EP1903505A1 - System and method of electronic toll collection without barriers - Google Patents

Abstract

The system has a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag (6) mounted side by side transversely at a carriage way section (3). The section is divided into zones (Z1-Z9), where each tag covers two zones. Infrared video camera (7) is associated to the tag, captures images of the zones covered by the tag. A laser detector (5) detects passage of vehicles, measures the speed, and the position on a carriage way. A virtual monitoring unit is arranged for coordinating the operation of detector, tag and the camera. An independent claim is also included for electric toll collection method for vehicles at toll booth area of roadway.

Description

The present invention relates to a toll-free electronic tolling system, known under the name "free flow", for equipping highway toll stations, and not requiring the slowing of vehicles, in comparison with electronic toll systems. currently widespread, crossing at reduced speed. Such a system improves the flow of traffic.

Various free flow systems are already known.

For example, the "Toll collect" project uses a global approach and uses GPS (global positioning system), GSM (global mobile system) and DSRC Infrared (DSRC: Dedicated Short Range Communications) systems to identify and record vehicle trips. . The vehicles include an equipment (OBU, on board unit-unit on board) identified by satellite positioning and GSM communication.

The London charging project uses a local approach, using video capture and analysis systems made from cameras spread over an area to be taxed at various crossing points or stations. The vehicles are identified by video recognition, using a technique comparable to that used for speed checks.

In an ordinary electronic toll system, vehicles are equipped with a "liber-t" badge affixed to the windshield of vehicles, the badge being marked by the system at the passage of the vehicles here carried out in slow motion and the beacon of the system identify the identity of the badge by radio.

It is a combination of these latter two approaches that the present invention utilizes.

At a barrier-free electronic toll station, the access and crossing road must have a roadway of ordinary width, with several parallel traffic lanes to allow the simultaneous passage of several vehicles, and the electronic toll system must be equipped with several beacons. toll radio mounted side by side on a gantry spanning the roadway, each beacon scanning a traffic lane.

Such an electronic toll station has the advantage of allowing to safeguard the fluidity of the traffic. It is also possible to multiply the number of stations in any place of the road network without inconvenience.

But its implementation is not simple. Currently, it is difficult to detect and identify vehicles encroaching two adjacent traffic lanes as well as fraudulent vehicles while multiple vehicles may face each other. Types of fraud include a declassed badge, an expired badge, or the absence of a badge.

The electronic toll system must also be able to provide the means to characterize the type of fraud or malfunction.

The plaintiff has sought a solution capable of resolving these difficulties and it is thus that she proposes her invention.

Thus, the present invention relates to a toll system without road barriers having several parallel lanes and in the same direction, the electronic toll system being characterized by the fact that it comprises radio beacons, mounted side by side transversely to the roadway , video cameras associated with radio beacons, vehicle detection means and control means arranged to coordinate the operation of the detection means, beacons and cameras.

The detection means detect the passage of vehicles, alert the control means, after detecting the presence and class of vehicles, and the control means coordinate the operation of the radio beacons and the corresponding location of the camera images. Thus one can identify the badge of the vehicle by radio, correlate this identification of the badge with the images and the class of the vehicle and thus check the presence, the validity or the good functioning of the badge.

Preferably, the cameras are infrared cameras, so as to avoid any risk of dazzling drivers of vehicles, and the detection means comprise a laser detector which furthermore makes it possible to measure the jig and the speed of the vehicles which it detects.

More preferably, the beacons are directional beacons, and the cover lobes of two adjacent radio beacons overlap on a predetermined fraction of the total length of each lobe, thereby detecting and identifying badges flowing midway. -distance of two adjacent tags.

Advantageously, the control means alternate the operation of the beacons so as to ensure the identification of vehicles without risk of interference between two adjacent beacons.
In the preferred embodiment of the system of the invention, the system comprises two groups of spatially interlaced beacons alternated temporally.

• la figure 1 illustre, sur une vue de dessus d'une gare de télépéage, l'implantation du système selon l'invention,
• la figure 2 représente un chronogramme de fonctionnement des balises et des caméras du système de l'invention,
• la figure 3 représente un schéma par blocs fonctionnels du contrôleur de balises selon le système de l'invention,
• la figure 4 est une table de vérité du fonctionnement logique du contrôleur de la figure 2 et
• la figure 5 est un exemple particulier de l'utilisation de la table de vérité de la figure 3.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly on reading the description below, made with reference to the appended drawing in which:

• FIG. 1 illustrates, in a view from above of an electronic toll station, the implementation of the system according to the invention,
• FIG. 2 represents a chronogram of operation of the beacons and cameras of the system of the invention,
• FIG. 3 represents a functional block diagram of the beacon controller according to the system of the invention,
• FIG. 4 is a truth table of the logical operation of the controller of FIG.
• Fig. 5 is a particular example of the use of the truth table of Fig. 3.

As represented in FIG. 1, the free-flow toll station is installed here on a section 3 of motorway pavement. It comprises a first and second gantry 1 and 2 distant here a dozen meters in the direction of traffic flow and extending over the entire width of the roadway. Highway 3 has three ways of parallel traffic shown by three arrows upstream and downstream of the toll station, but there could be a different number.

Motor vehicles A, B, C, ... (not shown) can circulate on the section 3 without reducing their speed V in the direction of arrows pointing downstream, under gantries 1 and 2.

The first gantry 1 supports the laser detectors 5, also noted L, transversely scanning the section 3 to detect the passage of the vehicles A, B, C, ..., measure their speed Va, Vb, Vc, ..., their position transverse D on the road and also their class (gauge): length La, Lb, Lc, ..., width 1a, 1b, 1c, ..., and height, ha, hb, hc, .... The principles telemetry using such detectors are known to those skilled in the art, whether in the context of dimensional metrology or speed measurement (kinemometry).

The second gantry 2 supports, transversely arranged, P (here five) regularly spaced radio beacons 6 noted Bi (i being an integer of the set of integers 1 to P), and P infrared video cameras 7 noted Ci.

The cameras 7 have their focal plane 9 at the exit of the first gantry 1 and record images of the vehicles situated in this plane 9 and in their field of vision as will be indicated below.

In the example of Figure 1, P is equal to 5, that is to say a number greater than that of the traffic lanes, for reasons which will appear later.

The radio beacons 6 are ordinary electronic toll tags, each covering a small portion of the pavement of the section 3 along a lobe 8, the entire section 3 being covered by the five lobes 8 of the five beacons.

They make it possible to carry out transactions with on-board electronic toll badges using DSRC technology (Dedicated Short Range Communication) around 5.8 Giga Hertz. In particular, a beacon 6 receives, from a vehicle A, B, or C during the crossing of the toll station and provided that it is within reach, information data concerning the identity, the characteristics (including the gauge) and the route taken by the vehicle on the highway, including its entrance station.

The radio beacons 6, comprising directional antennas, radiate along the lobes 8 which are substantially cones and which can be represented on the ground by quasi-elliptical surfaces 8.

It is difficult to ensure that all surfaces 8 exactly cover section 3. Neither can uncovered areas be admitted.

On the other hand, two beacons 6 can not be operated at the same time on the same area without the risk of radio interference.

Here, therefore, sufficient radio beacons 6 have been arranged so that the surfaces 8 overlap, transversely, substantially over one-third of their width on each side and substantially over a fraction F of the total length of each lobe, depending on the shape of the lobes, for example 50%. This overlap makes it possible, as will be seen below, to detect and identify the badges circulating midway between two adjacent tags.

In addition, section 3 has been divided transversely into Q zones of equal widths, with the exception of those situated at the curb, of double width of the previous ones. The zones are alternately covered by one or two tags 6, and will be designated Zk (k belonging to the set of integers from 1 to Q) in the rest of the text. Here we have chosen Q equal to nine.

Each zone Zk has a width substantially equal to one third of the width of an elliptical surface 8, except the zones Z1 and Z9 located along the road, substantially equal to two thirds of this width.

The three zones Zk covered by a beacon Bi 6 are in the field of its associated camera Ci 7.

The beacons 6 are functionally grouped into two groups G1 and G2, the first group G1 consisting of odd index beacons B1, B3, B5, and the second group, even index beacons B2 and B4. The spatial positions of the beacons 6 of these two groups on the gantry 2 are alternated or interlaced.

When passing a vehicle, the beacons operate alternately in groups, G2 then G1, then G2, then G1, each time for a duration T, and the vehicle traveling at speed V, these successive durations T correspond to distances traveled dj successive and substantially equal to VT

The radio exchanges between two adjacent tags Bi and the badge of a vehicle are thus carried out, with reference to FIG. 2, according to a time-sharing type process TS (or Time Sharing), the time intervals T constituting " times slots "ending at times tj from the instant to trigger tags 6. Here, given the choice of T, the passage of a vehicle, there are four time slots, but it is possible to have a higher number.

