EP1868163A1 - Method and system for automatic recognition of a toll road and automatic payment of the toll charge - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves recognizing the current position and the planned distance covered by the motor vehicle, by the toll route recognizing components. The paying channels of a toll system use the toll route recognizing components, to register the motor vehicle and the user of the motor vehicle at the toll system. The toll fees, payable through the use of the toll-requiring traffic routes to the toll system is automatically paid. An independent claim is also included for a toll system with a toll charging system.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for the automated detection of the use of toll roads through a motor vehicle and for the automated payment of the due by driving on the toll roads tolls. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a toll system with a toll collection system, with a control system and with a central system for controlling toll-relevant processes.

There are already toll collection systems known from the prior art. Thus, the systems of Toll Collect or of the London Congestion Charging describe such toll collection system.

The Toll Collect system consists of a dual toll collection system, a control system and a centralized control system for all processes. The dual toll collection system gives the motorway user the option to participate in the automatic collection system or on the booking system. In the case of the automatic system, the amount of the toll to be paid is determined by an on-board unit (OBU) in conjunction with the Global Positioning System (GPS) and transmitted to the central billing center by means of mobile radio without the driver becoming active got to. Alternatively, occasional highway users have the option of pre-booking the route to be traveled via the booking system. The booking can be made via internet or at pay-per-entry terminals, located at gas stations and rest areas near motorway exits respectively on Motorways are located. In addition to the relevant vehicle data, start and end of the route as well as the start time must be indicated.

All vehicle owners, both from Germany and other countries, have the option of registering their vehicles with the operating company Toll Collect. Upon registration, u.a. the country of registration, vehicle registration number and emission class of the vehicle to be registered.

Furthermore, the payment terms necessary for the settlement of tolls are determined and contractually agreed. The terms of payment are based on the assessment of the credit service provider. The account management can be carried out on a debit or credit basis. The vehicle owner receives a vehicle card for each registered vehicle. This contains the vehicle data, on the basis of which the terms of payment are identified. The registration is a prerequisite for participation in the automatic system and for booking via the Internet. It also makes it easier to log in to the booking terminal, as the data does not have to be reentered. Unregistered users have the option of manual entry via the booking terminal.

The professional installation of the components in the vehicle is carried out by an authorized service workshop on presentation of the vehicle card obtained after registration. In addition to the mechanical installation of the above-mentioned components, the installation includes the installation of the antenna cables, the connections for the speedometer tap, the connection to the vehicle electrical system, the commissioning of the on-board unit with activation of the GS communication, the recording of the vehicle and holder data in accordance with the Vehicle card as well as a briefing of the driver The installation time is about 2 - 4 hours per vehicle.

The aim of the control system is to record non-payers and wrongdoers, as well as to ensure collection of unpaid tolls and the imposition of fines. The control takes place on the basis of a defined division of tasks between the control authority as the body of the client (BMVBW) and Toll Collect. The check is carried out by determining whether the vehicles using the motorway are subject to tolls and whether the toll has been paid properly.

The control system has control bridges for control. The control bridges span the entire carriageway and are equipped with detection technology for each lane. They determine during the passage of a vehicle, whether it is toll and whether the toll was paid properly.

If a vehicle is determined to be subject to tolling, the DSRC module determines whether the vehicle is participating in the automatic system.

If it is determined that a toll vehicle does not participate in the automatic system, the toll should have been paid by booking. For checking, an overview image and an image of the vehicle registration number are created by means of a CCD camera. The images are processed via OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and in this way the tags are compared with the log-in data stored in the central database.

The tasks of the central system, the so-called back office, include all processes that are necessary for the operation of the toll system. This includes u.a. complete data management, billing center, user service, operations management, data protection and monitoring of all operations during operation.

The known toll collection systems have disadvantages, especially when paying. Either a motor vehicle must have an on-board computer, have a so-called on-board unit "OBU", which determines in conjunction with the additional necessary "Global Positioning System (GPS)" the position of the motor vehicle and forwards the vehicle-specific data to the central billing office by means of mobile radio. This payment system has the disadvantage that the effort to participate in the payment system is immensely high, since each motor vehicle must have an on-board unit. The installation of this on-board unit requires a lot of time and costs. Participation in Toll Collect's automated toll collection process is very time consuming on initial installation and thus unattractive to irregular users. This system must also meet high security requirements for the payment process. The Toll Collect toll collection system is also not open to European toll providers.

Toll collection systems that do not have an on-board component, i. No on-board unit, often allow payment via manual access, such as short message access, so-called SMS, over a telephone connection or over the Internet. The effort for the user is very high. These manual payment channels are extremely user-unfriendly and high in entertainment costs. Furthermore, the effort and costs for the operator of the toll collection system for the provision of necessary services, especially a call center, to receive the payment transactions of users are extremely high. The manual payment process often causes users to forget the proper payment and receive sensitive penalties, such as London Congestion Charging.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and cost-effective method and toll system for recording the distance covered by the toll of a motor vehicle and for paying the toll incurred. In particular, the known toll systems, in particular the payment process, are to be simplified.

