AN IMPROVEMENT OF A METHOD, AND RELATED SYSTEM, FOR MAKING PAYMENTS DURING THE ACCESS OF A VEHICLE INTO PAY AREAS

Description

[001] The present invention relates to the technical sector relating to equipment and infrastructures for making payments following the access of a vehicle into an area which requires a toll, such as paid parking or toll roads, such as motorways, etc.

[002] In particular, the invention refers to an innovative method, and related assembly, which allows for payment in a certain manner and without the risk of fraud or malfunctions. Brief notes on the prior art

[003] It is known that many rest areas or roads require payment for parking or for their - 2 journeys.

[004] There are therefore known garages and / or parking areas that require payment generally through the collection of a parking ticket indicating the entry time. When exiting, the ticket is inserted into a special slot in a receiving machine that reads the entry time and calculates the amount to be paid based on the exit time. Once the amount has been paid, the machine releases an exit ticket that must be inserted into a special slot located near a bar that prevents exit. Once the ticket is inserted, the bar lifts and allows the vehicle to exit.

[005] This payment system obviously has the technical drawback of being structurally complex because it requires a payment machine that must release the exit ticket, in addition to the additional machine that controls the opening / closing of the barrier. Furthermore, the payment operation is rather laborious, as the user must get out of the machine and physically pay and then collect the exit ticket. It is obvious that this causes multiple inconveniences for users, especially in case of rain and / or long queues to pay.

[006] A similar system is also provided at motorway toll booths where the entry ticket, acquired with a specific stop at the entry toll booth, must be inserted into a special machine which requests the equivalent amount and then gives consent to open the barrier for exit.

[007] To solve these technical problems, the use of telepass is now becoming more and more widespread. It is an electronic device that is placed inside the - 3 Vehicle in a clearly visible location, usually on the front windshield, so it can communicate with a reader located at the toll gate. This reader is then read by a special reader located near the toll gates, recording all transits and the associated tolls. This Telepass is associated with the specific vehicle, and payment is made directly through the bank once a statement of transits (usually monthly) is sent. Recently, the Telepass system has also been used for access to parking areas, as it is scanned upon entry and exit, determining the equivalent amount to be paid.

[008] This Telepass system, now well known in the state of the art, solves countless technical problems as it speeds up transit and avoids the user having to stop and even get out of their vehicle to make the payment. Furthermore, the Telepass system delegates the payment to the banking circuit whereas a traditional ticket system requires the immediate availability of money or credit cards in general.

[009] However, the Telepass system also has its technical drawbacks.

[0010] The Telepass reading system isn't always effective and functional, and it often happens that a user drives by thinking the detector has read the Telepass device, when in fact no reading has occurred due to a lack of communication. This causes irregular transit, and the user often receives a fine or a request for payment at home.

[0011] The Telepass can then be easily removed (for example fraudulently) from a means of transport and used by an unauthorised user who in a - 4 fraudulent person uses it on their own vehicle, charging the other party the costs.

[0012] In this case, the defrauded person must block the Telepass and file a complaint and, in any case, has suffered damages in terms of money and time wasted in resolving this problem.

[0013] Furthermore, the Telepass system has a battery and therefore, over time, it can run out of power and become unusable until the battery is replaced and / or recharged.

[0014] The Telepass system, even when associated with a vehicle, can also be used with license plates that are not compatible with those of the vehicle to which it is associated, thus easily allowing abusive use.

[0015] Furthermore, its use is not permitted in different countries that use different technology.

[0016] In order to resolve the aforementioned technical drawbacks, the applicant has filed a European patent application EP 3427234 in the name of Progress Consultant Srl. According to this solution, an image acquisition system is used that can capture a vehicle license plate or part of it. In this way, the person subscribing to the service can transit and the image acquisition and processing automatically leads to the identification of the license plate number and therefore of the person subscribed to the service. In this way, a central server can charge a fee, for example through a connection to a banking server.

[0017] This solution solved the previous technical problems related to the use of a classic telepass.

[0018] However, although functional, this solution is not free from further technical problems.

[0019] In particular, the acquisition of an image may sometimes fail and the image may be such that it is not - 5 allow for precise identification of the vehicle and therefore the subject. For example, a license plate may be dirty, and therefore the processing may lead to the identification of a license plate number missing one or more of the numbers and / or letters and / or symbols in general that compose it. Furthermore, the installed camera(s) may malfunction, resulting in imperfect processing.

[0020] This means that it is not possible to recognize the passing vehicle.

[0021] This could lead, for example, to a failure to raise the transit bar that is generally present at the entrance and / or exit of a toll road, preventing the user from passing and also creating inconvenience for oncoming drivers who find the toll booth blocked. Clearly, if recognition does not occur, it is not possible to know whether the user has signed up for the service, nor is it possible to know who should be responsible for the toll charge. This could imply an impediment to access, for example, if the system does not authorize the raising of the bar blocking transit because the entire process is not completed.

[0022] Even in the case of permitted transit, therefore with the barrier that is raised even in the case of non-recognition (or in the case of a passage without a barrier), the problem of failure to collect the amount remains because, fundamentally, it is not recognised and therefore the person who transited is not known, all of which, therefore, causes considerable economic damage to the body that manages the tolls. Summary of the invention

[0023] It is therefore the aim of the present invention to provide an innovative method, and related assembly, which - 6 allows the aforementioned technical problems to be resolved at least in part.

