HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE STATUS SIGNALING USING ELECTRONIC TOLL COLLECTION INFRASTRUCTURE
First Claim
1. An electronic toll collection transponder for use in an electronic toll collection system for communicating high occupancy status to a reader, the transponder comprising:
- a controller;
a memory storing transponder information;
a selection device operable by a user to select a high occupancy state; and
a transceiver and antenna configured to, under control of the controller, receive a trigger signal, send a response signal to the reader in reply to the trigger signal, and receive a programming signal, wherein the response signal includes the transponder information and includes the high occupancy state selected via the selection device,and wherein the controller is configured to record a high occupancy claim indicator in the memory evidencing that the transponder claimed high occupancy state if the programming signal includes the high occupancy claim indicator.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic toll collection system, reader, method and transponder for communicating occupancy status. The vehicle-mounted transponder includes a selection device that permits a user to select between a normal and high occupancy state. The transponder reports its occupancy status to a reader. If the electronic toll collection system processes a toll transaction and the transponder claims high occupancy status during the toll transaction, the fact that high occupancy status was claimed during the transaction is recorded in memory within the transponder for later enforcement and verification purposes.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electronic toll collection transponder for use in an electronic toll collection system for communicating high occupancy status to a reader, the transponder comprising:
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a controller; a memory storing transponder information; a selection device operable by a user to select a high occupancy state; and a transceiver and antenna configured to, under control of the controller, receive a trigger signal, send a response signal to the reader in reply to the trigger signal, and receive a programming signal, wherein the response signal includes the transponder information and includes the high occupancy state selected via the selection device, and wherein the controller is configured to record a high occupancy claim indicator in the memory evidencing that the transponder claimed high occupancy state if the programming signal includes the high occupancy claim indicator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of communicating high occupancy status between a vehicle and a reader of an electronic toll collection system, the method comprising:
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receiving an input selecting a high occupancy state via a selection device; receiving a trigger signal from the roadside reader and sending a response signal to the roadside reader, wherein the response signal includes transponder information and the high occupancy state selected via the selection device; receiving a programming signal, wherein the programming signal includes a high occupancy claim indicator; and recording the high occupancy claim indicator in memory evidencing that the transponder claimed the high occupancy state. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An electronic toll collection system for performing differentiated tolling for vehicles within a roadway, the system comprising:
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a reader, including a plurality of antennas defining a capture zone within the roadway, an RF transceiver, and a toll transaction processor for conducting electronic toll collection transactions; and a transponder, including a controller, a memory storing transponder information, a selection device operable by a user to select a high occupancy state, and a transceiver and antenna configured to, under control of the controller, receive a trigger signal, send a response signal to the reader in reply to the trigger signal, and receive a programming signal, wherein the response signal includes the transponder information and includes the high occupancy state selected via the selection device, wherein the reader is configured to generate the programming signal containing updated transponder information, the updated transponder information including a high occupancy indicator based on the high occupancy state in the response signal, and wherein the controller is configured to overwrite the transponder information in memory with the updated transponder information received in the programming signal, thereby storing the high occupancy claim indicator. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. An electronic toll collection reader for performing differentiated tolling for vehicles within a roadway, each vehicle having a transponder storing transponder information and being configured to send a response signal containing the transponder information and a high occupancy status, the reader-comprising:
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a transceiver; one or more antennas for sending and receiving RF signals under the controller of the transceiver and defining a capture zone within the roadway; and a processor for controlling the transceiver, wherein the processor is configured to cause the transceiver to transmit a trigger signal within the capture zone, receive the response signal in reply to the trigger signal, detect the high occupancy status within the transponder information in the response signal, initiate a toll transaction, generate updated transponder information including a high occupancy claim indicator, and cause the transceiver to transmit a programming signal containing the updated transponder information.
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19. A method of conducting differentiated tolling for vehicles within a roadway, each vehicle having a transponder storing transponder information and being configured to send a response signal containing the transponder information and a high occupancy status when in a capture zone of a toll area, the toll area having a reader including antennas defining the capture zone, the method comprising:
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transmitting a trigger signal within the capture zone; receiving the response signal from the transponder in reply to the trigger signal; detecting the high occupancy status within the transponder information in the response signal; initiating a toll transaction; generating updated transponder information including a high occupancy claim indicator; and transmitting a programming signal to the transponder containing the updated transponder information. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification