A multi-angle antenna device for roadside unit

Abstract

The present invention provides a multi-angle antenna device for a roadside unit. It includes: a system controller 2, a microwave communication module 3, a surround camera 4, and multiple groups of antennas 9-12. The camera system 4 has a 360° shooting angle of view and can identify the position of a vehicle through image processing. Multiple groups of antennas 9-12 are arranged along the shooting angle of view, and the range of action of each group of antennas corresponds to a different area in the shooting angle of view. The microwave communication module 3 connects the corresponding antennas 9-12 according to the vehicle position identified by the surround camera 4, and communicates with the on-board electronic tag on the vehicle to obtain vehicle information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a multi-angle antenna device for a road side unit (RSU), and in particular to a multi-angle antenna device for a road side unit (RSU). Background Art

[0002] The phenomenon of random parking on the streets not only affects the image of the city, but also creates a great obstacle for car owners to travel. When passing through the toll gate of the expressway, some vehicles deliberately follow other vehicles to avoid the automatic deduction of tolls. Illegal acts such as forging other people's license plates also occur from time to time, affecting traffic safety.

[0003] With the ETC policy "Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Promotion of Electronic Non-Stop Quick Toll Collection Application Services on Expressways" issued by the Ministry of Transport in 2019, and the preferential policies launched by major banks, the penetration rate of vehicles installed with ETC will reach more than 90% by the end of 2019, and the ETC equipment on-board electronic tag (OBU) will become the unique electronic identification of the vehicle.

[0004] The existing ETC roadside parking fee collection device uses a camera to identify the vehicle model and license plate information, and then uses the RSU to read the vehicle information in the on-board electronic tag to improve the accuracy of recognition. Since the RSU antenna has a small coverage range in the width direction, it brings great difficulties to the installation and debugging of the antenna. In addition, during use, the deviation of the antenna position is not easy to be found, and it usually needs to be checked regularly. The maintenance workload when it is used in large quantities is extremely huge, which affects the popularization of ETC roadside parking fee collection devices.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a multi-angle roadside unit antenna device for solving the problem of difficult installation and debugging of RSU antennas. Summary of the invention

[0006] The first technical solution of the present invention is a multi-angle antenna device for a roadside unit, which is characterized by comprising: a vehicle signal transceiver, a camera system, multiple antennas, and an antenna adapter.

[0007] The camera system has a certain shooting angle, is set on the roadside to shoot the image of the vehicle, and identifies the vehicle and the location of the vehicle through image processing.

[0008] The multiple groups of antennas are arranged along the shooting angle of view of the camera system, and the effective range of each group of antennas corresponds to a different area in the shooting angle of view.

[0009] The vehicle signal transceiver communicates with the vehicle-mounted electronic tag to obtain vehicle information.

[0010] The antenna adapter connects the antenna corresponding to the vehicle position to the vehicle signal transceiver according to the vehicle position identified by the camera system.

[0011] The second technical solution is based on the first technical solution, and the action ranges of the multiple groups of antennas in the horizontal direction are seamlessly connected or partially overlapped.

[0012] The third technical solution is based on the second technical solution, and the camera system has a 360° shooting viewing angle.

[0013] The fourth technical solution is based on the third technical solution, and the camera in the camera system is a ball camera or a gun camera.

[0014] The fifth technical solution is based on the third technical solution. The camera system identifies the vehicle model and license plate through image processing, and the vehicle signal transceiver obtains the vehicle model and license plate information by communicating with the on-board electronic tag.

[0015] The sixth technical solution is based on the third technical solution, and the antenna is a microwave antenna.

[0016] The seventh technical solution is based on the sixth technical solution. The antenna is a microstrip high-gain array antenna or a phased array antenna. Wave velocity scanning is achieved by controlling the phase and power distribution ratio of each antenna unit of the array antenna.

[0017] The eighth technical solution is based on the seventh technical solution, and the polarization mode of the antenna is right-hand circular polarization or linear polarization.