The laser detector 5, the radio beacons 6, via a beacon controller, and the associated cameras 7 are electrically connected to an electronic controller 10 called gantry controller, called GC (gantry controller) comprising control means arranged to implement elements 5, 6, 7 above, coordinate and compare the data they deliver, including a supervisor 11, a clock 12 setting the supervisor 11 and serving as a time stamp, a database 13 and its interfaces 14 and 15, input and output and a logic module 16 identifying vehicles by area, beacon, and DSRC communications management.

With reference to FIG. 3, the supervisor 11 comprises a beacon controller, here called the virtual beacon controller (VBC), a video controller 112 and a laser controller 113. But these controllers 111, 112, 113 can constitute physically dissociated equipment from the controller. gantry controller 10 or supervisor 11.

The VBC 111 receives directly the data delivered by the beacons 6, the video controller 112 receives the data from the video cameras 7 and the laser controller 113 receives the data from the laser detector 5.

As additional control means the controller 10 comprises a module 17, connected to the module 16, for comparing the above data collected by the supervisor 11 and a module 18, connected to the module 17, shaping the results of these comparisons.

These results can be exploited either in real time by an alert module 21 or deferred by a transaction processing module 22, the two modules 21, 22 being connected to the module 18.

The database is used to temporarily store electronic toll transaction data and video image data sorted by date and associated tags and cameras.

The operation of the free flow electronic toll system will now be explained in the light of FIGS. 4 and 5.

At the passage of a vehicle A under the first gantry 1, that is to say at time to, the laser detector 5 detects its passage and alerts the controller 113 of the supervisor 11. It transmits the speed Va of the vehicle A, its transverse position D on section 3, its height ha, its width La and its length Lg.

The supervisor 11 then triggers, on laser detection, the controller 112 which controls the operation of the video cameras 7 for a sufficient time, taking into account the speed Va, to record the complete passage of the vehicle on the section 3, at a rate of forty images per second, and choose among them exploitable images.

Simultaneously, the controller 112 dates the above images through the clock 12, locates them by means of the numbers i of the cameras Ci and stores them in order of the numbers i in the database 13 thanks to the input interface 14.

Furthermore, on receiving signals from a badge A of a vehicle, the radio beacons 6 communicate with the VBC 111, which coordinates the exchanges as follows. The even numbered beacons 6 of group G2 (B2, B4 in FIG. 4) perform radio exchanges with the badge A during the duration T until time t1 according to the DSRC technology.

At time t1, the VBC 111 interrupts the radio exchanges beacons B2, B4 and triggers those odd number beacons B1, B3, B5 G1 group for time T until time t2.

The same process as that carried out between times t1 and t2 is repeated a second time between times t2 and t4.

The fact that the VBC controller 111 alternates the operation of the odd and even 6-bit beacons between times t1 and t4 allows radio exchanges without risk of interference between two adjacent beacons, the others being out of radio range.

1. 1) i + j est impair,
2. 2) le véhicule A ou plus précisément son badge A est dans au moins l'une des zones Zk à portée radio d'une balise Bi, une à trois zones Zk quand A se trouve dans la fraction F,
3. 3) Le badge A est présent et fonctionne normalement.

During the time slots T, each tag Bi receives messages Mij of identification of the vehicle A, i designating the index of the tag and j, the order number of the time slot T or the time interval of t _{j -1} to t _j during which the message was picked up. Reception takes place only under the following three conditions:

1. 1) i + j is odd,
2. 2) the vehicle A or more precisely its badge A is in at least one of the zones Zk within radio range of a beacon Bi, one to three zones Zk when A is in the fraction F,
3. 3) Badge A is present and functioning normally.

The identification module 16 receives the Mij messages of the VBC 111, as soon as they are received, located and dated by the VBC 111. In practice, we will apply the logical rules of the truth table of Figure 4, which amounts to the same.

FIG. 4 is complementary to the timing diagram of FIG. 2 showing the temporal functional alternation of the two groups G1 and G2. It shows, it, the spatial interlacing of the beacons 6 of these two groups G1 and G2, on the one hand on the Zk zones, where they overlap, and on the other hand on the distances dj, so that, thanks to the table of FIG. 4, the reception of messages Mij makes it possible to identify Zk without error.

