HK1173831B - Toll collection system - Google Patents

Description

Charging system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a toll collection system, and more particularly to a toll collection system for collecting a predetermined fee from an owner of a vehicle entering a toll collection road, a toll collection target area, or the like.

Background

In recent years, as a countermeasure for alleviating traffic congestion, air pollution, and the like caused by too many cars entering a central portion of a large city, a charging target area is set in the city portion, and so-called road charging (road charging) for charging a vehicle entering the charging target area by a certain amount is realized. In this road billing, for example, a portal (gantry) provided with a wireless communication device for collecting fees is installed at each entrance and exit of a toll target area, and a toll collection process is performed when a vehicle passes through the portal. As a charging method, for example, a method of deducting a certain amount of fee from the remaining amount of a prepaid card (prepaid card) inserted into a vehicle-mounted device and updating and recording the remaining amount as the remaining amount in the prepaid card, a method of automatically deducting a certain amount of fee from a bank account of a user registered in advance, or the like is used.

As a system for automatically collecting a road use fee, an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) system is known. This ETC system can automatically collect fees by performing wireless communication between a roadside wireless device provided in a toll station and a vehicle-mounted device mounted in a vehicle.

In such a road charging-related charging system and the ETC system, a charging method in a case where a conventional charging target area is expanded is studied.

For example, patent document 1 discloses the following technique: the vehicle-mounted device detects whether or not the vehicle enters the extended charging target area based on the position information acquired by the GPS receiver, and when the vehicle enters the conventional charging target area, the vehicle-mounted device notifies a charging device provided in the charging target area of the detection result, thereby collecting the road use fee in the extended charging target area from the charging device side.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese unexamined patent application publication No. 2008-9731

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the method of patent document 1, since the information indicating whether or not the toll collection area is entered is indicated by a flag, the toll collection device has a problem that a modification operation for an existing toll collection device is required in order to identify whether or not the toll collection area is entered based on the presence or absence of the flag.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a charging system capable of expanding a charging target area without changing an existing charging device.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention adopts the following means.

A1 st aspect of the present invention provides a charging system including: a central machine which is a higher-level device of the charging device arranged on the charging station of the charging target area; and a vehicle-mounted device that is provided on a vehicle and exchanges information with the central unit, the vehicle-mounted device including: a storage unit that stores map information of an extended charging target area newly set outside the charging target area; a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle; and a control unit that detects entry information of the vehicle entering the charging target area from the extended charging target area and/or entry/exit information that is information of the vehicle exiting the charging target area to the extended charging target area based on the map information and the position information, and outputs the entry/exit information to the center unit, wherein the center unit includes: and a calculation unit that calculates a charge amount based on the acquired entry/exit information.

According to such a configuration, in the in-vehicle device installed in the vehicle and exchanging information with the toll collection device installed in the toll station in the toll collection target area, entry/exit information, which is information for entering the toll collection target area from the extended toll collection target area and/or exiting the toll collection target area from the toll collection target area, is detected based on the map information of the extended toll collection target area newly set outside the toll collection target area and the acquired position information, and output to the central unit. In addition, the central unit calculates the charge amount based on the acquired entry/exit information.

In this way, the charge amount is calculated in the center unit based on the map information, the position information, and the entrance/exit information of the extended charging target area and the charging target area, and therefore, there is no need to set a flag or the like for determining whether or not the charging device enters the extended charging area as in the conventional case. This eliminates the need to perform a change operation for enabling the flag determination and the identification of the entry/exit information on the toll collector, and allows the toll collection area to be expanded while using the existing toll collector as it is.

The exchange of information between the vehicle-mounted device and the center device, such as when the entry/exit information detected by the vehicle-mounted device is output to the center device or when the information on the charge amount calculated by the center device is output to the vehicle-mounted device, may be performed via a charging device or via a device (e.g., a wide area communication device) that directly exchanges information between the vehicle-mounted device and the center device, regardless of the route of the exchange of information between the vehicle-mounted device and the center device.

A2 nd aspect of the present invention provides a charging system including: a central machine which is a higher-level device of the charging device arranged on the charging station of the charging target area; and a vehicle-mounted device that is provided on a vehicle and exchanges information with the central unit, the vehicle-mounted device including: a storage unit that stores map information of an extended charging target area newly set outside the charging target area; a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle; and a calculation unit that calculates a charge amount based on a detection result when entry/exit information, which is information on entry of the vehicle into the charging target area from the extended charging target area and/or exit of the vehicle to the extended charging target area from the charging target area, is detected based on the map information and the position information.

According to such a configuration, in the in-vehicle device that is installed in the vehicle and exchanges information with the toll collection device installed at the toll station in the toll collection target area, the entrance from the expanded toll collection target area into the toll collection target area is detected based on the map information of the expanded toll collection target area newly set outside the toll collection target area and the acquired position information, and the toll amount is calculated based on the detection result. In this way, the charging amount is calculated in the in-vehicle device based on the map information, the position information, and the entrance/exit information of the extended charging target area and the charging target area, and therefore, there is no need for setting a flag or the like for determining whether or not the vehicle enters the extended charging area on the charging device side.

In this way, since the charge amount is calculated in the in-vehicle device, it is not necessary to perform a change operation for enabling the mark determination and the recognition of the entry/exit information to the charging device, and the charging area can be expanded while using the existing charging device as it is.

In addition, when the charge amount calculated by the in-vehicle device is output to the central device, the charge amount may be output to the central device via a charging device, or may be output to the central device via a device (for example, a wide area communication device) that directly exchanges information with the central device, regardless of the route of exchange of the charge amount (charge amount) information between the in-vehicle device and the central device.

The vehicle-mounted device of the charging system may further include: the request unit requests the user for the charge amount corresponding to the charge amount information when the charge amount information is acquired.

Since the user is requested to charge the amount from the in-vehicle device, the settlement process can be performed from an electromagnetic medium such as an IC card mounted on the in-vehicle device.

The central unit of the charging system may further include: the request unit requests the user for the charge amount corresponding to the charge amount information when the charge amount information is acquired.

Since the user is requested to charge the amount from the central unit, the settlement processing can be performed by, for example, deducting the amount from the bank account of the user via the central unit.

The vehicle-mounted device of the charging system may further include: 1 st wide area communicator exchanging said entry and exit information with said central unit, said central unit comprising: a2 nd wide area communicator exchanging the entry and exit information with the in-vehicle device, the central unit including: and an unauthorized determination unit that compares the entry/exit information of the charging area of the in-vehicle device acquired from the in-vehicle device via the charging device with the entry/exit information acquired from the in-vehicle device via the 1 st wide area communication device and the 2 nd wide area communication device, and determines that unauthorized information is included in the entry/exit information if the comparison result does not match.

By comparing the entry/exit information of the charging area acquired from the charging device side with the entry/exit information of the charging area acquired from the wide area communication device side, for example, when the entry/exit information is falsified, it is possible to easily detect an illegal situation such as falsification.

The calculation unit of the charging system may include: a storage device for storing 1 st charging information related to an extended charging target area newly set outside the charging target area and 2 nd charging information related to the charging target area; and a money amount determination unit configured to determine the charge amount based on the entry/exit information, the 1 st charge information, and the 2 nd charge information.

Thus, when entering the extended charging target area, the charging amount in the extended charging target area and the charging amount in the charging target area are collected together. Thus, both the extended charging target area and the charging target area can be charged by one calculation unit. As a result, since it is not necessary to newly install a charging device in the extended charging target area, the facility cost can be reduced. Therefore, new settings for expanding the charging target area can be easily made.

The 1 st charging information of the charging system may include a charging table having a stay time in the extended charging target area as a parameter, and the amount determination unit may determine the charging amount in the extended charging target area using the stay time and the charging table when receiving the stay time in the extended charging target area from the in-vehicle device.

In the calculation of the charge amount, the stay time in the charging target area is considered to be extended, so that the charge amount can be set to a charge amount that further reflects the usage state of the road.

The 1 st charging information of the charging system may include a charging table having a travel distance in the extended charging target area as a parameter, and the amount determination unit may determine the charging amount in the extended charging target area using the travel distance and the charging table when receiving the travel distance in the extended charging target area from the in-vehicle device.

In the calculation of the charge amount, the travel distance in the extended charging target area is considered, and therefore the charge amount can be made to further reflect the usage state of the road.

In the case where a plurality of the extended charging target areas of the charging system are provided, the charging system may include the 1 st charging information corresponding to each of the extended charging target areas, the entrance/exit information may be associated with identification information of each of the extended charging target areas, and the amount determination unit may determine the charging amount using the 1 st charging information of the extended charging target area into which the vehicle enters, the first charging information being determined based on the entrance/exit information associated with the identification information of the extended charging target area.

When a plurality of extended charging target areas are set, the 1 st charging information is registered corresponding to each extended charging target area, so that detailed charging setting can be performed for each extended charging target area. Further, even when the vehicle enters a plurality of extended charging target areas, it is possible to charge the vehicle at once.

In the charging system, when the charging target area is an area in which a certain charge is imposed at the time of entry regardless of the usage state of the road, the charging system may include a return point count table having a stay time in the charging target area as a parameter, and the amount determination unit may determine a return point using the stay time and the return point count table and assign the return point to the owner of the vehicle when receiving the stay time in the charging target area from the vehicle-mounted device.

When the charging target area is an area in which a certain amount of charge is collected at the time of entry regardless of the usage state of the road, such as road charging, the points corresponding to the stay time in the charging target area are returned to the owner of the vehicle, and therefore, a user who erroneously entered the charging target area can be financially relieved.

Effects of the invention

The present invention has an effect of expanding the charging target area without changing the existing charging device.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a charging system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the charging device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a view of the charging target area when the vehicle enters the lane, viewed from the shoulder side.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a mark (marking) laid under the vehicle detector shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view showing the appearance of the marks shown in fig. 4 when the vehicle passes.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a center unit according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating a case where the in-vehicle device passes through the charging target area.

Fig. 9 is a diagram briefly explaining an operation of the in-vehicle device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a procedure of communication performed among the in-vehicle device, the center device, and the toll collection device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted device according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a center unit according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a diagram for briefly explaining the operation of the in-vehicle device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a center unit according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted device according to embodiment 4 of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted device according to embodiment 5 of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted device according to embodiment 6 of the present invention.

Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the dot count table.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the charging system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[ 1 st embodiment ]

Hereinafter, embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1. Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the charging system according to the present embodiment.

As shown in fig. 1, the toll collection system 1 is provided with a toll collection device (not shown) for detecting entrance and exit of a vehicle 3 into and/or from a toll collection target area a on all roads passing through a boundary of the toll collection target area a, which is a target area for road charging. For example, the toll collection device is provided in correspondence with each of an entrance lane where the vehicle 3 enters the toll collection target area a and a departure lane where the vehicle 3 exits from the toll collection target area a, and exchanges information of the vehicle-mounted device with the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle 3 passing through the corresponding entrance lane and departure lane.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the charging system. As shown in fig. 2, the toll collection device 2 includes a1 st antenna 5, a camera 6, a vehicle detector 7, and a2 nd antenna 8. The charging device 2 includes: a1 st antenna controller 9 connected to the 1 st antenna 5; a camera controller 10 connected to the camera 6; a vehicle detection controller 11 connected to the vehicle detector 7; a2 nd antenna controller 12 connected to the 2 nd antenna 8. Further, the charging device 2 includes: a general control machine 13; an environment controller 14 connected to the overall controller 13; a communication controller 15 connected to the overall controller 13. The 1 st antenna controller 9, the camera controller 10, the vehicle detection controller 11, the 2 nd antenna controller 12, and the collective controller 13 are connected to each other via a bus 16, and information exchange is possible. The communication controller 15 is communicably connected to a central unit 17, which is a higher-level device.

In the toll collection device 2 having the above configuration, the 1 st antenna 5, the camera 6, the vehicle detector 7, and the 2 nd antenna 8 are mounted on a gate-shaped support column disposed across the traveling road at the boundary of the toll collection target area a. Fig. 3 is a side view of the lane. The 1 st antenna 5 and the 2 nd antenna 8 are provided so as to easily receive signals from the in-vehicle devices of the vehicle 3 traveling on the corresponding travel lane. For example, the 1 st antenna 5 and the 2 nd antenna 8 are disposed so that the antenna beams face the corresponding travel lane.

The 1 st antenna 5 and the 2 nd antenna 8 acquire information of the in-vehicle device when the in-vehicle device passes near the area boundary of the charging target area a. Specifically, the 1 st antenna 5 and the 2 nd antenna 8 output a request signal to the in-vehicle device at a time when the vehicle enters the charging target area a from an extended charging target area B (described later in detail) and/or at a time when the vehicle exits from the charging target area a to the extended charging target area B, and acquire identification information of the in-vehicle device from the in-vehicle device. The identification information of the in-vehicle device includes a time (for example, year, month, and day) when the in-vehicle device enters the exit time, a number of the in-vehicle device assigned to the in-vehicle device in advance, an IC card number inserted into an IC card interface of the in-vehicle device, and the like. The 1 st antenna 5 and the 2 nd antenna 8 are disposed at a distance of about 10m to 15 m. The purpose is to ensure a processing time until the in-vehicle device outputs a response signal to the 2 nd antenna 8, based on a signal (for example, a request signal for identification information of the in-vehicle device) received from the 1 st antenna 5.

The camera 6 is a device for photographing a number plate (number plate) of an illegal vehicle when the illegal vehicle is detected. The illegal vehicle is, for example, a vehicle in which a vehicle-mounted device is not mounted, a vehicle in which a vehicle-mounted device corresponding to the type of vehicle is not mounted, a vehicle in which an IC card is not inserted into the vehicle-mounted device, a vehicle in which the remaining amount stored in the IC card is less than the amount of money to be collected and which cannot normally be charged, a vehicle in which a counterfeit vehicle-mounted device or a counterfeit IC card is mounted, or the like. The determination as to whether or not these vehicles are illegal is made based on the identification information of the vehicle-mounted device obtained from the vehicle-mounted device by the 1 st antenna 5 and the 2 nd antenna 8, etc., and details of the method of determining the illegal vehicle will be described later.

The vehicle detector 7 detects the passage of the vehicle 3. For example, a streak-shaped mark is provided on a road below the vehicle detector 7 as shown in fig. 4. The vehicle detector 7 monitors the stripe shape from above, and detects passage of the vehicle 3 when the stripe shape cannot be normally detected as shown in fig. 5.

As shown in fig. 1, an extended charging target area B that is newly set is set outside the charging target area a. For example, the extended charging target area B is an area that is set after the event when there is a request to extend the charging target area a that originally exists. The extended charging target area B may be provided so as to surround the charging target area a, may be provided so as to be partially adjacent to the charging target area a, or may be provided separately and not adjacent to the charging target area a.

In the extended charging target area B, charging devices are not provided on the entrance lane and the exit lane at the area boundary, as in the charging target area a described above. Instead, its entry and exit are detected by an on-board unit installed in the vehicle 3.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the in-vehicle device according to the present embodiment. As shown in fig. 6, the in-vehicle unit 50 includes: a power supply circuit 23 connected to the vehicle power supply 21 and the built-in battery 22; the 1 st wide area communicator 32; a GPS receiver (position information acquisition unit) 24 that acquires information on position information from GPS satellites to detect the current position; an onboard device storage device (storage unit) 25 that stores various information; a control unit 26; a communication unit 27 for communicating with the 1 st antenna 5, the 2 nd antenna 8, and the like of the charging apparatus 2; a display unit 28; a buzzer, an LED, or other reporting unit 29; an IC card insertion unit (request unit) 30 into which an IC card is inserted; and an IC card interface 31 provided in the IC card insertion section 30.

In fig. 6, various components such as the GPS receiver 24 may not be built in the in-vehicle device 50. For example, each structural element may be configured in a state in which information can be exchanged. As an example, the following configuration may be adopted: a portable terminal device having a GPS function is connected via an external terminal, and the GPS function provided in the portable terminal device is used as the GPS receiver 24.

The 1 st wide area communication device 32 communicates with an external device, and is communicably connected to, for example, the central unit 17 (see fig. 2) which is a higher-level device of the charging device 2.

The power supply circuit 23 mainly controls the voltage supplied from the vehicle power supply 21 to a voltage suitable for the in-vehicle equipment 50, and supplies to each part constituting the in-vehicle equipment 50. The built-in battery 22 is provided to be able to secure power to the extent that communication is performed even when the power supply from the vehicle power supply 21 is cut off.

The in-vehicle device storage 25 stores map information of the extended charging target area B set outside the charging target area a. The in-vehicle device storage device 25 stores information necessary for calculation of a charge amount and determination of an unauthorized vehicle, which will be described later, such as owner information of the vehicle, vehicle type information, vehicle information including a vehicle ID, current position information of the vehicle, identification information of an in-vehicle device, remaining money information read from an IC card, and card information. The current position information of the vehicle 3 is information indicating the current position of the vehicle 3 estimated by the control unit 26 based on the map information and the position information acquired from the GPS receiver 24.

The IC card inserted into the IC card insertion portion 30 is, for example, a contact type IC card, and incorporates an IC chip on which a flash memory, an MPU, or the like is mounted. The IC card stores card information such as a card ID number, remaining money, a use history, and the like. Information recorded in the IC card can be read out and written in by the control section 26 via the IC card interface 31.

In the in-vehicle device 50, when the IC card is inserted into the IC card insertion portion 30, the control portion 26 reads the IC card information and the remaining amount recorded in the IC card through the IC card interface 31 and writes the read information and the remaining amount into the in-vehicle device storage device 25, and displays the remaining amount on the display portion 28 for a certain period of time (for example, about 10 seconds). When the information can be read normally from the IC card, the control unit 26 operates the notification unit 29 to notify the user of the normal operation. Thus, for example, when the notification unit 29 is a buzzer, the normal state is notified by a buzzer sound, and when the LED or the like is lit, the normal state is notified.

On the other hand, when information cannot be read from the IC card, the control unit 26 causes the display unit 28 to display an error, and causes the notification unit 29 to operate to notify the user of the error, thereby prompting the IC card to be inserted again. The reporting method of the reporting unit 29 differs between normal and abnormal.

When the request signal is acquired from the toll collection device 2, the control unit 26 reads the identification information of the in-vehicle device and the vehicle information stored in the in-vehicle device storage device 25, and outputs them to the toll collection device 2 as a response signal to the request signal. When the request signal is acquired from the toll device 2, the control unit 26 detects entry information when the vehicle 3 enters the toll collection target area a from the extended toll collection target area B and/or entry/exit information that is information when the vehicle exits from the toll collection target area a to the extended toll collection target area B, and outputs the entry/exit information to the center unit 17 via the 1 st wide area communication device 32. The control unit 26 outputs current position information and vehicle information used when the entry/exit information is detected to the center unit 17 together with the entry/exit information.

As shown in fig. 7, the center unit 17 includes a2 nd wide area communication unit 18, an unauthorized determination unit 19, and a calculation unit 20. The 2 nd wide area communicator 18 communicates with an external device, for example, for communicably connecting with a vehicle-mounted device. In the present embodiment, the 2 nd wide area communication device 18 is described as being built in the center device 17, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be used by connecting a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone to the center device 17 through a connection terminal provided therein.

The unauthorized determination unit 19 determines whether or not the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as an "unauthorized vehicle") based on the information on entrance and exit of the vehicle 3 based on the identification information on the vehicle-mounted device and the vehicle information acquired from the toll device 2 and the information on entrance and exit of the vehicle 3 acquired from the vehicle-mounted device via the 2 nd wide area communication device 18.

As shown in fig. 8, a case where the charging devices 2x, 2y, and 2z are provided at the area boundary between the extended charging target area B and the charging target area a will be described as an example. The fraud determination unit 19 of the center unit 17 detects a response signal received by the toll device 2y from the vehicle 3 (for example, the vehicle ID "C"), and detects exit from the toll target area a via the toll device 2y based on the response signal. At this time, the illegitimate determination unit 19 detects the entry/exit information associated with the vehicle ID "C" from the entry/exit information acquired via the 2 nd wide area communication device 18.

