Control Method for a Road Toll System

• US 20130201039A1
• Filed: 02/01/2013
• Published: 08/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kapsch TrafficCom AG (Datax Handelsgmbh)
• Original Assignee: Kapsch TrafficCom AG (Datax Handelsgmbh)
• Inventors: Bck, Joachim, Nagy, Oliver, Grtner, Andreas
• Granted Patent: US 8,896,468 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/989
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/00 Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 , e.g. haptic signalling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/06 Arrangements for road pricing or congestion charging of vehicles or vehicle users, e.g. automatic toll systems
• 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 1/0137 for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/015 with provision for distinguishing between two or more types of vehicles, e.g. between motor-cars and cycles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/054 photographing overspeeding vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

Control devices and methods for a road toll system that is based on vehicle-based on-board units, using recording vehicles, control vehicles and a violation server, wherein the recording vehicle reads out a toll parameter from the on-board unit of a passing vehicle via a DSRC radio interface, compares it to a shape parameter of the vehicle detected by a sensor, and based thereon, in case of inconsistency, generates a violation data record and transmits it to the violation server, wherein the control vehicle registers the position or surroundings thereof in the violation server, and the violation server makes available to a control vehicle such violation data records, the locations of the violations of which are within the surroundings of a position of the control vehicle, wherein the control vehicle issues an alert message when it detects a violating vehicle in the surroundings, and wherein, during the transmission of a violation data record from the recording vehicle to the violation server and/or from the violation server to the control vehicle, the violation data record is divided into a TCP part and a UDP part.

Claims

1. A control method for a road toll system which is based on on-board units carried by vehicles, using at least one recording vehicle and at least one control vehicle, which can wirelessly communicate with a central violation server, the method comprising:

in the recording vehicle;

detecting a traffic or toll violation of an on-board unit or of a vehicle carrying the same and, if a violation exists,

transmitting a violation data record, containing a determined location of the violation and a read license plate number of the vehicle, to a violation server;

in the violation server;

registering control vehicles, including positions or the surroundings thereof,

receiving violation data records from recording vehicles and, if the locations of the violations thereof are within the surroundings of a position,

providing the violation data records to a control vehicle that is registered with this position or these surroundings;

in the control vehicle;

registering the position or surroundings thereof in the violation server,

reading the license plate number of a passing vehicle,

determining a violation data record provided by the violation server for a read license plate number and, if such a record exists,

issuing an alert message;

wherein, during the transmission of a violation data record from the recording vehicle to the violation server and/or from the violation server to the control vehicle, the violation data record is divided into two parts, of which the first part contains at least the location of the violation and the license plate number read result, and the second part contains additional violation data, and the first part is transmitted via a connection-oriented and the second part is transmitted via a connectionless packet-switched transport protocol.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the packets of the second part are consecutively numbered, checked for completeness based on the numbering thereof upon receipt of a plurality of packets, and missing packets are subsequently requested.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the additional data in the second part contains a recorded image of the license plate of the vehicle on which the license plate number read result is based.

4. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

in the recording vehicle;

reading out a vehicle shape-specific toll parameter from an on-board unit of a passing vehicle by means of a DSRC transceiver,

detecting a shape parameter of the vehicle by means of a sensor,

checking the toll parameter for consistency with the shape parameter and, in case of inconsistency,

transmitting a violation data record, including the location of the violation and license plate number read result of the vehicle, to the violation server.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the additional data in the second part contains a recorded image of the vehicle on which the detected shape parameter is based.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the connection-oriented transport protocol is TCP and the connectionless transport protocol is UDP.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the packets of the first part have a size of no more than 100 bytes.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aforementioned transmission takes place via a satellite connection.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the speed, and preferably the driving direction, of a passing vehicle are measured in the recording vehicle and the traffic or toll violation is also determined based on these measured values.

10. The method according to claim 4, wherein the shape parameter and the toll parameter are a respective vehicle length or a respective number of vehicle axles.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the violation data record also contains a time stamp, and the violation server only takes violation data records into consideration containing time stamps within a predetermined time period and/or the control vehicle discards violation data records containing time stamps outside a predetermined time period.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the recording vehicle measures the speed, and preferably the driving direction, of a passing vehicle and adds these to the violation data record, and based thereon the violation server extrapolates a temporal change of the location of the violation, so as to take this into consideration when checking whether a location of a violation is within the surroundings of a position at a particular time.