Dynamic timing adjustment in an electronic toll collection system
First Claim
1. A vehicle position determination system for determining a position of a moving vehicle having a transponder in a multi-lane roadway, comprising:
- two or more antennas having partially overlapped coverage areas, each for transmitting an interrogation signal and receiving a response signal from the transponder;
a reader for receiving said response signals from said antennas, said reader includinga position determination module for determining the position of the moving vehicle based upon said response signals received by said two or more antennas, wherein said determination is made on expiry of a time period, anda dynamic timing module for determining a current traffic speed associated with the multi-lane roadway and for setting said time period based upon said current traffic speed, wherein said current traffic speed comprises a variable correlated to traffic speed, said dynamic timing module measures said variable correlated to traffic speed, and said variable correlated to traffic speed comprises an average number of response signals per transponder while in said coverage areas.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic toll collection system with dynamically adjusted timing for operation of one or more subsystems. The timing is dynamically adjusted based upon the prevailing traffic speed for the roadway. The roadway traffic speed is determined based upon direct measurements of traffic speed by external equipment or based upon a variable correlated with traffic speed. The variable may include the average number of handshakes per transponder over an estimation period. The subsystem may include a vehicle position determination system, an enforcement system, a loop detection system, or other such subsystems.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A vehicle position determination system for determining a position of a moving vehicle having a transponder in a multi-lane roadway, comprising:
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two or more antennas having partially overlapped coverage areas, each for transmitting an interrogation signal and receiving a response signal from the transponder; a reader for receiving said response signals from said antennas, said reader including a position determination module for determining the position of the moving vehicle based upon said response signals received by said two or more antennas, wherein said determination is made on expiry of a time period, and a dynamic timing module for determining a current traffic speed associated with the multi-lane roadway and for setting said time period based upon said current traffic speed, wherein said current traffic speed comprises a variable correlated to traffic speed, said dynamic timing module measures said variable correlated to traffic speed, and said variable correlated to traffic speed comprises an average number of response signals per transponder while in said coverage areas. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of determining a position of a moving vehicle having a transponder in a multi-lane roadway, the method comprising:
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measuring a current traffic speed associated with the multi-lane roadway; setting a time period based upon said current traffic speed; exchanging communications with the transponder through two or more antennas having partially overlapped coverage areas, wherein exchanging communications includes transmitting an interrogation signal and receiving a response signal from the transponder; and determining the position of the moving vehicle based upon said response signals received by said two or more antennas, wherein said determination is made on expiry of the time period, wherein said current traffic speed comprises a variable correlated to traffic speed, measuring the current traffic speed comprises measuring said variable correlated to traffic speed, and said variable correlated to traffic speed comprises an average number of response signals per transponder while in said coverage areas. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An electronic toll collection system for conducting transactions with a moving vehicle having a transponder travelling on a roadway, the electronic toll collection system comprising:
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at least one subsystem having a trigger component for triggering operation of the subsystem based upon a time period; and a dynamic timing module for determining a current traffic speed associated with the roadway and for setting said time period based upon said current traffic speed, wherein said current traffic speed comprises a variable correlated to traffic speed, said dynamic timing module measures said variable correlated to traffic speed, and said variable correlated to traffic speed comprises an average number of response signals per transponder while in an antenna coverage area. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of dynamically adjusting timing within an electronic toll collection system for conducting transactions with a moving vehicle having a transponder travelling in a roadway, the method comprising:
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measuring a current traffic speed associated with the roadway, wherein said current traffic speed comprises a variable correlated to traffic speed, measuring said current traffic speed comprises measuring said variable correlated to traffic speed, and said variable correlated to traffic speed comprises an average number of response signals per transponder while in a coverage area; setting a time period based upon said current traffic speed, wherein setting said time period includes calculating said time period based upon said average number of response signals; and triggering operation of a subsystem of the electronic toll collection system upon expiry of said time period. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification