Tolling system and method using telecommunications
First Claim
1. A system for tolling vehicles capable of travelling in multiple lanes of a multi-lane roadway, comprising:
- a location determining system arranged partly on each vehicle to determine vehicle location at a plurality of different times during vehicular travel such that multiple locations are provided by said location determining system, said location determining system having an accuracy to be able to determine a specific one of a plurality of possible lanes of the multi-lane roadway in which the vehicle is located to thereby provide lane-specific location of the vehicle;
a toll database including toll data about tolls for use of the plurality of possible lanes of the multi-lane roadway at a plurality of different geographic points, the toll data being different for different lanes of the multi-lane roadway at at least one of the plurality of geographic points;
a communications device arranged on each vehicle; and
a processor coupled to said location determining system and to said communications device and configured to direct a transmission including the determined vehicle location and an identification of the vehicle or an identification of said communications device using said communications device to a remote site separate and apart from the vehicle,whereby a toll is determined at the remote site based on said toll database and the determined vehicle location transmitted by said communications device to the remote site which is the lane-specific location of the vehicle or based on at least two determined vehicle locations transmitted by said communications device to the remote site each of which is a lane-specific location of the vehicle,wherein said communications device is configured to send the identification of the vehicle or the identification of said communications device to the remote site in or with each transmission of the determined vehicle location such that payment of the determined toll is charged to an entity associated with the vehicle or said communications device.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
System, arrangement and method for tolling includes a location determining system arranged at least partly in a vehicle to determine the vehicle location during vehicular travel, a toll database including data about tolls for use of a plurality of lanes of a multi-lane roadway at a plurality of different geographic points, the toll data being different for different lanes of the multi-lane roadway at at least one geographic point, and a communications device arranged on the vehicle. A processor directs transmission including the determined vehicle location and an identification of the vehicle by the communications device to a remote site separate and apart from the vehicle. A toll is determined at the remote site based on the toll database and the vehicle location which is the lane-specific location of the vehicle or based on at least two vehicle locations each of which is a lane-specific location of the vehicle.
72 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A system for tolling vehicles capable of travelling in multiple lanes of a multi-lane roadway, comprising:
-
a location determining system arranged partly on each vehicle to determine vehicle location at a plurality of different times during vehicular travel such that multiple locations are provided by said location determining system, said location determining system having an accuracy to be able to determine a specific one of a plurality of possible lanes of the multi-lane roadway in which the vehicle is located to thereby provide lane-specific location of the vehicle; a toll database including toll data about tolls for use of the plurality of possible lanes of the multi-lane roadway at a plurality of different geographic points, the toll data being different for different lanes of the multi-lane roadway at at least one of the plurality of geographic points; a communications device arranged on each vehicle; and a processor coupled to said location determining system and to said communications device and configured to direct a transmission including the determined vehicle location and an identification of the vehicle or an identification of said communications device using said communications device to a remote site separate and apart from the vehicle, whereby a toll is determined at the remote site based on said toll database and the determined vehicle location transmitted by said communications device to the remote site which is the lane-specific location of the vehicle or based on at least two determined vehicle locations transmitted by said communications device to the remote site each of which is a lane-specific location of the vehicle, wherein said communications device is configured to send the identification of the vehicle or the identification of said communications device to the remote site in or with each transmission of the determined vehicle location such that payment of the determined toll is charged to an entity associated with the vehicle or said communications device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. An arrangement for tolling vehicles capable of travelling in multiple lanes of a multi-lane roadway, comprising:
-
in each vehicle, at least part of a location determining system that determines vehicle location at a plurality of different times during vehicular travel such that multiple locations are provided by said location determining system, said location determining system having an accuracy to be able to determine a specific one of a plurality of possible lanes of the multi-lane roadway in which the vehicle is located to thereby provide lane-specific location of the vehicle; a communications device; and a processor coupled to said location determining system and to said communications device and that directs a transmission including the determined vehicle location by said communications device to a remote site separate and apart from the vehicle, said communications device being configured to send an identification of the vehicle or an identification of said communications device to the remote site in or with each transmission of the determined vehicle location; a toll database at the remote site that includes toll data about tolls for use of the plurality of possible lanes of the multi-lane roadway at a plurality of different geographic points, the toll data being different for different lanes of the multi-lane roadway at at least one of the plurality of geographic points; and a tolling determination and collection system coupled to said toll database at the remote site that receives the transmission of the determined vehicle location by said communications device and accesses said toll database to determine the toll for the vehicle on which said communications device providing the transmission is arranged based on data from said toll database and the determined vehicle location transmitted by said communications device to the remote site which is the lane-specific location of the vehicle or based on at least two determined vehicle locations transmitted by said communications device to the remote site each of which is a lane-specific location of the vehicle, said toll determination and collection system being configured to charge the determined toll for each vehicle to an entity associated with each vehicle or said communications device of each vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A method for tolling vehicles capable of travelling in multiple lanes of a multi-lane roadway, comprising:
-
determining location of each vehicle at a plurality of different times during vehicular travel using a location determining system such that multiple vehicle locations are provided by the location determining system, the location determining system having an accuracy to be able to determine a specific one of a plurality of possible lanes of the multi-lane roadway in which the vehicle is located to thereby provide lane-specific location of the vehicle; directing a transmission of the determined vehicle location and an identification of the vehicle using a communications device on the vehicle to a remote site separate and apart from the vehicle;
thenaccessing a toll database to determine a toll for each vehicle based on the determined vehicle location transmitted by the communications device to the remote site which is the lane-specific location of the vehicle or based on at least two determined vehicle locations transmitted by the communications device to the remote site each of which is the lane-specific location of the vehicle; and sending an identification of the vehicle or an identification of the communications device present in the vehicle or owned by a driver or occupant of the vehicle to the remote site in or with each transmission of the determined vehicle location such that the vehicle owner or vehicle operator or smartphone owner is charged for the determined toll. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification