Toll charging system and toll charging method

• US 7,123,879 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2002
• Issued: 10/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd. (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.), NTT DoCoMo Kansai, Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yoshikawa, Yasuo, Okamoto, Ryosuke, Shimoda, Tomokazu, Koketsu, Yoshihiro, Tomonaka, Tetsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cho, Un C.
• Application Number:
  US10/285,684
• Publication Number:
  US 20030105662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,446 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/456.3, 455/456.1, 455/406, 455/405, 455/456.6, 340/928, 340/933, 340/937
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G

Abstract

A toll charging system of this invention is implemented by a roadside apparatus, onboard device, portable telephone, and charging apparatus. The roadside apparatus is to detect a vehicle entering a charging area and transmit charging information to the vehicle. An onboard device and portable telephone are arranged in the vehicle. The charging information transmitted from the roadside apparatus is received by the onboard device. The onboard device generates vehicle identification information and outputs to the portable telephone instruction information instructing to transmit the charging information and vehicle identification information. On the instruction information, the portable telephone transmits the charging information and vehicle identification information. The charging apparatus receives the charging information and vehicle identification information, identifies the vehicle on the vehicle identification information, and executes charge processing for the vehicle.

Claims

1. A toll charging system comprising:

a roadside apparatus;

an onboard device which is capable of being arranged in a vehicle;

a portable telephone; and

a charging apparatus,

wherein said roadside apparatus detects the vehicle entering a charging area and transmits charging information containing at least toll information and an address of the charging apparatus,

wherein said onboard device receives the charging information transmitted from said roadside apparatus, generates vehicle identification information to identify the vehicle, and outputs, to said portable telephone, instruction information which instructs to transmit the charging information and vehicle identification information to the address contained in the received charging information,

wherein said portable telephone transmits the charging information and vehicle identification information to the address on the basis of the instruction information output from said onboard device,

wherein said charging apparatus receives the charging information and vehicle identification information transmitted from said portable telephone, identifies the vehicle on the basis of the received vehicle identification information, and executes charge processing for the identified vehicle,

wherein said charging apparatus transmits a charge processing result to said portable telephone as the transmission source of the charging information and vehicle identification information, and said portable telephone receives the charge processing result transmitted from said charging apparatus and displays the charge processing result and outputs the charge processing result as voice data, and

wherein said onboard device is used for communication in a shorter range than that of said portable telephone, thereby reducing an amount of communication traffic for said portable telephone.

2. A toll charging system using an onboard device and portable telephone, which are arranged in a vehicle, comprising:

a roadside apparatus;

a receiving apparatus;

a vehicle identification apparatus; and

a charging apparatus,

wherein said roadside apparatus detects the vehicle entering a charging area and transmits charging information containing at least toll information and an address of the charging apparatus to the detected vehicle,

wherein said receiving apparatus receives vehicle identification information of the vehicle, which is generated by the onboard device upon receiving the charging information transmitted from said roadside apparatus, and the charging information transmitted from the portable telephone by the onboard device to the address,

wherein said vehicle identification apparatus identifies the vehicle as a transmission source of the charging information and vehicle identification information on the basis of the vehicle identification information received by said receiving apparatus,

wherein said charging apparatus executes charge processing for the vehicle identified by said vehicle identification apparatus on the basis of the charging information received by said receiving apparatus,

wherein said charging apparatus transmits a charge processing result to said portable telephone as the transmission source of the charging information and vehicle identification information, and said portable telephone receives the charge processing result transmitted from said charging apparatus and displays the charge processing result and outputs the charge processing result as voice data, and

wherein said onboard device is used for communication in a shorter range than that of said portable telephone, thereby reducing an amount of communication traffic for said portable telephone.

3. A toll charging system using an onboard device and portable telephone, which are arranged in a vehicle, a charging apparatus, and a roadside apparatus,

wherein said onboard device comprises:

receiving means for receiving charging information transmitted from said roadside apparatus containing at least toll information and an address of said charging apparatus, and

instruction means for outputting, to said portable telephone, instruction information which instructs to transmit the charging information together with vehicle identification information of the vehicle to the address contained in the charging information received by said receiving means,

wherein said portable telephone transmits, on the basis of the instruction information output from said instruction means, the charging information together with the vehicle identification information to the address and receives a charge processing result processed by said charging apparatus on the basis of the transmitted charging information and returned from said charging apparatus,

wherein said portable telephone displays the received charge processing result and outputs the charge processing result as voice data, and

wherein said onboard device is used for communication in a shorter range than that of said portable telephone, thereby reducing an amount of communication traffic for said portable telephone.