Here, since the entering and exiting information associated with the vehicle ID "C" acquired by the illegitimate determination unit 19 via the 2 nd wide area communication device 18 is determined based on the actual vehicle position detected by the GPS, the illegitimate determination unit 19 compares the vehicle position of the vehicle 3 of the vehicle ID "C" estimated based on the entering and exiting information with the vehicle position based on the response signal acquired from the toll collection device side. Based on the information obtained from both of the above-described devices, it is determined whether or not the detected (estimated) vehicle positions match. If the determination results show that the vehicle ID "C" is not the legitimate vehicle (for example, the position of the toll device 2z is detected in the entrance/exit information), the illegitimate determination unit 19 estimates that the response signal output from the vehicle 3 is in a state of being tampered with illegally.

The unauthorized determination unit 19 determines whether or not the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle based on whether or not the vehicle 3 has the in-vehicle device 50 corresponding to the vehicle type, based on the response signal acquired from the toll device 2. For example, in the vehicle information, although the "large size" of a truck or the like is indicated as the vehicle type, if the information on the vehicle type detected from the identification information of the in-vehicle device is "small size" of a light automobile or the like, it is determined that the vehicle is an illegal vehicle as a vehicle in which an in-vehicle device different from the actual vehicle type is mounted.

Thus, the immobility determination unit 19 outputs the determination result of whether or not the vehicle is an immobility vehicle as described above to the calculation unit 20.

The calculation unit 20 calculates the amount of charge to be charged to the vehicle user as the road use fee of the user of the vehicle 3 based on the acquired entry/exit information. The calculation unit 20 calculates the charge amount based on the determination result of whether or not the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle acquired from the unauthorized determination unit 19. For example, the calculation unit 20 calculates a preferential charge amount to which a discount or the like is applied for the vehicle 3 determined not to be an illegal vehicle, and registers the vehicle 3 determined to be an illegal vehicle in a blacklist for recording information on the illegal vehicle, and calculates a preferential charge amount to which the discount or the like is not applied.

Specifically, the calculation unit 20 includes: a central unit storage device 37 for storing a blacklist 34 in which information on an illegal vehicle is registered, a1 st charging table (1 st charging information) 35 in which charging information on an extended charging target area B is registered, and a2 nd charging table (2 nd charging information) 36 in which charging information on a charging target area a is registered; and a money amount determination unit 38 for determining the charge amount of the vehicle 3 to which the in-vehicle device 50 is attached, based on the entry/exit information received from the in-vehicle device 50.

In the 1 st charge table 35, as the 1 st charge amount, for example, an amount of money collected according to the type of vehicle (difference between large, medium, small, and the like) is registered. For example, $ 0.8 for small sizes, $ 1 for medium sizes, $ 2 for large sizes, etc.

As described above, the 2 nd charging table 36 registers the amount of money according to the vehicle type, and further registers the 2 nd charging amount divided into the amount of money to be collected when entering the extended charging target area B and the amount of money to be collected when not entering the extended charging target area B. For example, in a medium-sized vehicle, $ 0.5 is registered in the case of entering the extended charging target area B, and $ 1 is registered in the case of not entering.

Thus, the amount of money is changed between the case of entering the extended charging target area B and the case of not entering the extended charging target area B, and a preferential amount of money to which a discount or the like corresponding to the route, the distance, or the like is applied is set, so that the driver or the like of the vehicle 3 passing through the extended charging target area B can feel a good price.

Next, the operation contents of the in-vehicle device 50 in the case where the vehicle 3 enters the charging target area a after entering the extended charging target area B will be described with reference to fig. 6 and 9.

As shown in fig. 9, the GPS receiver 24 of the in-vehicle device 50 acquires position information on the current position from a plurality of GPS satellites during travel. When the GPS receiver 24 outputs the acquired position information to the control unit 26, the control unit 26 detects the current position information of the vehicle 3 based on the position information and the map information stored in the on-vehicle storage device 25, and stores the current position information in the on-vehicle storage device 25. Next, when the vehicle 3 passes near the toll device 2 and the control unit 26 receives the request signal from the 1 st antenna 5 of the toll device 2, the entrance/exit information of the vehicle 3 is detected based on the current position information stored in the in-vehicle storage device 25.

For example, when the current position information stored in the in-vehicle storage device 25 is "extended charging target area B" and the control unit 26 detects that the new current position information is "charging target area a" after receiving the request signal from the 1 st antenna 5, it detects that the vehicle 3 "enters the charging target area a from the extended charging target area B" and sets it as entry/exit information. For example, when the current position information stored in the in-vehicle device storage 25 is "charging target area a" and the control unit 26 detects that the new current position information is "extended charging target area B" after receiving the request signal from the 1 st antenna 5, it detects that the vehicle 3 "exits from the charging target area a to the extended charging target area B" and sets it as entry/exit information.

The control unit 26 outputs the entry/exit information thus detected (for example, "enter from the extended charging target area B to the charging target area a") to the center unit 17 via the 1 st wide area communication device 32.

The center unit 17 determines a charge amount as a road use fee to be collected from the user of the vehicle 3 based on the entrance/exit information acquired via the 2 nd wide area communication device 18, and transmits information of the determined charge amount to the in-vehicle device 50. When receiving the information of the charge amount via the 1 st wide area communication device 32, the control unit 26 of the in-vehicle device 50 subtracts the amount of money corresponding to the acquired information of the charge amount from the remaining money recorded on the IC card, and updates and records the remaining money as the remaining money on the IC card.

Next, details of the communication process performed among the in-vehicle device 50, the toll collection device 2, and the center unit 17 when entering the toll collection target area a will be described with reference to fig. 10.

First, when approaching the area boundary of the charging target area a, the control unit 26 of the in-vehicle device receives a request signal for identification information of the in-vehicle device transmitted from the 1 st antenna 5 of the charging apparatus 2 via the communication unit 27 (step SA1 of fig. 10). Upon receiving the request signal, the control unit 26 reads the identification information of the vehicle-mounted device and the vehicle information from the vehicle-mounted device storage device 25 as a response signal, and transmits the response signal to the toll device 2 via the communication unit 27 (step SA2 of fig. 10).

The control unit 26 that has received the request signal detects entry/exit information based on the current position information stored in the in-vehicle device storage device 25, and outputs the entry/exit information to the center unit 17 via the 1 st wide area communication device 32 (step SA3 of fig. 10). The charging apparatus 2 associates the acquired response signal with the identification information of the charging apparatus 2 itself and outputs the resultant signal to the central unit 17 (step SA4 in fig. 10).

The central unit 17, which is a higher-level device of the toll collection device 2, determines the amount of money (charge amount) to be collected from the vehicle user based on the response signal acquired from the toll collection device 2 and the entry/exit information acquired from the in-vehicle device 50. The center unit 17 determines whether or not the vehicle 3 has the in-vehicle device 50 corresponding to the vehicle type based on the response signal, and determines that the vehicle having the in-vehicle device 50 not corresponding to the vehicle type is an illegal vehicle.

