Card processing system and card processing method on toll road

• US 20070252726A1
• Filed: 07/06/2007
• Published: 11/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kojima, Hideaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,528,739 B2
• 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: G08G 1/01 Detecting movement of traffic to be counted or controlled G08G1/07 - G08G1/14 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/015 with provision for distinguishing between two or more types of vehicles, e.g. between motor-cars and cycles

Abstract

A wireless type prepaid IC card system enhances the convenience of users and assures the safe payment of tolls by vehicles including bikes when introduced for toll roads. This toll collecting system is composed of: a card processor that is arranged in a booth for the toll collection process and has an antenna unit for executing the card process through the wireless communication with IC cards, antenna units arranged at the left and right roadsides of the booth for executing the card process through the wireless communication with IC cards, a vehicle class discriminator for discriminating classes of vehicles entering into a traffic lane, and a traffic lane controller that selects an antenna unit to perform the card process according to a discriminated vehicle class and controls the card process.

Claims

1. A card processing system comprising:

a first antenna unit set in a booth provided at a road side of a traffic lane so as to process data in an IC card with respect to use of a toll road for a vehicle passing the toll road through a wireless communication with the IC card;

a second antenna unit set at the road side of the traffic lane outside the booth to process the data through a wireless communication with the IC card;

a data processor to process the data relative to use of the toll road based on the card data obtained from either one of the first and second antenna units; and

a vehicle class discriminator to identify a class of a vehicle entering into the traffic lane;

wherein the second antenna has antenna portions provided at heights corresponding to vehicle classes to be closed or touched IC cards, and

wherein the data processor selects one of the antenna portions in response to a vehicle class identified by the vehicle class discriminator and processes card data with respect to utilization of the toll road obtained from the selected antenna portion.