Charge center data processing server, abnormal communication processing system and abnormal communication processing method

Abstract

To specify a user even if normal processing on the user who rents a vehicle from an automobile charged rental operator and uses a toll road ends in failure.SOLUTION: A charge center data processing server comprises: a charge center reception unit which receives abnormal communication occurrence data representing that a vehicle having passed through a toll road is a rental vehicle and made abnormal communication at a toll gate; a charge center generation unit which generates user's driving license inquiry data based upon the abnormal communication occurrence data; a charge center acquisition unit which acquires user's driving license inquiry answer data including driving license data of the user of the vehicle in response to the generated user's driving license inquiry data; and a charge center control unit which performs face authentication between a driver image included in the abnormality communication occurrence data and face data included in the driving license data to specify the user of the vehicle having caused the abnormal communication.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a charge central data processing server, an abnormal communication processing system, and an abnormal communication processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Toll fees on conventional toll roads are basically determined according to the distance from the entrance toll gate to the exit toll gate. Currently, automatic toll collection using the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system is becoming mainstream. In recent years, the installation of toll gates exclusively for ETC has also been promoted.

[0003] Furthermore, in recent years, it has become common for vehicles in automobile rental businesses, including car rentals and car sharing, to be equipped with on-board units and for users to use the ETC system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-052136 [Patent Document 2] JP 2009-252093 A [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-287308 [Patent Document 4] JP 2015-133022 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] If a user of a vehicle rented by a rental car company or other car rental service fails to complete the normal procedure at a toll booth and does not report the same toll to the user, a vehicle registration inquiry based on the license plate will only reveal information about the car rental service, and will not reveal information about the user himself. This makes it difficult for toll road operators to send documents encouraging the user to make a payment after the fact.

[0006] This invention has been made in light of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a technology that can identify a user even when a user who has been rented a vehicle from a paid automobile rental company uses a toll road and normal processing cannot be performed for that user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The central toll data processing server of the embodiment includes a central toll receiving unit that receives abnormal communication occurrence data indicating that a vehicle that has traveled on a toll road is a rented vehicle and that the vehicle has experienced abnormal communication at a toll gate; a central toll generating unit that generates user license inquiry data based on the abnormal communication occurrence data; a central toll acquiring unit that obtains user license inquiry response data including driver's license data of the user of the vehicle in response to the generated user license inquiry data; and a central toll control unit that performs facial recognition between a driver image included in the abnormal communication occurrence data and facial data included in the driver's license data, and identifies the user of the vehicle in which abnormal communication has occurred. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an abnormal communication processing system according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of each server and the vehicle-mounted device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3]FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing procedure when normal processing cannot be performed for a user who is using a rented vehicle traveling on a toll road according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information included in the user application data. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of abnormal communication occurrence data generated by the tollgate control unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in the abnormal communication rented vehicle DB. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of specific information of the user license inquiry data. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an image of an example of the processing of steps ST110 and ST111. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the user license inquiry response data. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the abnormal communication rental license matching result DB. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an abnormal communication processing system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing procedure when normal processing cannot be performed for a user who is using a rented vehicle traveling on a toll road according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The following describes in detail the charge central data processing server, the abnormal communication processing system, and the abnormal communication processing method with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the parts with the same numbers perform the same operations, and the repeated explanations are omitted. For example, when there are a plurality of identical or similar elements, a common symbol may be used to describe each element without distinguishing between them, and a sub-number may be used in addition to the common symbol to describe each element with distinction between them.

[0010] [First embodiment] (composition) FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an abnormal communication processing system according to the first embodiment. The abnormal communication processing system includes a central toll data processing server 1, an entrance toll booth server 2, a rented vehicle user processing server 3, a toll vehicle rental company management server 4, a vehicle 50, and an on-board unit 5 mounted on the vehicle 50.

[0011] The toll central data processing server 1 is a so-called central device, and is a server installed in a predetermined location such as the management office of a management company that manages the toll road. The toll central data processing server 1 receives information from each toll gate, including the entrance toll gate server 2. The toll central data processing server 1 also performs processing for ex post facto billing of the toll when a vehicle 50 using the ETC system performs abnormal communication.

[0012] Here, when the vehicle 50 has engaged in abnormal communication, it refers to a state in which the toll gate and the on-board unit 5 are unable to communicate normally, the vehicle passes through the toll gate without inserting an ETC card into the on-board unit 5, or the vehicle 50 passes through the ETC lane without being equipped with an on-board unit 5, and so on, resulting in the vehicle 50 not paying the toll that accrues when passing through the toll gate.

[0013] The entrance toll gate server 2 is a server disposed at the entrance toll gate of a toll road. For example, the entrance toll gate server 2 is connected to roadside equipment installed on the roadside of each toll gate.

[0014] When the roadside equipment detects the vehicle 50, it establishes communication with the vehicle-mounted device 5 of the vehicle 50. Then, the roadside equipment transmits and receives various information to and from the vehicle-mounted device 5. Furthermore, the roadside equipment may obtain information about the vehicle 50, such as the vehicle number, an image of the driver driving the vehicle 50 (driver image), the axles, the axle weights, and the like.

[0015] The entrance toll gate server 2 manages various information acquired by the roadside devices. Furthermore, the entrance toll gate server 2 transmits the various information it manages to the toll central data processing server 1. Note that, for the sake of simplicity, only one entrance toll gate server 2 is shown in Fig. 1, but it goes without saying that multiple entrance toll gate servers 2 may exist.

[0016] In addition, there are routes where the toll is calculated at the exit toll gate, and routes where the toll is fixed and determined at the entrance regardless of the corresponding exit. In the case of a single toll system, for example, the entrance toll gate server 2 receives toll master information for calculating the toll from the toll central data processing server 1. Furthermore, the entrance toll gate server 2 may transmit toll information corresponding to the connected roadside equipment to the toll central data processing server 1.

[0017] In this embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the toll road is a road with a single toll system, that is, a toll road in which the toll fee is determined by passing through an entrance toll gate.

[0018] The rental vehicle user processing server 3 is a server that manages user information sent from toll vehicle rental businesses. Details of the user information will be described later. Here, a toll vehicle rental business is a business that temporarily rents out a vehicle 50 to a user, such as a rental car or car sharing business. In the following explanation, a vehicle owned by a toll vehicle rental business will simply be referred to as a rental vehicle. A rental vehicle refers to a vehicle 50 with a "wa" number or a "re" number.

[0019] Here, there are cases where the central data processing server 1 and the rental vehicle user processing server 3 are not able to communicate with each other. Therefore, in FIG. 1, the line between them is shown as a dotted line.

[0020] The toll vehicle rental business management server 4 is a management server managed by a toll vehicle rental business. For example, the toll vehicle rental business management server 4 stores the driver's license data of the user who uses the rental vehicle, the period during which the user uses the rental vehicle, the usage fee, etc. For simplicity, FIG. 1 shows an example in which there is only one toll vehicle rental business management server 4, but it goes without saying that there may be multiple toll vehicle rental business management servers 4.

[0021] The on-board unit 5 is disposed in a vehicle 50 traveling on a toll road. The on-board unit 5 is capable of communicating with roadside equipment and the like connected to the entrance toll gate server 2, and transmits various information such as the card ID, card number, and expiration date of the ETC card inserted in the on-board unit 5, the on-board unit ID, the vehicle number, and the vehicle model (including the number of axles). The on-board unit 5 is also capable of receiving entrance information and the like from the roadside equipment connected to the entrance toll gate server 2, and storing the entrance information in the ETC card. Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which there is only one vehicle 50 and one on-board unit 5, it goes without saying that multiple vehicles 50 equipped with on-board units 5 travel on the toll road.

[0022] In the present embodiment, unless otherwise specified in the following description, the vehicle 50 is a rented vehicle. In other words, the user is a user who uses a rental car or car sharing service.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of each server and the vehicle-mounted device 5 according to the embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of each of the toll central data processing server 1, the entrance toll booth server 2, the rented vehicle user processing server 3, the toll vehicle rental business management server 4, and the vehicle-mounted device 5. As shown in FIG.

[0024] The charge central data processing server 1 includes a charge central control unit 11, a charge central storage unit 12, a charge central communication unit 13, and the like.

[0025] The toll central control unit 11 is a control unit that controls and processes data in the toll central data processing server 1. The toll central control unit 11 is a control unit having a CPU, a memory, an interface, and the like. The CPU is a processor that executes a program to acquire various information received from the entrance toll booth server 2 and various information from the rented vehicle user processing server 3, etc., and realizes various processing functions. The CPU is connected to each part that constitutes the toll central data processing server 1 via an interface, etc. The memory includes various types of memory, such as a non-volatile memory that stores the program executed by the CPU, a volatile memory that temporarily holds data, and a rewritable non-volatile memory that saves setting data, etc. In other words, the toll central control unit 11 controls each part and processes data by the CPU executing the program stored in the memory.

[0026] The central fee storage unit 12 is a storage unit including a storage medium capable of high-speed reading and writing, such as a main memory. The central fee storage unit 12 may be configured with a large-capacity storage device, such as an HDD or SSD. The central fee storage unit 12 stores various data related to the central fee data processing server 1. For example, the central fee storage unit 12 stores an abnormal communication rented vehicle database (hereinafter simply referred to as DB), an abnormal communication rented vehicle license matching result DB, etc. Details of the abnormal communication rented vehicle DB and the abnormal communication rented vehicle license matching result DB will be described later. The central fee storage unit 12 may also store various information received from the entrance toll gate server 2 and various information acquired from the rented vehicle user processing server 3.

[0027] The toll central communication unit 13 is a communication unit equipped with a communication interface including one or more wired or wireless communication modules. For example, the toll central communication unit 13, which is a toll booth communication unit, includes a communication module that connects to the entrance toll booth server 2 via a wired or wireless connection. Furthermore, when the toll central data processing server 1 and the rented vehicle user processing server 3 are capable of communicating with each other, the toll central communication unit 13, which is a user management side communication unit, includes a communication module that connects to the rented vehicle user processing server 3 via a wired or wireless connection. The toll central communication unit 13 may be a general communication interface as long as it can communicate with each device and each equipment under the control of the toll central control unit 11 and send and receive various information.

