Vehicle model determination system, central processing unit, and vehicle model determination method

Abstract

To provide a vehicle model determination system to improve the determination of appropriate vehicle models.SOLUTION: A vehicle model determination system according to the embodiment includes a plurality of toll booths and a central processing unit that communicates with the plurality of toll booths. At least one of the plurality of toll booths includes a lane server that transmits vehicle-mounted device identification information, axle information, and an interchange number to the central processing unit. The central processing unit includes: a vehicle model estimation unit that estimates the vehicle model based on the axle information and the vehicle-mounted device identification information; a score determination unit that determines each score per at least one toll booth identified by the interchange number to determine the vehicle model based on the number of antennas, the vehicle-mounted device identification information, and the axle information of the at least one toll booth; and a vehicle model determination unit that determines the vehicle model based on the vehicle model estimated at the toll booth that has the highest value among the scores determined by the score determination unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a vehicle type determination system, a central processing unit, and a vehicle type determination method. [Background technology]

[0002] The ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) (registered trademark) system, which is widely used on toll roads, enables non-stop toll collection at toll gates by wirelessly communicating between the on-board units of vehicles passing through the lanes of toll gates installed at each interchange (IC) and the lane equipment installed at the toll gates.

[0003] On roads with flat-rate toll systems, the ETC system collects tolls according to vehicle type when entering or exiting a flat-rate toll road. On roads with distance-based toll systems, the ETC system collects tolls when exiting a road with distance-based toll systems, based on the IC number recorded when entering the road with distance-based toll systems and the IC number recorded when exiting the road with distance-based toll systems. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-197314 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The lane server installed in the toll gate determines the toll by searching the toll table, which is a matrix of vehicle types and entrance IC numbers stored inside and distributed by the central processing unit that manages the lane server. With this method, when trying to flexibly change the toll collection method or amount, it is not easy to change the number of table distributions, interval restrictions, or the type of software in the lane server, and it lacks immediacy. Therefore, a method is adopted in which the lane server does not determine the toll, but the central processing unit, which is the upper device of the lane server, communicates with the lane server and determines the toll. In this case, the central processing unit needs to determine the vehicle type. However, the vehicle type determined based on the information from the lane server may vary due to the configuration of the toll gate, and the central processing unit needs to determine the vehicle type appropriately.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle type determination system, a central processing unit, and a vehicle type determination method that determine a vehicle type based on information received from a toll booth having the highest score among scores determined for each toll booth. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A vehicle type determination system according to an embodiment comprises a plurality of toll booths that are installed at each of a plurality of interchanges and communicate with vehicles passing through, and a central processing unit that communicates with the plurality of toll booths. At least one toll booth among the plurality of toll booths comprises lane equipment including an antenna that receives, from an on-board device of a passing vehicle, on-board device specific information including a vehicle type code of the vehicle and towing information indicating whether the vehicle can tow a towing vehicle, and an axle sensor that generates axle information including information on the number of axles of the vehicle, and a lane server that transmits to the central processing unit the on-board device specific information, the axle information, and an interchange number that uniquely identifies each of the at least one toll booth, received from the lane equipment. The central processing unit comprises a vehicle type estimation unit that estimates the vehicle type of a vehicle passing through each of the at least one toll booth based on the number of axles of the vehicle and the vehicle type code received from the lane server, and a vehicle type estimation unit that estimates the vehicle type of a vehicle passing through each of the at least one toll booth based on the number of axles of the vehicle and the vehicle type code received from the lane server, The system comprises a score determination unit that determines the score of each toll gate based on the number of antennas of the at least one toll gate identified from the interchange number, the on-board device specific information, and the axle information, and a vehicle type determination unit that determines the vehicle type of the vehicle based on an estimated vehicle type at a toll gate that has the highest score determined by the score determination unit among the toll gates that the vehicle has passed through. If the score determination unit determines that the at least one toll gate does not have a two-antenna structure, it determines the score of the at least one toll gate to be the lowest score, and if the score determination unit determines that the at least one toll gate does have a two-antenna structure, it determines from the towing information that the vehicle cannot be towed and it is determined that the information on the number of axles of the vehicle and the number of axles of the estimated vehicle type do not match, it determines a score of a first value higher than the minimum value. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a central processing unit constituting the ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a two-antenna distance toll booth constituting the ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a two-antenna flat rate toll booth constituting the ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a one-antenna toll booth constituting the ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of an FF toll gate constituting the ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of three routes taken by a vehicle according to this embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of what each toll gate at the IC shown in FIG. 7 is like. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of transmission and reception of information among the vehicle, IC, and central processing unit when the vehicle travels along the first route shown in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the memory unit of the central processing unit as a result of a vehicle passing through the IC 7 shown in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which a processor serving as a score determination unit of a central processing unit determines a score. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of transmission and reception of information among the vehicle, IC, and central processing unit when the vehicle travels along the second route shown in FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit of the central processing unit by the processes of steps ST1203, ST1208, and ST1213 in FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of transmission and reception of information among the vehicle, IC, and central processing unit when the vehicle travels along the third route shown in FIG. [Figure 15]FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit of the central processing unit by the processes of steps ST1403, ST1408, and ST1413 in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The vehicle type determination system, the central processing unit, and the vehicle type determination method according to the present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following embodiments, the parts with the same numbers perform the same operations, and the repeated description will be omitted.

[0010] (composition) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the ETC toll collection system includes a central processing unit 1, a two-antenna-pair-distance toll gate 2, a two-antenna flat-rate toll gate 3, a one-antenna toll gate 4, and an FF toll gate 5. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the two-antenna-pair-distance toll gate 2, the two-antenna flat-rate toll gate 3, the one-antenna toll gate 4, and the FF toll gate 5, they will simply be referred to as toll gates. Each toll gate exchanges various information with a vehicle 6 passing through each toll gate.

[0011] The central processing unit 1 is connected to a two-antenna distance-based toll booth 2, a two-antenna flat-rate toll booth 3, a one-antenna toll booth 4, and a FF toll booth 5 via a wired or wireless network, and exchanges various information with each of the toll booths.

[0012] The two-antenna distance-based toll booth 2 is a toll booth consisting of two antennas, and is installed at an interchange (IC) of a toll road where the toll varies depending on the type of vehicle and the distance traveled.

[0013] The two-antenna flat-rate toll booth 3 is a toll booth consisting of two antennas, and is installed at an interchange on a toll road where vehicles can travel for a flat-rate toll determined for each vehicle type.

[0014] The single-antenna toll booth 4 and the FF toll booth 5 are toll booths that are configured with one antenna and installed at interchanges that use either a distance-based toll system or a flat-rate toll system. The FF toll booth 5 does not have a start controller to control whether or not the vehicle 6 can pass. Toll booths are not only installed at the entrances and exits of toll roads, but are also installed at interchanges where toll roads with distance-based toll systems switch between toll roads with flat-rate toll systems.

[0015] A vehicle 6 using the ETC toll collection system is equipped with an on-board unit 61, into which an ETC card 62 is inserted. The on-board unit 61 stores on-board unit specific information. The ETC card 62 stores card information of the ETC card. The on-board unit 61 exchanges various information with the toll gate by wirelessly communicating with the toll gate when passing through the toll gate. The on-board unit 61 may also notify the driver of the vehicle 6 of the various information received from the toll gate by voice or the like.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the central processing unit 1 constituting the ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. The central processing unit 1 can be configured by a general-purpose computer or the like, and includes a processor 101, a storage unit 102, an interface 103, a display unit 104, and an operation unit 105. The processor 101 executes a program stored in the storage unit 102 to realize various processing functions. For example, the processor 101 functions as a vehicle type estimation unit, a score determination unit, a vehicle type determination unit, and a toll determination unit by executing a program stored in the storage unit 102. The storage unit 102 has a program memory that stores a program executed by the processor, a working memory that stores working data, and a data memory that stores data files and the like. For example, the storage unit 102 stores a toll table. In the case of a distance-based toll system, the toll table is a toll table that shows tolls by vehicle type for each traffic section determined by an IC number indicating an entrance toll gate and an IC number indicating an exit toll gate. On the other hand, in the case of a flat rate system, the toll table is a toll table that shows tolls by vehicle type. Furthermore, the storage unit 102 can receive and store various information exchanged when the vehicle 6 passes through a toll gate from the toll gate.

[0017] The interface 103 is a communication interface for connecting to each toll gate. For example, the interface 103 functions as a central communication unit that transmits tolls to the toll gate at the exit. The display unit 104 displays display content according to display control from the processor 101, and displays information related to toll collection processing. The operation unit 105 is composed of a keyboard and the like, and receives information input by an operator and supplies the information to the processor 101.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a two-antenna distance toll gate 2 constituting the ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. The two-antenna distance toll gate 2 includes a lane server 21 and lane equipment 22. The lane server 21 can be configured with a general-purpose computer or the like, and includes a processor 211, a storage unit 212, an interface 213, a display unit 214, and an operation unit 215. The processor 211 realizes various processing functions by executing programs stored in the storage unit 212. For example, the processor 211 functions as a control unit of the lane equipment 22 by executing programs stored in the storage unit 212. The storage unit 212 includes a program memory that stores the programs executed by the processor 211, a working memory that stores working data, and a data memory that stores data files and the like.

[0019] The interface 213 is a communication interface for receiving various information from the lane devices 22. Furthermore, the interface 213 is a communication interface for connecting to the central processing unit 1, and transmits the various information received from the lane devices 22 to the central processing unit 1.

[0020] The display unit 214 displays the display contents according to the display control from the processor 211 . The operation unit 215 is composed of a keyboard and the like, receives information input by an operator, and supplies the information to the processor 211 .

[0021] The lane equipment 22 includes an interface aggregation unit 221 , a vehicle detector 222 , a roadside indicator 223 , a departure controller 224 , an axle sensor 225 , a license plate reading camera 226 , a first antenna 227 , and a second antenna 228 .

[0022] The vehicle detector 222 detects a vehicle 6 entering the two-antenna distance toll gate 2. For example, the vehicle detector 222 irradiates a laser beam, detects the reflected laser beam reflected by an object such as a vehicle 6, measures the distance to the object based on the time from the irradiation of the laser beam to the detection of the reflected beam, and determines the presence or absence of a vehicle 6 based on the measurement result of the distance value. The vehicle detector 222 outputs to the interface aggregation unit 221 a vehicle detection signal ON corresponding to the determination that a vehicle 6 is present, or a vehicle detection signal OFF corresponding to the determination that a vehicle 6 is not present.

[0023] The interface aggregation unit 221 aggregates information from each unit of the vehicle detector 222 and outputs the information to the lane server 21. The interface aggregation unit 221 also outputs information received from the lane server 21 to each unit. For example, the interface aggregation unit 221 outputs a vehicle detection signal ON or OFF to the lane server 21. The lane server 21 detects the position (movement) of the vehicle 6 based on the vehicle detection signal ON or OFF from the vehicle detector 222, and controls the operation of the lane equipment 22. The interface aggregation unit 221 also functions as a communication unit that transmits various information transmitted from the axle sensor 225, the first antenna 227, and the license plate reading camera 226 to the lane server 21.

[0024] The roadside display 223 displays information such as permission to pass or temporary stop to the driver of the vehicle 6 based on the start control information (permission to pass or temporary stop) received from the interface aggregation unit 221. The roadside display 223 may receive exit toll gate identification information including the toll from the interface aggregation unit 221, in which case the roadside display 223 may display the toll. When a method is adopted in which the start control information is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 61 of the vehicle 6 and the information is notified to the driver of the vehicle 6 as a voice, the two-antenna-versus-distance toll gate 2 does not need to include the roadside controller 223.

[0025] The departure controller 224 controls the opening and closing of the departure control bar based on the departure control information from the interface aggregation unit 221. When the departure control bar is closed, it physically blocks the passage of the vehicle 6 (entering or exiting from the toll gate), and when it is open, it allows the passage of the vehicle 6. When the departure control information indicates permission to pass, the departure controller 224 raises the departure control bar from its state of blocking passage by the departure control bar to allow passage, and when the departure control information indicates a temporary stop, it maintains the state of blocking passage by the departure control bar to block passage.

[0026] The axle sensor 225 is, for example, four step-mat-like contact-type sensors arranged in sequence on a lane where the vehicle 6 passes through the two-antenna-to-distance toll gate 2. The axle sensor 225 can detect the number of axles of the vehicle 6 by the vehicle 6 stepping on the sensors in sequence.

[0027] In addition, when the axle sensor 225 detects the axles, for example, after stepping on the first sensor, the tire of the vehicle 6 may jump and step on the third sensor without stepping on the second sensor, resulting in a detection abnormality called "sensor skip". Furthermore, as a result of the vehicle 6 not entering in the direction in which each sensor of the axle sensor 225 is installed, but entering from an oblique angle, a detection abnormality called "sensor order error" may occur in which the vehicle 6 does not step on the first sensor first, but steps on the second sensor first. Therefore, the axle sensor 225 also detects these detection abnormalities. Then, the axle sensor 225 generates axle information including information on the number of detected axles and detection information indicating whether these detection abnormalities have occurred, and transmits the axle information to the interface aggregation unit 221. Here, if the vehicle 6 has a towing vehicle, the number of axles of the vehicle 6 changes. When the number of axles changes, the vehicle type changes according to the number of axles, so the processor 101 of the central processing unit 1 that has received the information on the number of axles estimates the vehicle type by referring to the received number of axles. Incidentally, the axle sensor 225 is not limited to a contact type sensor, and it goes without saying that the number of axles of the vehicle 6 may be measured by a non-contact type sensor such as a laser sensor.

[0028] The license plate reading camera 226 reads the license plate attached to the vehicle 6 passing through the toll gate, and transmits license plate reading information including information about the read license plate to the interface aggregation unit 221.

[0029] The first antenna 227 and the second antenna 228 communicate with the vehicle-mounted device 61 of the vehicle 6, receive various information such as vehicle identification information transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 61, and transmit the various information to the vehicle-mounted device 61. The second antenna functions, for example, as an antenna for recovery of the first antenna. The first antenna 227 receives various information from the interface aggregation unit 221 and transmits the various information to the vehicle-mounted device 61. The first antenna 227 and the second antenna 228 can also detect the vehicle 6 by periodically transmitting a signal such as a beacon and receiving a response to the signal from the vehicle-mounted device 61. In this case, the two-antenna distance-based toll booth 2 does not need to include the vehicle detector 222.

[0030] 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 constituting the ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. The two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 includes a lane server 31 and a lane device 32.

[0031] The lane server 31 includes a processor 311, a storage unit 312, a display unit 314, an interface 313, and an operation unit 315. The processor 311, the storage unit 312, the display unit 314, the interface 313, and the operation unit 315 have the same configurations as the processor 211, the storage unit 212, the interface 213, the display unit 214, and the operation unit 215 described above with reference to Fig. 3, respectively, and therefore will not be described here.

[0032] The lane device 32 includes an interface aggregation unit 321, a vehicle detector 322, a roadside indicator 323, a departure controller 224, an axle sensor 325, a first antenna 326, and a second antenna 327. Comparing the lane device 22 shown in FIG. 3 with the lane device 32 shown in FIG. 4, they are the same except that the lane device 32 does not include the license plate reading camera 226. The interface aggregation unit 321, the vehicle detector 322, the roadside indicator 323, the departure controller 324, the axle sensor 325, the first antenna 326, and the second antenna 327 of the two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 are configured similarly to the interface aggregation unit 221, the vehicle detector 222, the roadside indicator 223, the departure controller 224, the axle sensor 225, the first antenna 227, and the second antenna 228 described with reference to FIG. 3, respectively, and therefore will not be described here. In other words, the lane equipment 32 at the two-antenna flat-rate toll gate 3 does not read the license plate of the vehicle 6 when the vehicle 6 enters the two-antenna flat-rate toll gate 3, and therefore the lane equipment 32 does not transmit license plate reading information to the lane server 31.

[0033] 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the one-antenna toll booth 4 constituting the ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. The one-antenna toll booth 4 has the same configuration whether it is a distance-based toll system or a flat rate system.

[0034] The lane server 41 includes a processor 411, a storage unit 412, a display unit 414, an interface 413, and an operation unit 415. The processor 411, the storage unit 412, the display unit 414, the interface 413, and the operation unit 415 have the same configurations as the processor 211, the storage unit 212, the interface 213, the display unit 214, and the operation unit 215 described above with reference to Fig. 3, respectively, and therefore will not be described here.

[0035] The lane equipment 42 includes an interface aggregation unit 421 , a vehicle detector 422 , a roadside indicator 423 , a departure controller 424 , and an antenna 425 . Comparing the lane equipment 22 shown in Fig. 3 with the lane equipment 42 shown in Fig. 5, they are the same except that the lane equipment 42 does not include the axle sensor 225, the license plate reading camera 226, and the second antenna 228. The interface aggregation unit 421, the vehicle detector 422, the roadside display 423, the departure controller 424, and the antenna 425 of the one-antenna toll gate 4 are configured similarly to the interface aggregation unit 221, the vehicle detector 222, the roadside display 223, the departure controller 224, and the first antenna 227 described with reference to Fig. 3, respectively, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted here. In other words, the lane equipment 42 of the one-antenna toll gate 4 does not detect the number of axles of the vehicle 6 and does not read the license plate of the vehicle 6 even if the vehicle 6 enters the one-antenna toll gate. Therefore, the lane equipment 42 at the one-antenna toll booth 4 does not transmit axle information and license plate reading information to the lane server 41. Furthermore, since the one-antenna toll booth 4 does not have the second antenna 228, recovery of the antenna 425 is not performed. Note that the antenna 425 can also detect the vehicle 6 by periodically transmitting a signal such as a beacon and receiving a response to the signal from the on-board device 61. In this case, the one-antenna toll booth 4 does not need to have the vehicle detector 422. Furthermore, if a method is adopted in which starting control information is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 61 of the vehicle 6 and the information is notified to the driver of the vehicle 6 as voice, the one-antenna toll booth 4 does not need to be equipped with a roadside controller 423.

[0036] 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the FF toll gate 5 constituting the ETC toll collection system according to this embodiment. The FF toll gate 5 has the same configuration whether it is a distance-based toll system or a flat rate system.

[0037] The lane server 51 includes a processor 511, a storage unit 512, a display unit 514, an interface 513, and an operation unit 515. The processor 511, the storage unit 512, the display unit 514, the interface 513, and the operation unit 515 have the same configurations as the processor 211, the storage unit 212, the interface 213, the display unit 214, and the operation unit 215 described above with reference to Fig. 3, respectively, and therefore will not be described here.

[0038] The lane equipment 52 includes an interface aggregation unit 521 , a vehicle detector 522 , a roadside display 523 , and an antenna 524 .

[0039] 3 and the lane device 52 shown in FIG. 6, the interface aggregation unit 521, the vehicle detector 522, the roadside indicator 523, and the antenna 524 are the same except that the lane device 52 does not include the starting controller 224, the axle sensor 225, the license plate reading camera 226, and the second antenna 228. The interface aggregation unit 521, the vehicle detector 522, the roadside indicator 523, and the antenna 524 of the FF toll gate 5 are configured similarly to the interface aggregation unit 221, the vehicle detector 222, the roadside indicator 223, and the first antenna 227 described with reference to FIG. 3, respectively, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted here. That is, the lane device 52 of the FF toll gate 5 does not detect the number of axles of the vehicle 6 and does not read the license plate of the vehicle 6 even if the vehicle 6 enters the FF toll gate. Therefore, the lane equipment 52 of the FF toll gate does not transmit axle information and license plate reading information to the lane server 51. In addition, since the FF toll gate 5 does not have the second antenna 228, it does not recover the antenna 425. Furthermore, since the FF toll gate 5 does not have the departure controller 224, even if it receives departure control information indicating a temporary stop from the lane server 51, it will allow the vehicle 6 to pass without preventing its passage. The antenna 524 can also detect the vehicle 6 by periodically transmitting a signal such as a beacon and receiving a response to the signal from the vehicle-mounted device 61. In this case, the FF antenna toll booth 5 does not need to be equipped with the vehicle detector 522. Furthermore, if a method is adopted in which the starting control information is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 61 of the vehicle 6 and the information is notified to the driver of the vehicle 6 as voice, the FF toll gate 5 does not need to be equipped with the roadside controller 523.

[0040] (operation) Next, a process for determining the type of vehicle when the vehicle 6 travels along the three routes according to this embodiment will be described. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of three routes taken by the vehicle 6 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 7, the first route is a route in which the vehicle enters the toll road at IC7, passes through IC5 and IC3, and exits the toll road at IC1. The second route is a route in which the vehicle enters the toll road at IC13, passes through IC10, and exits the toll road at IC8. Furthermore, the third route is a route in which the vehicle enters the toll road at IC4, passes through IC3, and exits at IC2.

[0041] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of what each toll gate at the IC shown in FIG. 7 is like. As shown in Fig. 8, IC7 and IC9 are two-antenna distance-based toll booths 2, IC3, IC5, IC10, IC12, and IC13 are two-antenna flat-rate toll booths 3, IC6 and IC8 are one-antenna distance-based toll booths 4, IC1 and IC2 are distance-based toll booths 5, and IC4 and IC11 are flat-rate toll booths 5. Although Fig. 8 does not show a one-antenna flat-rate toll booth 4, it goes without saying that a one-antenna flat-rate toll booth 4 may exist.

[0042] Referring to Figures 7 and 8, when vehicle 6 travels along the first route, the IC7 at which vehicle 6 enters the toll road is a dual-antenna flat-rate toll gate 2, the IC3 and IC5 that vehicle 6 passes through are a dual-antenna flat-rate toll gate 3, and the IC1 from which vehicle 6 exits is a FF toll gate 5 with a distance-based toll system. That is, when the vehicle 6 travels along the first route, the vehicle 6 travels along a toll road with a distance-based toll system from IC1 to IC3 and from IC5 to IC7, and along a toll road with a flat rate system from IC3 to IC5. Similarly, when vehicle 6 travels along the second route, IC 13 that vehicle 6 enters and IC 10 that it passes through are two-antenna flat-rate toll gates 3, and IC 8 that vehicle 6 exits is a one-antenna toll gate 4 with a distance-based toll system. Furthermore, when vehicle 6 travels along the third route, the IC 4 that vehicle 6 enters is a FF toll gate 5 with a flat-rate toll system, the IC 3 that vehicle 6 passes through is a two-antenna flat-rate toll gate 3, and the IC 2 that vehicle 6 exits is a FF toll gate 5 with a distance-based toll system. In this embodiment, the first route, the second route, and the third route need to pass through the two-antenna distance-based toll gate 2 or the two-antenna flat rate toll gate 3 at least once in order to detect the number of axles of the vehicle 6.

