Method of determining toll charges for vehicles using a traffic route

• US 5,717,389 A
• Filed: 09/16/1996
• Issued: 02/10/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Deutsche Telekom AG
• Inventors: Kremer, Werner, Mertens, Reinhold, Pertz, Uwe
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lefkowitz, Edward
• Application Number:
  US08/676,314
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 340/905, 340/907, 340/928, 340/933, 340/988, 340/990, 340/995, 364/449.1, 364/444.1, 364/449.2, 364/449.7, 364/449.8, 235/384
• US Class Current: 340/928
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G

Abstract

In the proposed method of determining toll charges for vehicles using a traffic route, a radiolocation system is used to compare a vehicle'"'"'s geographical location continuously with the geographical location of virtual collection points. The virtual collection points are formed by data acquisition sectors extending over predetermined distances in the direction of each route.

Claims

1. A method of determining toll charges for the use of traffic routes by vehicles as a function of the passing of detection points disposed on the traffic routes, whereby the geographical position of a vehicle is continuously determined using radiolocation, in particular using a GPS system, and is compared with the geographical positions of virtual detection points, whose positions are stored as selected points of the traffic routes, whereby the virtual detection points are formed in each case by a strip-shaped detection sector along a chain of points on a predefined distance of the respective traffic route and that a vehicle is considered as having passed the detection point if it is determined, by a comparison of the continuously determined positions with points within the detection sector, that the vehicle has traveled through the detection sector in its entire length.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the chain of points comprises a plurality of reference points defined by their geographical positions, the distance between which is smaller than the measurement error of the radiolocation system, and whereby a vehicle is considered as having passed the detection point if all reference points have a distance from positions determined for the vehicle which are smaller than a predefined distance.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the chain of points comprises a plurality of reference points defined by their geographical positions, the distance between which is smaller than the measurement error of the radiolocation system, whereby in each case a subset of the reference points of a detection sector forms a reference group, and whereby a vehicle is considered as having passed the detection point if all reference groups have a distance from positions determined for the vehicle which are smaller than a predefined distance.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the chain of points comprises one or a plurality of reference points defined by their geographical position and a function characterizing the course of road within the detection sector.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein a vehicle is considered as having passed the detection point if none of the points of the curve lies farther than the measurement error of the radiolocation system from one of the continuously determined positions of the vehicle.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein before a check as to whether the vehicle is in the detection sector, a check is performed by position comparisons as to whether the vehicle is in a zone with a greater area substantially surrounding the detection sector.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the zone with a greater area is a rectangle.