[0028] There may be cases where the central toll data processing server 1 and the rented vehicle user processing server 3 are not able to communicate with each other. In this case, the central toll data processing server 1 and the rented vehicle user processing server 3 may exchange information using a storage medium (e.g., a USB flash memory) inserted into an input / output interface (not shown) of each server.

[0029] The entrance toll gate server 2 comprises a toll gate control unit 21, a toll gate memory unit 22, a higher level communication unit 23, a departure controller 24, a roadside display 25, a vehicle communication unit 26 and the like.

[0030] The toll gate control unit 21 is a control unit that controls the entire entrance toll gate server 2 and performs data processing, etc. The toll gate control unit 21 has a CPU, memory, an interface, etc. The CPU is a processor that realizes various processing functions by executing programs. The CPU is connected to each part that constitutes the entrance toll gate server 2 via an interface, etc. The memory includes various types of memory such as a non-volatile memory that stores the programs executed by the CPU, a volatile memory that temporarily holds data, and a rewritable non-volatile memory that saves setting data, etc.

[0031] The toll gate memory unit 22 includes a storage medium such as a main memory that allows high-speed reading and writing. The toll gate memory unit 22 may be configured with a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD or SSD. The toll gate memory unit 22 stores various data related to the entrance toll gate server 2. For example, the toll gate memory unit 22 stores entrance identification information that identifies the entrance toll gate. Furthermore, the toll gate memory unit 22 stores vehicle information including the time when the on-board unit 5 passed through each toll gate, on-board unit information that communicated with the on-board unit 5, vehicle number, driver image, number of axles, axle weight, etc.

[0032] The upper communication unit 23 is a communication interface including one or more wired or wireless communication modules for communicating with the toll central data processing server 1 as a higher-level device. For example, the upper communication unit 23 includes a communication module for wired or wireless connection to the toll central data processing server 1. The upper communication unit 23 may be a general communication interface as long as it can communicate with each device and each equipment under the control of the toll gate control unit 21 and transmit and receive various information.

[0033] The departure controller 24 controls the passage of the vehicle 50 entering the entrance toll gate. The departure controller 24 controls the opening and closing of a departure control bar provided in the lane in which the vehicle 50 entering the entrance toll gate travels. For example, when the departure controller 24 stops the vehicle 50 or when the vehicle 50 is not allowed to pass (enter), the departure controller 24 closes the departure control bar to physically block the passage of the vehicle 50. In addition, when the departure controller 24 permits the passage (enter) of the vehicle 50, the departure controller 24 opens the departure control bar to permit the passage of the vehicle 50. It is to be noted that, of course, when the entrance toll gate is a free-flow (FF) toll gate, for example, a departure control bar does not have to be provided at the toll gate.

[0034] The roadside display 25 displays guidance and the like to users in vehicles 50 passing through the entrance toll gate. The roadside display 25 is installed facing the vehicles 50 entering the entrance toll gate.

[0035] The vehicle communication unit 26 includes a wireless communication module for communicating with the vehicle-mounted device 5 mounted on the vehicle 50. For example, the vehicle communication unit 26 detects a vehicle 50 approaching the entrance toll gate server 2 (i.e., a vehicle 50 attempting to enter a toll road) and establishes communication with the vehicle-mounted device 5 mounted on the vehicle 50. Then, the vehicle communication unit 26 wirelessly communicates with the vehicle-mounted device 5 to obtain various information such as the vehicle-mounted device ID, license plate information of the vehicle 50, and the card ID of the ETC card inserted in the vehicle-mounted device 5. Furthermore, the vehicle communication unit 26 transmits various information including the entrance identification information of the entrance toll gate server 2 to the vehicle-mounted device 5.

[0036] The rented vehicle user processing server 3 has a user processing control unit 31, a user processing memory unit 32, a user processing communication unit 33, etc.

[0037] The user processing control unit 31 is a control unit that controls the entire rented vehicle user processing server 3 and processes data, etc. The user processing control unit 31 has a CPU, memory, an interface, etc. The CPU is a processor that realizes various processing functions by executing programs. The CPU is connected to each part that makes up the rented vehicle user processing server 3 via an interface, etc. The memory includes various types of memory such as a non-volatile memory that stores the programs executed by the CPU, a volatile memory that temporarily holds data, and a rewritable non-volatile memory that saves setting data, etc.

[0038] The user processing storage unit 32 includes a storage medium such as a main memory that allows high speed reading and writing. The user processing storage unit 32 may be configured with a large capacity storage device such as an HDD or SSD. The user processing storage unit 32 stores various data including user application data transmitted from the toll vehicle rental business management server 4 managed by each toll vehicle rental business. Details of the user application data will be described later.

