REVENUE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR TOLL ROADS

• US 3,705,976 A
• Filed: 11/16/1970
• Issued: 12/12/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Michael M. Platzman
• Original Assignee: Michael M. Platzman
• Inventors: Platzman, Michael M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Thomas A.
• Application Number:
  US05/089,683
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 235/61.8A,61.9R,61.1R,61.6R,61.7R 340/31R,51R
• US Class Current: 235/384
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• 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: G07F 17/145 for revolving doors or turnstiles

Abstract

A system for automatically reconciling the revenues collected, with the vehicle type and distance travelled over a toll road. The system is applicable to a barrier type configuration where the amount collected by the collector is reconciled with the amount automatically determined by the type of vehicle passing the barrier terminal. In the closed loop system information is taken at the entrance to the toll road and is transmitted to a computer. A ticket is encoded at the entering terminal. The tickets are decoded at the exit as well as additional information taken at the exit which is also transmitted to a computer for further reconciliation. The fee is automatically computed and displayed at the exit terminal directly from the tickets. Nonrevenue transactions and credit card transactions are accommodated and checked for validity by the computer.

Claims

1. An automatic revenue reconciliation system for vehicle toll roads having a plurality of terminals each located at vehicle crossing points and control computer means, each said terminals being in communication with said computer means, each of said terminals comprising, in combination:

a. card reader means capable of reading indicia information encoded on a card means when inserted into said card reader means;

b. keyboard means for entering information identifying the class of the vehicle passing through the terminal;

c. vehicle detection means for sensing the number of axles on the vehicle and the direction of passage of the vehicle through the terminal;

d. fee display means for displaying the fee to be collected; and

e. transmitting means for transmitting the information from said card reader means, keyboard means and vehicle detection means to said computer means, means, said computer means comprising;

a. control means responsive to the information from said card reader means for controlling the operation of the terminal transmitting the indicia information;

b. reconciliation means to immediately compare the information from said keyboard means and said vehicle detection means; and

c. calculating means responsive to the information from said keyboard means for determining the fee to be collected and causing said fee display means to display said fee.

2. A system as in claim 1 wherein each of said terminals has a normally closed state and an open state and wherein said computer control means controls the operation of said terminals by changing its state.

3. A system as in claim 2 wherein the indicia encoded on the card means represents an identification number and wherein upon a first insertion of said card means into said card reader means, said computer control means causes said terminal to change from its normally closed state to an open state.

4. A system as in claim 3 where, upon a subsequent insertion of said card means into said reader means, the computer means will cause the terminal to revert to its normally closed state.

5. A system as in claim 2 wherein said terminals further include lane status means which display the state of the terminal.

6. A system as in claim 4 wherein said computer means further comprises counting means for respectively totaling all the information from said keyboard means and all the information from said vehicle detection means for the total period of the open state of the terminals.

7. A system as in claim 1, wherein said terminals further include automatic toll collection means.

8. A system as in claim 6 wherein said computer means further comprises output means for printing out the totals from said counting means and printing out the occurrence of a lack of comparison from said reconciliation means.

9. An automatic revenue control system for vehicle toll road including at least one entering terminal, at least one exit terminal and computer means in communication with said terminals, comprising in combination:

a. card reader means associated with each terminal capable of reading indicia information encoded on a card means inserted into said reader means, and transmitting said indicia information to said computer means;

b. computer control means responsive to said indicia information for controlling the operation of the terminal transmitting said indicia information;

c. vehicle detecting means associated with each terminal for sensing the number of axles on the vehicles and the direction of passage of the vehicles passing through the terminals, and transmitting said vehicle information to said computer means;

d. keyboard means controlled by said computer control means and associated with each of said entering terminals for entering information identifying the class of the vehicle passing through the terminal and transmitting said class information to said computer means;

e. ticket encoding means, associated with each entering terminal for dispensing under control of said computer means a ticket having identification indicia encoded thereon including the class information from the keyboard means of that terminal and entering terminal identification information;

f. ticket decoding means associated with each said exit terminals for reading the identification indicia encoded on a ticket when inserted into said decoding means, and transmitting said identification indicia to said computer means;

g. computer calculating means responsive to said ticket decoding means for determining the fee to be paid based upon the identification indicia including said class information and said entering terminal identification information;

h. fee display means associated with the exit terminal, controlled by said computer calculating means, for indicating the fee determined; and

i. computer reconciliation means for immediately comparing the vehicle information from the vehicle detecting means of each entering terminal with the class information from the keyboard means from the same entering terminal and comparing the vehicle information from the vehicle detecting means of each exit terminal with the decoded information indicia from the ticket decoding means from the same exit terminal and determining any discrepancies in said respective comparisons.

