GPS-based toll collection system and method

• US 9,460,429 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2014
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Idiggapp Inc.
• Original Assignee: Idiggapp Inc.
• Inventors: Du, Hao
• Primary Examiner(s): MELTON, TODD M
• Application Number:
  US14/462,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20160055466A1
• Time in Patent Office: 777 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G

Abstract

An automatic toll collection system includes a mobile app that receives a plurality of toll gantry information from a database, reads GPS location data received from the mobile device hosting the app, and creates a plurality of trip segments using the GPS location data and time stamp. The system then determines whether the mobile device is travelling on a road where toll ought to be collected by comparing the trip segments with the toll gantry information. If the vehicle is passing through a gantry or toll road, the system will then calculate toll charges based on the trip segments and gantry information, generate a toll charge transaction, and notify the mobile user of the toll charge.

Claims

1. A method of collecting tolls through an app in a mobile device comprising:

receiving position information of a plurality of toll gantries from a database, wherein said toll gantries comprise a main gantry, an on ramp gantry and an off ramp gantry;

reading GPS location data from a mobile device;

creating a plurality of trip segments based on said GPS location data wherein direction of the mobile device is calculated;

determining whether the mobile device is travelling on a toll road;

calculating the time when the vehicle is passing through a gantry using the position information of said toll gantries and trip segments;

calculating toll charges based on said plurality of trip segments and a time when said mobile device travels through said toll gantries;

communicating with a toll road reinforcement system;

generating a toll charge transaction;

notifying user of the mobile device on the toll charges;

processing payment of the toll charges.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said toll gantries are virtual gantries.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said toil gantries are real gantries.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of error detection that identifies faulty GPS readings of the mobile device'"'"'s locations.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the GPS location data includes longitude, latitude, and altitude information.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the following steps of handling a toll violation transaction:

receiving toll violation transaction information;

matching the violation transaction information with information of existing toll charge transactions;

recording the matching result in a database;

notifying the user of the result of the matching of said toll violation transaction and existing toll charge transactions.

7. An automatic toll collection system comprising:

a GPS reading unit that reads GPS location data from a mobile device;

a first database table storing the user information of the toll collection system;

a second database table storing position information of toll gantries, wherein said toll gantries comprise a main gantry, an on ramp gantry and an off ramp gantry;

a control unit that creates a plurality of trip segments based on said GPS location data and determines whether the mobile device is travelling on a toll road using the position information of said toll gantries and trip segments;

a toll collecting unit that calculates toll charges based on said plurality of trip segments and a time when said mobile device travels through said toll gantries and notifies user of the mobile device on the toll charge transaction; and

wherein the toll collecting unit communicates via a network with a toll road reinforcement system or a backend server.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein said first and second databases tables residing in one database.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein said toll gantries are virtual gantries.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein said toil gantries are real gantries.

11. The system of claim 7 further comprising an error correction unit that identifies faulty GPS readings of the mobile device'"'"'s locations.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein said GPS location data include longitude, latitude, and altitude information.

13. The system of claim 7 further comprising a toll violation transaction unit that receives toll violation transaction information from said a toll mad reinforcement system, matches said toll violation transaction information with toll charge transactions, and notifies the user of the matching result.