[0039] The user processing communication unit 33 is a communication interface including one or more wired or wireless communication modules for communicating with the toll central data processing server 1 and the toll vehicle rental business management server 4. The user processing communication unit 33 operating as a business communication unit includes a communication module for wired or wireless connection to the toll vehicle rental business management server 4. When communication with the toll central data processing server 1 is possible, the user processing communication unit 33 operating as a central server side communication unit includes a communication module for wired or wireless connection to the toll central data processing server 1. The user processing communication unit 33 may be a general communication interface as long as it can communicate with each device and each equipment under the control of the user processing control unit 31 and send and receive various information.

[0040] The toll vehicle rental business management server 4 includes a business control unit 41, a business storage unit 42, a business communication unit 43, and the like.

[0041] The business operator control unit 41 is a control unit that controls the entire toll vehicle rental business management server 4 and processes data, etc. The business operator control unit 41 has a CPU, memory, an interface, etc. The CPU is a processor that realizes various processing functions by executing programs. The CPU is connected to each part that constitutes the toll vehicle rental business management server 4 via an interface, etc. The memory includes various types of memory such as a non-volatile memory that stores the programs executed by the CPU, a volatile memory that temporarily holds data, and a rewritable non-volatile memory that saves setting data, etc.

[0042] The business operator storage unit 42 includes a storage medium that can perform high-speed reading and writing, such as a main memory. The business operator storage unit 42 may be configured with a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD or SSD. The business operator storage unit 42 stores various data including information about users who use vehicles owned by a toll vehicle rental business. For example, the business operator storage unit 42 stores information about the period and type (vehicle number) of the vehicle 50 that was rented to the user, in association with information on the user's driver's license.

[0043] The business operator communication unit 43 is a communication interface including one or more wired or wireless communication modules for communicating with the rented vehicle user processing server 3. For example, the business operator communication unit 43 includes a communication module for wired or wireless connection to the rented vehicle user processing server 3. The business operator communication unit 43 may be a general communication interface as long as it can communicate with each device and each equipment under the control of the business operator control unit 41 and send and receive various information.

[0044] The vehicle-mounted device 5 includes an in-vehicle device control unit 51, an in-vehicle device storage unit 52, an in-vehicle device communication unit 53, and the like.

[0045] The vehicle-mounted device control unit 51 is a control unit that controls the vehicle-mounted device 5 and processes data. The vehicle-mounted device control unit 51 has a CPU, a memory, an interface, and the like. The CPU is a processor that executes a program to realize various processing functions such as transmitting vehicle-mounted device information including the card ID of the ETC card inserted in the vehicle-mounted device 5 to each toll booth device. The CPU is connected to each part constituting the vehicle-mounted device 5 via an interface, and the like. The memory includes various types of memory such as a non-volatile memory that stores the program executed by the CPU, a volatile memory that temporarily holds data, and a rewritable non-volatile memory that stores setting data, and the like. In other words, the vehicle-mounted device control unit 51 controls each part and processes data by the CPU executing the program stored in the memory.

[0046] The vehicle-mounted device storage unit 52 includes a storage medium such as a main memory that can read and write data at high speed. The vehicle-mounted device storage unit 52 may be configured with a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD or SSD. The vehicle-mounted device storage unit 52 stores various data related to the vehicle-mounted device 5. For example, the vehicle-mounted device storage unit 52 stores various information including the vehicle-mounted device ID, the vehicle model of the vehicle 50, the vehicle number, the vehicle width, the vehicle height, etc. In addition, the vehicle-mounted device storage unit 52 may store entrance identification information and the like received from roadside equipment provided in the entrance toll gate server 2 under the control of the vehicle-mounted device control unit 51.

[0047] The vehicle-mounted communication unit 53 is a communication interface including one or more wireless communication modules. For example, the vehicle-mounted communication unit 53 includes a communication module that wirelessly connects to the entrance toll gate server 2. The vehicle-mounted communication unit 53 may be a general communication interface as long as it can perform wireless communication with each device under the control of the vehicle-mounted control unit 51 and transmit and receive various information.

[0048] (operation) In the operation described below, as described above, unless otherwise specified, the user is assumed to be a user who uses a rented vehicle. In other words, the user is assumed to use a vehicle 50 such as a rental car or car share to travel through the toll road.

[0049] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing procedure when normal processing cannot be performed for a user who is using a rented vehicle traveling on a toll road according to the first embodiment. The operation of this sequence is realized by the central toll data processing server 1, entrance toll booth server 2, rented vehicle user processing server 3, toll vehicle rental company management server 4, and the central toll control unit 11, toll booth control unit 21, user processing control unit 31, operator control unit 41, and on-board unit control unit 51 of the on-board unit 5 reading and executing programs stored in the central toll memory unit 12, toll booth memory unit 22, user processing memory unit 32, operator memory unit 42, and on-board unit memory unit 52, respectively.

[0050] In step ST101, the business operator control unit 41 of the toll vehicle rental business management server 4 acquires user application data. The business operator control unit 41 stores the acquired rental car user application data in the business operator storage unit .

[0051] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information included in the user application data. As shown in FIG. 4, the user application data includes the vehicle number (shown as NP in FIG. 4. In subsequent figures, the vehicle number will also be shown as NP), rental period, user license data, etc. In addition to the above, the user application data may also include the vehicle model, onboard device ID, etc. As shown in FIG. 4, if there are multiple users who will use the rented vehicle, the user application data includes the user license data of each user. Also, although not shown in FIG. 4, if there are multiple users, the user application data may include information indicating which user is the representative among the multiple user license data.

[0052] Here, the user license data may be information copied from the user's license by the fee-based rental business when using a rental vehicle, or image information of the license used when registering for use. When a user uses the vehicle, the fee-based rental business inputs necessary information including the user application data. As a result, the business control unit 41 acquires the user application data.

[0053] In step ST102, the business operator control unit 41 transmits the user application data to the rented vehicle user processing server 3 via the business operator communication unit 43. The business operator control unit 41 acquires the user application data stored in the business operator memory unit 42 at a predetermined cycle and transmits it to the rented vehicle user processing server 3. The predetermined cycle may be any cycle, such as every hour, every day, or every time rental car user application data is acquired. In addition, the paid vehicle rental business operator itself may transmit the user application data directly to the rented vehicle user processing server 3.

[0054] For the sake of simplicity, steps ST101 and ST102 described above are described for only one rental vehicle, but it goes without saying that similar processing is performed for a plurality of rental vehicles.

[0055] Then, the user drives the vehicle and attempts to enter the toll road and pass through the entrance toll gate under the jurisdiction of the entrance toll gate server 2. Therefore, the above steps ST101 and ST102 may be performed at a time separate from the processing described below.

[0056] In step ST103, the toll gate control unit 21 of the entrance toll gate server 2 operating as a detection unit detects abnormal communication. Abnormal communication includes, for example, a speed abnormality such as entering a lane at a speed higher than a specified speed, a case where communication with the vehicle-mounted device 5 cannot be established, a case where the vehicle 50 attempts to pass through an ETC-only lane even though an ETC card is not inserted in the vehicle-mounted device 5, and the like.

[0057] Normally, the toll gate control unit 21 of the entrance toll gate server 2 detects the on-board unit 5 mounted on the vehicle 50 that is about to pass through the ETC lane, using the vehicle communication unit 26. Then, in an attempt to establish communication with the on-board unit 5, the vehicle communication unit 26 transmits a vehicle information request to the on-board unit 5 to request the on-board unit 5 to transmit vehicle information under the control of the toll gate control unit 21. However, communication cannot be established when, for example, the vehicle speed is abnormal to a specified value. In such a case, the toll gate control unit 21 detects abnormal communication.

[0058] In addition, the toll gate control unit 21, which operates as an acquisition unit, acquires information such as a vehicle image including the vehicle number of vehicle 50, an image of the driver driving vehicle 50, the number of axles, axle weight, etc., using a camera, an axle sensor, an axle weight sensor, etc. arranged at the entrance toll gate.

[0059] In step ST104, the toll gate control unit 21 operating as a determination unit determines that the vehicle 50 is a rented vehicle such as a rental car or a car share. For example, the toll gate control unit 21 determines whether the vehicle number included in the vehicle image is a "wa" or "re" number, which indicates that the vehicle is a rented vehicle. Here, if the toll gate control unit 21 can communicate with the in-vehicle device 5, it may determine whether the vehicle number acquired from the in-vehicle device 5 is a rented vehicle. For example, if the vehicle number is a "wa" number, the toll gate control unit 21 determines that the vehicle is a rented vehicle. In this embodiment, as described above, the vehicle used by the user is a rented vehicle, so the toll gate control unit 21 determines that the vehicle is a rented vehicle.

[0060] On the other hand, if the vehicle 50 is not a rented vehicle, the same processing as the conventional processing is performed, and therefore a detailed explanation is omitted here.

[0061] In step ST105, the tollgate control unit 21 operating as a generating unit generates abnormal communication occurrence data.

[0062] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of abnormal communication occurrence data generated by the tollgate control unit 21. As shown in FIG. When it is determined that the vehicle 50 is a rented vehicle, the tollgate control unit 21 operating as a generating unit generates abnormal communication occurrence data including at least the occurrence date and time, the tollgate where the abnormal communication occurred, the vehicle number, and the driver's image. Although not shown in Fig. 5, the abnormal communication occurrence data may include the number of axles, axle weights, a vehicle image, etc. in addition to the above information.

[0063] In step ST106, the tollgate control unit 21 operating as a communication unit transmits abnormal communication occurrence data to the toll central data processing server 1 through the upper communication unit 23.

[0064] In step ST107, the charge central control unit 11 of the charge central data processing server 1 updates the abnormal communication rental vehicle DB. The charge central control unit 11 operating as a receiver receives the abnormal communication occurrence data. Upon receiving the abnormal communication occurrence data, the charge central control unit 11 adds the received abnormal communication occurrence data to the abnormal communication rental vehicle DB stored in the charge central storage unit 12.

[0065] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in the abnormal communication rented vehicle DB. As shown in FIG. 6, the information stored in the abnormal communication rented vehicle DB may be information in which abnormal communication occurrence data is arranged in the order in which the abnormal communication occurred.

