Method of determining toll charges for vehicles using a traffic

Details Method of determining toll charges for vehicles using a traffic Method of determining toll charges for vehicles using a traffic

1996-09-16

1998-02-10

Hofsass, Jeffery

Communications: electrical

Traffic control indicator

Combined

340905, 340988, 340995, 3644491, 3644497, 235384, G06F16500

Patent

active

057173893

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method of determining toll charges for vehicles using a traffic route, whereby the geographical position of a vehicle is continuously determined using radiolocation, in particular using the Global Positioning System (GPS system), and compared with geographical positions of virtual collection points.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various methods have become known for the collection of use fees (toll) for traffic routes, in particular roads. To date, only toll stations at which the vehicles stop and may use the toll road after payment of the toll have found common use. On heavily traveled roads, this results in traffic jams despite a large number of individual payment booths. Even arrangements where one throws a coin into a funnel while driving slowly provide only limited relief.
A data acquisition system described in VDI Nachrichten of Aug. 20, 1993, pages 2-3 uses a position determination of the vehicle using the GPS system, with which a position determination is made by satellites. With it, only virtual collection points are required such that the outlay for specific structures is eliminated.
The patent application "Method and Arrangement To Determine Tolls for Traffic Routes and/or Traffic Areas" simultaneously filed by the applicant further concerns a method whereby the GPS system is also used. The position determination using the GPS system has a measurement error of approx. 100 m. For the issue of toll collection it is however important, for example, whether a vehicle is traveling on a toll road or on a free road running in the vicinity of the toll road.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to enable a reliable determination, using a radiolocation system, as to whether a vehicle is passing a collection point.
This object is accomplished according to the invention in that the virtual collection points of acquisition sectors which extend for predetermined lengths in the direction of the respective traffic route are formed.
For the execution of the method according to the invention, a computer which performs the comparison for which the positions of the acquisition sector must be available is preferably disposed in the vehicle. This may take place in that all positions are stored in the computer or that only positions of collection points in a limited area are stored and positions of additional collection points may be added as needed via a data communications system.
A first embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that in each case an acquisition sector consists of a plurality of reference points defined by their geographical positions, the distance between which is smaller than the measuring error of the radiolocation system. Preferably, provision is made that in each case some of the reference points of an acquisition sector form a reference group.
For evaluation of the comparison, provision may be made that a vehicle is considered to have passed the collection point if all reference points or all reference groups have a distance from positions determined for the vehicle which is less than a predefined distance.
In a second embodiment of the method according to the invention, it is alternatively possible to save memory space through the fact that the collection points consist of one or a plurality of reference points defined by their geographical position and a function characterizing the course of the road within the acquisition sector (straight line, curve). An evaluation may be carried out in that a vehicle is considered as having passed the collection point if none of the points of the curve lie farther than the measuring error of the radiolocation system from one of the continuously determined geographical positions of the vehicle.
The continuous checking as to whether the vehicle is located in one of the possibly many acquisition sectors requires a significant computational expenditure. This is in conflict with the fact that rapid calculation is necessar

REFERENCES:
patent: 4920340 (1990-04-01), Mizuno
patent: 5490079 (1996-02-01), Sharpe et et al.
patent: 5506774 (1996-04-01), Nobe et al.
patent: 5537324 (1996-07-01), Nimura et al.
patent: 5568390 (1996-10-01), Hirata et al.

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