Billing system, lane system, in-vehicle device, billing method, information processing method, and program

Abstract

Even if cargo or towed vehicles are added or removed after entering a toll road, an appropriate charge will be applied upon exiting the toll road, taking such actions into consideration. [Solution] The system comprises an entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road, a rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on a toll road, and an exit lane system installed at the exit of a toll road. When the entrance lane system, rest area lane system, and exit lane system detect the entry of a vehicle into their respective lanes, they establish wireless communication with an on-board unit installed in the vehicle. When the entrance lane system and rest area lane system establish wireless communication with the on-board unit, they cause the on-board unit to acquire vehicle information, including information indicating the vehicle's volume and information indicating its weight. When the exit lane system establishes wireless communication with the on-board unit, it acquires billing information from the on-board unit that is used to charge the toll calculated based on the vehicle information, and charges the toll based on the acquired billing information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a charging system, a lane system, an in-vehicle device, a charging method, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In Patent Document 1, for example, assuming that goods or a towed vehicle are added or reduced in a service area or the like, when the vehicle type classification determined at the entrance toll gate is different from the vehicle type classification determined at the main line toll gate, it is suggested to record both vehicle type classifications and collect an appropriate toll amount in consideration of both recorded vehicle type classifications (Patent Document 1, paragraph

[0118] ).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, for example, when there are a plurality of service areas between the entrance toll gate and the first main line toll gate, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is impossible to specify in which service area an act such as addition or reduction of goods or a towed vehicle has been performed. Therefore, there is a problem that when the act is performed in a service area close to the entrance toll gate, the toll amount is the same as when the act is performed in a service area close to the main line toll gate, and appropriate toll collection cannot always be performed.

[0005] This disclosure is made to solve the above problem and aims to provide a tolling system, lane system, onboard device, tolling method, information processing method, and program that can perform appropriate charging when exiting a toll road, taking into account actions such as the addition or reduction of cargo or towed vehicles after entering the toll road. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To solve the above problems, the billing system according to this disclosure comprises an entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road, a rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on the toll road, and an exit lane system installed at the exit of the toll road. When the entrance lane system, the rest area lane system, and the exit lane system detect the entry of a vehicle into their respective lanes, they establish wireless communication with an in-vehicle device installed in the vehicle. When the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system establish wireless communication with the in-vehicle device, they cause the in-vehicle device to acquire vehicle information including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle. When the exit lane system establishes wireless communication with the in-vehicle device, it acquires billing information from the in-vehicle device that is used to bill the toll calculated based on the vehicle information, and bills based on the acquired billing information.

[0007] The lane system according to this disclosure is a lane system installed in the entrance lane of a toll road and the exit lane of a rest area of ​​the toll road, and comprises: a vehicle detector that detects the entry of a vehicle; a communication device that establishes wireless communication with an on-board unit installed in the vehicle when the vehicle detector detects the entry of the vehicle; and a lane control device that, when the communication device establishes wireless communication with the on-board unit, causes the on-board unit to acquire vehicle information, which includes information indicating the volume and information indicating the weight of the vehicle, and is used to calculate the toll charged at the exit of the toll road.

[0008] The lane system according to this disclosure is a lane system installed in the exit lane of a toll road and comprises: a vehicle detector that detects the entry of a vehicle; a communication device that, when the vehicle detector detects the entry of a vehicle, establishes wireless communication with an on-board unit installed in the vehicle, and when the vehicle enters either the entrance lane of the toll road or the exit lane of a rest area of ​​the toll road and the on-board unit establishes wireless communication, receives vehicle information acquired by the on-board unit from the on-board unit; and a lane control device that, for each piece of vehicle information received by the communication device, calculates a section fee based on information indicating the volume and information indicating the weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, and charges based on the total value of the calculated section fees.