[0043] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of transmission and reception of information among the vehicle 6, an IC (toll gate), and the central processing unit 1 when the vehicle 6 travels along the first route shown in FIG. First, a vehicle 6 enters a two-antenna distance-based toll booth 2, which is an entrance interchange 7. The processor 211 of the dual-antenna distance toll gate 2 executes various processes based on the detection of the vehicle 6 by the vehicle detector 222 (step ST901). When a vehicle 6 is detected, the axle sensor 225 of the two-antenna distance-based toll gate 2 detects the number of axles of the vehicle 6 and detection abnormalities (sensor skipping and / or incorrect sensor order), generates axle information based on the detection, and transmits the axle information to the interface aggregation unit 221. Furthermore, the license plate reading camera 226 reads the license plate of the vehicle 6, generates license plate reading information, and transmits the license plate reading information to the interface aggregation unit 221. The first antenna 227 also transmits a vehicle identification request to the vehicle 6, and receives vehicle identification information from the on-board unit 61 of the vehicle 6, including card information of the ETC card 62 and on-board unit specific information. Furthermore, the first antenna 227 transmits the received vehicle identification information to the interface aggregation unit 221. The interface aggregation unit 221 transmits the received various information to the lane server 21. Here, the vehicle-mounted device specific information includes the vehicle model code of the vehicle 6, information on the license plate of the vehicle 6, and towing information indicating whether the vehicle 6 can tow a towing vehicle. Note that the detection of the number of axles, the reading of the license plate, and the communication with the vehicle-mounted device 61 of the vehicle 6 may be processed in a predetermined order or simultaneously.

[0044] The lane server 21 transmits the various information received from the interface aggregation unit 221 and an IC number that uniquely indicates that the toll gate is a two-antenna-pair-distance toll gate 2 to the central processing unit 1 via the interface 213 (step ST902). Here, the various information includes axle information, license plate reading information, and vehicle identification information.

[0045] The processor 101, which is a vehicle type estimation unit and a score determination unit of the central processing unit 1, estimates the vehicle type of the vehicle 6 and determines the score of the toll booth for determining the vehicle type of the vehicle 6 (step ST903). The processor 101, which is a vehicle type estimation unit, estimates the vehicle type based on the number of axles included in the axle information and the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information. For example, the processor 101 estimates the vehicle type by referring to the vehicle type code and a vehicle type correspondence table stored in the storage unit 102. Furthermore, processor 101 compares the number of axles with the axles of the estimated vehicle type, and if they match, the estimated vehicle type is determined to be the estimated vehicle type, and if they do not match (for example, the axle information has a larger number of axles), processor 101 estimates the estimated vehicle type to be a larger vehicle type (for example, a vehicle type one class larger). Furthermore, the processor 101, which is a score determination unit, determines the score of the toll gate. For example, the processor 101 determines whether the toll gate is a two-antenna toll gate based on the IC number received from the lane server 21 via the interface 103, which is a central communication unit. Furthermore, processor 101 determines whether vehicle 6 can be towed from the towing information included in the vehicle identification information. If vehicle 6 cannot be towed, processor 101 compares the number of axles included in the axle information with the number of axles determined based on the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information to determine whether they match. Note that even if vehicle 6 can be towed, processor 101 may compare the number of axles contained in the axle information with the determined number of axles. Processor 101 also compares the license plate read information with the information about the license plate contained in the vehicle identification information to determine whether these pieces of information match. From these determination results, processor 101 determines a score for the toll gate to determine the type of vehicle 6. Here, the score is a value that indicates the likelihood of the estimated type of vehicle, and for example, the toll gate that transmitted the most reliable information will have the maximum score. After that, the processor 101 stores the result of the determination, the estimated vehicle type, the determined score, and the like in the storage unit 102. Here, when the processor 101 determines that the score is the highest value, the processor 101 may determine the vehicle type based on the estimated vehicle type. In other words, the processor 101 may determine that the estimated vehicle type is the vehicle type of the vehicle 6.

[0046] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the memory unit 102 of the central processing unit 1 as a result of the vehicle 6 passing through the IC 7 shown in Fig. 9. As shown in Fig. 10, the memory unit 102 of the central processing unit 1 stores the IC number (IC7), the number of antennas at the toll booth, the determination result (match or mismatch) regarding the axles when the vehicle 6 does not have a towing vehicle, the detection information included in the axle information, the determination result (match or mismatch) regarding the license plate, the towing information included in the vehicle identification information, the estimated vehicle type, and the score. In addition, in Fig. 10, an example is shown in which the number of axles is not determined when a towing vehicle is included (shown as "-" in Fig. 10), but the number of axles may be determined. In this case, the determination result may show the difference in the number of axles, such as "+1" or "+2". As shown in Fig. 10, the estimated vehicle type is represented by a number associated with a compact car, a standard car, etc. Furthermore, these pieces of information are associated with the card information of the ETC card and are stored in the storage unit 102 as information that can be searched for by the card information. Also, IC7 shown in Fig. 10 is the highest value because all the judgments by the processor 101 were good.

[0047] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which the processor 101, which is the score determination unit of the central processing unit 1, determines a score.

[0048] The processor 101 judges whether the toll gate is a two-antenna toll gate based on the received IC number (step ST1101). For example, the processor 101 judges the number of antennas of the toll gate by referring to the configuration of the IC toll gate stored in the memory unit 102 of the central processing unit 1 based on the IC number. For example, if the IC toll booth is a one-antenna toll booth 4 or a one-antenna toll booth 5, these one-antenna toll booths do not acquire information on the number of axles or the license plate when the vehicle 6 passes through. Therefore, the vehicle type determined by the information received from the toll booth has the lowest probability. Therefore, the central processing unit 1 sets the score to the minimum value, for example, "1" (step ST1102), and ends the process. On the other hand, for example, if it is determined from the IC number that the IC is the two-antenna distance-based toll gate 2 or the two-antenna flat rate toll gate 3, the process proceeds to step ST1103.

[0049] The processor 101 determines whether the vehicle 6 can be towed based on the towing information included in the vehicle identification information (step ST1103). If the vehicle 6 cannot be towed, the process proceeds to step ST1104 to determine whether the number of axles detected by the axle sensor 225 matches the number of axles determined based on the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information. On the other hand, if the vehicle 6 can be towed, the number of axles detected by the axle sensor 225 may not match the number of axles determined based on the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information. Therefore, the process skips step ST1104 and proceeds to step ST1106. If the vehicle 6 has a towing vehicle, the vehicle type estimated by the processor 101 differs from the vehicle type identified by the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information. For example, if the vehicle type identified by the vehicle type code is a large vehicle, the vehicle type estimated by the processor 101 will be an extra-large vehicle.

[0050] The processor 101 determines whether the number of axles included in the axle information matches the number of axles determined based on the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information (step ST1104). If the numbers of axles do not match, that is, if the number of axles is not correctly detected by the axle sensor 225 or the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information is incorrect, the vehicle type determined by the central processing unit 1 becomes less likely to be the type. Therefore, in this case, the processor 101 sets the score to a first value higher than the minimum value, for example, "2" obtained by adding 1 to the minimum value (step ST1105), and ends the process. On the other hand, if the numbers of axles match, the process proceeds to step ST1106.

[0051] The processor 101 determines whether the axle sensor 225 has detected a detection abnormality based on the detection information (step ST1106). If the detection information indicates a detection abnormality, the number of axles included in the axle information may not be detected correctly, so the likelihood of the number of axles estimated by the processor 101 is low. Therefore, in this case, the central processing unit 1 sets the score to a second value higher than the first value, for example, "3" obtained by adding 2 to the minimum value (step ST1107), and ends the process. On the other hand, if there is no detection abnormality, that is, if the axle is detected properly, the process proceeds to step ST1108.

[0052] The processor 101 compares the license plate read information with the information about the license plate of the vehicle 6 included in the vehicle identification information, and determines whether or not these pieces of information match (step ST1108). If the license plate read information does not match the information about the license plate of the vehicle 6, there is a possibility that the license plate read by the license plate reading camera 226 is incorrect, or the information about the license plate registered in the vehicle-mounted device 61 is incorrect. Therefore, the vehicle type determined by the processor 101 has a low probability. Therefore, in this case, processor 101 sets the score to a third value higher than the second value, for example, "4" obtained by adding 3 to the minimum value (step ST1109), and ends the process. On the other hand, if the license plate read information and the information on the license plate of the vehicle 6 match, that is, if all the judgments are good, the processor 101 determines that the score of the toll booth is the highest (step ST1110). In this case, the vehicle type estimated by the processor 101 is the most reliable vehicle type. Therefore, the processor 101 determines the vehicle type based on this estimated vehicle type. In other words, the processor 101 determines that the estimated vehicle type is the vehicle type of the vehicle 6, and can omit estimating the vehicle type at subsequent ICs.

[0053] For example, according to the information stored in the storage unit 102 shown in Fig. 10, all the results are good, so the processor 101 determines that the estimated vehicle type "3" is the vehicle type of the vehicle 6. That is, the processor 101 can determine the vehicle type by the process of ST903 in Fig. 9.

[0054] Returning to Fig. 9, the processor 101 transmits the entrance toll gate identification information and the start control information to the lane server 21 of the two-antenna-pair-distance toll gate 2 (step ST904). The processor 101 determines whether the vehicle 6 can pass based on the received vehicle identification information, and generates the start control information based on the determination. Furthermore, the processor 101 generates the entrance toll gate identification information including the entry record to the IC 7, and transmits the entrance toll gate identification information and the start control information to the lane server 21 via the interface 103.

[0055] The lane server 21 of the two-antenna-pair-distance toll gate 2 transmits the entrance toll gate identification information received from the central processing unit 1 to the on-board unit 61 of the vehicle 6 via the interface 213 and the first antenna 227, and receives a completion notification from the on-board unit 61 of the vehicle 6 (step ST905). Furthermore, the lane server 21 transmits the start control information received from the central processing unit 1 to the start controller 224 and the roadside display 223. The start controller 224 controls the start control bar based on the start control information to allow the vehicle 6 to pass or to stop temporarily, and the roadside display 223 displays information based on the start control. Furthermore, the vehicle-mounted device 61 of the vehicle 6 receives the entrance toll gate identification information from the first antenna 227 and writes an entrance record into the ETC card 62 . Furthermore, the lane server 21 may transmit the starting control information to the vehicle-mounted device 6 of the vehicle 6. In this case, the vehicle-mounted device 6 notifies the driver of the vehicle 6 of information based on the starting control information by voice or the like.

[0056] Thereafter, the vehicle 6 passes through an IC 5 which is a two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 . The lane server 31 executes various processes based on the vehicle detection by the vehicle detector 322 (step ST906). When the vehicle 6 is detected, the axle sensor 325 detects the number of axles of the vehicle 6 and detection abnormalities, generates axle information based on the detection, and transmits the axle information to the interface aggregation unit 321. Furthermore, the first antenna 326 of the two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 transmits a vehicle identification request to the vehicle, and receives vehicle identification information including card information of the ETC card 62 and on-board device specific information from the on-board device 61 of the vehicle 6. Furthermore, the first antenna 227 transmits the received vehicle identification information to the interface aggregation unit 221. Since the vehicle type has been determined in step ST903, the processor 101 can omit estimating the vehicle type and determining the score.

[0057] The lane server 31 transmits the information acquired in step ST906 and the IC number (IC5) that uniquely identifies the two-antenna flat rate toll gate 3 to the central processing unit 1 via the interface 313 (step ST907).

[0058] The processor 101 stores the IC number in the memory unit 102 in association with the card information of the ETC card 62, determines whether or not the vehicle is permitted to pass based on the received vehicle identification information, generates starting control information based on the determination, and transmits the starting control information to the two-antenna flat-rate toll gate 3 (step ST908).

[0059] The two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 transmits the starting control information received from the central processing unit 1 to the starting controller 324 and the roadside display 323. The starting controller 324 controls the starting control bar based on the starting control information to allow the vehicle 6 to pass or to stop temporarily, and the roadside display 323 displays information based on the starting control (step ST909).

[0060] Thereafter, the vehicle 6 passes through an IC 3 which is a two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 . Operations in steps ST910 to ST913 shown in FIG. 9 are similar to those in steps ST906 to ST909, respectively, and therefore will not be described here.

[0061] Thereafter, the vehicle 6 passes through IC1, which is the FF toll gate 5, and exits the toll road. The lane server 31 of the FF toll gate 5 executes various processes based on the vehicle detection by the vehicle detector 522 (step ST914). The antenna 524 of the FF toll gate 5 transmits a vehicle identification request to the vehicle 6, and receives vehicle identification information from the on-board device 61 of the vehicle 6. Furthermore, the antenna 524 transmits the received vehicle identification information to the interface aggregation unit 521.

[0062] The FF toll gate 5 transmits the vehicle identification information and the IC number (IC3) that uniquely identifies the FF toll gate 5 to the central processing unit 1 (step ST915).

[0063] The processor 101, which is the toll determination unit of the central processing unit 1, determines the travel section of the vehicle 6 from the received IC number and the stored IC number, and determines the toll (step ST916). The processor 101 determines that the vehicle 6 is about to exit the toll road from the received IC number. Therefore, the processor 101 determines the travel section of the vehicle 6 from the IC number stored in the memory unit 102. Then, the processor 101 calculates the toll based on the vehicle type determined in step ST903, the toll table stored in the memory unit 102, and the travel section. Furthermore, the processor 101 generates toll information indicating the calculated toll and exit toll gate identification information including an exit record. The processor 101 also generates starting control information and transmits the starting control information to the vehicle-mounted device 61 of the vehicle 6 via the lane equipment. The vehicle-mounted device 61 notifies the driver of the vehicle 6 of information based on the start control information by voice or the like.

[0064] The processor 101 transmits the exit toll gate identification information to the FF toll gate 5 via the interface 103 (step ST917).

[0065] The lane server 51 of the FF toll gate 5 transmits the exit toll gate identification information to the on-board device 61 of the vehicle 6 via the interface aggregation unit 521 and the antenna 524, and receives a completion notification from the on-board device 61 (step ST918). Furthermore, upon receiving the exit toll gate identification information, the on-board device 61 of the vehicle 6 writes the exit record and toll information into the ETC card 62, and transmits a completion notification to the antenna 524.

[0066] FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of transmission and reception of information among the vehicle 6, an IC (toll gate), and the central processing unit 1 when the vehicle 6 travels along the second route shown in FIG. First, a vehicle 6 enters a two-antenna flat-rate toll booth 3 which is an entrance interchange 13 . Step ST1201 shown in Fig. 10 is the same as step ST901 shown in Fig. 9, except that the antenna flat rate toll booth 3 does not read the license plate. And in step ST1202, the operation is the same as step ST902 except that the license plate read information is not transmitted to the central processing unit 1, so the explanation of these operations will be omitted here.