10. A system as in claim 9 wherein said card reader means recognizes the presence of a first type of identification card which causes said terminals to open and close, and a second type of identification card representing a non-revenue transaction.

11. A system as in claim 9 wherein said vehicle detecting means further comprise a plurality of detecting elements which sense the number of axles on a vehicle and the direction of passage of said vehicle across said detecting means and counting means which total the number of axles crossing said detecting means in a given direction.

12. A system as in claim 9 wherein each of said entering and exit terminals have a normally closed state and an oPen state and wherein said computer control means controls the operation of said terminals by changing its state.

13. A system as in claim 12 wherein upon a first insertion of a card means into the card reader means said computer control means changes the state of the terminal from its normally closed state to an open state and upon a subsequent insertion of the same card means into the card reader means said computer control means returns the state of the terminal to its normally closed state.

14. A system as in claim 13 wherein when said terminals are in an open state, insertion of a different card means bearing different indicia information into said card reader means causes said computer control means to first put said terminals into said normally closed state and then back into said open state.

15. A system as in claim 11 wherein said ticket encoding means includes means, under control of said computer means, for encoding on the ticket the time of passage of the vehicle and the indicia information from the card reader means associated with the same terminal of said ticket encoding means.

16. A system as in claim 13 further including printout means associated with said computer means, and wherein said computer means includes means responsive to the opening of a terminal to cause said printout means to record the terminal identification information, the time of the opening, the indicia information from the card means causing the opening and the information recorded at the preceding closing of that terminal.

17. A system as in claim 16 wherein said computer means further includes means responsive to the closing of a terminal to cause said printout means to record the terminal identification information, the time of closing, the indicia information from the card means causing the closing, and the information compared by said computer reconciliation means.

18. A system as in claim 16 wherein said computer means further includes means responsive to the passage of a vehicle through a closed terminal to cause said printout means to record information concerning said passage.

19. A system as in claim 9 wherein said card reader means comprises keyhole means and said card means is in the form of an identification key.

20. A system as in claim 9 wherein said ticket encoding means includes means for consecutively numbering successive tickets dispensed therefrom.

21. The system as in claim 10 wherein said entering terminal further includes alarm means where, upon insertion of said second type of identification card, said computer means checks the validity of said card and upon its being found invalid, activates said alarm means.

22. The system as in claim 10 where, upon insertion of said second type of identification card, said computer causes said ticket encoding means to encode a ticket with a predetermined code symbol.

23. The system as in claim 22 where, upon insertion of said second type of ticket into said ticket decoding means at said exit terminal, said computer means causes said fee display means to display a predetermined figure.

24. The system as in claim 9 wherein said ticket decoding means includes detection means for recognizing the presence of a Hollerith type ticket and a 90 column type ticket.

25. A system as in claim 9 wherein said ticket encoding means and ticket decoding means are of the magnetic type.

26. A system as in claim 1 wherein said ticket encoding means and ticket decoding means are of the Hollerith card type.

27. A method for revenue control for toll roads having an entering terminal, an exit terminal and computer means comprising the steps of:

a. encoding a ticket at said entering terminal for each vehicle entering related to the number of axles on said vehicle and the time and place of entry;

b. counting the axles on said vehicles entering;

c. computing the variance between the axle number counter and the axle number encoded on said tickets;

d. automatically computing the toll at said exit terminal directly from said encoded tickets;

e. displaying the toll at said exit terminal;

f. counting the axles on said vehicles leaving said exit terminal;

g. computing the number of axles leaving said exit terminal from said tickets; and

h. computing the variance between the axles counted at said exit terminals and the axles determined from said tickets at said exit terminal.

28. A method as in claim 27 further including the steps of:

i. inserting an identification card into a card reader at said entering or exit terminal to activate said terminals; and

j. inserting said identification card a second time into said card reader to deactivate said terminals.

29. A method as in claim 27 further including the steps of:

k. inserting a non-revenue card into the card reader at said entering terminal;

l. encoding a unique non-revenue ticket;

m. reading said non-revenue ticket at said exit terminal; and

n. recording a non-revenue transaction.

30. A method as in claim 27 further including the steps of:

o. inserting an identification card into a card reader at said entering or exit terminal to open said terminals; and

p. inserting a different identification card into said card reader to first close and then reopen said terminal.