Determining a toll amount

• US 7,501,961 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2007
• Issued: 03/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Traffic Solutions Consolidated LLC
• Original Assignee: Rent A Toll Ltd
• Inventors: Robinson, Benjamin P., Balachandran, Sarath K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mehmood; Jennifer
• Application Number:
  US11/803,933
• Publication Number:
  US 20070285279A1
• Time in Patent Office: 664 Days
• Field of Search: 348/148, 348/149, 340/928, 340/937, 701117-119, 705/13, 705/400, 705/30, 705/34
• US Class Current: 340/928
• 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: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for determining a toll amount comprises determining a capture rate of transports at a toll location and determining the toll amount based on the capture rate.

Claims

1. A method for determining a toll amount, comprising:

determining a capture rate of transports at a toll location;

determining the toll amount based on a multiplier value;

determining via a toll processing unit, said multiplier value based on the capture rate of the toll location; and

wherein the determining the multiplier occurs after the determining the capture rate.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising determining the multiplier value by dividing 1 by the capture rate.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising determining the multiplier value by a following calculation:

1/(capture rate % *1).

4. The method of claim 1 comprising billing the toll amount.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the capture rate is at least one of:

detecting an unauthorized transport;

detecting a percentage of unauthorized transports; and

detecting a number of unauthorized transports.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the capture rate is determined by at least one of:

a toll authority;

a third party entity;

a toll rental entity;

an electronic device; and

a human being.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the capture rate is determined by at least one of:

a manual process;

an automatic process;

a semi-automatic process;

a static process; and

a dynamic process.

8. A computer readable medium comprising instructions for:

determining a capture rate of transports at a toll location;

determining a multiplier based on the capture rate;

determining a toll amount based on the multiplier; and

determining a revenue amount based on the capture rate, a number of the transports at the toll location, a cost per transport for utilizing the toll location, and the multiplier.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the multiplier is based on the capture rate.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 8 comprising instructions for determining the revenue amount based on a following calculation:

the capture rate multiplied by the number of the transports at the toll location multiplied by the cost per transport for utilizing the toll location multiplied by the multiplier.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 8 comprising instructions for altering the multiplier if the capture rate is altered.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 8 comprising instructions for billing the toll amount.

13. A computer readable medium comprising instructions for:

determining a capture rate of transports at a toll location;

determining a multiplier based on the capture rate;

determining a toll amount based on the multiplier;

determining a revenue amount based on a cost per transport for utilizing the toll location and the multiplier.

14. A system for determining a toll amount, comprising:

a first entity that determines a capture rate of transports at a toll location and a multiplier based on the capture rate, wherein the first entity is at least one of;

a toll authority and a toll collection entity; and

a second entity that determines the toll amount based on the multiplier, wherein the second entity is at least one of;

the toll authority and the toll collection entity; and

wherein the second entity is adapted to determine a revenue amount based on the capture rate, a number of the transports at the toll location, a cost per transport for utilizing the toll location, and the multiplier.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the toll amount is stored by at least one of:

the toll authority and the toll collection entity.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the toll amount is billed by at least one of:

the toll authority and the toll collection entity.

17. A computer readable medium comprising instructions for:

determining a capture rate of transports at a toll location;

determining a multiplier based on the capture rate;

determining a toll amount based on the multiplier; and

determining a revenue amount based on a following calculation;

a cost per transport for utilizing the toll location multiplied by the multiplier.

18. A computer readable medium comprising instructions for:

determining a capture rate of transports at a toll location;

determining a multiplier based on the capture rate;

determining a toll amount based on the multiplier; and

altering the multiplier if the capture rate is altered.