[0066] In step ST108, the fee central control unit 11 operating as a generating unit generates user license inquiry data. The fee central data processing server 1 does not have information (such as license information) of the user who rents the rental vehicle in which the abnormal communication occurred. Therefore, the fee central control unit 11 operating as a generating unit generates user license inquiry data to obtain user information from the rental vehicle user processing server 3.

[0067] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of specific information of the user license inquiry data. As shown in FIG. 7, the user license inquiry data includes the vehicle number and the date and time of occurrence, while the user license data is NULL, indicating that it is empty.

[0068] In step ST109, the administrator of the toll central data processing server 1 causes the rented vehicle user processing server 3 to read the user license inquiry data. As described above, the toll central data processing server 1 and the rented vehicle user processing server 3 may not be connected by a network. Therefore, the administrator stores the user license inquiry data in a storage medium through the input / output interface of the toll central data processing server 1. Then, the user processing control unit 31 of the rented vehicle user processing server 3 reads the user license inquiry data from the storage medium through the input / output interface of the rented vehicle user processing server 3. Note that the frequency at which the administrator causes the rented vehicle user processing server 3 to read the user license inquiry data may be any frequency, for example, once a day, once a week, or once a month. Alternatively, it may of course be every time the abnormal communication rented vehicle DB is updated.

[0069] For example, in the case of an arbitrary frequency (eg, once a day), the process repeats the operations of steps ST103 to ST107 until the process proceeds to step ST108.

[0070] In addition, if the toll central data processing server 1 and the rented vehicle user processing server 3 are connected via a network, the toll central control unit 11 may send user license inquiry data to the rented vehicle user processing server 3 via the toll central communication unit 13.

[0071] In step ST110, the user processing control unit 31 of the rental vehicle user processing server 3 searches for data on the relevant user from the user application data.

[0072] In step ST111, the user processing control section 31 assigns the user license data of the corresponding user.

[0073] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an image of an example of the processing of steps ST110 and ST111. As shown in FIG. 8(a), the user processing control unit 31 searches for data that matches the vehicle number included in the user license data and whose occurrence time is within the rental period.

[0074] Then, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the user processing control unit 31 generates user license inquiry response data in which the user license data linked to the corresponding data is added to the user license inquiry data.

[0075] In step ST112, the administrator of the toll central data processing server 1 causes the toll central data processing server 1 to read the user license inquiry response data containing the user license data. That is, the toll central control unit 11 operating as an acquisition unit acquires the user license inquiry response data including the driver's license data of the user of the rented vehicle in response to the user license inquiry data.

[0076] The administrator causes the charge central data processing server 1 to read the user license inquiry data stored in the storage medium through the input / output interface of the charge central data processing server 1 .

[0077] In addition, when the toll central data processing server 1 and the rented vehicle user processing server 3 are connected via a network, the user processing control unit 31 may transmit user license inquiry response data to the toll central data processing server 1 via the user processing communication unit 33.

[0078] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the user license inquiry response data. As shown in Fig. 9, the user license data of the user license inquiry response data stores the license data of the corresponding user. Also, as shown in Fig. 9, if there are multiple users who use the rented vehicle, multiple pieces of data will be stored in one cell of the user license data. Also, as described above, if there are multiple users, the user license inquiry response data may include information indicating which data is the representative.

[0079] In step ST113, the fee central control unit 11 performs a matching process. The fee central control unit 11 performs a matching process to determine whether the facial data of the user license data included in the user license inquiry data corresponds to the driver image (facial data) included in the abnormal communication rented vehicle DB. The matching process may be performed by a general facial recognition method. Therefore, a detailed explanation will be omitted here. In addition, after facial recognition by the fee central control unit 11, an administrator or the like may determine whether the facial data of the user license data corresponds to the driver image in the abnormal communication rented vehicle DB. In other words, a final confirmation of whether the determination result by the fee central data processing server 1 is accurate may be performed visually by the administrator.

[0080] In step ST114, if the matching process results in the facial data of the user's license data corresponding to the facial data contained in the driver's image, i.e., matching, the fee central control unit 11 merges the user's license data with the abnormal communication rental vehicle DB.

[0081] In step ST115, the fee central control unit 11 updates the abnormal communication rental vehicle license matching result DB. For example, the fee central control unit 11 updates the abnormal communication rental vehicle license matching result DB by storing the merged information in the abnormal communication rental vehicle license matching result DB. For example, the fee central control unit 11 may associate a single fee with the identified user and store it in the fee central storage unit 12.

[0082] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the abnormal communication rental license matching result DB. As shown in FIG. 10, the abnormal communication rental vehicle license matching result DB includes the occurrence date and time, the toll booth where the abnormal communication occurred, the vehicle number, the driver's image, the user's license data, and the like.

[0083] Then, by using the information in the abnormal communication rental vehicle license matching result DB, it is possible to provide a confirmation guide to check whether the vehicle has passed through a toll road despite the abnormal communication, or to send a reminder letter to the address included in the user's license data.