[0009] The in-vehicle device according to this disclosure includes: a communication processing unit that establishes wireless communication with the lane system to which a vehicle equipped with itself enters when the vehicle enters each of the following lanes: an entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road, a rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on the toll road, and an exit lane system installed at the exit of the toll road; a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information including information indicating the volume and information indicating the weight of the vehicle when the communication processing unit establishes wireless communication with either the entrance lane system or the rest area lane system; and an information output unit that outputs to the exit lane system via the communication processing unit the billing information used for billing the toll calculated based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit when the communication processing unit establishes wireless communication with the exit lane system.

[0010] The billing method relating to this disclosure is a billing method using a billing system comprising: an entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road; a rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on the toll road; and an exit lane system installed at the exit of the toll road, wherein when each of the entrance lane system, the rest area lane system, and the exit lane system detects the entry of a vehicle into its respective lane, it establishes wireless communication with an on-board unit installed in the vehicle; when the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system establish wireless communication with the on-board unit, they cause the on-board unit to acquire vehicle information including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle; when the exit lane system establishes wireless communication with the on-board unit, it acquires billing information from the on-board unit that is used to bill a toll calculated based on the vehicle information, and bills based on the acquired billing information.

[0011] The information processing method relating to this disclosure is an information processing method by a lane system installed in the entrance lane of a toll road and the exit lane of a rest area of ​​the toll road, the method detecting the entry of a vehicle, and upon detecting the entry of a vehicle, establishing wireless communication with an on-board unit installed in the vehicle, and upon establishing wireless communication with the on-board unit, causing the on-board unit to acquire vehicle information including information indicating the volume and information indicating the weight of the vehicle, which is used to calculate the toll charged at the exit of the toll road.

[0012] The billing method relating to this disclosure is a billing method using a lane system installed in the exit lane of a toll road, which detects the entry of a vehicle, establishes wireless communication with an on-board unit installed in the vehicle when the entry of the vehicle is detected, receives vehicle information acquired by the on-board unit when the vehicle enters either the entrance lane of the toll road or the exit lane of a rest area of ​​the toll road and the on-board unit establishes wireless communication, calculates a section charge for each piece of vehicle information received based on the information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, and bills based on the total value of the calculated section charges.

[0013] The information processing method relating to this disclosure is an information processing method using an in-vehicle device installed in a vehicle, wherein when the vehicle enters each of the lanes of an entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road, a rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on the toll road, and an exit lane system installed at the exit of the toll road, wireless communication is established with the lane system to which the vehicle is entering, and when wireless communication is established with either the entrance lane system or the rest area lane system, vehicle information including information indicating the volume and information indicating the weight of the vehicle is acquired, and when wireless communication is established with the exit lane system, billing information used for billing the toll calculated based on the acquired vehicle information is output to the exit lane system.

[0014] The program relating to this disclosure is a program that causes computers installed in the entrance lane of a toll road and the exit lane of a rest area of ​​the toll road to execute the following steps: a procedure for detecting the entry of a vehicle; a procedure for establishing wireless communication with an on-board unit installed in the vehicle once the entry of the vehicle is detected; and a procedure for causing the on-board unit to acquire vehicle information, which includes information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle, and is used to calculate the toll charged at the exit of the toll road, once wireless communication with the on-board unit has been established.

[0015] The program relating to this disclosure is a program that causes a computer installed in the exit lane of a toll road to execute the following steps: a procedure for detecting the entry of a vehicle; a procedure for establishing wireless communication with an on-board unit installed in the vehicle when the entry of the vehicle is detected; a procedure for receiving vehicle information acquired by the on-board unit when the vehicle enters either the entrance lane of the toll road or the exit lane of a rest area of ​​the toll road and the on-board unit establishes wireless communication; a procedure for calculating the section fee based on the information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information for each piece of vehicle information received; and a procedure for charging based on the total value of the calculated section fees.