[0024] In particular, the aim of the present invention is to provide an innovative method, and related assembly, which allows one to use one's own vehicle (for example a car) to make tolled journeys on tolled routes (for example motorways), with a payment system which is convenient, fast and free from the risk of fraud or theft.

[0025] More specifically, the aim of the present invention is to provide an innovative method, and related assembly, which allows one to carry out paid transits with one's own vehicle (or motor vehicle, if you prefer) without there being a risk of denied access due to a failure to recognise the vehicle and / or access which then cannot be collected economically due to a failure to recognise the vehicle and therefore the subject.

[0026] These and other objects are therefore obtained with the present method and the present assembly, in accordance with the attached claims.

[0027] More specifically, the object of the present invention is a method for detecting / recognizing a vehicle on a toll road.

[0028] Even more specifically, the method allows for payment to be made following the vehicle's access to that toll-free section of the route, once it has been recognised with certainty.

[0029] The method comprises the operations of:

[0030] Initial registration of a subject to the payment service via a dedicated software application for mobile phone device downloaded / downloadable on said mobile phone device, the application - 7 software connecting to a central server (2) for managing the said service;

[0031] Advantageously, during registration, as is well known, the subject will have to enter one or more data, including for example personal data and payment data, for example by entering one or more electronic cards connected to a banking server, for example one or more credit cards and / or bank IBAN information for a credit to the current account (for example with a certain periodic frequency).

[0032] Tolls may in fact be charged periodically (for example at the end of the month) or instantly (for example immediately following transit upon entry to the section or as soon as transit upon exit from the section is completed).

[0033] Advantageously, therefore, the software application is initialized by registering the subject.

[0034] Registration (and therefore initialisation) also requires the initial insertion of at least one unique distinctive element (450) of at least one vehicle associated with the said subject who registers for the service to use the said transit payment service.

[0035] For example, in an advantageous form, this at least unique distinguishing element may be the vehicle's license plate number.

[0036] Other recognition parameters (pi, p2..pn) can be added to the license plate number, such as the car model and / or its color, etc. and in any case elements that contribute to being able to uniquely identify the vehicle.

[0037] Color and / or pattern etc. can be coded by a code.

[0038] The above mentioned parameters are — 8 — preferably used in combination with the license plate number but could also be used as an alternative to the license plate number.

[0039] The use of the license plate number is preferred.

[0040] This is followed by storage in said central server (2) of said at least one unique distinctive element (450) of the vehicle associated with the subject.

[0041] As already known, it is therefore envisaged to provide means of acquiring images (100), for example one or more cameras, at one or more pre-established points (A'—B', B'—C', C'—D') of one or more sections of the route associated with said service, preferably at least at the entry and / or exit points (A'—B', B'—C', C'—D').

[0042] The said image acquisition means serve to acquire the image and then process it in order to trace back to the said at least one unique distinctive element.

[0043] The image acquisition means therefore have processors and specific algorithms which also allow the images to be processed to extrapolate the data contained in the image and therefore extrapolate the unique distinctive element, for example the license plate number.

[0044] In particular, therefore, the said method foresees the following phases:

[0045] When transiting the toll route, acquisition of one or more images (for example a video from which a certain number of frames are extracted) through said image acquisition means (100) arranged in such a way as to frame at least a part of the vehicle which includes at least one unique distinctive element (450);

[0046] Image processing to trace their content, in particular the identification of the unique distinctive element, for example the license plate number. - 9

[0047] Preferably, such processing takes place directly by said image acquisition means of the acquired image(s) in such a way that said image acquisition means extrapolate from the processing of the image(s) the said at least one unique distinctive element (450).

[0048] For example, the image may show the license plate and an image processing (such types of processing are known in themselves) may allow the license plate number shown in the image to be traced.

[0049] This is followed by the reception by the central server (2) of said at least unique distinctive element (450) extracted from the image (for example at least the license plate number) and verification of its presence in the memory of the central server in order to identify the subject registered for the service and therefore in order to be able to apply the toll due.

[0050] In this way, the fee relating to the route taken can be applied to the individual, for example by crediting the relevant cost to his account (if this data, for example IBAN, was entered during registration) or by associating it with an electronic payment card.

[0051] In accordance with the invention, a phase of geolocalising the vehicle in real time and checking its position also takes place, for example continuously or at intervals of time, with respect to the paid access and / or exit gates (preferably usually at the entrance) whose position is known, in such a way as to determine when the vehicle passes through one of these gates.

[0052] Once the transit has been determined, the information application automatically sends a packet to the central software server each time it is received. -10determined a transit with said information package which includes at least the said unique identifying element, for example the vehicle's license plate number.

[0053] In this way, in the event of a failure to detect the unique distinctive element by the image acquisition means, and therefore in the event of a failure to recognise the vehicle that has passed, the central server traces the identification of the vehicle through the said information packet sent automatically by the App at the time of transit.

[0054] More specifically, the software application provided on the mobile telephone device is connected to a geolocalisation system, for example a GPS system with which all mobile telephone devices are equipped.

[0055] Preferably, the software application uses the mobile telephone device specifically to receive the geolocation coordinates or, in other words, the geolocation occurs via the mobile telephone device and the software application receives this information.

[0056] The software application also has in its memory the coordinates relating to the positioning of the said image acquisition means, for example cameras, which represent the transit points (for example entrance or exit) for all the paid routes relating to this service.

[0057] In this way, such geolocalisation allows the software application to calculate, for example continuously or at intervals of time, the position of the vehicle, thus allowing it to determine the actual distance of the vehicle in real time with respect to any access point represented by the positioning point of the means of transport. -11image acquisition and of which the application knows the coordinates as mentioned, as they are in memory.

[0058] The software application is therefore able to determine when the vehicle is passing, or is about to pass, under an image acquisition device, for example a camera as mentioned.

[0059] If, for example, fixed predetermined reference points are entered as those close to the camera before the passage, for example the junction of a toll entrance, the software application, which periodically or continuously detects the current position occupied by the vehicle in real time, is perfectly capable of determining when this position of the vehicle overlaps or is close to one of said predetermined positions in memory, i.e. the entrance junction. In essence, the car approaching, for example, the entrance junction is geolocalised, leading to the result of an overlap of the position occupied by the car with the position of a well-identified and geolocalised camera. In this way, the software application is aware of the past or upcoming passage under the cameras and the camera under which the vehicle passed is also known.

[0060] In this condition in which the software application has determined, through real-time geolocalisation, the entry of the vehicle into transit on the tolled section, the software application sends to the server an information packet identifying the vehicle that has transited and with said information packet which includes at least the said unique identifying element, for example the license plate number.

[0061] Thus, in a case of failure to detect the unique distinctive element by the -12 image acquisition means, and therefore in the event of failure to recognize the vehicle that passed, the central server traces the identification of the vehicle through the aforementioned information packet sent automatically by the App at the time of transit.

[0062] In this way, a case of non-recognition can be compensated.

[0063] For example, if the unique distinctive element is the license plate, there could be a case in which a license plate number is dirty and therefore the image processing could lead to the detection of an incomplete license plate number, for example with a license plate made up of n numbers but where the processing results in a license plate missing a number compared to the said n numbers or with a number that is not well readable compared to the other numbers making up the said license plate.

[0064] In this case, the central server would not know who to charge for the transit because it is missing a number from the entire sequence of numbers (or letters) of the license plate and therefore cannot trace the vehicle.

[0065] The solution of comparing such a license plate missing one or more of its parts (for example a number) with all the license plates in memory relating to the subjects registered for the service would be software-complicated, slowing down the processing and processing times.

[0066] It is in fact necessary that the identification processing takes place in fractions of a second, especially in the case where the lifting bar is present, as the bar generally lifts, allowing access, once the processing has been completed and there has been a positive outcome in the recognition of the subject with the relative transit charge.

[0067] In accordance with this problem, it is therefore extremely advantageous to exploit the package -13 information that is associated with each subject that passes through and sent automatically by the software application.

[0068] The information package contains at least the unique distinctive element which therefore compensates for the case of unsatisfactory processing.

[0069] More specifically, advantageously, the central server takes into consideration, through specific programming obviously, the information packets relating to the passage where there was a recognition problem and considers only the information packets arriving within a pre-established or predetermined time range.

[0070] The time range is usually a few seconds (e.g. 3 or 4 seconds).

[0071] Considering the instant of the unrecognized passage as time (T0), the central server can consider all the information packets received for example one second before T0 and three seconds after T0, or all the information packets received after T0 for a predetermined time for example four seconds and obviously relating to that passage.

[0072] It follows that the central server has, in fact, a very limited number of information packets containing the unique distinguishing element since in these few seconds from the failure to recognise, in the specific gate, at most one further vehicle or a few vehicles at most can have passed (obviously it depends on how large the time interval is set but when this is of the order of a few seconds obviously not many vehicles can pass).

[0073] At this point it is immediate for the server to trace the correct license plate since, even if the processing lacks recognition of one or more characters in general -14 components of the license plate (for example numbers and / or letters), the comparison with the license plates received via the app at the time of transit allows us to recognize the license plate that is closest to the partially recognized one, thus determining it with certainty.

[0074] In other words, in the event of failure to recognise a specific gate during transit, the central server compares the incomplete information processed by the image acquisition means of the gate in question with one or more information packets received via the app from subjects who have transited through that same gate in a time range very close to the instant of the unrecognised transit and obviously including the instant of the unrecognised transit.

[0075] This allows you to compare the unrecognized license plate with a few other license plates thus allowing for a quick comparison.

[0076] Advantageously, therefore, when the software application determines the said vehicle transit in correspondence with a positioning of the said image acquisition means, it sends a notification to the mobile telephone device on which it is installed.

[0077] This can be useful to allow a subject to verify even an unauthorized transit for example in case of theft of the car.

[0078] Advantageously, such image acquisition means may be one or more cameras, for example capable of recording a video and / or single images.

[0079] Advantageously, the said unique distinctive element can be at least the vehicle's license plate number.

[0080] Advantageously, the said unique distinctive element may further include other data such as the colour of the vehicle.

[0081] Advantageously the central server, in the said case -15in which the processing of the said image acquisition means determines only a partial recognition of the said unique distinctive element, analyses the information package received, in particular that associated with the unrecognised vehicle.

[0082] In particular, it can analyze multiple information packets received in a certain time range.

[0083] Such information packages may in fact be those relating to a time interval including the image acquisition time (T0).

[0084] For example T> (T0).

[0085] The information packets are those sent by the software applications only when they pass under the image acquisition means which have not correctly extracted the unique distinctive element.

[0086] In this way, advantageously, the said central server compares the said unique distinctive elements extrapolated from the said received information packets with the only partially recognized unique distinctive element to determine the said unrecognized unique distinctive element.

[0087] In other words, the moment the server does not recognise a unique distinctive element, it analyses the information packets received from the apps and linked only to the vehicles that have passed within a narrow time frame at that specific point where correct recognition then did not occur.

[0088] If, furthermore, each information packet is associated with an exact sending time and the detected but unrecognised image is also associated with an exact time, the comparison can be reduced exactly to the information packet relating to the instant corresponding to the non-recognition.

[0089] This way, much less data needs to be processed. -16with a processing speed of a few milliseconds, thus allowing all operations to be completed in the very short access distance of the vehicle, allowing any bar to be raised.

[0090] Advantageously, therefore, the recognition of the vehicle determines the lifting of the bar that blocks transit on the tolled section, allowing access to the vehicle.

[0091] The invention also relates to an assembly that allows the detection of a vehicle on a toll route.

[0092] More specifically, the object of the present invention is an assembly which allows a toll payment to be made following access by a vehicle to a tolled stretch of road and comprising:

[0093] A central server (2);

[0094] A mobile phone device on which a software application is installed;

[0095] The said software application being such as to allow, in use, an initial registration of a subject to the payment service;

[0096] And wherein said software application, through said subject registration, is configured to initially request an initial insertion of at least one unique distinctive element (450) of at least one vehicle associated with said subject registering for the service;

[0097] The said software application connecting to the said central server (2) for managing the said service and the central server being configured to store at least the said at least one unique distinctive element (450) of the vehicle associated with the subject;

[0098] Image acquisition means (100) arranged at one or more points (A'-B', B'-C', C'-D') -17 pre-established routes of one or more journeys associated with the said service, preferably at least at the entry and / or exit points (A'-B', B'-C', C'-D').

[0099] The said image acquisition means (100) are therefore arranged in such a way as to frame at least a part of the vehicle which comprises at least such at least one unique distinctive element (450), the said image acquisition means being configured to process said image(s) in order to extrapolate from the image(s) its content, or the said at least one unique distinctive element (450);

[00100] And wherein the central server (2) is placed in communication with said image acquisition means in such a way as to receive the said at least one unique distinctive element (450) extracted from the image and with the central server programmed to verify the presence in memory of said unique distinctive element in order to identify the registered subject to allow the toll charging operation to be carried out;

[00101] In accordance with the invention, the software application is connected to a geo-geolocalization system capable of identifying the position occupied by the vehicle in real time.

[00102] More specifically, advantageously, the software application controls geolocalisation through the mobile telephone device on which it is installed.

[00103] Furthermore, the said software application has in its memory geolocalisation coordinates which identify the positioning of all the image acquisition means in the said toll route(s).

[00104] Advantageously, therefore, the said software application is programmed to perform real-time geolocalisation of the said vehicle in such a way as to -18determine a transit of the vehicle in correspondence with a positioning point of the said image acquisition means.

[00105] This occurs by terminating the real-time position of the vehicle, verifying when the position of the vehicle coincides with or is close to at least one of the said geolocalisation coordinates which identify the positioning of the said image acquisition means and are kept in memory.

[00106] Advantageously, therefore, the software application is further programmed to send to the central server, following said recognition of access to said section, an information packet containing at least the unique distinctive element of the vehicle that has passed and with which it is associated, so that the central server receives, in addition to the processing data extrapolated from said image acquisition means, also said information packet.

[00107] Advantageously, therefore, the central server is, in turn, programmed in such a way as to use this information package for the recognition of the vehicle in the event that the processing of the said image acquisition means determines a recognition of the said unique distinctive element which is only partial and therefore does not allow the identification of the vehicle which has passed.

[00108] Advantageously, said image acquisition means can be one or more cameras capable of recording a video and / or single images.

[00109] Advantageously, the said unique distinctive element can be at least the vehicle's license plate number.

[00110] Advantageously, the said unique distinctive element may further include other data such as the colour of the vehicle. -19

[00111] Advantageously, in the said case in which the processing of the said image acquisition means determines only a partial recognition of the unique distinctive element, the central server is programmed to analyse the information packets sent to the said central server.

[00112] Advantageously, such information packets are those relating to a time interval including the image acquisition time (T0) or a time interval immediately following said time (T0).

[00113] Furthermore, advantageously, such information packages are those relating to the vehicles which passed in said time interval under the image acquisition means and which have had an image processing with an unsatisfactory outcome.

[00114] Advantageously, the said central server is therefore programmed to compare the said unique distinctive elements extrapolated from the said information packets received with the only partially recognized unique distinctive element to determine the said unrecognized unique distinctive element.

[00115] This way you can do a fast processing.

[00116] Advantageously, each toll section comprises an entrance and an exit and where at least the entrance is blocked by a liftable bar.

[00117] Advantageously, vehicle recognition causes the bar that blocks transit on the toll road to be raised, allowing access to the vehicle. Brief description of the drawings

[00118] Further features and advantages of this method, related equipment, according to -20the invention will be made clearer by the following description of some embodiments, given by way of example and not by way of limitation, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

[00119] Figure 1 shows a mobile phone device 1 on which the software application according to the present invention is downloaded;

[00120] Figure 2 shows a central process management server 2 which communicates with the said App;

[00121] Figure 3 shows an example of a gate with cameras;

[00122] Figure 4 shows the camera with its own processor that processes the image to trace the license plate number which is then sent to the central server 2, the central server 2 is therefore also in communication with these cameras;

[00123] Figure 5 schematizes the App which, through geolocalization of the vehicle, is able to determine its transit under a paid gate equipped with the said cameras;

[00124] Figure 6 schematizes the automatic sending of the information packet by the app to the central server in correspondence with the transit such that the app associated with a subject and therefore with a vehicle geolocalizes the vehicle to which it is associated and, having determined a transit, automatically sends the information packet to the central server for each transit it detects;

[00125] Figure 7 schematizes the use that is made of this information package which includes the vehicle's license plate number in order to trace and determine an unrecognized or generally unidentified license plate. -21Description of some preferred embodiments

[00126] The present invention concerns an innovative method, and related assembly, which allows toll payments to be made on tolled stretches of road (for example motorways) in a safe and convenient manner, avoiding the risk of fraud such as theft or cloning of traditional devices such as Telepass and similar and above all also in the event of failure to recognise the vehicle.

[00127] Processing is fast, even in the event of failure to recognise the vehicle, and is completed in a few milliseconds, thus also allowing the transit bar to be raised as the car advances towards the gate without delay, if such a bar is present at the entrance and / or exit.

[00128] Starting from the European publication EP3427234 in the name of Progress Consultant Srl, the invention concerns an improvement thereof.

[00129] In particular, it is an improvement of a motorway toll system in which the vehicle is identified upon transit by means of special image acquisition devices, for example cameras, to recognise it and charge it for transit.

[00130] In case of failure to recognize, the system uses an information packet that is automatically sent by a software application to a central server 2 at the time of transit.

[00131] The invention therefore uses a software application for mobile telephone devices.

[00132] As is well known, a software application (generally referred to by the acronym App) can be conveniently downloaded onto any type of device capable of running it, generally mobile telephone devices such as iPhones and / or Smartphones and / or similar. -22

[00133] It is therefore possible for the user to download this specific application (App) via a specific “well known” link.

[00134] The use of a mobile telephone device 1, such as a smartphone or an iPhone, is advantageous as they are commonly used, pocket-sized or otherwise transportable devices, and therefore accompany the user throughout the day. They are designed to be able to process data, download software applications that run on their operating system and quickly connect to the Internet. Furthermore, as clarified below, they are able to geolocate their own occupied position or a position in general.

[00135] Figure 1 therefore shows, in a non-limiting way, a mobile telephone device 1 on which such an application is downloaded (indicated in the figure as App) which, as per prior art, initially requires registration so that a central server 2 (which manages such software application) can store the data entered by the specific subject who downloaded and uses it. The data are therefore inherent to the subject who wishes to use the toll service described here.

[00136] During operation, the software application connects to the designated central server 2, as detailed below.

[00137] When the application is installed, it will require the insertion of one or more data of the subject in such a way as to be able to store it in the designated central server, identifying it uniquely with respect to any other subjects who subscribe to the service.

[00138] For example, personal data is entered, in addition to the choice of any access credentials to your reserved area, as is now standard practice for all -23 software applications.

[00139] For greater security, the application may therefore require the entry of any password so that the opening of the application itself and its activation, as explained below, are always restricted by the entry of a preliminary access key, possibly allowing access to a well-known reserved area. Other secure access systems may be provided, such as access with facial recognition or biometric or similar.

[00140] The initial registration also requires the insertion of at least one unique distinctive element that serves to identify the vehicle you wish to register.

[00141] The unique distinctive element is therefore associated with the vehicle.

[00142] If the same individual decides to register multiple vehicles in his possession by joining the service, then a specific, unique distinctive element will be required for each of them.

[00143] Preferably, this unique distinctive element is the vehicle's license plate number, generally meaning the sequence of numbers and / or letters that are generally used on license plates and that compose it.

[00144] Therefore the license plate uniquely identifies a vehicle and registration for the service, as mentioned, allows the subject to be identified and his vehicle / s to be correctly associated with the said owner via the unique distinctive element, for example the license plate.

[00145] For example, subject A associated with Vehicle B having license plate 12345.

[00146] Other distinctive elements can be added, such as the type of vehicle, colour, etc.

[00147] Figure 2 therefore shows the initial insertion -24 of the data that is done during the initialization phase of the App (therefore only once during the registration phase) with the data that is then transmitted and stored in the central server 2.

[00148] Obviously this initialization can eventually be updated for example by adding a vehicle or replacing one vehicle with another (for example if the owner changes car).

[00149] As further schematized in figure 3, image acquisition means 100 are therefore provided, for example in the form of cameras 100.

[00150] The cameras 100 are generally positioned in a fixed manner so as to always frame a wide area which includes the license plate. Figure 3 in fact schematizes a vehicle in transit through a toll access area where the cameras 100 are located.

[00151] However, this does not exclude the inclusion of another distinctive element of the vehicle which falls within the image acquisition area.

[00152] Such image acquisition means, for example cameras as mentioned, can be set up at any point where they are deemed necessary for detection (for example at the access and / or exit points from toll routes and / or even at intermediate points of such routes).

[00153] Preferably they are obviously placed at the access point.

[00154] The access gate can be equipped with a bar positioned to block access and which automatically raises in the event of positive recognition of the vehicle to allow access, following a successful charge.

[00155] Alternatively or in combination with the above, the exit gate may include the bar. -25

[00156] The bar can therefore be foreseen at the entrance and / or at the exit and the recognition for the charge, although preferably occurs at the entrance, can alternatively occur at the exit.

[00157] In all the above cases, the processing described must therefore be performed in very short times, for example in the order of milliseconds, to allow for obtaining a positive consent for immediate transit with consequent raising of the bar, taking into account that the space between the image acquisition point and the bar is a few metres.

[00158] The bar may still not be present.

[00159] Figure 3 therefore shows the access of a vehicle (a car) through a gate 200 monitored by such cameras.

[00160] In accordance with the invention, the cameras are positioned in such a way as to be able to acquire an image relating to the vehicle which allows the vehicle's unique distinctive element to be traced, for example the license plate.

[00161] Figure 4 therefore shows an image 400 taken by camera 100 and containing the license plate 450. The license plate contains the example number IM 253.

[00162] The said image acquisition means (for example cameras) are of a type such as to provide an internal processor programmed to process the image and extract the information on the image content (in this example case of figure 4 the license plate number IM 253).

[00163] If, for example, the image shows the license plate, the processor is able to extract the license plate number from the image which, as mentioned, represents the unique distinctive element stored in the central server 2. -26

[00164] Image processing technology in this sense is well known and such types of cameras already exist on the market, for example with OCR technology through which image content can be extracted.

[00165] These image acquisition means are placed in communication (they are therefore connected electronically, for example in wireless mode such as an Internet network) with the central server 2 in such a way as to send the data relating to the processing carried out, therefore for example the license plate number and / or other vehicle identifiers, to the said central server 2.

[00166] The central server, having received this information from the cameras with which it is in communication, can then, at this point, check whether the license plate number is present in its list of stored users.

[00167] If so, the central server 2 recognizes the user and can start the charging process for the relevant toll.

[00168] For example, a connection to the banking server can be set up with a periodic payment request to a specific IBAN, just as, again through a connection to the banking server, an instant payment can be requested if the user enters electronic payment card data such as credit or debit cards during registration.

[00169] Therefore, in the event of a positive recognition outcome, the central server is activated to request a payment for the identified subject, a payment which can be periodic (for example monthly) or instantaneous.

[00170] Therefore, when the vehicle passes through an access point to the toll road, thus passing in correspondence with the image acquisition means, the camera acquires one or more single images or a -27 videos from which it extracts multiple image frames. In each case, one or more of these images or the video are processed within milliseconds by the programmed processor, for example through OCR systems, to determine the license plate numbers. The extracted license plate number is sent to the central server for verification.

[00171] The central server is therefore connected to the entire network of such image acquisition devices distributed across the territory.

[00172] As is well known, it may happen that one or more symbols on the license plate (a number or a letter or part of them) are not recognized correctly, for example due to a malfunction of the camera or because the license plate may be dirty.

[00173] For this purpose, the information packet is automatically sent by the software application installed on the mobile phone device.

[00174] In particular, each downloaded software application contains in its memory, or in any case traces back to, all the perfectly geolocalised positions of the access and / or exit points of the toll routes where the cameras are installed.

[00175] In particular, access to the paid area essentially begins at the point where the camera is set up.

[00176] The App in use therefore knows the geographical position of all the aforementioned cameras distributed throughout the area, thus knowing all the positionings relating to access to the toll area.

[00177] Now, the problem of the camera not working or in any case of the license plate not being recognized precisely during processing, is solved — 28 — through this functionality of the software application.

[00178] As shown therefore, in figure 5, the software application, through geolocalization, for example through GPS, geolocalizes the vehicle continuously or at intervals of time (and in any case in real time) during the vehicle's journey.

[00179] In a preferred, particularly simple configuration, the mobile phone on which the application is loaded must be placed on the vehicle to be geolocated. Geolocation is in fact requested by the software application and occurs via the mobile phone.

[00180] However, a solution that integrates with car infotainment systems is not excluded. In this case, the geolocation of the car alone is also covered, and not the mobile device.

[00181] Therefore, real-time geolocalisation of the vehicle takes place (even at intervals of time or continuously).

[00182] The software application also has the positioning coordinates of the toll gates in its memory and is therefore able to easily determine the moment in which a transit through a toll zone is taking place or has taken place.

[00183] More specifically, the software application has the ability to check the distance of the vehicle from one or more of the points it has in memory and which represent the entrance to the toll road (where the cameras are therefore located).

[00184] When the current position of the vehicle overlaps or is extremely close to one of the points in memory, this implies that the vehicle is entering and / or exiting a specific toll route.

[00185] In this circumstance where the transit occurs and -29this transit is recognized and identified by the App, as shown in figure 6, the software application automatically sends a packet of information to the central server 2 including the unique distinguishing element of the vehicle in question (for example the license plate number) to which the software application is associated, for example the license plate and / or other information.

[00186] If preferred, send the license plate.

[00187] The information sent by the software application is used by the central server 2 to compensate for the case of failure to recognise the vehicle.

[00188] In particular, the central server can recover the incorrectly identified license plate number by looking at the relevant information packet sent by the software application.

[00189] More specifically, the central server can now compare information packets received within a predefined time range (e.g. a few seconds) and associated with that specific transit point.

[00190] In a practical example:

[00191] For example, if, following the transit of a vehicle, two numbers making up the vehicle's license plate are not recognized, the information package received through the software application, and sent by the app associated with that vehicle, can allow the complete license plate data to be found, as this information package also contains the unique distinctive element, i.e. the license plate.

[00192] However, it is necessary to ensure that the central server knows which information package to consider and which is associated with the unrecognized vehicle.

[00193] This is because these information packets are automatically sent with each transit.

[00194] In this sense the central server considers a range -30 of pre-established time related to the instant of reception of an unrecognized license plate, for example which can be about a few seconds (for example two or three seconds), and takes into account all the information packets received in that time interval.

[00195] The time range is such as to include the instant T0 in which the unrecognised vehicle passed.

[00196] For example, information packages included in a time interval T1 and T2 can be taken into consideration, with T1 <TO<T2 e T0 l'istante di transito del veicolo di cui non si è riconosciuta la targa.

[00197] In alternativa si potrebbe considerare un intervallo di tempo T1 > TO.

[00198] In this way the number of information packets to be analysed is extremely reduced as it is limited to a time range close to that of the transit of the unrecognised vehicle.

[00199] Preferably, the information packages taken into consideration in the said time ranges are not all those for all the toll routes but only those relating to the transit toll booth where recognition failed and therefore referred to the specific geolocalisation of the point where the transited vehicle was not recognised.

[00200] Furthermore, if the unrecognized transit has a clearly identified instant in which it occurred and which coincides with the instant of sending the information packet, then the time range can be reduced to just the instant of non-recognition at the specific gateway.

[00201] In this way the number of information to be analyzed to find the missing data is very limited to a few units or even a single unit, with instantaneous processing.

[00202] In other words, if the vehicle is not recognized -31passes under the camera N1 which does not recognize the license plate at the instant T0, then the central server is programmed to analyze the information packets received from the apps relating to the vehicles that have passed under the camera N1 in a time interval t between T0 and T1 (T0 <t<T1) o in un intervallo di tempo t uguale o subito successivo a TO (t > TO) or even just at the TO moment.

[00203] If this time interval is of the order of a few seconds, we would ultimately have a very limited number of information packets and limited to a specific camera located at one point (and therefore not to the entire network). The number of information is limited as it is confined to a time interval of a few seconds (for example four seconds) and limited to a single specific transit point. In such a narrow time interval, a very small number of information packets would have to be analyzed as the transit of a maximum of a couple of vehicles would physically be possible. This allows for rapid processing.

[00204] So, if two vehicles are passing by and the license plate of one cannot be recognized because, for example, a license plate number is not visible and cannot be processed, it will be sufficient to compare the license plate numbers received from the information packages for the corresponding passages at the specific point and within the pre-established time range sent by the Apps to immediately find the complete license plate among them. In fact, it is sufficient to compare the license plates sent by the respective Apps (in the example case two license plates) with the one not fully identified to find the one that most closely matches and therefore corresponds to the one sought.

[00205] If, for example, you read a license plate of which the -32 vehicle number is not detected (12..45) and there are three information packages received through the sending of the relevant apps, then certainly only one of these three information packages will have a license plate with all the numbers 12 and 45 arranged in the same order as the unrecognized one, also allowing the missing number to be identified, i.e. 12345 in an example case. A graphical example is shown in figure 7. Figure 7 shows a license plate with an unrecognized central part.

[00206] In the example, three information packages are considered, namely a License Plate_l, a License Plate_2, and a License Plate_3. It is simple for the specially programmed central server to verify which of these three license plates completes the unidentified license plate. In fact, only License Plate_l has the same initial and final numbers in the same sequence, and therefore the license plate can only be License Plate_l. From here, the owner to whom the transit cost should be charged can be immediately traced.

[00207] Ultimately, therefore, the App defines geographical points (PORTALS) identified geographically with the GPS positions of the motorway toll booths (entrance and exit).

[00208] During the journey, the app checks the distance between the vehicle and the PORTAL every x amount of time, increasing or decreasing the frequency of the checks as it gets closer or further away from the PORTAL itself.

[00209] When the car arrives at the PORTAL (usually just unlatching is enough as it cannot go back but only forwards) the App sends the customer code to which the license plate or license plates associated with the APP are associated and sends it to the Server.

[00210] This data will only be used in case of doubt. -33

[00211] According to a further advantageous aspect of the invention, the software application generates a notification when passing under a camera.

[00212] This can be used as an anti-theft security system if, for example, the car is stolen and passes under a stretch of road as described. In this case, passing under the camera generates an alert that is sent to the app and therefore displayed to the user via the app.

Claims

1. A method for making a toll payment following access of a vehicle to a tolled route and comprising the operations of: - Initial registration of a subject to the payment service via a dedicated software application for mobile telephone device downloaded / downloadable on said mobile telephone device, the software application connecting to a central server (2) managing said service; - Initialisation of the software application via registration of the subject and initial insertion of at least one unique distinctive element (450) of at least one vehicle associated with said subject registering for the service; - Storage in said central server (2) of said at least one unique distinctive element (450) of the vehicle associated with the subject; - Provision of image acquisition means (100) in one or more points (A'-B', B'-C',C' D' ) pre-established routes of one or more sections of the journey associated with said service, preferably at least at the entry and / or exit points (A'-B', B'-C', C'-D'), and in which the said method includes the following phases: - At the time of transit in the said sections,acquisition of one or more images through said image acquisition means (100) arranged in such a way as to frame at least a part of the vehicle which comprises such at least one unique distinctive element (450); - Processing by said image acquisition means of the acquired image(s) in such a way that said image acquisition means extrapolate from the image(s) said at least one unique distinctive element (450); - Reception by the central server (2) of said unique distinctive element (450) extrapolated from the image and verification of its presence in memory in order to identify the subject registered for the service to allow the toll charging operation to be carried out; - Characterised by the fact that a phase is foreseen in which the software application controls, for example through the mobile telephone device, a geo-localisation which identifies in real time the position occupied by the vehicle,the said software application having in its memory geolocalisation coordinates which identify the positioning of all the said image acquisition means in the said toll route(s), the said software application, noting the position of the vehicle, recognises an access and / or an exit in progress of the vehicle in correspondence with a positioning point of the said image acquisition means, verifying when the said position detected in real time of the vehicle is coincident or close to at least one of the said geolocalisation coordinates which identify the positioning of the said image acquisition means, the software application sending to the central server (2), following said recognition of an access and / or an exit, an information packet containing at least the unique distinctive element of the vehicle passed in such a way that the central server receives,in addition to the processing data extrapolated from the said image acquisition means, also this information package which information package is used by the central server for vehicle recognition in the event that the image processing of the said image acquisition means determines a recognition of the said unique distinctive element which is only partial and / or such as not to allow the identification of the vehicle which has passed.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the software application determines the said vehicle transit in correspondence with a positioning of the said image acquisition means, it sends a notification to the mobile telephone device on which it is installed.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said image acquisition means are one or more cameras adapted to record a video and / or single images.

