SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE POSITION OF A CONTROL AREA

• US 20150325059A1
• Filed: 10/04/2012
• Published: 11/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cintra Infraestructuras, S.A., Grupo Mecanica Del Vuelo Sistemas SAU
• Original Assignee: Cintra Infraestructuras, S.A., Grupo Mecanica Del Vuelo Sistemas SAU
• Inventors: MARTNEZ ALVARO, Cristbal, GARCA FERNNDEZ, Antonio, COSMEN SCHORTMANN, Joaqun, AZAOLA SENZ, Miguel
• Application Number:
  US14/432,674
• Publication Number:
  US 20150325059A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining the position and shape of a control area on a road on which a vehicle is travelling, and to which a usage charge applies. According to the invention, a segment of the road is divided into segment sections and the perimeter of geographical coordinates of the control area associated with each segment section is calculated. At at least two different moments, a GNSS receiver calculates the position of the vehicle, said calculated positions being inside the control area; a control area being provided that is defined by a perimeter of geographical coordinates, fulfilling the requirements in terms of charging availability being above a pre-determined threshold value and the probability of a charging error being below a threshold value.

Claims

1. A method for determining the position and shape of closed control areas on a segment of road to which a usage charge is applicable, defining a probability p_md of failure to generate usage charges for a segment user and a probability p_fa generating usage charges for a vehicle travelling along a road other than the segment of road to which the usage charge applies:

characterised in that the method comprises the following steps;

a. Division of the segment of road selected into “

N”

segment sections, with each segment section having an associated closed control area;

b. Characterisation of the length of the N segment sections and the road half-width a, in the N segment sections;

c. Characterisation of the topology of the segments of road outside the N segment sections of road;

d. Characterisation of the GNSS errors inside of and around the N segment sections depending on the level of protection PL_i(x) defining a curve of maximum GNSS error margins depending on the probability that a curve of margins is lower than the maximum margin curve;

e. Identification of the probability (p_fa)_i of detecting a vehicle assuming that these are all equal and the probability (p_md)_i of failure to detect a vehicle also assuming that these are all equal and their values can be derived from probabilities p_md and p_fa according to a distribution of the binomial type;

2. A method according to claim 1;

characterised in that the control area is a circle of radius r_i, where;

r_i>

V/f

d_i≦

r_i−

√

((r_i/2)²+a_i²)

the circle of radius r_i+u_i with its centre in the middle of segment section does not intersect with the zone covering the possible places through which a vehicle can travel outside the segment of road to which a usage charge is applicable.

3. A method according to claim 2;

characterised in that the value of r_i will be defined as an intermediate value between the maximum and minimum satisfying the above inequations and minimising the value of the probability (p_fa)_i of detecting a vehicle or the probability (p_md)_i of failure to detect a vehicle or a combination of the two values.

4. A method according to claim 1;

characterised in that the subset of the control areas is selected by calculating the combinations of M over n for which the resulting probabilities provide a greater margin over p_md, over p_fa or over a combination of the two.

5. A method according to claim 1;

characterised in that the probabilities (p_fa)_i of detecting a vehicle are assumed to be different and the probabilities (p_md)_i of failure to detect a vehicle are also assumed to be different for the control areas, where the probabilities are obtained respectively by means of a distribution different to a binomial distribution.

6. A method according to claim 4;

characterised in that it is considered that with errors in the cartography, including the segment of road to which a usage charge applies, the size of the zones covering possible places through which a vehicle can travel outside of the segment of road to which a usage charge applies increases with the maximum error value and, at the same time, the size of the half-with a_i of the segment of road increases with the same value.

7. A method according to claim 1, where the levels of protection curve is based on a theoretical model of GNSS errors.

8. A method according to claim 1, where the levels of protection curve is based on a model including the shape of all the obstacles existing to derive a multipath error model.

9. A method according to claim 1, where the levels of protection curve is a function of a field measurement of levels of protection.

10. A system for determining the position and shape of closed control areas on a segment of road to which a usage charge is applicable, defining a probability p_md of failure to generate usage charges for a segment user and a probability p_fa generating usage charges for a vehicle travelling along a road other than the segment of road to which the usage charge applies;

characterised in that the system comprises a transaction application server adapted to;

l. Dividing the segment of road selected into “

N”

segment sections, with each segment section having an associated closed control area;

m. Characterising the length of the N segment sections and the road half-width a_i in the N segment sections;

n. Characterising the topology of the segments of road outside the N segment sections of road;

o. Characterising the GNSS errors inside of and around the N segment sections depending on the level of protection PL_i(x) defining a curve of maximum GNSS error margins depending on the probability that a curve of margins is lower than the maximum margin curve;

p. Identifying the probability (p_fa)_i of detecting a vehicle assuming that these are all equal and the probability (p_md)_i of failure to detect a vehicle also assuming that these are all equal and their values can be derived from probabilities p_md and p_fa according to a distribution of the binomial type;