[0016] The program relating to this disclosure is a program that causes a computer installed in a vehicle to execute the following steps when the vehicle enters each of the following lanes: an entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road, a rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on the toll road, and an exit lane system installed at the exit of the toll road; a procedure to acquire vehicle information, including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle, when wireless communication is established with either the entrance lane system or the rest area lane system; and a procedure to output to the exit lane system, when wireless communication is established with the exit lane system, billing information used for billing the toll calculated based on the acquired vehicle information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the billing system, lane system, in-vehicle device, billing method, information processing method, and program of this disclosure, even if cargo or towed vehicles are added or removed after entering a toll road, an appropriate billing system that takes such actions into account can be charged when exiting the toll road. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0018] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a billing system according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a lane system installed in an entrance lane according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a lane system installed in a rest area exit lane according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a lane system installed in an exit lane according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 5] Block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of an in-vehicle device according to the present disclosure, and an example of the connection configuration with a weight measuring instrument. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the data format of the history table as embodied in this disclosure. [Figure 7] A block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a lane system installed in an entrance lane and a rest area exit lane according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and an example of the connection configuration with a system management device. [Figure 8] A block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a lane system installed in an exit lane according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and an example of the connection configuration with a system management device. [Figure 9] A graph showing an example of the characteristics of the burden borne by the occupant according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] A graph showing an example of the characteristics of the burden borne by the causer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] A graph showing an example of the characteristics of the burden borne by the beneficiary according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] A flowchart showing an example of the operation of a lane system installed in an entrance lane and a rest area exit lane according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] A flowchart showing an example of the operation of a lane system installed in an exit lane according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] A flowchart showing an example of the operation of an in-vehicle device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] A diagram showing an example of the data format of a history table according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] A diagram showing an example of the data format of a history table according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] A perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a lane system installed in an entrance lane according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 18] A schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a computer according to at least one embodiment.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] Hereinafter, the billing system, lane system, in-vehicle device, billing method, information processing method, and program according to the embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the figures. In each figure, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions will be omitted as appropriate.

[0020] (Example of a billing system configuration) Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the toll collection system 1. The toll collection system 1 comprises lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30, an on-board unit 3, a weight measuring instrument 4, and a system management device 9. The lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30, the on-board unit 3, and the system management device 9 are systems, equipment, and devices that include components of, for example, an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) (registered trademark), i.e., an electronic toll collection system.

[0021] The system management device 9 connects to each of the lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30, for example, via a communication network or a dedicated line. The system management device 9 can be configured using, for example, a server, personal computer, microcomputer, or other computer, and peripheral devices for that computer. Its functional configuration, consisting of a combination of hardware such as the computer and software such as programs executed by the computer, performs the following processing: For example, the system management device 9 performs processing to verify the validity of the IC (Integrated Circuit) card inserted into the on-board unit 3, processing to verify whether the combination of the IC card and the on-board unit 3 has been changed while using the toll road, and processing to bill the user for the toll charged as consideration for using the toll road. The user is mainly the driver, but if the driver is employed by a corporation such as a transportation company and drives, the user may be that corporation.

[0022] Figure 1 shows an example in which lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30 are installed on a toll road L. The toll road L includes, for example, a main road LM, a rest area RA, an entrance lane Lin, a rest area entrance lane RAin, a rest area exit lane RAout, and an exit lane Lout. A rest area RA is, for example, a service area, parking area, or connect area adjacent to the main road LM, where vehicles can be stopped, drivers can take a break, or cargo can be transferred between vehicles.

[0023] Lane system 20a is installed in the entrance lane Lin, lane system 20b is installed in the rest area exit lane RAout, and lane system 30 is installed in the exit lane Lout. In a typical toll road, lane system 20a is installed at what is called the entrance toll booth, and lane system 30 is installed at what is called the exit toll booth.

[0024] Here, we assume a scenario in which a vehicle 2 uses the toll road L via the route shown below. Vehicle 2 enters the toll road L from the entrance lane Lin, travels along the main road LM, and then enters and stops at the rest area RA via the rest area entrance lane RAin. A towed vehicle 5, which has been towed by another vehicle, is connected to vehicle 2. Hereinafter, vehicle 2 with the towed vehicle 5 connected will be referred to as vehicle 2a. Vehicle 2a enters the main road LM via the rest area exit lane RAout, travels along the main road LM, and then exits the toll road L via the exit lane Lout. In this disclosure, "vehicle" refers to a vehicle permitted to travel on a toll road, and when "vehicle" is used without the designation "2" or "2a", it refers to a vehicle without the onboard device 3 and weight measuring device 4, as well as any vehicle including vehicles 2 and 2a.

[0025] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a lane system 20a installed in the entrance lane Lin. The lane system 20a comprises a vehicle detector 21a, a lane control device 22a, a communication device 23a, and an imaging device 24a. The vehicle detectors 21a are installed facing each other across the entrance lane Lin so that infrared light emitted from one vehicle detector 21a is received by the other vehicle detector 21a. The vehicle detector 21a detects a state in which it cannot receive infrared light, and considers this detected state as a state in which the infrared light is blocked by a vehicle 2 entering the entrance lane Lin, thereby detecting the entry of vehicle 2 and outputting a detection notification signal.

[0026] The communication device 23a is equipped with an antenna and, for example, uses a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) communication method to establish wireless communication with the on-board unit 3 installed in the vehicle 2 traveling in the entrance lane Lin, and transmit and receive information. The range of the wireless communication radio waves from the communication device 23a is several meters to several tens of meters. The imaging device 24a captures an area including the entire vehicle 2 traveling in the entrance lane Lin and generates image data. The lane control device 22a connects to the vehicle detector 21a, the communication device 23a, and the imaging device 24a, for example, via a wired electrical line. The lane control device 22 connects to the system management device 9, for example, via a communication network or a dedicated line, and performs processing related to billing for the vehicle 2 traveling in the entrance lane Lin.

[0027] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the lane system 20b installed in the rest area exit lane RAout. The lane system 20b has the same configuration as the lane system 20a described with reference to Figure 2, but with the vehicle detector 21a replaced by the vehicle detector 21b, the lane control device 22a replaced by the lane control device 22b, the communication device 23a replaced by the communication device 23b, the imaging device 24a replaced by the imaging device 24b, and the entrance lane Lin replaced by the rest area exit lane RAout. In the case of the route shown in Figure 1, vehicle 2a will be traveling in the rest area exit lane RAout.

[0028] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the lane system 30 installed in the exit lane Lout. The lane system 30 has the same configuration as the lane system 20a described with reference to Figure 2, but with the vehicle detector 21a replaced by the vehicle detector 31, the lane control device 22a replaced by the lane control device 32, the communication device 23a replaced by the communication device 33, and the entrance lane Lin replaced by the exit lane Lout, and does not include the imaging device 24a. In the case of the route shown in Figure 1, vehicle 2a will be traveling in the exit lane Lout.

[0029] Although not shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, various devices and equipment used in electronic toll collection systems, such as a departure control device that blocks lanes with rod-shaped members to prevent vehicles 2 and 2a from passing, may also be provided in the lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30.

[0030] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the onboard unit 3 installed in vehicle 2 and an example of the connection configuration between the onboard unit 3 installed in vehicle 2 and the weight measuring instruments 4 installed in vehicles 2 and 2a. The weight measuring instrument 4 is, for example, an OBW (On Board Weighing) system and is installed in both vehicle 2 and towed vehicle 5, as shown in Figure 1. The onboard unit 3 and the weight measuring instrument 4 installed in vehicle 2 are pre-connected, for example, by a wired electrical circuit. The weight measuring instrument 4 installed in towed vehicle 5 is connected to the onboard unit 3, for example, by a wired electrical circuit when towed vehicle 5 is connected to vehicle 2. Hereinafter, when the weight measuring instrument 4 is referred to in a situation where towed vehicle 5 is not connected to vehicle 2, it refers to the weight measuring instrument 4 installed in vehicle 2, and when the weight measuring instrument 4 is referred to in a situation where towed vehicle 5 is connected to vehicle 2a, it refers to both the weight measuring instruments 4 installed in vehicle 2 and towed vehicle 5.

[0031] The weight measuring device 4 installed in vehicle 2 has sensors attached to each axle of vehicle 2, and each sensor measures the distortion of the axle and outputs a measured value indicating the measured distortion of the axle. Similarly, the weight measuring device 4 installed in towed vehicle 5 has sensors attached to each axle of towed vehicle 5, and each sensor measures the distortion of the axle and outputs a measured value indicating the measured distortion of the axle. Based on the measured values ​​obtained from the weight measuring devices 4 installed in vehicle 2 and towed vehicle 5, the weight of vehicle 2 and the weight of towed vehicle 5 can be calculated.

[0032] The in-vehicle unit 3 can be configured using, for example, a computer such as a microcomputer, peripheral devices for that computer, etc., and its functional configuration, which consists of a combination of hardware such as the computer and software such as programs executed by the computer, includes a communication processing unit 11, a vehicle information acquisition unit 12, a driving information measurement unit 13, an internal storage unit 14, an information output unit 15, and an IC card storage unit 16 as shown in Figure 5. Note that Figure 5 shows the internal configuration of the in-vehicle unit 3 with an IC card inserted, and therefore the IC card storage unit 16 provided in the IC card is included in the configuration of the in-vehicle unit 3.

[0033] The communication processing unit 11 is equipped with an antenna and, for example, uses the DSRC communication method to establish wireless communication with the communication devices 23a, 23b, and 33 of the lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30 to send and receive information. When the communication processing unit 11 establishes wireless communication with each of the lane systems 20a and 20b, the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 acquires vehicle information, including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicles 2 and 2a passing through each system. Here, the information indicating the volume of the vehicles 2 and 2a includes, for example, three values ​​indicating the length, width, and height of each vehicle 2 and 2a. The vehicle information acquisition unit 12 acquires each of the information indicating the volume of the vehicles 2 and 2a from each of the lane systems 20a and 20b via the communication processing unit 11. The information indicating the weight of the vehicles 2 and 2a includes, for example, information indicating the weight of the vehicles 2 and 2a calculated by the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 from the measured values ​​output by the weight measuring instrument 4 connected to it.

[0034] The driving information measurement unit 13 starts measuring the driving distance and driving time of vehicles 2 and 2a, starting from the timing when the communication processing unit 11 establishes wireless communication with each of the lane systems 20a and 20b. The driving information measurement unit 13 is equipped to acquire distance values ​​from the odometer of vehicle 2, for example, and measures the driving distance by referring to the distance value acquired from the odometer. The driving information measurement unit 13 is equipped with a timing means that measures time while power is supplied from vehicle 2, for example, and measures the driving time using this timing means. Therefore, the driving time measured by the driving information measurement unit 13 does not include, for example, the time when vehicle 2 is stopped at rest area RA and the power is turned off.

[0035] When the communication processing unit 11 establishes wireless communication with each of the lane systems 20b and 30, the driving information measurement unit 13 terminates any measurements that were started before the establishment of wireless communication and acquires the measurement results obtained at the time of termination as driving information. In other words, the driving information acquired by the driving information measurement unit 13 includes the distance traveled and the time traveled.

[0036] The IC card storage unit 16 stores user identification information, such as a card number assigned to each IC card in a unique manner, and an expiration date predetermined for each IC card. It also stores the history table 17 shown in Figure 6. The history table 17 has items for "location identification information," "vehicle information," and "driving information." The "vehicle information" item further has sub-items for "vehicle length," "vehicle width," "vehicle height," and "weight." The "driving information" item further has sub-items for "driving distance" and "driving time."

[0037] The "Location Identification Information" field records location identification information that has been pre-assigned to each of the lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30 so that each of them can be uniquely identified. The "Vehicle Information" field records vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 at the location indicated by the location identification information shown in the corresponding "Location Identification Information" field. Specifically, the "Vehicle Length," "Vehicle Width," and "Vehicle Height" fields record values ​​indicating the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height included in the information indicating the volume of the vehicles 2 and 2a included in the vehicle information, for example in units [m]. The "Weight" field records information indicating the weight of the vehicles 2 and 2a included in the vehicle information, for example in units [kg].