[0084] (Effects of the first embodiment) According to the first embodiment described above, even if a communication abnormality occurs in a rented vehicle using a toll road with a single toll system, the toll road operator can identify the user using the rented vehicle and have the identified user pay the toll.

[0085] [Second embodiment] (composition) FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an abnormal communication processing system according to the second embodiment. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it includes an exit toll gate server 6. In addition, in the second embodiment, it is assumed that the toll for the toll road is a distance-based toll system in which the toll is calculated at the exit toll gate.

[0086] The exit toll gate server 6 is a server located at the exit toll gate of the toll road. For example, the exit toll gate server 6 is connected to roadside equipment installed on the roadside of each toll gate. When the roadside equipment detects a vehicle 50, it establishes communication with the vehicle-mounted device 5 of the vehicle 50. Then, similar to the description of the entrance toll gate server 2, the roadside equipment transmits and receives various information to and from the vehicle-mounted device 5. The exit toll gate server 6 manages various information acquired by the roadside equipment. Furthermore, the exit toll gate server 6 transmits various information it manages to the toll central data processing server 1. Note that, for the sake of simplicity, only one exit toll gate server 6 is shown in FIG. 10, but it goes without saying that multiple exit toll gate servers 6 may be present.

[0087] 2, for example, the exit toll gate server 6 includes a toll gate control unit 61, a toll gate memory unit 62, a higher level communication unit 63, a departure controller 64, a roadside display 65, a vehicle communication unit 66, etc. These have the same functions as the toll gate control unit 21, the toll gate memory unit 22, the higher level communication unit 23, the departure controller 24, the roadside display 25, and the vehicle communication unit 26 of the entrance toll gate server 2, respectively. Therefore, detailed explanations will be omitted here.

[0088] (operation) In the operation described below, as described above, unless otherwise specified, the user is assumed to be a user who uses a rented vehicle. In other words, the user is assumed to use a vehicle 50 such as a rental car or car share to travel through the toll road.

[0089] FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing procedure when normal processing cannot be performed for a user who is using a rented vehicle traveling on a toll road according to the second embodiment. The operation of this sequence is realized by the central toll data processing server 1, entrance toll booth server 2, rented vehicle user processing server 3, toll vehicle rental company management server 4, and the central toll control unit 11, toll booth control unit 21, user processing control unit 31, operator control unit 41, and on-board unit control unit 51 of the on-board unit 5 reading and executing programs stored in the central toll memory unit 12, toll booth memory unit 22, user processing memory unit 32, operator memory unit 42, and on-board unit memory unit 52, respectively.

[0090] In the second embodiment, the operation of the user renting a rental vehicle and generating user application data and the operation of the user passing through the entrance of a toll road are the same as steps ST101 to ST115 described with reference to FIG. 3, so duplicated explanations will be omitted here. If no abnormal communication occurs when the rental vehicle passes through the entrance toll gate, normal processing will be performed. That is, the toll gate control unit 21 of the entrance toll gate server 2 acquires information about the entrance toll gate (including, for example, the entrance toll gate name, entrance toll gate ID, entry time, etc.), on-board device information including the card ID of the ETC card, vehicle information, etc., and transmits the acquired information to the central toll data processing server 1. The central toll data processing server 1 stores the information in the central toll storage unit 12.

[0091] Steps ST201 to ST213 are the same operations as steps ST103 to ST115 described with reference to FIG. 3, and therefore a duplicated description will be omitted here.

[0092] In addition, if the rented vehicle experiences abnormal communication at both the entrance toll gate and the exit toll gate, the abnormal communication rented vehicle DB will contain abnormal communication occurrence data received from the exit toll gate server 6 in addition to the abnormal communication occurrence data received from the entrance toll gate server 2.

[0093] In step ST214, the toll central control unit 11 of the toll central data processing server 1 calculates the toll. For example, the toll central control unit 11 determines whether there is a vehicle number included in the information acquired by the entrance toll gate server 2 stored in the toll central storage unit 12 and a number that matches the vehicle number stored in the abnormal communication rental vehicle license matching result DB updated in step ST213.

[0094] If there is a matching number, the rented vehicle has not engaged in abnormal communication at the entrance toll gate. In this case, the toll central control unit 11 calculates the toll from the entrance toll gate where the rented vehicle passed to the exit toll gate where the abnormal communication occurred. For example, the toll central control unit 11 may link the calculated toll to the identified user and store it in the toll central storage unit 12. Then, the administrator of the toll central data processing server 1 will use the information in the abnormal communication rented vehicle license matching result DB for the calculated toll to send a confirmation notice or a reminder to the address included in the user's license data to check whether the toll road has been passed despite the abnormal communication.

[0095] On the other hand, if there is no matching number, it is not possible to know which entrance toll gate the rented vehicle entered through. Therefore, the toll central control unit 11 calculates the maximum toll for the toll road as the toll. For example, the toll central control unit 11 may link the calculated toll with the identified user and store it in the toll central storage unit 12. Then, similar to the above, the administrator of the toll central data processing server 1 will use the information in the abnormal communication rented vehicle license matching result DB with the calculated toll to send a confirmation notice or a reminder to the address included in the user's license data to check whether the toll road was passed through despite the abnormal communication.