This object is achieved by a method for automated detection of the use of toll roads through a motor vehicle and automated payment of tolls due to driving on the toll roads with the features of the independent claim 1 and by a toll system with a toll collection system, with a control system and with a central system for controlling toll-relevant processes according to claim 6. Further advantages, features, details, aspects and effects of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims and the description. Features and details that are described in connection with the method according to the invention, of course, also apply in connection with the toll system according to the invention, and vice versa.

The object of the invention is achieved by a method for automated recognition of the use of toll roads by a motor vehicle and for automated payment of tolls due by driving on the toll roads, in which a toll road recognition component recognizes the current position and / or the planned route of the motor vehicle, and in which the toll road recognition component uses existing payment channels of a toll collection system to register the motor vehicle or the user of the motor vehicle with the toll system and automatically pay the toll fees due by driving on the toll roads to the toll system.

The inventive method is an alternative toll collection system or a method for the expansion of existing, preferably manual online toll systems. By the automated detection of the use of toll roads through the motor vehicle, the automated registration and automated payment will both for the user of the Motor vehicle as well as for the operator of the toll system simplifies the payment or billing of toll roads.

The existing known toll systems are supplemented by an external toll collection component that uses existing payment channels of the toll system to automate a user's registration and payment process. The toll recognition component consists of a vehicle-side element and a background system component (HGS). The vehicle-side element recognizes the current position and / or the planned route (for example from a navigation device). The data is continuously transmitted to the HGS. There, the position is checked in relation to the known toll objects (Alternatively, this can already take place in the vehicle-mounted component). If a toll-relevant item exists, the necessary information is transferred to the existing toll system. The channels Internet, Text Meassage and Call Center (or other available access options) are supplied with the corresponding data in the required format. A confirmation of the successful toll will be returned to the user. An appropriate foresight on the user movement may be required to enable timely registration. A change of route that does not lead to an already booked section will require a corresponding automatic cancellation.

A method is preferred in which a vehicle-side recognition element of the toll road recognition component recognizes the current position and / or the planned route and transmits the recognized data continuously to a background component that detects the current position detected by the recognition element and / or the planned route in relation to the known toll objects, in particular the toll bridges installed on the roads, checks and transmits the data to the toll system upon detection of a toll road position or route of the motor vehicle.

Furthermore, a method is advantageous in which the transmission of the data from the background component to the toll system, in particular to a central systems for controlling processes of the toll system, by means of a radio connection, in particular by a telephone call, a sent short message or an e-mail takes place ,

Furthermore, a method is advantageous in which the toll system automatically sends a confirmation to the user of the motor vehicle after successful payment.

A method in which an automatic cancellation of the already booked route takes place when the planned route is transferred and transferred to the toll system is also advantageous

The object is further provided by a toll system with a toll collection system, with a control system and with a central system for controlling toll-relevant processes, wherein a toll route detection component for detecting the current position and / or the planned route of a motor vehicle of a user is provided, which is a radio link to Registration of the user with the toll system and the automated payment of the driver's vehicle driven toll road uses, solved

A tolling system is preferred in which the toll route recognition component is a vehicle-side recognition element for recognizing the current position and / or the planned travel route and a background component for checking the current position recognized by the recognition element and / or the planned travel route in relation to the known toll objects, in particular the Toll bridges installed on the roads.

Furthermore, a toll system is advantageous in which the background component is part of the vehicle-side recognition element.

Furthermore, a previously described toll system is advantageous in which the background component is part of a toll object or part of the central system.

Preferred is a toll system having means for carrying out the method described above.

Claims (10)

A method for automated detection of the use of toll roads by a motor vehicle and for automated payment of tolls due by driving on the toll roads, in which a toll road recognition component detects the current position and / or the planned route of the motor vehicle, and in which the toll road recognition component existing Payment channels of a tolling system uses to register the motor vehicle or the user of the motor vehicle at the toll system and automatically pay the due by driving on the toll roads tolls to the toll system. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that a vehicle-side recognition element of the toll road recognition component recognizes the current position and / or the planned route and transmits the detected data continuously to a background component that the detected by the recognition element current position and / or the planned route in relation to the known toll objects, in particular the toll bridges installed on the traffic routes, checks and transmits the data to the toll system upon detection of a toll road position or route of the motor vehicle. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the transmission of the data from the background component to the toll system, in particular to a central system for controlling processes of the toll system, by means of a radio connection, in particular by a telephone call, a sent short message or an e-mail. Mail, done. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the toll system automatically sends the user of the motor vehicle after successful payment of a confirmation. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that when a change in the planned and transferred to the toll system route is an automatic cancellation of the already booked route. Tolling system with a toll collection system, with a control system and with a central system for controlling toll-relevant processes, characterized in that a toll road recognition component for detecting the current position and / or the planned route of a motor vehicle of a user is provided, the radio connection for the user the toll system and the automated payment of the driven by the user's motor vehicle toll roads uses. Tolling system according to claim 6, characterized in that the toll road recognition component is a vehicle-side recognition element for detecting the current position and / or the planned route and a background component for checking the detected by the recognition element current position and / or the planned route in relation to the known toll objects, in particular the toll bridges installed on the traffic routes. Tolling system according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the background component is part of the vehicle-side detection element. Tolling system according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the background component is part of a toll object or part of the central system. Tolling system according to one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the toll system comprises means for carrying out the method according to one of claims 1 to 5.