[0018] The ninth technical solution is based on the seventh technical solution, comprising a system controller (2), a communication module, and a safety authentication module (13), wherein the communication module, the safety authentication module (13), the camera system (4), and the vehicle signal transceiver are connected to the system controller (2).

[0019] The communication module comprises any one of an Ethernet communication module (5), an RS485 communication module (6), a WIFI communication module (7), a 4G / 5G communication module (8), and a Bluetooth communication module (14), or a combination thereof.

[0020] The tenth technical solution is based on any one of the third to ninth technical solutions, comprising a microwave communication module (3), which is composed of a controller (30), a microwave transceiver (31), a power amplifier (32), a low noise amplifier (33), a single-pole double-throw switch (34), a single-pole four-throw switch (35), a network port transceiver (36), and a connector (37).

[0021] The controller (30), microwave transceiver (31), power amplifier (32), low noise amplifier (33), single-pole double-throw switch (34), network port transceiver (36), and connector (37) are used as the vehicle signal transceiver to communicate with the vehicle-mounted electronic tag to obtain vehicle information.

[0022] The single-pole double-throw switch (34) serves as the antenna adapter to connect the antenna corresponding to the vehicle position. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 A structural diagram illustrating a multi-angle antenna device for a roadside unit;

[0024] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the power module;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating the structure of a microwave communication module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and effect of the present invention more clearly described, the technical solution of the present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods. It should be understood that the specific implementation methods described herein are only used to explain the present invention and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 1 The following is a diagram illustrating the structure of a multi-angle antenna device used in a roadside unit. Figure 1 As shown, the multi-angle antenna device mainly consists of a power module 1, a system controller 2, a microwave communication module 3, a ball camera (camera system) 4, an Internet port communication module 5, an RS485 communication module 6, a WIFI communication module 7, a 4G / 5G communication module 8, a Bluetooth communication module 14, an antenna (front) 9, an antenna (rear) 10, an antenna (left) 11, an antenna (right) 12, a security authentication module 13, etc.

[0028] The system controller 2 is connected with the microwave communication module 3 through LAN1, with the dome camera (camera system) 4 through LAN2, with the network port communication module 5 through SPI1, with the RS485 communication module 6 through UART1, with the WIFI communication module 7 through USB1 port, with the 4G / 5G communication module 8 through USB2 port, with the Bluetooth communication module 14 through SPI3 port, and with the security authentication module 13 through SPI1.

[0029] The network port communication module 5 , RS485 communication module 6 , WIFI communication module 7 , 4G / 5G communication module 8 , and Bluetooth communication module 14 are used as communication modules to send acquired information to an external server or receive instructions. The security authentication module 13 performs security management on the system controller 2 .

[0030] The ball camera 4 is, for example, arranged in a roadside parking lot to monitor vehicles entering the roadside parking lot. The ball camera 4 has a 360° shooting angle of view and can monitor the situation in the roadside parking lot within 360 degrees in the horizontal direction. The ball camera 4 has an image processing function and can accurately identify the vehicle model and license plate information entering the parking area by processing the captured image.

[0031] Antenna (front) 9, antenna (rear) 10, antenna (left) 11, and antenna (right) 12 are evenly distributed at four positions along the shooting angle of the ball camera 4, namely, the effective range of antenna 9 corresponds to the front of the shooting angle, the effective range of antenna 10 corresponds to the rear of the shooting angle, the effective range of antenna 11 corresponds to the left of the shooting angle, and the effective range of antenna 12 corresponds to the right of the shooting angle. The effective ranges of the four antennas (9-12) in the horizontal direction are seamlessly connected or partially overlapped.

[0032] In the present embodiment, antennas 9, 10, 11, and 12 are microstrip high-gain array antennas or phased array antennas. By controlling the phase and power allocation ratio of each antenna unit of the array antenna, wave velocity scanning is realized, and the vehicle position can be located. The antenna polarization mode is preferably right-hand circular polarization, or linear polarization. The form of the antenna can also be other forms of antennas, such as horn antennas, waveguide slot antennas, etc., as long as the four antennas can cover 360 degrees in the horizontal direction and ensure that there is no blind spot in the horizontal microwave communication. The structure of the antenna is not limited to the above form. Any antenna that can communicate with the OBU on the vehicle, whose scope of action is smaller than the shooting angle of the ball camera 4, and whose combined scope of action corresponds to the entire shooting angle of view are applicable.

[0033] Under the control of the system controller 2, the ball camera 4 performs roadside monitoring 24 hours a day. When a vehicle is photographed, the image processing system in the ball camera 4 processes the image, detects the vehicle position, and identifies the vehicle model, vehicle license plate number and other vehicle information.

[0034] After the system controller 2 obtains the vehicle position information detected by the ball camera 4, it starts the microwave communication module 3 to communicate with the OBU on the vehicle to obtain vehicle information such as vehicle type and license plate number.

[0035] The microwave communication module 3 receives vehicle position information from the system controller 2 and connects to the antenna corresponding to the vehicle position for communication. Therefore, even if the coverage (range of action) of the antenna (9-12) in the width (horizontal) direction is narrow, the microwave communication module 3 can correctly communicate with the OBU on the vehicle without the problem of being unable to read vehicle information (such as vehicle model, license plate information) due to the deviation of the antenna position. That is, in the present invention, the four antennas are pre-fixed with the ball camera 4, and there is no need to debug the position of each antenna during installation, nor is there a need for regular inspection and adjustment.

[0036] When sending vehicle information to the server, the system controller 2 may also compare the vehicle information from the ball camera 4 and the vehicle information from the microwave communication module 3. When the two are consistent, the vehicle information is sent to the server to improve the accuracy of the vehicle information.

[0037] Figure 2 The power module 1 is a structural diagram of the power module. The power module 1 is used to provide different voltages required by each module. The input voltage of the power module is AC 220V. After passing through the switching power module 20, the DC voltage 12V is output. The voltage 12V is then passed through the DC / DC power chip and the filter circuit 21, and then the output end outputs a DC voltage of 5V. The voltage 5V is then passed through the LDO and filter circuit 22 with different output voltages to output different voltages such as 3.3V, 3V, and 1.8V, providing working voltage for each module.

[0038] Figure 3 The diagram below is a structural diagram of a microwave communication module. Figure 3 As shown, the microwave communication module 3 is composed of a controller 30, a microwave transceiver 31, a power amplifier (PA) 32, a low noise amplifier (LNA) 33, a single-pole double-throw connector (SPDT) 34, a single-pole 4-throw connector (SP4T) 35, a network port transceiver 36, and a connector 37. The controller 30 is connected to the microwave transceiver 31 through SPI1 and to the network port transceiver 36 through SPI2. The microwave transceiver 31 realizes 5.8GHz microwave signal modulation and demodulation. The power amplifier (PA) 32 realizes amplifying the transmitted signal to a certain power and then radiating it to the antenna. The low noise amplifier (LNA) 33 realizes further amplification of the weak signal received by the antenna.

[0039] The single-pole double-throw connector 34 realizes the switching between signal reception and transmission. The single-pole 4-throw connector 35 realizes the function of selecting and connecting antenna 9, antenna 10, antenna 11, and antenna 12, that is, the function of selecting the corresponding antenna for connection according to the vehicle position information.

[0040] For example, when the ball camera 4 recognizes the information of the vehicle in front, the single-pole 4-throw 35 is connected to the front antenna 9, and the microwave transceiver 31 communicates with the on-board electronic tag (OBU) in the front vehicle through the front antenna 9 to obtain vehicle information or perform parking fee processing.

[0041] The controller 30, microwave transceiver 31, power amplifier 32, low noise amplifier 33, single-pole double-throw switch connector 34, network port transceiver 36, and connector 37 constitute a vehicle signal transceiver in the claims for communicating with the vehicle-mounted electronic tag to obtain vehicle information.