4. A toll charging method comprising:

detecting a vehicle entering a charging area by a vehicle sensor and transmitting charging information containing at least toll information and an address of a charging apparatus from a roadside apparatus to the detected vehicle;

causing an onboard device arranged in the vehicle to receive the transmitted charging information;

outputting the charging information and vehicle identification information to identify the vehicle from the onboard device to a portable telephone communicable with the onboard device;

transmitting the charging information and the vehicle identification information output from the onboard device to the portable telephone from the portable telephone to the charging apparatus on the basis of the address; and

causing the charging apparatus to identify the vehicle on the basis of the vehicle identification information and execute charge processing for the identified vehicle on the basis of the charging information,

wherein said charging apparatus transmits a charge processing result to the portable telephone as a transmission source of the charging information and the vehicle identification information, and said portable telephone receives the charge processing result transmitted from the charging apparatus and displays the charge processing result and outputs the charge processing result as voice data, and

wherein the onboard device is used for communication in a shorter range than that of the portable telephone, thereby reducing an amount of communication traffic for said portable telephone.

5. A toll charging method comprising:

detecting a vehicle entering a charging area by a vehicle sensor and transmitting charging information containing at least toll information and an address of a charging apparatus from a roadside apparatus to the detected vehicle;

causing an onboard device arranged in the vehicle to receive the transmitted charging information and generate vehicle identification information to identify the vehicle;

causing a portable telephone communicable with the onboard device to transmit, to the address, the charging information received by the onboard device and the vehicle identification information generated by the onboard device; and

causing the charging apparatus to receive the charging information and the vehicle identification information transmitted from the portable telephone, identify the vehicle on the basis of the received vehicle identification information, and execute charge processing for the identified vehicle,

wherein the charging apparatus transmits a charge processing result to the portable telephone as a transmission source of the charging information and the vehicle identification information, and the portable telephone receives the charge processing result transmitted from the charging apparatus and displays the charge processing result and outputs the charge processing result as voice data, and

wherein the onboard device is used for communication in a shorter range than that of the portable telephone, thereby reducing an amount of communication traffic for said portable telephone.

6. A toll charging method comprising:

when a vehicle sensor detects a vehicle entering a charging area, causing an onboard device arranged in the vehicle to receive charging information transmitted from a roadside apparatus which transmits to the detected vehicle the charging information containing at least toll information and an address of a charging apparatus and causing the onboard device to generate vehicle identification information to identify the vehicle; and

causing the onboard device to make a portable telephone communicable with the onboard device transmit the charging information and the vehicle identification information to the address to transmit the charging information and the vehicle identification information to the charging apparatus which identifies the vehicle on the basis of the vehicle identification information and executes charge processing for the identified vehicle,

wherein the charging apparatus transmits a charge processing result to the portable telephone as a transmission source of the charging information and vehicle identification information, and the portable telephone receives the charge processing result transmitted from the charging apparatus and displays the charge processing result and outputs the charge processing result as voice data, and

wherein the onboard device is used for communication in a shorter range than that of the portable telephone, thereby reducing an amount of communication traffic for said portable telephone.

7. A toll charging method using an onboard device and portable telephone, which are arranged in a vehicle, a charging apparatus, and a roadside apparatus comprising, causing the portable telephone to transmit charging information together with vehicle identification information output from the onboard device which receives the charging information transmitted from the roadside apparatus for transmitting the charging information containing at least toll information and an address of the charging apparatus when a vehicle sensor detects the vehicle entering a charging area, generates the vehicle identification information to identify the vehicle, and outputs the generated vehicle identification information together with the received charging information to the portable telephone, to the charging apparatus which identifies the vehicle on the basis of the vehicle identification information and executes charge processing for the identified vehicle on the basis of the charging information,

wherein the charging apparatus transmits a charge processing result to the portable telephone as a transmission source of the charging information and vehicle identification information, and the portable telephone receives the charge processing result transmitted from the charging apparatus and displays the charge processing result and outputs the charge processing result as voice data, and

wherein the onboard device is used for communication in a shorter range than that of the portable telephone, thereby reducing an amount of communication traffic for said portable telephone.