[0038] The "Driving Information" field records driving information measured and acquired by the driving information measurement unit 13 from the location indicated by the location identification information shown in the corresponding "Location Identification Information" field, to the location indicated by the next location identification information recorded in the "Location Identification Information" field, in chronological order. Specifically, the "Driving Distance" field records the driving distance included in the driving information, for example in units [km]. The "Driving Time" field records the driving time included in the driving information, for example in units [minutes]. Therefore, a single record in the history table 17 is a record that shows vehicle information and driving information for the section from the location indicated by the location identification information of that record to the location indicated by the location identification information of the next record in chronological order.

[0039] The built-in memory unit 14 is a memory area built into the in-vehicle unit 3, and stores in advance, for example, in-vehicle unit management information that is pre-assigned to each in-vehicle unit 3 so that each individual in-vehicle unit 3 can be identified, and vehicle identification information that associates the vehicle 2 with the in-vehicle unit 3, such as the vehicle number shown on the license plate of the vehicle 2.

[0040] When the communication processing unit 11 establishes wireless communication with each of the lane systems 20a and 20b, the information output unit 15 transmits the vehicle identification information stored in the internal storage unit 14 and the user identification information stored in the IC card storage unit 16 to the lane systems 20a and 20b that established wireless communication via the communication processing unit 11. When the communication processing unit 11 establishes wireless communication with the lane system 30, the information output unit 15 transmits the user identification information stored in the IC card storage unit 16, all records stored in the history table 17, and the vehicle identification information stored in the internal storage unit 14 to the lane system 30 via the communication processing unit 11.

[0041] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of lane systems 20a and 20b, and an example of the connection configuration with the system management device 9. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the configurations of lane systems 20a and 20b are identical. To represent this identical configuration, in Figure 7, lane systems 20a and 20b are each shown as lane system 20. In other words, if "a" is assigned to each of the symbols attached to the configurations other than the system management device 9 shown in Figure 7, it becomes a block diagram relating to lane system 20a, and if "b" is assigned to each of those symbols, it becomes a block diagram relating to lane system 20b.

[0042] The lane system 20 includes a vehicle detector 21, a lane control device 22, a communication device 23, and an imaging device 24. The lane control device 22 can be configured using, for example, a computer such as a server, personal computer, or microcomputer, and peripheral devices of that computer. Its functional configuration, consisting of a combination of hardware such as the computer and software such as a program executed by the computer, includes a control unit 41 and a storage unit 42 as shown in Figure 7. The storage unit 42 stores in advance the location identification information assigned to the lane system 20. The control unit 41 is connected to the vehicle detector 21, the communication device 23, and the imaging device 24, for example, by a wired electrical line. The control unit 41 is connected to the system management device 9, for example, via a communication network or a dedicated line. When the control unit 41 receives a detection notification signal from the vehicle detector 21, it causes the communication device 23 to establish wireless communication and the imaging device 24 to perform imaging.

[0043] Figure 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the lane system 30 and an example of the connection configuration with the system management device 9. The lane system 30 includes a vehicle detector 31, a lane control device 32, and a communication device 33. The lane control device 32 can be configured using, for example, a computer such as a server, personal computer, or microcomputer, and peripheral devices for that computer. Its functional configuration, which consists of a combination of hardware such as the computer and software such as a program executed by the computer, includes a control unit 51, a storage unit 52, and a toll calculation unit 53 as shown in Figure 8.