By this means, the module 16 derives from the messages Mij received and those Mij not received the zones Zk traveled by the vehicle A.

For example, if, as in FIG. 4, the beacon B4 has received a message M41 at time t1 and M43 at time t3 while the beacon B3 has received a message M32 at time t2 and M34 at time t3. moment t4, then the vehicle or the badge A travels the zone Z6. If, on the other hand, the beacon B4 is the only beacon to receive messages, the same messages M41 and M43, then the badge A travels the zone Z7.

Finally, the message Mi (t) contains the class Ca of the vehicle, the date of end of validity, the path that may have been made on the highway and the date of the toll. It is transmitted to the comparison module 17.

On receiving the message Mi (t), the comparison module 17 searches, via the output interface 15, the video images of the camera Ci associated with the tag Bi corresponding to the instant tj, performs a optical recognition of the vehicle registration A according to an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) type algorithm.

The comparison module 17 analyzes all the images obtained between the instants t ₀ and t ₄ for all the cameras C1 to C5 each time the detector 5 detects a vehicle A.

If a registration number can be found on the images corresponding to a camera Ci and no message Mi (t) could be constituted, then the vehicle A is identified and recognized without badge and there is fraud or breakdown .

Moreover, the supervisor 11 receives laser detectors 5, the transverse position D of the vehicle A and the controller 113 derives the zones Zk on which it rolls, its dimensions La, la, ha to deduce its class Ca. The supervisor 11 transmits the class data Ca and occupied zones Zk to the comparison module 17.

The comparison module 17 can thus check the validity of the class Ca in the message Mi (t) relative to that of the vehicle A on the areas it occupies and detect the badged cards.

The comparison module 17 can finally detect the expired badges by comparing the end of validity date in the message Mi (t) to the date provided by the supervisor 11 and generated by the clock 12.

If the vehicle A changes zone Zk along the length of section 3, the process still works.

Indeed, with reference to FIG. 5 which is an excerpt from FIG. 4, there is no change of beacon simultaneously with the change of zone and everything happens as before, or there is a change of beacon, by example zone change from Z6 to Z7 as on the example of Figure 5, resulting in a beacon change from B3 to B4, and then the message Mi (t) is reconstructed from the messages M32 and M43. The additional data of the message Mi (t) from the cameras 7 and the detector 5 necessary to derive the same verification results above can be found by the knowledge of the origin of the M32 and M43 messages, ie say by that of the numbers i of corresponding tags 6.

• si, quand un véhicule change de zone, il y a changement de balise de transaction,
• on reconstitue un message de transaction par traitement des messages de zone.

In other words, having transversely divided the roadway into zones and

• if, when a vehicle changes zone, there is change of transaction tag,
• a transaction message is reconstructed by processing the zone messages.

There are also no particular difficulties when several vehicles A, B, C ... occur simultaneously under the gantry 1 since, in the central part of the roadway 3, the zones Zk have a width at most equal to one third. the width of a taxiway, that is to say significantly smaller than the ordinary width of a vehicle. As a result, two vehicle badges A and B appearing front and side by side are necessarily located on two different zones Zk, at worst adjacent, and are therefore discriminated at least by the time slot T ending at time tj, otherwise by the tags 6 involved.

• si on détecte le passage simultané de deux véhicules,
• on les discrimine soit par les balises, soit par les messages de transaction obtenus sur deux périodes (T) différentes avec deux groupes de balises différents, respectivement.

In other words, having transversely divided the roadway into zones and

• if we detect the simultaneous passage of two vehicles,
• they are discriminated either by the tags or by the transaction messages obtained on two different periods (T) with two different groups of tags, respectively.

It is possible, however, for the same tag Bi to receive messages Mij from two different vehicles A and B in the same time slot.

This case occurs when the badge of the vehicle A being on a zone Zk, that of the vehicle B is simultaneously on the zone Zk + 2, the two zones being in the lobe 8 of one of the tags B2, B3, or B4 .

• messages d'alerte pouvant être traités en temps réel tels que infractions de vitesse ou fraudes, et messages de transactions ordinaires pour paiements automatisés des péages,
• messages de demande de traitements différés nécessitant une intervention humaine tels que recherches de numéros d'immatriculation ou de propriétaires de véhicules.

The comparison module 17 transmits its results to the module 18 which puts them in the form of messages formatted according to the wishes of the recipients here of two kinds:

• alert messages that can be processed in real time such as speeding or fraud offenses, and ordinary transaction messages for automated toll payments,
• delayed processing request messages requiring human intervention such as registration number searches or vehicle owners.