When the central unit 17 determines that the vehicle is not an unauthorized vehicle as a result of the determination, the central unit calculates the charge amount based on the 1 st charge table 35 and the 2 nd charge table 36. On the other hand, in the case of an illegal vehicle, the identification information of the on-board device installed in the vehicle 3 determined as an illegal vehicle is registered in the blacklist 34, and the charge amount of the vehicle 3 is calculated based on the 1 st charge amount and the 2 nd charge amount for which a discount or the like is not applied.

The center unit 17 calculates the charge amount to be charged to the user based on the entry/exit information acquired from the in-vehicle device 50, the identification information of the in-vehicle device acquired from the charging apparatus 2 side, and the like, and outputs information of the calculated charge amount to the in-vehicle device 50 via the 2 nd wide area communication device 18 (step SA5 of fig. 10). For example, when the vehicle type is middle and the vehicle enters the extended charging target area B, $ 1 is extracted from the 1 st charging table as the 1 st charging amount, $ 0.5 is extracted from the 2 nd charging table as the 2 nd charging amount, and $ 1.5, which is the sum of the 1 st charging amount and the 2 nd charging amount, is calculated as the charging amount charged to the user of the vehicle 3 as the road use fee. Then, the information of the calculated charge amount is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 50 via the 2 nd wide area communication device 18.

When receiving the charge amount information via the 1 st wide area communicator 32, the in-vehicle device 50 transmits an affirmative signal indicating completion of communication to the 2 nd wide area communicator 18 (step SA6 in fig. 10), and subtracts the charge amount from the remaining amount of the IC card to update the remaining amount of the IC card (step SA7 in fig. 10). Next, when the remainder update process is normally performed, the control unit 26 reads the updated remainder and the authentication sub-data from the IC card (step SA8 in fig. 10). Here, the authentication sub-data is information for notifying that charging is normally performed.

As described above, in the toll collection system 1 according to the present embodiment, in the in-vehicle device 50 installed in the vehicle and exchanging information with the toll collection device 2 installed at the toll booth in the toll collection target area a, entry/exit information, which is information for entering the toll collection target area a from the extended toll collection target area B and/or exiting the toll collection target area a to the extended toll collection target area B, is detected based on the map information of the extended toll collection target area B newly set outside the toll collection target area a and the acquired position information, and output to the center unit 17. The central unit 17 calculates the charge amount based on the acquired entry/exit information. Thus, the charge amount is calculated in the center unit 17 based on the map information, the position information, and the entry/exit information of the extended charging target area B and the charging target area a, and therefore, there is no need for setting a flag or the like for determining whether or not the charging device 2 enters the extended charging area as in the conventional case. This eliminates the need to perform a change operation for making the toll device 2 perform a mark determination or the like, and allows the toll collection area to be expanded while using the existing toll device 2 as it is.

When the vehicle 3 passes through the toll collection device 2, the center unit 17 determines the presence or absence of an unauthorized vehicle based on the identification information of the in-vehicle device acquired from the toll collection device 2 side and the entry/exit information of the vehicle acquired from the vehicle 3 side via the 2 nd wide area communication unit 18, so that the accuracy for detecting an unauthorized vehicle can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the case where the request unit is provided in the in-vehicle device 50, the information of the charge amount calculated by the center unit 17 is output to the in-vehicle device 50 side, and the settlement processing is performed in the in-vehicle device 50 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the request unit may be provided on the center unit side. In this case, based on the information of the charge amount calculated by the center unit 17, processing such as deduction directly from the bank account of the user of the vehicle 3 may be performed on the center unit 17 side by a not-shown settlement processing device connected to the center unit 17. Thus, the settlement is completed by the processing of the central unit 17 without performing the settlement on the in-vehicle device 50 side, and the communication load imposed on the communication medium of the wide area wireless connected by the 1 st wide area communicator 32 and the 2 nd wide area communicator 18 can be reduced.

[ 2 nd embodiment ]

Next, a charging system according to embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described.

The charging system according to the present embodiment is different from embodiment 1 described above in that a calculation unit for calculating a charging amount to be charged as a road use fee of a vehicle is provided on the vehicle-mounted device side. Hereinafter, the charging system according to the present embodiment will be described mainly with respect to differences from embodiment 1, with the description of common points omitted. As in the above-described embodiment 1, the settlement process may be performed in the in-vehicle device or in the center device, but in the present embodiment, a case where the settlement process is performed on the charge amount calculated in the in-vehicle device at the center device side is described.

As shown in fig. 11, the in-vehicle device 50a of the present embodiment further includes: when the entry/exit information is detected, the calculation unit 20 calculates the charge amount based on the detection result. Specifically, when the entry information, which is the information on the entry of the vehicle into the charging target area from the extended charging target area and/or the exit of the vehicle from the charging target area to the extended charging target area, is detected based on the map information and the position information stored in the in-vehicle device storage device 25, the calculation unit 20 calculates the charging amount based on the detection result. Since the respective portions of the calculation unit 20 and the processing of the respective portions are the same as those described in embodiment 1, detailed description thereof is omitted.

As shown in fig. 12, the center unit 17a includes the 2 nd wide area communication unit 18, the unauthorized determination unit 19, and the request unit 40.

The request unit 40 requests a road toll collection amount from a vehicle user. For example, the requesting unit 40 notifies the settlement device 41 connected to the center 17a of the charge amount information, and collects from the settlement device 41 the amount of money corresponding to the charge amount information acquired from the vehicle user. For example, the settlement device 41 is a device that performs processing for reducing the amount of charge from the bank account of the vehicle user.

Next, the operation contents of the in-vehicle device 50a when the vehicle enters the charging target area after entering the extended charging target area will be described with reference to fig. 11 and 12.

When the vehicle enters the charging target area from the extended charging target area, a request signal for identification information of the in-vehicle device 50a is transmitted from the 1 st antenna 5 of the charging device, and the in-vehicle device transmits the identification information of the in-vehicle device 50a via the communication unit 27. The current position information of the vehicle is stored in the in-vehicle device storage device 25 based on the position information detected by the GPS receiver 24 of the in-vehicle device 50a and the map information stored in the in-vehicle device storage device 25.

When entry/exit information indicating that the vehicle enters the charging target area from the extended charging target area is detected based on the current position information, the entry/exit information indicating that the vehicle enters the charging target area from the extended charging target area is output to the center unit 17a via the 1 st wide area communication unit 32 of the in-vehicle device 50 a. The center unit 17a estimates entrance/exit information of the vehicle based on the identification information of the in-vehicle device 50a acquired from the toll device side, and entrance/exit information acquired via the 2 nd wide area communication device 18. It is determined whether the vehicle is an illegal vehicle. The center unit 17a transmits the determination result of whether or not the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle to the in-vehicle unit 50a via the 2 nd wide area communication unit 18.