[0044] The memory unit 52 stores in advance the location identification information assigned to the lane system 30. The control unit 51 connects to the vehicle detector 31 and the communication device 33, for example, by a wired electrical line. The control unit 51 connects to the system management device 9, for example, via a communication network or a dedicated line. When the control unit 51 receives a detection notification signal from the vehicle detector 31, it causes the communication device 23 to establish wireless communication and transmits and receives information with the in-vehicle unit 3 via the communication device 23. The control unit 51 charges the toll calculated by the toll calculation unit 53, and transmits information indicating the toll to the system management device 9, causing the system management device 9 to process the billing of the charged toll to the user. The toll calculation unit 53 calculates the toll based on all records stored in the history table 17, which the control unit 51 receives from the in-vehicle unit 3 via the communication device 33.

[0045] (Price calculation procedure by the price calculation department) Here, we will explain the toll calculation procedure performed by the toll calculation unit 53. The current toll system on expressways classifies vehicles into five categories based on vehicle number, number of axles, length, and width: "light vehicles, etc.," "regular cars," "medium-sized cars," "large cars," and "extra-large cars." The toll for each vehicle category is determined by a predetermined toll ratio. The current toll ratios for each vehicle category are set as follows: "light vehicles, etc.: 0.8," "regular cars: 1.0," "medium-sized cars: 1.2," "large cars: 1.65," and "extra-large cars: 2.75."

[0046] In response to this, vehicle specifications have changed considerably in recent years, and highway usage patterns have also changed considerably. Therefore, efforts are being made to ensure that there is no sense of unfairness in the tolls for each vehicle type. As part of these efforts, this disclosure presents a new toll calculation procedure that calculates tolls based on three perspectives: occupant pays, polluter pays, and beneficiary pays.

[0047] The occupant burden refers to the burden incurred by a vehicle due to its spatial occupation of a toll road, and is determined based on the volume of the vehicle. Figure 9 is a graph showing the characteristics of the occupant burden, with the horizontal axis in units of [m²]. 3The ] indicates the volume of the vehicle, and the vertical axis shows the proportion of the occupant's burden.

[0048] In Figure 9, the point indicated by reference numeral 61a corresponds to the point of "light motor vehicle, etc.", and represents the average vehicle volume of "10.064 m³" calculated from the vehicle specifications of vehicles that fall under the category of "light motor vehicle, etc." 3 The diagram shows the case where the corresponding burden ratio is set to "0.8", the same as the current rate ratio for "light vehicles, etc.". The point indicated by symbol 61b corresponds to the point for "regular cars", and is the average vehicle volume of "15.980 m" calculated from the vehicle specifications of vehicles that fall under the category of "regular cars". 3 The document then shows an example where the corresponding burden ratio is set to "1.0," the same as the current fare ratio for "regular cars."

[0049] Considering that the main difference between "medium-sized vehicles" and "large vehicles" is weight, from the perspective of volume, they are considered as one type, and the points corresponding to "medium-sized vehicles" and "large vehicles" are indicated by the symbol 61c. Therefore, the point indicated by symbol 61c is the average vehicle volume of 114.000 m³ calculated from the vehicle specifications of vehicles corresponding to "medium-sized vehicles" and "large vehicles." 3 The document then shows a corresponding burden ratio of "1.6," taking into account the current fare ratio of "1.2" for "medium-sized vehicles" and "1.65" for "large vehicles."

[0050] Based on the three points indicated by symbols 61a, 61b, and 61c, the characteristic indicated by symbol 61 obtained by performing a linear approximation is defined as the occupant-borne characteristic, and hereafter referred to as the occupant-borne characteristic 61.

[0051] Polluter pays principle refers to the cost burden of constructing and managing toll roads, and is determined based on the weight of the vehicles that affect the construction and management of the toll roads. Figure 10 is a graph illustrating the characteristics of polluter pays principle, where the horizontal axis shows the weight of the vehicle in units of [kg], and the vertical axis shows the proportion of the polluter's burden. Here, motorcycles that fall under "light vehicles, etc." and light vehicles are treated as separate vehicle types and are indicated by different points, indicated by symbols 62a and 62b.

