Method for detecting vehicles with trailers

• US 8,452,643 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2011
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kapsch TrafficCom AG (Datax Handelsgmbh)
• Original Assignee: Kapsch TrafficCom AG (Datax Handelsgmbh)
• Inventors: Spannagl, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): EPSTEIN, BRIAN M
• Application Number:
  US13/044,314
• Publication Number:
  US 20110246263A1
• Time in Patent Office: 811 Days
• Field of Search: 705/13, 340/988, 340/431, 340/933, 701/521
• US Class Current: 705/13
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/015 with provision for distinguishing between two or more types of vehicles, e.g. between motor-cars and cycles

Abstract

A method for detecting vehicles with trailers in a road toll system, which comprises at least one radio beacon for radio communication with radio OBUs, wherein vehicles and trailers are respectively provided with their own OBUs carried by them, and a vehicle and a trailer are detected as belonging to one another when an evaluation of the radio communications with their OBU indicates that these are moving at a limited and constant distance from one another.

Claims

1. A method performed by one or more processors for detecting vehicles with trailers in a road toll system, which comprises at least one radio beacon for radio communication with radio onboard units (OBUs), the method comprising:

electronically associating a vehicle with a vehicle OBU carried by the vehicle, in a database;

electronically associating a trailer with a trailer OBU, in the database;

establishing radio communications between a radio beacon and said vehicle OBU, and between the radio beacon and said trailer OBU, via radio signals;

electronically evaluating said radio signals; and

electronically detecting that said vehicle and said trailer are related to one another, when said evaluation of radio signals with the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU indicates that said vehicle OBU and said trailer OBU are moving at a limited and constant distance from one another, wherein the radio beacons are DSRC radio beacons and the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU are DSRC OBUs.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU are both arranged next to one another in the vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising using a phase shift between the two radio communications for measurement of a distance between the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU for said evaluation.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising using an amplitude difference between the two radio communications for measurement of the distance between the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU for said evaluation.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising using a Doppler shift of the two radio communications for measurement of the movements of the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU for said evaluation.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein only radio communications within a given time window are taken into consideration for said evaluation.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU are infrared-based or microwave-based DSRC OBUs.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said evaluation is conducted in a central system of the road toll system.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising electronically applying a charge to toll accounts assigned to said OBUs, when said vehicle and said trailer are detected to be related to one another.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said evaluation is conducted in a decentralised manner in a radio beacon of the road toll system, or in a local control unit of the radio beacon.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising applying a charge only to a toll account assigned to the vehicle OBU when vehicle and trailer OBUs are detected to be related to one another.

12. A method performed by one or more processors for detecting vehicles with trailers in a road toll system, which comprises at least one radio beacon for radio communication with radio onboard units (OBUs), the method comprising:

electronically associating a vehicle with a vehicle OBU carried by the vehicle, in a database;

electronically associating a trailer with a trailer OBU, in the database;

establishing radio communications between a radio beacon and said vehicle OBU, and between the radio beacon and said trailer OBU, via radio signals;

electronically evaluating said radio signals;

electronically detecting that said vehicle and said trailer are related to one another, when said evaluation of radio signals with the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU indicates that said vehicle OBU and said trailer OBU are moving at a limited and constant distance from one another, wherein said evaluation is conducted in a decentralised manner in a radio beacon of the road toll system, or in a local control unit of the radio beacon.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the radio beacons are DSRC radio beacons and the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU are DSRC OBUs.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU are both arranged next to one another in the vehicle.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein only radio communications within a given time window are taken into consideration for said evaluation.

16. The method according to claim 12, further comprising applying a charge to a toll account assigned to the vehicle OBU when vehicle and trailer OBUs are detected to be related to one another.

17. A method performed by one or more processors for detecting vehicles with trailers in a road toll system, which comprises at least one radio beacon for radio communication with radio onboard units (OBUs), the method comprising:

electronically associating a vehicle with a vehicle OBU carried by the vehicle, in a database;

electronically associating a trailer with a trailer OBU, in the database;

establishing radio communications between a radio beacon and said vehicle OBU, and between the radio beacon and said trailer OBU, via radio signals;

electronically evaluating said radio signals;

electronically detecting that said vehicle and said trailer are related to one another, when said evaluation of radio signals with the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU indicates that said vehicle OBU and said trailer OBU are moving at a limited and constant distance from one another; and

applying a charge only to a toll account assigned to the vehicle OBU when vehicle and trailer OBUs are detected to be related to one another.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the radio beacons are DSRC radio beacons and the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU are DSRC OBUs.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the vehicle OBU and the trailer OBU are infrared-based or microwave-based DSRC OBUs.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein said evaluation is conducted in a decentralised manner in a radio beacon of the road toll system, or in a local control unit of the radio beacon.