[0067] Processor 101, which is a vehicle type estimation unit and score determination unit of central processing unit 1, estimates the vehicle type and determines the score of the toll gate (step ST1203). As described with reference to Fig. 11, processor 101, which is a vehicle type estimation unit, estimates the vehicle type based on the number of axles included in the axle information and the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information. The processor 101, which is the score determination unit, judges whether the toll gate has a two-antenna structure from the received IC number. Furthermore, the processor 101 judges whether the vehicle 6 can be towed from the towing information included in the vehicle identification information. If the vehicle 6 cannot be towed, the processor 101 compares the number of axles with the number of axles determined based on the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information, and determines whether they match. From these determination results, the processor 101 determines the score of the toll gate for determining the vehicle type of the vehicle 6. Thereafter, the processor 101 stores the determination results, the estimated vehicle type, the determined score, and the like in the memory unit 102. 11, the processor 101, which is the score determination unit, does not receive the license plate reading information and is therefore unable to compare it with the information on the license plate. Therefore, the processor 101 determines a mismatch in step ST1108. That is, even if the vehicle 6 passes through the two-antenna flat rate toll gate 3, which is the IC 13, the processor 101 does not determine the vehicle type of the vehicle 6, as the vehicle toll gate score does not reach its highest value.

[0068] Steps ST1204 and ST1205 are similar to steps ST904 and ST905 described with reference to FIG. 9, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0069] Thereafter, the vehicle 6 passes through an IC 10 which is a two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 . The operations of steps ST1206 and ST1207 are similar to those of steps ST906 and ST907 described with reference to Fig. 9, respectively, and therefore their explanation will be omitted here. Also, the operations of step ST1208 are similar to those of step ST1203, and therefore their explanation will be omitted here. Furthermore, the operations of steps ST1209 and ST1210 are similar to those of steps ST908 and ST909 described with reference to Fig. 9, and therefore their explanation will be omitted here.

[0070] Thereafter, the vehicle 6 passes through the IC 8, which is a single-antenna toll booth 4, and exits the toll road.

[0071] The one-antenna toll booth 4 executes various processes based on the vehicle detection by the vehicle detector 422 (step ST1211). The antenna 425 of the one-antenna toll booth 4 transmits a vehicle identification request to the vehicle, and receives vehicle identification information including card information of the ETC card 62 and on-board device specific information from the on-board device 61 of the vehicle 6. Furthermore, the antenna 425 transmits the received vehicle identification information to the interface aggregation unit 421.

[0072] The one-antenna toll gate 4 transmits the information acquired in step ST1211 and the IC number (IC8) that uniquely identifies it as the one-antenna toll gate 4 to the central processing unit 1 via the interface 413 (step ST1212).

[0073] Processor 101 determines the vehicle type and determines the toll (step ST1213). Processor 101, which is a vehicle type estimation unit, estimates the vehicle type based on the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information. That is, processor 101 estimates the vehicle type by referring to the vehicle type code and a vehicle type correspondence table stored in storage unit 102. Processor 101, which is a score determination unit, determines whether the toll gate is a two-antenna toll gate based on the received IC number. Because the processor 101 determines that the one-antenna toll gate has a one-antenna structure, the score of the toll gate is set to the minimum value of "1." The processor 101 then stores the determination result, the estimated vehicle type, the determined score, and the like in the memory unit 102. The processor 101 also determines from the received IC number that the vehicle 6 is about to exit the toll road. The processor 101 then determines the vehicle type of the vehicle 6 based on the information stored in the memory unit 102 in steps ST1203, ST1208, and ST1213. That is, the processor 101 determines that the vehicle type of the vehicle 6 is the vehicle type estimated when passing through the toll gate with the highest score of the determined toll gate.

[0074] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 102 of the central processing unit 1 by the processes of steps ST1203, ST1208, and ST1213 in FIG. As shown in Fig. 13, when vehicle 6 passed IC10, the axle sensor 325 of the two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 detected a sensor skip and a sensor order error detection anomaly. Therefore, the score of the toll booth at IC10 is 2. Referring to Fig. 13, the toll booth with the highest score is IC13, so processor 101 determines that the vehicle type of vehicle 6 is "2" estimated by IC13.

[0075] Processor 101, which is a toll determination unit, determines the travel section from the IC number stored in memory unit 102. Then, processor 101 calculates the toll based on the determined vehicle type, the toll table stored in memory unit 102, and the travel section. Processor 101 generates toll information indicating the calculated toll, exit toll gate identification information including an exit record, and start control information. If the exit toll gate identification information can be generated, the departure control information indicates permission to pass, and if the exit toll gate identification information cannot be generated, the departure control information indicates a stop.

[0076] The processor 101 transmits the exit toll gate identification information and the departure control information to the one-antenna toll gate 4 via the interface 103 (step ST1214).

[0077] The lane server 41 transmits the exit toll gate identification information to the in-vehicle device 61 of the vehicle 6 via the interface aggregation unit 421 and the antenna 425, and receives a completion notification from the in-vehicle device 61 (step ST1215). Furthermore, when the on-board device 61 of the vehicle 6 receives the exit toll gate identification information, it writes an exit record and toll information into the ETC card 62, and transmits a completion notification to the first antenna 227. Furthermore, the one-antenna toll gate 4 transmits departure control information to the departure controller 424 and the roadside display 423 via the interface aggregation unit 421. The departure controller 424 controls the opening and closing of a departure control bar based on the received departure control, and the roadside display 423 displays information based on the departure controller 424 .

[0078] FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of transmission and reception of information among the vehicle 6, an IC (toll gate), and the central processing unit 1 when the vehicle 6 travels along the third route shown in FIG. First, a vehicle 6 enters the FF toll booth 5 which is the entrance interchange 4 . The FF tollgate 5 lane server 51 executes various processes based on the vehicle detection by the vehicle detector 522 (step ST1401). The antenna 524 of the FF tollgate 5 transmits a vehicle identification request to the vehicle 6. Then, it receives vehicle identification information including card information of the ETC card 62 and on-board device specific information from the on-board device 61 of the vehicle 6. Furthermore, the antenna 524 transmits the received vehicle identification information to the interface aggregation unit 521.

[0079] The lane server 51 transmits the information acquired in step ST1401 and the IC number (IC5) that uniquely indicates that the toll gate is the FF toll gate 5 to the central processing unit 1 (step ST1402).

[0080] Processor 101, which is a vehicle type estimation unit and a score determination unit of the central processing unit 1, estimates the vehicle type and determines the score of the toll gate (step ST1403). Processor 101, which is a vehicle type estimation unit, estimates the vehicle type based on the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information. Then, processor 101, which is a score determination unit, determines the score of the toll gate. For example, the processor 101 judges whether the toll gate is a two-antenna toll gate from the received IC number. Here, since the FF toll gate 5 is a one-antenna toll gate, the processor 101 determines the score of the toll gate to be the minimum value, for example, 1. After that, the processor 101 stores the judgment result, the estimated vehicle type, the determined score, etc. in the memory unit 102.

[0081] The processor 101 transmits the entrance toll gate identification information to the lane server 51 of the FF toll gate 5 (step ST1404). The processor 101 generates the entrance toll gate identification information including the entry record to the IC 7, and transmits the entrance toll gate identification information to the lane server 21.

[0082] The lane server 51 of the FF toll gate 5 transmits the entrance toll gate identification information to the on-board device 61 of the vehicle 6 via the interface aggregation unit 521 and the antenna 524, and receives a completion notification from the on-board device 61 (step ST1405). Furthermore, upon receiving the entrance toll gate identification information, the on-board device 61 of the vehicle 6 writes an entry record into the ETC card 62, and transmits a completion notification to the antenna 524.

[0083] Thereafter, the vehicle 6 passes through an IC 3 which is a two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 .

[0084] The operations of steps ST1406 and ST1407 are similar to those of steps ST906 and ST907 described with reference to Fig. 9, and therefore their explanations will be omitted. Also, the operations of step ST1408 are similar to those of step ST1203 described with reference to Fig. 12, and therefore their explanations will be omitted. Also, the operations of steps ST1409 and ST1410 are similar to those of steps ST908 and ST909 described with reference to Fig. 9, and therefore their explanations will be omitted.