[0042] The single-pole four-throw connector 35 constitutes an antenna adapter connected to an antenna corresponding to a position in the vehicle as claimed.

[0043] In this embodiment, a dome camera with a shooting angle of 360° is used to detect the position of the vehicle as well as the vehicle model and license plate information, but a gun camera can also be used for shooting.

[0044] The number of antennas is not limited to four and can be selected arbitrarily according to the coverage of the antennas.

[0045] The camera system is not limited to dome cameras or gun cameras with a 360° shooting angle. Various other forms of camera mechanisms can also be used as long as they have a wide shooting angle and can cover the range that needs to be detected.

[0046] Beneficial effects brought by the technical solution of the present invention

[0047] The multi-angle antenna device of the present invention not only has a video recognition function, which can accurately identify various vehicle models and license plates, but also has a microwave communication function, which can read the vehicle information in the electronic tag (OBU) in the vehicle through microwaves. After the ball camera 4 detects the vehicle and identifies the vehicle position, the microwave communication module 3 will automatically select the antenna in the corresponding direction, and then perform microwave communication. The microwave antenna in each direction has a wave speed scanning function, which can communicate with the OBU on vehicles at different distances and locate the vehicle.

[0048] Compared with the traditional single-antenna line-side device, the multi-angle antenna device of the present invention has a 360° field of view, which avoids the trouble of manually adjusting the installation angle of the antenna during installation. Multiple communication methods such as network port, RS485, WIFI, 4G / 5G, Bluetooth, etc. can be selected to communicate with the external server. Among them, WIFI, 4G / 5G, and Bluetooth communication methods do not require wiring and are easy to install. In addition, there is no need for regular inspection and other maintenance work, which reduces the cost of use.

[0049] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes and replacements that can be easily obtained by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope described in the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A multi-angle antenna device for a roadside unit, Features include: Microwave communication module (3), camera system (4), multiple antennas (9-12), The camera system (4) has a 360° shooting angle of view and is arranged on the roadside to capture images of vehicles, and identifies the vehicle and its location through image processing. The multiple groups of antennas (9-12) are arranged along the shooting angle of view of the camera system (4) and are pre-fixed together with the camera system (4); the effective range of each group of antennas (9-12) corresponds to a different area in the shooting angle of view. The multiple antenna groups have seamless or partially overlapping ranges in the horizontal direction, and can cover 360° in the horizontal direction. The microwave communication module (3) comprises an antenna adapter (35), and the antenna adapter (35) selects an antenna (9-12) corresponding to the vehicle position for communication according to the vehicle position identified by the camera system (4). The microwave communication module (3) communicates with an on-board electronic tag (OBU) to obtain vehicle information according to the input vehicle position information.

2. The multi-angle antenna device for a roadside unit according to claim 1, Features: The camera in the camera system (4) is a dome camera or a gun camera.

3. The multi-angle antenna device for a roadside unit according to claim 1, Features: The antennas (9-12) are microwave antennas.

4. The multi-angle antenna device for a roadside unit according to claim 3, Features: The antennas (9-12) are microstrip high-gain array antennas or phased array antennas, and wave velocity scanning is achieved by controlling the phase and power distribution ratio of each antenna unit of the array antenna.

5. The multi-angle antenna device for a roadside unit according to claim 4, Features: The polarization mode of the antenna (9-12) is right-hand circular polarization or linear polarization.

6. The multi-angle antenna device for a roadside unit according to claim 5, Features It also includes: a system controller (2), a communication module, and a security authentication module (13), wherein the communication module, the security authentication module (13), the camera system (4), and the microwave communication module (3) are connected to the system controller (2). The communication module comprises any one of an Ethernet communication module (5), an RS485 communication module (6), a WIFI communication module (7), a 4G / 5G communication module (8), and a Bluetooth communication module (14), or a combination thereof.

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