4. The method according to one or more preceding claims, wherein said unique distinctive element is at least the license plate number of the vehicle.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said unique distinctive element further comprises other data such as the color of the vehicle.

6. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the central server, in the said case where the processing of said image acquisition means results in only partial recognition of the said unique distinctive element, analyses the information packets sent to the said central server, said information packets being those relating to a time interval comprising the instant (T0) of image acquisition or exactly the instant (T0), the said central server comparing the said unique distinctive elements extrapolated from the said information packets received with the only partially recognised unique distinctive element to determine the said unrecognised unique distinctive element;preferably said information packets are only those connected to the vehicles that have passed in the said time interval or at the exact instant (T0) under the said image acquisition means that have processed the image with the said partial recognition only.; 7. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the recognition of the vehicle determines the lifting of the bar that blocks transit on the tolled section, allowing access to the vehicle.

8. An assembly for effecting a toll payment following access by a vehicle to a tolled stretch of road and comprising: - A central server (2); - A mobile telephone device on which a software application is installed; - The said software application being such as to allow, in use, an initial registration of a subject to the payment service; - And wherein said software application, through -38said registration of the subject,is configured to initially request an initial insertion of at least one unique distinctive element (450) of at least one vehicle associated with the said subject who registers for the service; - The said software application connecting to the said central server (2) managing the said service and the central server being configured to store at least the said at least one unique distinctive element (450) of the vehicle associated with the subject; - Image acquisition means (100) arranged in one or more pre-established points (A'-B', B'-C', C'-D') of one or more sections of the journey associated with the said service, preferably at least in the entry and / or exit points (A'-B', B'-C', C'-D'), and in which the said image acquisition means (100) are arranged in such a way as to frame at least a part of the vehicle which comprises such at least one unique distinctive element (450),said image acquisition means being configured to process said image(s) in order to extrapolate from the image(s) the said at least one unique distinctive element (450); - And wherein the central server (2) is placed in communication with said image acquisition means in such a way as to receive at least the said unique distinctive element (450) extrapolated from the image and with the central server programmed to verify the presence in memory of the said unique distinctive element in order to identify the registered subject to allow the toll charging operation to be carried out; - Characterised in that the software application is connected to a geolocalisation system capable of identifying in real time the position occupied by the vehicle, the said software application having in memory geolocalisation coordinates which identify the positioning of all said image acquisition means in the said toll route(s),the said software application being programmed to perform said real-time geolocalisation of the said vehicle in such a way as to determine a transit of the vehicle in correspondence with a positioning point of the said image acquisition means through the said determination of the real-time position of the said vehicle by verifying when this is coincident with or close to at least one of the said geolocalisation coordinates which identify the positioning of the said image acquisition means, the software application being further programmed to send to the central server, following said recognition of an access to the said route, an information packet containing at least the unique distinctive element of the vehicle passed in such a way that the central server receives, in addition to the processing data extrapolated from the said image acquisition means, also such information packet,the central server being in turn programmed in such a way as to use this information package for vehicle recognition in the event that the processing of the said image acquisition means determines a recognition of the said unique distinctive element that is only partial and / or such as not to allow the identification of the vehicle that has passed.

9. The assembly according to claim 8, wherein said image acquisition means are one or more cameras adapted to record video and / or single images.

10. The assembly according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said unique distinctive element is at least the vehicle registration number.

11. The assembly according to claim 10, wherein said unique distinctive element further comprises other data such as the color of the vehicle.

12. The assembly according to one or more of the preceding claims 8 to 11, wherein the central server, in the said case where the processing of said image acquisition means results in only partial recognition of said unique distinctive element, is programmed to analyse the information packets sent to said central server, said information packets being those relating to a time interval comprising the instant (T0) of image acquisition or exactly the instant (T0) only, said central server being programmed to compare said unique distinctive elements extrapolated from said information packets received with the only partially recognised unique distinctive element to determine said unrecognised unique distinctive element;preferably said information packets being only those connected to the vehicles that have passed in the said time interval or at the specific instant (T0) under the said image acquisition means that have processed the image with the said partial recognition only.; 13. The assembly according to one or more of the preceding claims 8 to 12, wherein each toll section comprises an entrance and an exit and wherein at least the entrance is blocked by a liftable bar, the recognition of the vehicle determining the lifting of the bar which blocks transit on the toll section, allowing access to the vehicle.