[0085] Thereafter, the vehicle 6 passes through the IC 2, which is the FF toll gate 5, and exits the toll road. The operations of steps ST1411 and ST1412 are similar to those of steps ST914 and ST915, respectively, described with reference to FIG. 9, and therefore will not be described here.

[0086] The processor 101 determines the vehicle type and determines the toll (step ST1413). The processor 101, which is a vehicle type estimation unit, estimates the vehicle type based on the vehicle type code included in the vehicle identification information. That is, the processor 101 estimates the vehicle type by referring to the vehicle type code and a vehicle type correspondence table stored in the storage unit 102. Processor 101, which is a score determination unit, judges whether or not the toll gate is a two-antenna structure from the received IC number. Because processor 101 judges that FF toll gate 5 is a one-antenna structure, the score of the toll gate is set to the minimum value of "1". Processor 101 then stores the judgment result, the estimated vehicle type, the determined score, etc. in memory unit 102. The processor 101 also determines from the received IC number that the vehicle 6 is about to exit the toll road. The processor 101 then determines the vehicle type of the vehicle 6 based on the information stored in the memory unit 102 in steps ST1403, ST1408, and ST1413. That is, the processor 101 determines that the vehicle type of the vehicle 6 is the vehicle type estimated when passing through the toll gate with the highest score of the determined toll gate.

[0087] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 102 of the central processing unit 1 by the processes of steps ST1403, ST1408, and ST1413 in FIG. As shown in Figure 15, when vehicle 6 passed IC3, the axle sensor 325 of the two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 detected a sensor skip and a sensor order error, indicating that IC3 received a score of 2. However, referring to Figure 15, it is shown that IC3 has the highest score. Therefore, the processor 101 determines that the vehicle type estimated when passing through the IC3 is the vehicle type of the vehicle 6. However, in this case, it indicates that there is a detection abnormality by the axle sensor 325 of the two-antenna flat rate toll booth 3 which is the IC3, and there is a possibility that the axle sensor 325 is not detecting the number of axles correctly. Therefore, the central processing unit 1 does not discard the results stored in the memory unit 102 shown in Fig. 15 even after the vehicle 6 passes through the IC2 and exits the toll road, but stores them as a doubtful inquiry statement. That is, when the score of the toll booth where the detection anomaly occurred is the highest, the processor 101 stores the various information stored in the memory unit 102 as a doubt inquiry detail. By storing the doubt inquiry detail, it becomes possible to present detailed information to the driver of the vehicle 6 when the driver inquires about the toll.

[0088] The processor 101, which is a toll determination unit, calculates the toll based on the determined vehicle type, the toll table stored in the memory unit 102, and the traffic section. The processor 101 generates toll information indicating the calculated toll and exit toll gate identification information including an exit record. Furthermore, the processor 101 may generate start control information to display the information on the roadside display 523, and transmit the information to the lane server 51. The roadside display 523 displays information based on the start control information.

[0089] Steps ST1414 and ST1415 are similar to steps ST917 and ST918 described with reference to FIG. 9, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0090] (Action and effect) According to the present embodiment described above, the vehicle type can be appropriately determined based on the number of axles and vehicle type code detected by the axle sensor when all results are good at the two-antenna distance toll booth 2, which is the most reliable toll booth. In addition, if the judgment result at the two-antenna toll gate is not good, or if vehicle 6 does not pass through a two-antenna distance toll gate, the vehicle type can be appropriately determined by determining the vehicle type estimated at the toll gate with the highest score as the vehicle type of vehicle 6. In addition, if the score of the toll booth where a detection abnormality occurred becomes the highest, the information stored in the memory unit 102 of the central processing unit 1 can be stored as a detailed inquiry about a doubt, making it possible to respond to inquiries from drivers of vehicles 6 who have doubts about the toll. In this embodiment, the highest score representing the likelihood of the vehicle type is assigned to the toll gate that transmitted the most reliable information, but the lowest score may be assigned to the toll gate that transmitted the most reliable information. In this case, the vehicle type determination unit determines the vehicle type of the vehicle 6 to be the vehicle type estimated at the toll gate that has the smallest score among the scores determined by the score determination unit.

[0091] 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]

[0092] 1...Central processing unit 2...2 Antenna vs. Distance Toll Booth 3...2-antenna flat-rate toll booth 4...1 antenna toll booth 5…FF toll booth 6…Vehicle 61...Onboard equipment 62...ETC card 101…Processor 102...Storage section 103...Interface 104...Display section 105...Operation unit 21…Lane Server 211...Processor 212...Storage section 213...Interface 214...Display section 215...Operation unit 22...Lane equipment 221...Interface aggregation unit 222…Vehicle detector 223…Roadside indicator 224…Launch controller 225...Axle sensor 226…License plate reading camera 227…First antenna 228…Second antenna 31…Lane Server 311...Processor 312...Storage section 313...Interface 314...Display section 315...Operation unit 32...Lane equipment 321...Interface aggregation section 322…Vehicle detector 323…Roadside indicator 324…Launch controller 325...Axle sensor 326…Antenna 327…Antenna 41…Lane Server 411...Processor 412...Storage section 413...Interface 414...Display section 415...Operation unit 42...Lane equipment 421: Interface aggregation unit 422…Vehicle detector 423…Roadside indicator 424…Launch controller 425…Antenna 51…Lane Server 511...processor 512...Storage section 513...Interface 514...Display section 515...Operation unit 52...Lane equipment 521: Interface aggregation unit 522…Vehicle detector 523…Roadside indicator 524…Antenna

Claims

1. A vehicle type determination system comprising: a plurality of toll booths that are installed at a plurality of interchanges and communicate with vehicles passing through the toll booths; and a central processing unit that communicates with the plurality of toll booths, At least one toll booth among the plurality of toll booths, a lane device including an antenna for receiving vehicle-mounted device-specific information from an on-board device of a passing vehicle, the vehicle-type code of the vehicle and towing information indicating whether the vehicle can tow a towing vehicle, and an axle sensor for generating axle information including information on the number of axles of the vehicle; a lane server that transmits the on-board device specific information, the axle information, and an interchange number that uniquely identifies each of the at least one toll gate received from the lane device to the central processing unit; Equipped with The central processing unit includes: a vehicle type estimation unit that estimates a vehicle type of a vehicle passing through each of the at least one toll gate based on the number of axles of the vehicle and the vehicle type code received from the lane server; a score determination unit that determines a score for each of the at least one toll gate based on the number of antennas of the at least one toll gate identified from the interchange number, the vehicle-mounted device specific information, and the axle information; a vehicle type determination unit that determines the vehicle type of the vehicle based on a vehicle type estimated at a toll gate having the highest score determined by the score determination unit among toll gates that the vehicle has passed through; Equipped with The score determination unit determines the score of the at least one toll gate to be a minimum score when the at least one toll gate is determined to be a toll gate that does not have a two-antenna structure, If it is determined that the at least one toll booth has a two-antenna structure, and if it is determined from the towing information that the vehicle cannot be towed and the information on the number of axles of the vehicle and the number of axles of the estimated vehicle type do not match, a first value score higher than the minimum value is determined. Vehicle selection system.

2. A first toll gate of the plurality of toll gates includes: a first lane device including a first antenna for receiving the vehicle-mounted device specific information; a first lane server that receives the on-board device specific information of the passing vehicle from the first lane device and transmits the on-board device specific information and a first interchange number that uniquely identifies the first toll gate to the central processing unit; Equipped with the vehicle type estimation unit estimates the vehicle type at the first toll gate based on the vehicle type code included in the vehicle-mounted device unique information received from the lane server; The score determination unit determines the score of the first toll gate to be the lowest score when the first toll gate is determined to be a toll gate with a one-antenna structure based on the first interchange number. The vehicle type determination system according to claim 1 .