The calculation unit 20 of the in-vehicle device 50a determines the charge amount as the road use fee to be collected from the user of the vehicle 3 based on the determination result of whether or not the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle acquired from the center unit 17a and the entrance/exit information detected by the control unit 26 a. The control unit 26a of the in-vehicle device 50a transmits the information of the charge amount to the center unit 17a via the 1 st wide area communication device 32. When the center unit 17a acquires the information of the charge amount via the 2 nd wide area communication unit 18, the request unit 40 of the center unit 17a notifies the settlement device 41 connected to the center unit 17a of the information of the charge amount. The settlement device 41 collects an amount of money corresponding to the information of the charge amount from the vehicle user.

As described above, according to the toll collection system of the present embodiment, in the in-vehicle device 50a installed in the vehicle and exchanging information with the toll collection device installed at the toll booth in the toll collection target area, the entrance from the extended toll collection target area to the toll collection target area is detected based on the map information of the extended toll collection target area newly set outside the toll collection target area and the acquired position information, and the toll collection amount is calculated based on the detection result. Thus, the vehicle-mounted device 50a calculates the charge amount based on the map information, the position information, and the entrance/exit information of the extended charging target area and the charging target area, and therefore, there is no need to set a flag or the like for determining whether or not the vehicle enters the extended charging area on the charging device side. The charge amount calculated by the in-vehicle device 50a is notified to the center unit 17a via the 1 st wide area communication device 32. This eliminates the need to perform a modification operation for recognizing entry/exit information and the like in the charging device, and allows the charging area to be expanded while using the existing charging device as it is.

[ 3 rd embodiment ]

Next, a charging system according to embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described.

The charging system according to the present embodiment is different from the above-described embodiments 1 and 2 in that a plurality of extended charging target areas are set. Hereinafter, the charging system according to the present embodiment will be described mainly with respect to differences from the charging system according to embodiment 1 and embodiment 2, with the description of common points omitted.

Fig. 13 shows a case where a plurality of extended charging target areas B1, B2 are set, and the vehicle 3 enters the extended charging target area B2 from the extended charging target area B1 and further enters the charging target area a.

As shown in fig. 14, in the in-vehicle device storage device 25B of the in-vehicle device 50a, the map information of each of the extended charging target areas B1, B2 and the identification information B1, B2 assigned to each of the extended charging target areas B1, B2 are stored in association with each other. As shown in fig. 15, the central unit storage 37B of the central unit 17B stores the 1 st charging tables 35B1 and 35B2 relating to the respective extended charging target areas B1 and B2 in association with the identification information B1 and B2 assigned to the respective extended charging target areas B1 and B2.

In fig. 13 to 15, when the vehicle 3 enters the extended charging target area B1, the control unit 26B of the in-vehicle device 50B detects that the vehicle 3 enters the extended charging target area B1 based on the information received by the GPS receiver 24 and the map information stored in the in-vehicle device storage device 25B, and stores the detected information as entry/exit information in the in-vehicle device storage device 25B.

When the vehicle 3 enters the extended charging target area B2, the control unit 26B detects this and stores the entry into the extended charging target area B2 as entry/exit information in the in-vehicle device storage device 25B. When entering the charging target area a, the control unit 26b of the in-vehicle device 50b obtains the request signal via the communication unit 27, and outputs the identification information of the in-vehicle device 50b from the in-vehicle device storage device 25b to the charging device. The control unit 26b outputs entry/exit information detected based on the current position information stored in the in-vehicle device storage device 25b to the center unit 17b via the 1 st wide area communication device 32.

The center unit 17b determines whether or not the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle based on the entry/exit information acquired via the 2 nd wide area communication unit 18 and the identification information of the in-vehicle device acquired from the toll collection device, and calculates the charge amount corresponding to the determination result.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 15, the money amount determination unit 38B of the center unit 17B refers to the 1 st charging tables 35B1 and 35B2 associated with the identification information B1 and B2 of the extended charging target areas B1 and B2, obtains the 1 st charging amount in the extended charging target areas B1 and B2, and obtains the 2 nd charging amount in the charging target area a with reference to the 2 nd charging table 36. Then, the 1 st and 2 nd charge amounts are added to calculate a charge amount as a road use charge for the vehicle 3. Then, the information of the charge amount is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 50b via the 2 nd wide area communicator 18.

When receiving the charge amount information via the 1 st wide area communication device 32, the control unit 26b of the in-vehicle device 50b subtracts the charge amount from the remaining amount recorded in the IC card, and updates and records the remaining amount as the remaining amount in the IC card. The details of communication are performed according to the processing steps shown in fig. 10.

As described above, according to the charging system of the present embodiment, when a plurality of extended charging target areas are set, the charging amount corresponding to each extended charging target area is set, and the information for entering and exiting each extended charging target area is transmitted from the in-vehicle device 50b to the center unit 17b in association with the identification information of each extended charging target area, so that the extended charging target area where the vehicle 3 enters can be easily identified on the center unit 17b side. This makes it possible to quickly determine the charging amount of the road use fee in the extended charging target area into which the vehicle enters. Further, since the 1 st tariff table 35B1 or 35B2 is stored in the center machine storage 37B in association with each of the extended charging target areas B1 or B2, the charging amount can be set in detail for each of the extended charging target areas. Further, even when the vehicle 3 enters a plurality of extended charging target areas, it is possible to charge the fee at once.

In the present embodiment, the case where 2 extended charging target areas are set has been described, but the number of the extended charging target areas B is not limited to this. Further, a plurality of extended charging target areas B may be set adjacent to each other.

[ 4 th embodiment ]

Next, a charging system according to embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described.

The charging system according to the present embodiment is different from the charging systems according to embodiments 1 and 2 described above in that the road use fee for the extended charging target area B is determined according to the stay time. Hereinafter, the charging system according to the present embodiment will be described mainly with respect to differences from the charging system according to embodiment 1 and embodiment 2, with the description of common points omitted.

As shown in fig. 16, the in-vehicle device 50c of the present embodiment further includes: the timer 33 is used for measuring the stay time in the extended charging target area B. In the configuration diagram of the center unit 17 shown in fig. 7, the center unit according to the present embodiment is configured such that the 1 st tariff table 35 provided in the center unit storage device 37 is a tariff table (not shown) having a stay time as a parameter.

As shown in fig. 16, when the vehicle 3 enters the extended charging target area B, the control unit 26c of the in-vehicle device 50c detects the entrance to the extended charging target area B, and operates the timer 33. Thereby, the timer 33 measures the stay time in the extended charging target area B. Next, when entering the charging target area a, the control unit 26c of the in-vehicle device 50c transmits the vehicle information and the like via the 1 st wide area communication device 32, and also transmits the stay time measured by the timer 33 to the center unit 17. For example, when receiving the request signal from the 1 st antenna of the charging device, the control unit 26c stops the operation of the timer 33, reads the stay time at that time, and transmits the read stay time to the center unit 17.

