On-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication

• US 5,777,565 A
• Filed: 07/18/1996
• Issued: 07/07/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Tomoyuki, Hayashi, Hironao
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LA, ANH V
• Application Number:
  US08/683,725
• Time in Patent Office: 719 Days
• Field of Search: 340/928, 340/933, 235/384, 235/380, 235/375, 364/424.04, 364/423.098, 364/144, 364/138, 395/213
• US Class Current: 340/928
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G

Abstract

An on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication includes a communication unit for exchanging information with an on-road device, and storage unit for storing necessary information. When a communication error occurs between the on-vehicle device and the on-road device, information regarding the communication error is stored in the storage unit. The vehicle device further includes a card read-write unit into which a control card is removably inserted. The control card has a storage area for storing the above-described error information and information necessary in the on-vehicle device. Via the card read-write unit, information stored in the storage unit is transferred to the storage area of the control card to be stored therein, and information stored in the storage area of the control card is transferred to the storage unit to be stored therein. Accordingly, when a communication error occurs between the on-vehicle device and the on-road device, information regarding the communication error is transferred from the storage unit to the control card, so that information regarding the communication error can be obtained from the on-road device via the control card.

Claims

1. An on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication comprising:

storage means for storing data communicated via radio communication with an on-road device disposed on a road;

insertion means for enabling insertion of a control card having a storage portion for storing said data, and for also enabling insertion of a general card different than said control card;

judging means for judging whether said control card or said general card is inserted into said on-vehicle device;

identifying means for identifying whether said control card inserted into said on-vehicle device requests at least either a read of said data from said storage means or a write of said data into said storage portion of said control card or whether said control card inserted into said on-vehicle device requests at least either a write of said data into said storage means or a read of said data from said storage portion of said control card; and

processing means for performing first processing so as to read said data from said storage means and write said read data into said storage portion of said control card when said judging means judges that said control card is inserted and said identifying means identifies that said control card requests at least either a read of said data from said storage means or a write of said data into said storage portion of said control card, for performing second processing so as to read said data from said storage portion of said control card and write said read data into said storage means when said judging means judges that said control card is inserted and said identifing means identifies that said control card requests at least either a write of said data into said storage means or a read of said data from said storage portion of said control card, and for performing third processing so as to process data stored by said general card when said judging means judges that said general card is inserted.

2. The on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication according to claim 1, wherein said control card and said general card are IC cards.

3. An on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication comprising:

storage means for storing data communicated via radio communication with an on-road device disposed on a road;

judging means for judging whether or not a control card having a storage portion for storing said data is inserted into said on-vehicle device;

identifying means for identifying whether said control card inserted into said on-vehicle device requests at least either a read of said data from said storage means or a write of said data into said storage portion of said control card or whether said control card inserted into said on-vehicle device requests at least either a write of said data into said storage means or a read of said data from said storage portion of said control card;

processing means for performing first processing so as to read said data from said storage means and write said read data into said storage portion of said control card when said control card requests at least either a read of said data from said storage means or a write of said data into said storage portion of said control card, and for performing second processing so as to read said storage means when said control card requests at least either a write said data into said storage means or a read of said storage portion of said control card; and

communication error judgement means for judging whether a communication error has occurred between said on-road device and said on -vehicle device, and when it is jufged by said communication error judgement means that a communication error has occurred, information regarding said communication error is stored in said storage means.

4. The on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication according to claim 3, wherein said on-vehicle device further comprises a display unit, and when it is judged by said communication error judgment means that a communication error has occurred, the occurrence of the communication error is displayed on said display unit.

5. The on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication according to claim 3, wherein said communication error judgment means performs at predetermined intervals the judgment on occurrence of a communication error.

6. An on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication comprising:

storage means for storing data communicated via radio communication with an on-road device disposed on a road;

insertion means for enabling insertion of a control card having a storage portion for storing said data, and for also enabling insertion of a general card different than said control card;

judging means for judging whether said control card rather than said general card is inserted into said on-vehicle device;

identifying means for identifying whether said control card inserted into said on-vehicle device requests at least either a write of said data into said storage means or a read of said data from the storage portion of said control card; and

processing means for performing first processing so as to read said data from said storage portion of said control card and write said read data into said storage means and then performing second processing so as to read said data stored in said storage means and write said read data into said storage portion of said control card, when said judging means judges that said control card is inserted and said identifying means identifies that said control card requests at least either a write of said data into said storage means or a read of said data from said storage portion of said control card.

7. The on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication according to claim 6, wherein said control card and said general card are IC cards.

8. An on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication comprising:

storage means for storing data communicated via radio communication with an on-road device disposed on a road;

judging means for judging whether or not a control card having a storage portion for storing said data is inserted into said on-vehicle device;

identifying means for identifying whether said control card inserted into said on-vehicle device requests at least either a write of said data into said storage means or a read of said data from the storage portion of said control card; and

processing means for performing first processing so as to read said data from said storage portion of said control card and write said read data into said storage means and then performing second processing so as to read said data stored in said storage means and write said read data into said storage portion of said control card, when said control card requests at least either a write of said data into said storage means or a read of said data from said storage portion of said control card; and

communication error judgment means for judging whether a communication error has occurred between said on-road device and said on-vehicle device, and when it is judged by said communication error judgment means that a communication error has occurred, information regarding said communication error is stored in said storage means.

9. The on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication according to claim 8, wherein said on-vehicle device further comprises a display unit, and when it is judged by said communication error judgment means that a communication error has occurred, the occurrence of the communication error is displayed on said display unit.

10. The on-vehicle device for road-vehicle communication according to claim 8, wherein said communication error judgment means performs at predetermined intervals the judgment on occurrence of a communication error.

11. An on-vehicle device disposed in a vehicle that communicates via radio with an on-road device disposed on a road in a road-vehicle communication system, said road-vehicle communication system including a control card that is adapted to be removably inserted in said on-vehicle device and said on-road device, said on-vehicle device comprising:

a communication unit that exchanges data via radio communication with said on-road device;

a storage unit that stores said data;

a control card read-write unit that receives said control card and reads and writes said data from and to said control card when said control card is inserted in said on-vehicle device; and

a processing unit that, when said data can not be successfully exchanged with said on-road device via radio communication, causes said data to be exchanged with said on-road device instead via said control card.

12. The on-vehicle device according to claim 11, further comprising:

a communication error detection unit that detects when a radio communication error has occurred between said on-vehicle device and said on-road device and stores information concerning said communication error in said storage unit.

13. A road-vehicle communication system, comprising:

a control card;

an on-road device disposed on a road, including;

a communication unit that is adapted to transmit and receive data via radio communication, and

a control card read-write unit that receives said control card and reads data from and writes data to said control card when said control card is inserted in said on-road device; and

an on-vehicle device, including;

a communication unit that is adapted to transmit and receive data via radio communication with said on-road device,

a storage unit that stores said data,

a control card read-write unit that receives said control card and reads and writes said data from and to said control card when said control card is inserted in said on-vehicle device, and

a processing unit that, when said data can not be successfully exchanged with said on-road device via radio communication, causes said data to be exchanged with said on-road device instead via said control card.