Method and means for RF toll collection
AssigneeMark IV Industries Limited
InventorsRobert Walter Tiernay, Thua Van Ho, Weimin He, James Kenneth Cook, Mohammed Benvidi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An RF roadway toll collection system uses an upstream reader to communicate with a vehicle borne transponder carrying a Smart Card to calculate the toll and debit the Smart Card balance in the amount of the toll payment required. A transaction manager is notified of the toll payment from the upstream reader and notifies a downstream reader of the vehicle identification and payment status. The downstream reader confirms the vehicle identification and payment status and signals if the toll has been paid.
Claims23
In a toll collection environment having an upstream roadway wide area which leads to a downstream plurality of individual lanes, apparatus for collection vehicle tolls, comprising:
- a transponder for location in a vehicle entering the upstream roadway wide area, the transponder including means for recording and debiting a toll from an account balance;
- at least one first reader adapted to communicate with said transponder in said wide area;
- at least one second reader adapted to communicate with said transponder in an individual lane downstream from said wide area;
- transaction means connected to said first reader responsive to communication with said transponder to calculate a toll associated with said transponder and to obtain identification information associated with said transponder, and to instruct said transponder through said first reader to debit the toll from the account balance;
- means for transmitting toll payment status information from said transponder to the first reader;
- means for transmitting said identification information from said first reader to said second reader upon receipt of successful toll payment status information by the first reader;
- and
- means associated with the second reader for signalling the payment of a toll upon receipt by said second reader of the same identification information from a transponder attached to a vehicle as is received from the first reader.
Apparatus for collecting highway tolls from vehicles having transponders, comprising:
- a transponder with an optional Smart Card wherein said transponder without such a Smart Card has identification (ID) information, said transponder including means for calculating a toll, and wherein the transponder having a Smart Card has the additional capacity of debiting a recorded account on said Smart Card;
- a lane based reader;
- a wide area reader upstream therefrom sharing a first RF communication protocol with the transponder having a Smart Card, the wide area reader having determining means associated therewith to provide to the transponder the amount of said toll associated with the ID and to receive a status receipt from said transponder reflecting receipt for payment therefrom
- means for communication between said wide area reader and said lane based readers independent of said transponders;
- and
- means for associating the status and ID with the vehicle carrying such transponder at said lane based reader.
On a closed toll highway, using RF for toll calculations, for vehicles with Smart Card equipped transponders, apparatus comprising:
- upstream means having a first reader to obtain entry information and transponder ID from a transponder under a first protocol to actuate and report a status of toll payment associated with the transponder ID by amounts recorded on said Smart Card under said first protocol;
- and
- downstream means having a second reader to confirm a class of vehicle, transponder ID, and status of toll payment under a second protocol, wherein said upstream means includes communication means for communicating the class of vehicle, transponder ID, and status of toll payment from said first reader to said second reader.
A toll collection system for a roadway comprising:
- an upstream reader adjacent to said roadway designed to enter into RF communication with a transponder equipped with a Smart Card;
- a downstream reader adjacent to said roadway disposed to enter into RE communication with such transponder;
- a transaction manager connected for RF communication with both said upstream and said downstream readers;
- said transaction manager adapted to cooperate with the upstream reader to calculate a toll upon communication of the upstream reader with the transponder;
- said transaction manager adapted to pre-calculate a first and second part message responsive to a toll calculation;
- said transponder having means to calculate and send to the upstream reader a similar first and second part message responsive to the deduction of a toll;
- said transaction manager adapted to compare said transaction manager and said transponder first message parts;
- and
- said downstream reader adapted to compare said transaction manager and said transponder second message parts.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.