3. The axle information includes detection information indicating whether a detection abnormality occurs when detecting the number of axles, the score determination unit determines the score of the at least one toll gate to a second value higher than the first value when the at least one toll gate is determined to be a toll gate with a two-antenna structure from the interchange number, the vehicle is determined to be towable from the towing information, and the detection anomaly is determined to have occurred from the detection information; The vehicle type determination system according to claim 1 .

4. the lane equipment further comprises a license plate reading camera that reads a license plate from the vehicle and generates license plate reading information; The vehicle-mounted device specific information further includes information about a license plate of the vehicle, The lane server transmits the license plate reading information to the central processing unit; the score determination unit determines the score of the at least one toll gate to a third value higher than the second value when the at least one toll gate is determined to be a two-antenna toll gate from the interchange number, the vehicle is determined to be towable from the towing information, the detection information is determined to have no detection anomaly, and the license plate information and the license plate reading information do not match. The vehicle type determination system according to claim 3.

5. The score determination unit determines the score of the at least one toll gate to be the highest value when the at least one toll gate is determined to be a toll gate with a two-antenna structure from the interchange number, the vehicle is determined to be towable from the towing information, the detection information is determined to have no detection abnormality, and the information about the license plate and the license plate reading information are determined to match. The vehicle type determination system according to claim 4.

6. The score determination unit determines the score of the at least one toll gate to be the highest value when it determines from the interchange number that the at least one toll gate is a toll gate with a two-antenna structure, determines from the towing information that the vehicle cannot be towed, determines that the information on the number of axles matches the number of axles determined based on the vehicle model code, determines from the detection information that no detection abnormality has occurred, and determines that the information on the license plate matches the license plate reading information. The vehicle type determination system according to claim 4.

7. When the score determination unit determines that the score of the at least one toll gate is the highest value, the vehicle type estimation unit omits estimation of the vehicle type based on the number of axles and the vehicle type code received after the score is determined to be the highest value.

7. The vehicle type determination system according to claim 5 or 6.

8. The central processing unit includes: The toll gate that the score determination unit determines to have a detection anomaly from the detection information has the highest score, the score determination unit further includes a storage unit that stores the interchange number, the vehicle-mounted device specific information, and the axle information as inquiry details. The vehicle type determination system according to claim 3.

9. A central processing unit that communicates with a plurality of toll booths installed at each of a plurality of interchanges through which a vehicle passes, a central communication unit that receives, from a lane server of at least one toll booth of the plurality of toll booths, on-board device specific information including a vehicle model code of the vehicle and towing information indicating whether the vehicle can tow a towing vehicle, axle information including information about the number of axles of the vehicle, and an interchange number that uniquely identifies each of the at least one toll booth; a vehicle type estimation unit that estimates the vehicle type of the vehicle for each of the at least one toll gate based on the number of axles of the vehicle and the vehicle type code; a score determination unit that determines a score for each of the at least one toll gate based on the number of antennas of the at least one toll gate identified from the interchange number, the vehicle-mounted device specific information, and the axle information; a vehicle type determination unit that determines the vehicle type of the vehicle based on a vehicle type estimated at a toll gate having the highest score determined by the score determination unit among toll gates that the vehicle has passed through; Equipped with The score determination unit: When it is determined from the interchange number that the at least one toll gate is not a toll gate having a two-antenna structure, the score determination unit determines the score of the at least one toll gate to be a minimum value, determining, from the interchange number, that the at least one toll booth is a toll booth with a two-antenna structure; determining, from the towing information, that the vehicle cannot be towed; and, if it is determined that the information on the number of axles of the vehicle does not match the number of axles of the estimated vehicle type, determining the score of the at least one toll booth to a first value higher than the minimum value; Central processing unit.

10. the central communication unit receives, via a first lane server of a first toll gate among the plurality of toll gates, the vehicle-mounted device specific information and a first interchange number that uniquely identifies the first toll gate; The vehicle type estimation unit estimates the vehicle type at the first toll gate based on a vehicle type code included in the vehicle-mounted device specific information from the first lane server, The score determination unit determines the score of the first toll gate to be the lowest value when it is determined from the first interchange number that the first toll gate is a toll gate with a one-antenna structure. The central processing unit according to claim 9.

11. The axle information includes detection information indicating whether a detection abnormality occurs when detecting the number of axles, the score determination unit determines the score of the at least one toll gate to a second value higher than the first value when the score determination unit determines from the interchange number that the at least one toll gate has a two-antenna structure, determines from the towing information that the vehicle can be towed, and determines from the detection information that the detection abnormality has occurred; The central processing unit according to claim 10.

12. The central communication unit further comprises receiving license plate read information from the lane server, the license plate read information including information about a license plate read from the vehicle; The vehicle-mounted device specific information further includes information about a license plate of the vehicle, the score determination unit determines the score of the at least one toll gate to a third value higher than the second value when it determines from the interchange number that the at least one toll gate has a two-antenna structure, determines from the towing information that the vehicle can be towed, determines from the detection information that the detection anomaly has not occurred, and determines that the information about the license plate and the license plate reading information do not match; The central processing unit according to claim 11.

13. the score determination unit determines the score of the at least one toll gate to be the highest value when the score determination unit determines from the interchange number that the at least one toll gate has a two-antenna structure, determines from the towing information that the vehicle can be towed, determines from the detection information that no detection abnormality has occurred, and determines that information about the license plate and information about the license plate reading information match; The central processing unit according to claim 12.

14. The score determination unit determines the score of the at least one toll gate to be the highest value when the score determination unit determines from the interchange number that the at least one toll gate has a two-antenna structure, determines from the towing information that the vehicle cannot be towed, determines that the information on the number of axles matches the number of axles determined based on the vehicle model code, determines from the detection information that no detection abnormality has occurred, and determines that the information on the license plate matches the license plate reading information. The central processing unit according to claim 12.

15. When the score determination unit determines that the score of the at least one toll gate is the highest value, the vehicle type estimation unit omits estimation of the vehicle type based on the number of axles and the vehicle type code received after the score is determined to be the highest value.

15. The central processing unit according to claim 13 or 14.

16. The central processing unit includes: Further, a storage unit is provided for storing the result of the determination by the score determination unit, the interchange number, the on-board device specific information, and the axle information as the inquiry details when the score determination unit determines that the toll gate where the detection abnormality has occurred based on the detection information is the toll gate with the highest score. The central processing unit according to claim 11.

17. A vehicle type determination method by a central processing unit that communicates with a plurality of toll booths installed at each of a plurality of interchanges through which a vehicle passes, comprising the steps of: the central processing unit receives, from a lane server of at least one toll booth of the plurality of toll booths, on-board device specific information including a vehicle model code of the vehicle and towing information indicating whether the vehicle can tow a towing vehicle, transmitted from the vehicle, axle information including information on the number of axles of the vehicle, and an interchange number uniquely identifying each of the at least one toll booth; a vehicle type estimation unit estimating a vehicle type of the vehicle for each of the at least one toll gate based on the number of axles of the vehicle and the vehicle type code; When the score determination unit determines the score of each of the at least one toll gate based on the number of antennas of the at least one toll gate identified from the interchange number, the vehicle-mounted device specific information, and the axle information, When it is determined from the interchange number that the at least one toll booth does not have a two-antenna structure, the toll booth is determined to be a minimum value; determining, from the interchange number, that the at least one toll booth has a two-antenna structure; determining, from the towing information, that the vehicle cannot be towed; and determining, when it is determined that the information on the number of axles of the vehicle does not match the number of axles of the estimated vehicle type, that the first value is higher than the minimum value; a vehicle type determination unit determining the vehicle type of the vehicle based on a vehicle type estimated at a toll gate having a highest score among the toll gates that the vehicle has passed through; A vehicle type determination method comprising:

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