In the first case, the module 18 transmits the messages to the module 21 which sends them to the automatic services.

In the second case, it transmits them to module 22 for distribution to the various recipients concerned by the searches.

So far, an electronic toll system has been described, intended to be installed at a toll station of a road pavement, in highway practice, and which includes vehicle detection gates, gantry camera support and transaction radio beacons. - These means finally implementing the steps of a remote toll process that the plaintiff also intends to claim.

• on détecte le passage des véhicules et on les identifie,
• on prend des vues des véhicules,
• on entame des transactions avec les véhicules au moyen de leurs badges et de balises radio,
• les balises étant organisées en groupes qu'on fait fonctionner à l'alternat, depuis les instants où on détecte le passage des véhicules et tant qu'ils restent à portée radio des balises,
  • pour éviter les risques d'interférences entre balises adjacentes et
  • pour déterminer les trajets des véhicules depuis les instants de détection de leur passage,
  • on compare les données des véhicules tirées des prises de vues et les données des transactions et
  • on finit les transactions, soit en procédant au péage, soit en caractérisant une fraude.

The invention therefore also relates to a tolling method for vehicles at a toll station of a roadway having several parallel lanes of the same direction, in which

• the passage of the vehicles is detected and identified,
• we take views of the vehicles,
• we start transactions with the vehicles by means of their badges and radio beacons,
• the beacons being organized into groups that are operated alternately, since the moments when the passage of vehicles is detected and as long as they remain within radio range beacons,
  • to avoid the risk of interference between adjacent tags and
  • to determine the vehicle paths since the moments of detection of their passage,
  • we compare the data of the vehicles taken from the shots and the data of the transactions and
  • the transactions are terminated, either by tolling or by characterizing a fraud.

Preferably, the vehicles are shot at the moments of detection of their passage, just as one starts transactions at the same time.

Claims (11)

- Electronic toll collection system for roadways (3) having several parallel traffic lanes and in the same direction, the electronic toll system being characterized by the fact that it comprises radio beacons (6) mounted side by side transversely to the roadway ( 3), video cameras (7) associated with the beacons (6), vehicle detection means (5) and control means (11, 12, 17) arranged to coordinate the operation of the detection means (5), tags (6) and cameras (7). - System according to claim 1, wherein the roadway (3) being transversely divided into Q zones (Zk), each radio beacon (Bi) covers at least two zones (Zk) and the video camera (Ci) associated with the beacon ( Bi) captures images of said covered areas (Zk) by said beacon (Bi). - System according to one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the cameras (7) are infrared cameras. System according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the detection means comprise a laser detector (5). System according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the radio beacons (6) are directional beacons and the radio coverage lobes (8) of two adjacent beacons (6) overlap on a predetermined fraction (F). the total length of each lobe (8). - System according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the beacons are organized in two groups ((B1, B3, B5) and (B2, B4)) interleaved spatially and alternated temporally. - System according to claim 6, wherein the control means (111) alternate the operation of the two groups of tags (6) at a period (T) sufficiently short for any tag (6) to operate at least twice during the passage a vehicle from its detection by the detection means and as long as it remains within radio range beacons. - Electronic tolling process for vehicles at a toll station in a carriageway having several parallel lanes of the same direction, in which - the passage of the vehicles is detected and identified, - we take views of the vehicles, - transactions with the vehicles are started with their badges and radio beacons (6), the beacons (6) being organized in groups that are operated alternately, since the moments when the passage of the vehicles is detected and as long as they remain within radio range of the beacons, - to avoid the risk of interference between adjacent beacons and to determine the paths of the vehicles since the instants of detection of their passage, - the data of the vehicles taken from the shots are compared with the data of the transactions and - the transactions are terminated, either by tolling or by characterizing fraud or a breakdown. - Method according to claim 8, wherein the shooting of the vehicles at the instants of detection of their passage. - Method according to one of claims 8 and 9, wherein - the roadway is divided transversely into zones and - if, when a vehicle changes zone, there is change of transaction tag, a transaction message is reconstructed by processing the zone messages. - Method according to one of claims 8 to 10, wherein - the roadway is divided transversely into zones and - if two vehicles are detected simultaneously, they are discriminated either by the tags or by the transaction messages obtained on two different periods (T) with two groups of different tags, respectively.

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