system within the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

configuring a roadside reader to implement an emissions data collection protocol, the roadside reader having an antenna defining a communications zone within a roadway;

sending an RF signal to the transponder in the communications zone instructing the transponder to obtain the emissions data from the vehicle information system; and

receiving an RF response from the transponder containing the emissions data.

12. The method claimed in claim 11, wherein said communications zone comprises an open road communications zone, whereby the vehicle traverses the communications zone at a travelling speed.

13. The method claimed in claim 12, wherein the RF signal includes a protocol indicator, and further including a step, performed by the transponder, of determining whether the RF signal relates to an electronic toll collection transaction or to the emissions data collection.

14. The method claimed in claim 11, further including a step of relaying the emissions data from the roadside reader to a central database over a communications network.

15. The method claimed in claim 14, wherein said central database includes a plurality of vehicle emissions records, each record including a vehicle identifier and a vehicle emissions status, and wherein said method includes a step of updating at least one of said records based upon the emissions data.

16. The method claimed in claim 14, wherein said central database includes a plurality of vehicle emissions records, each record including a vehicle identifier and a vehicle emissions status, and wherein said method includes a step of comparing at least one of said record with the emissions data to determine whether fraud is likely.

17. The method claimed in claim 14, wherein said central database includes a plurality of records and wherein said method includes steps of identifying one of said records corresponding to the emissions data and issuing a notice to a vehicle owner identified by said one of said records.

18. The method claimed in claim 11, further including a step of buffing the emissions data in a buffer memory in the transponder prior to said step of receiving.

19. The method claimed in claim 11, wherein the roadside reader includes a plurality of antennas and wherein the method further includes a step of determining a position of the vehicle within the roadway based upon a count of signals received by each of said plurality of antennas from the transponder.

20. A distributed vehicle emissions testing system for collecting emissions data from vehicles travelling in a plurality of roadways, the vehicles each having a vehicle information system with an access port, the vehicle information system providing access to vehicle data including emissions data, and each vehicle having a transponder connected to the access port for extracting emissions data and transmitting the emissions data in an RF signal, the system comprising:

a plurality of readers, each proximate one of said plurality of roadways, each reader including a plurality of antennas defining a capture zone within the roadway, wherein each reader is capable of engaging in RF communications with the transponder when the transponder is within the capture zone of the reader, and wherein the reader includes a controller for implementing a communications protocol, including transmission of a response signal and reception of the emissions data;

a central database containing a plurality of emissions records; and

a communications network connecting each roadside reader to the central database,

wherein each reader is configured to relay the emissions data to the central database, and the central database is configured to update at least one of said records based upon the emissions data.