The center unit 17 detects entry/exit information indicating entry into the extended charging target area B, and notifies the amount determination unit 38 of the entry/exit information. The amount determination unit 38 calculates the 1 st charge amount corresponding to the stay time of the extended charging target area B using the 1 st charging table 35 indicated by the function relating to the stay time, extracts the 2 nd charge amount of the charging target area a corresponding to the vehicle 3 from the 2 nd charging table 36, and adds the two charge amounts to calculate the charge amount of the vehicle 3. Then, the information of the determined charge amount is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 50c via the 2 nd wide area communication device 18.

When receiving the information on the charge amount corresponding to the stay time via the 1 st wide area communication device 32, the control unit 26c of the in-vehicle device 50c deducts the amount corresponding to the information on the charge amount from the remaining amount recorded in the IC card, updates and records the remaining amount as the remaining amount in the IC card, and clears the value of the timer 33. The communication between the center unit 17 and the in-vehicle device 50c is performed in accordance with the processing procedure shown in fig. 10.

As described above, according to the charging system of the present embodiment, since the stay time in the extended charging target area B is transmitted to the center unit 17, the center unit 17 can calculate the charging amount as the road use fee in consideration of the stay time in the extended charging target area B. This makes it possible to set a road use fee that further reflects the use status of the road.

The timer 33 is used as a means for detecting the stay time, but instead, the stay time may be measured using time data included in the GPS data acquired by the GPS receiver 24.

In the present embodiment, since the charge amount is determined based on the parking time in the extended charging target area B, if the vehicle is parked in the parking lot located in the extended charging target area B, the parking time is measured using the timer 33, and this is reflected in the road use fee. Therefore, the operation of the timer 33 is stopped while the vehicle is parked in the parking lot located in the extended charging target area B.

For example, the control unit 26c of the in-vehicle device 50c stops the operation of the timer 33 when receiving the inquiry signal from the entrance antenna provided at the entrance of the parking lot, and operates the timer 33 when receiving the confirmation signal indicating that the parking lot fee has been collected from the exit antenna provided at the exit of the parking lot. Thus, the timer 33 is stopped while the vehicle is parked in the parking lot, and therefore, the parking time can be prevented from being included in the parking time.

[ 5 th embodiment ]

Next, a charging system according to embodiment 5 of the present invention will be described.

The charging system according to the present embodiment is different from the charging system according to embodiment 4 in which the charge amount is determined based on the stay time, in that the charge amount is determined based on the travel distance in the extended charging target area B. Hereinafter, the charging system according to the present embodiment will be described with the difference from embodiment 4, except for the difference.

As shown in fig. 17, the in-vehicle device 50d of the present embodiment includes a travel distance accumulator 34 that accumulates travel distances, instead of the timer 33 of the in-vehicle device 50c of embodiment 4. The travel distance accumulator 34 accumulates the travel distance using information such as the GPS receiver 24 and the gyroscope 42 mounted on the vehicle and the vehicle speed pulse output from the vehicle 3. In fig. 7, the center unit 17 of the present embodiment is configured such that the 1 st tariff 35 provided in the center unit storage device 37 is a tariff having a travel distance as a parameter.

In fig. 17, when the vehicle 3 enters the extended charging target area B, the control unit 26d of the in-vehicle device 50d detects the entrance to the extended charging target area B, and operates the travel distance totalizer 34. Thereby, the travel distance in the extended charging target area B is accumulated by the travel distance accumulator 34. Next, when entering the charging target area a, the control unit 26d of the in-vehicle device 50d transmits the travel distance integrated by the travel distance integrator 34 to the center unit 17 via the 1 st wide area communication device 32 in addition to the vehicle information and the like. For example, when receiving the request signal from the 1 st antenna 5 of the toll device 2, the control unit 26d stops the operation of the travel distance accumulator 34, reads the travel distance at that time, and transmits the read travel distance to the center unit 17.

The center unit 17 detects entry into the extended charging target area B and notifies the amount determination unit 38 of the entry. The amount determination unit 38 calculates the 1 st charge amount, which is the road use charge corresponding to the travel distance related to the extended charging target area B, using the 1 st charging table 35 indicated by the function related to the travel distance, extracts the 2 nd charge amount of the charging target area a corresponding to the vehicle type of the vehicle 3 from the 2 nd charging table 36, and adds the two charge amounts to calculate the charge amount of the vehicle 3. Then, the information of the determined charge amount is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 50d via the 2 nd wide area communication device 18.

When receiving the charge amount corresponding to the travel distance via the 1 st wide area communication device 32, the control unit 26d of the in-vehicle device 50d deducts the charge amount from the remaining amount recorded in the IC card, updates and records the remaining amount as the remaining amount in the IC card, and clears the value of the travel distance accumulator 34. The details of the communication between the center unit 17 and the in-vehicle device 50d are based on the processing steps shown in fig. 10.

As described above, according to the charging system of the present embodiment, since the travel distance in the extended charging target area B is transmitted to the center unit 17, the center unit 17 can calculate the charge amount in consideration of the travel distance in the extended charging target area B. This makes it possible to set the charge amount that further reflects the usage status of the road.

In the present embodiment, in order to prevent illegal activities such as falsification or eavesdropping of information, communication data including the travel distance between the in-vehicle device 50d and the center unit 17 may be encrypted.

[ 6 th embodiment ]

Next, a charging system according to embodiment 6 of the present invention will be described.

The charging system according to the present embodiment is a system that targets a charging target area a in which a certain amount of charge is collected only when the charging target area a enters a certain area, such as road charging.

In the present embodiment, when the stay period in the charging target area a is within a predetermined period, the point (point) corresponding to the stay period is returned to the user, in consideration of a case where the user erroneously enters the charging target area a, a case where the user immediately exits although entering the charging target area a, or the like. Hereinafter, the charging system according to the present embodiment will be described with the difference from embodiment 4, except for the difference.

In fig. 18, when the vehicle 3 enters the charging target area a and a series of processing relating to charging between the control unit 26e of the in-vehicle device 50e and the 1 st wide area communication device 32 is completed, the control unit 26e resets the value of the timer 33 and then operates the timer 33 again. This makes it possible to measure the stay time in the charging target area a.