[0096] (Effects of the second embodiment) According to the second embodiment described above, even if a communication abnormality occurs in a rented vehicle using a toll road with a distance-based toll system, the toll road operator can identify the user using the rented vehicle and have the identified user pay the toll.

[0097] [Other embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, if there are multiple users and the user of the driver image is different between the entrance toll gate and the exit toll gate, the toll road operator may send a toll payment reminder to the representative stored in the abnormal communication rental vehicle license matching result DB.

[0098] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0099] 1...Charge central data processing server 11...Central charge control unit 12…Central charge storage unit 13…Central Communications Department 2...Entrance toll booth server 21...Tollgate control unit 22...Toll booth memory unit 23...Higher communication unit 24...Launch controller 25…Roadside indicator 26…Vehicle communication unit 3…Rented vehicle user processing server 31...User processing control unit 32...User processing memory unit 33...User processing and communication department 4… Paid vehicle rental business management server 41...Business control unit 42…Business operator storage unit 43…Business Communication Department 50…Vehicle 5…Onboard equipment 51... Vehicle-mounted device control unit 52...Onboard equipment storage section 53...In-vehicle communication unit 6…Exit toll booth server 61...Tollgate control unit 62...Toll booth memory unit 63...Higher communication unit 64...Launch controller 65…Roadside indicator 66…Vehicle communication unit

Claims

1. a central toll receiving unit for receiving abnormal communication occurrence data indicating that a vehicle that has traveled on a toll road is a rented vehicle and that the vehicle has experienced abnormal communication at a toll booth; a central fee generating unit for generating user license inquiry data based on the abnormal communication occurrence data; a central fee acquisition unit for acquiring user license inquiry response data including driver's license data of the user of the vehicle in response to the generated user license inquiry data; a central charge control unit that performs face authentication between a driver image included in the abnormal communication occurrence data and face data included in the driver's license data to identify a user of the vehicle where the abnormal communication occurred; A fee central data processing server comprising:

2. The abnormal communication occurrence data includes at least the occurrence date and time, the occurrence toll booth, the vehicle number of the vehicle, and the driver image.

2. The charge central data processing server according to claim 1.

3. The user license inquiry data includes at least an occurrence date and time and the vehicle number.

3. A charge central data processing server according to claim 2.

4. The driver's license data included in the user license inquiry response data is driver's license data corresponding to the user who rented the vehicle on the occurrence date and time.

4. A charge central data processing server according to claim 3.

5. The toll booth is an entrance toll booth, a toll for passing through the toll road is a single toll, and the toll central control unit associates the single toll with the identified user.

2. The charge central data processing server according to claim 1.

6. The toll gate is an exit toll gate, and the toll for using the toll road is a distance-based toll system, A memory unit for storing a memory of the vehicle passing through an entrance toll gate, The toll central control unit calculates the toll from the memory of passing through the entrance toll gate and the exit toll gate where the abnormal communication occurred, and associates the calculated toll with the user.

2. The charge central data processing server according to claim 1.

7. When there are multiple users using the vehicle, the toll central control unit associates the toll with a representative of the users. A charge central data processing server according to any one of claims 5 and 6.

8. A toll booth server that manages the toll booths; a toll central data processing server connected to said toll booth server; The toll booth server includes: A detection unit that detects that an abnormal communication has occurred in a vehicle passing through the toll gate; a tollgate acquisition unit that acquires a date and time when the abnormal communication occurred, a vehicle number of the vehicle, and a driver image of a driver who drives the vehicle; a tollgate determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is a rented vehicle based on the vehicle number; A toll booth generation unit that generates abnormal communication occurrence data including the occurrence date and time, the vehicle number, and the driver image when the vehicle is determined to be a rented vehicle; A toll booth communication unit that transmits the abnormal communication occurrence data; The charge central data processing server comprises: a central fee receiving unit for receiving abnormal communication occurrence data; a central fee generating unit for generating user license inquiry data based on the abnormal communication occurrence data; a central fee acquisition unit for acquiring user license inquiry response data including driver's license data of the user of the vehicle in response to the generated user license inquiry data; a central charge control unit that performs face authentication between the driver image and face data included in the driver's license data to identify the user of the vehicle in which the abnormal communication has occurred; An abnormal communication processing system comprising:

9. An abnormal communication processing method executed by a charge central data processing server, comprising: A central toll receiving unit of the central toll data processing server receives abnormal communication occurrence data indicating that the vehicle that has traveled on the toll road is a rented vehicle and that the vehicle has had an abnormal communication at a toll gate; a central charge generating unit of the central charge data processing server generating user license inquiry data based on the abnormal communication occurrence data; a central fee acquisition unit of the central fee data processing server acquires user license inquiry response data, the user license inquiry response data including driver's license data of the user of the vehicle, in response to the generated user license inquiry data; A central charge control unit of the central charge data processing server performs face authentication between a driver image included in the abnormal communication occurrence data and face data included in the driver's license data, and identifies a user of the vehicle in which the abnormal communication has occurred; An abnormal communication processing method comprising:

Images