Next, when the vehicle 3 exits the charging target area a, the control unit 26e of the in-vehicle device 50e detects this and stops the operation of the timer 33. Next, the time counted by the timer 33 is read to obtain the staying time in the charging target area a, and the staying time is associated with the vehicle information and the like and transmitted to the center unit 17 via the 1 st wide area communication unit 32. When receiving the stay time associated with the vehicle information or the like, the center unit 17 determines the number of points corresponding to the stay time based on the returned point number table. Here, fig. 19 shows an example of the return point table. In fig. 19, the horizontal axis represents the retention time, and the vertical axis represents the number of return points. In this way, the return point table is set such that the longer the stay time is, the smaller the return point is, while the stay time is within Tmax. Fig. 19 shows a case where the stay time and the number of return points are inversely proportional, but this is merely an example and is not limited to this example. For example, the stay time may be divided into a plurality of stages, and the number of return points may be changed in stages for each stage.

Returning to fig. 18, when the center unit 17 obtains the return point number P1 corresponding to the stay time T1 based on the return point number, the center unit 17 transmits the return point number to the in-vehicle device 50 e. When receiving the return points via the 1 st wide area communication device 32, the control unit 26e of the in-vehicle device 50e stores the return points in the in-vehicle device storage device 25. At this time, when the return point count is recorded in the in-vehicle device storage device 25, the return point count is updated by adding the return point count P1 received this time to the return point count.

Then, the control unit 26e transmits the return point number recorded in the in-vehicle device storage device 25 together with information such as vehicle information in the exchange of information with the center unit 17 performed next time the vehicle 3 enters the charging target area a. Thus, the central unit 17 calculates the charge amount by which the amount corresponding to the return point is deducted.

As described above, according to the charging system of the present embodiment, in the charging target area a in which a certain amount of charge is collected at the time of entry regardless of the usage state of the road, such as road charging, the points corresponding to the stay time in the charging target area a are returned to the owner of the vehicle, so that the user who erroneously entered the charging target area a can be financially relieved.

Further, when the vehicle 3 is parked in the parking lot located in the charging target area a, the operation of the timer 33 is stopped, and it is possible to prevent the parking time from being included in the parking time.

In the present embodiment, the number of returned points is determined based on the stay time in the charging target area a, but instead, the number of returned points may be determined based on the travel distance in the charging target area a. In this case, instead of the timer 33 shown in fig. 16, the travel distance accumulator 34 (see fig. 17) may be provided, and the control unit 26e may accumulate the travel distance in the charging target area a by operating the travel distance accumulator 34 at the same timing as the timing at which the timer 33 is operated.

In the present embodiment, the case where the return point table is provided in the center unit 17 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the settlement process is performed on the in-vehicle device 50e side, the return point table may be provided on the in-vehicle device 50e side.

[ other application examples ]

Although the charging system according to the present invention is applied to road charging as described above, the present invention can also be applied to an ETC system. For example, when the toll collection target area (existing toll road) a is expanded, the entry of the expanded toll collection target area (expanded toll road) B is detected by the GPS receiver 24 of the in-vehicle device 50. At this time, the in-vehicle device transmits the vehicle information and the like together with the entrance/exit information at the exit tollgate. Thus, the central unit 17 of the host device of the ETC system can recognize the entrance from the extended charging target area B to the charging target area a, and thus calculates the road use fee (fee amount) taking into account the fee of the extended charging target area B.

Description of the reference symbols

1 charging system

3 vehicle

17 center machine

18 nd 2 wide area communicator

19 illegal determination unit

20 calculating part

24GPS receiver

25 vehicle-mounted device storage device

31IC card insertion part

32 st 1 wide area communicator

35. 35b1, 35b 21 st tariff

36 nd 2 charging meter

37. 37b central machine storage device

38. 38b money amount determination unit

40 request part

50. 50a, 50b, 50c, 50d, 50e vehicle-mounted device

A charging target area

B expanding the charging target area

Claims (10)

1. A charging system, comprising: a central machine which is a higher-level device of the charging device arranged on the charging station of the charging target area; and a vehicle-mounted device which is arranged on the vehicle and exchanges information with the central machine,

the on-vehicle ware includes:

a storage unit that stores map information of an extended charging target area newly set outside the charging target area;

a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle;

a control unit that detects entry information of the vehicle entering the charging target area from the extended charging target area and/or entry/exit information that is information of the vehicle exiting the charging target area to the extended charging target area, based on the map information and the position information, and outputs the entry/exit information to the central device; and

a1 st wide area communicator exchanging the entry and exit information with the central unit,

the central machine comprises:

a2 nd wide area communicator exchanging the entry and exit information with the in-vehicle device; and

and an unauthorized determination unit that compares the identification information of the in-vehicle device and the entry/exit information of the vehicle acquired from the toll collection device with the entry/exit information acquired from the in-vehicle device via the 1 st wide area communication device and the 2 nd wide area communication device, and determines that unauthorized information is included in the entry/exit information if the comparison result does not match.

2. The charging system as set forth in claim 1,

the central machine comprises:

and a calculation unit that calculates a charge amount based on the acquired entry/exit information.

3. The charging system as set forth in claim 1,

the on-vehicle ware includes:

and a calculation unit that calculates a charge amount based on a detection result when the entry/exit information is detected.

4. A charging system according to claim 1 or 2,

the on-vehicle ware includes:

the request unit requests the user for the charge amount corresponding to the charge amount information when the charge amount information is acquired.

5. A charging system according to claim 1 or 2,

the central machine comprises:

the request unit requests the user for the charge amount corresponding to the charge amount information when the charge amount information is acquired.

6. A charging system according to claim 2 or 3,

the calculation section includes:

a storage device for storing 1 st charging information related to an extended charging target area newly set outside the charging target area and 2 nd charging information related to the charging target area; and

and a money amount determination unit configured to determine the charge amount based on the entry/exit information, the 1 st charge information, and the 2 nd charge information.

7. A charging system as claimed in claim 6,

the 1 st charging information includes a charging table having a stay time in the extended charging target area as a parameter,

the amount determination unit determines the charge amount in the extended charging target area using the stay time and the charging table when the stay time in the extended charging target area is received from the in-vehicle device.

8. A charging system as claimed in claim 6,

the 1 st charging information includes a charging table having a travel distance in the extended charging target area as a parameter,

the amount determination unit determines the charge amount in the extended charging target area using the travel distance and the charging table when the travel distance in the extended charging target area is received from the in-vehicle device.

9. A charging system as claimed in claim 6,

in the case where a plurality of the extended charging target areas are provided, the 1 st charging information is provided corresponding to each of the extended charging target areas,

the entry/exit information is associated with identification information of each of the extended charging target areas,

the amount determination unit determines the charge amount using the 1 st charge information of the extended charging target area into which the vehicle enters, the charge information being determined based on the entry/exit information associated with the identification information of the extended charging target area.

10. A charging system as claimed in claim 6,

when the charging target area is an area for collecting a certain fee at the time of entering the road regardless of the use condition of the road, the charging target area includes a return point table having a stay time in the charging target area as a parameter,

the money amount determination unit determines a return point using the stay time and the return point table when the stay time in the charging target area is received from the vehicle-mounted device, and gives the return point to the owner of the vehicle.