[0052] In Figure 10, the point indicated by symbol 62a corresponds to a "motorcycle," and shows the case where the average vehicle weight calculated from the vehicle specifications of a vehicle that falls under the category of "motorcycle" is "170 kg," and the corresponding burden ratio is set to "0.5," which is lower than the current rate ratio of "light vehicles, etc." of "0.8." The point indicated by symbol 62b corresponds to a "light vehicle," and shows the case where the average vehicle weight calculated from the vehicle specifications of a vehicle that falls under the category of "light vehicle" is "1000 kg," and the corresponding burden ratio is set to "0.8," which is the same as the current rate ratio of "light vehicles, etc." The point indicated by symbol 62c corresponds to a "regular car," and shows the case where the average vehicle weight calculated from the vehicle specifications of a vehicle that falls under the category of "regular car" is "3500 kg," and the corresponding burden ratio is set to "1.0," which is the same as the current rate ratio of "regular cars."

[0053] The point indicated by symbol 62d corresponds to a "medium-sized vehicle," and shows the case where the average vehicle weight calculated from the vehicle specifications of a vehicle that falls under the category of "medium-sized vehicle" is "10,000 kg," and the corresponding burden ratio is set to "1.2," which is the same as the current fare ratio for "medium-sized vehicles." The point indicated by symbol 62e corresponds to a "large vehicle," and shows the case where the average vehicle weight calculated from the vehicle specifications of a vehicle that falls under the category of "large vehicle" is "12,000 kg," and the corresponding burden ratio is set to "1.65," which is the same as the current fare ratio for "large vehicle." The point indicated by symbol 62f corresponds to a "super-large vehicle," and shows the case where the average vehicle weight calculated from the vehicle specifications of a vehicle that falls under the category of "super-large vehicle" is "20,000 kg," and the corresponding burden ratio is set to "2.75," which is the same as the current fare ratio for "super-large vehicle."

[0054] Based on the six points denoted by symbols 62a, 62b, 62c, 62d, 62e, and 62f, the characteristic indicated by symbol 62, obtained by exponential approximation, is defined as the polluter-borne characteristic and will be referred to as the polluter-borne characteristic 62 below.

[0055] Beneficiary burden is a burden passed on to users in proportion to the benefits they receive. It is a burden identified based on the benefits users receive by using toll roads, such as time saved by using toll roads. Since beneficiary burden is not considered in the current toll system, the burden ratio is determined as follows based on the difference between the actual driving time (excluding time spent at rest areas) and the base time. Here, base time refers to, for example, the time required when driving at the legal speed limit set for each toll road.

[0056] Figure 11 is a graph illustrating the characteristics of the beneficiary burden system. The horizontal axis represents the time shown by the subtraction value obtained by subtracting the base time from the travel time in units of minutes, and the vertical axis represents the beneficiary's burden ratio. When the time shown by the subtraction value obtained by subtracting the base time from the travel time is "0 minutes," it is assumed that there is no time reduction due to the use of toll roads, and the burden ratio is set to, for example, "1.0." The case of a subtraction value of "0 minutes" and a burden ratio of "1.0" is indicated by point 63c.

[0057] If the time indicated by the subtraction value is "-30 minutes," it is reached earlier than the base time, so the burden ratio is increased by, for example, "0.1" from "1.0" to "1.1." When the subtraction value is "-30 minutes" and the burden ratio is "1.1," it will be indicated by point 63b. If the time indicated by the subtraction value is "-60 minutes," the benefit received by the user is greater than when the subtraction value is "-30 minutes," so the burden ratio is increased by, for example, "0.1" from "1.1" to "1.2." When the subtraction value is "-60 minutes" and the burden ratio is "1.2," it will be indicated by point 63a.

[0058] In contrast, when arrival is later than the base time, i.e., when the benefit received by the user is reduced, the following three burden ratios are defined: If the burden ratio when the time indicated by the deduction value is "30 minutes" is set to, for example, "0.9", it will be indicated by point 63d. If the burden ratio when the time indicated by the deduction value is "60 minutes" is set to, for example, "0.8", it will be indicated by point 63e. If the burden ratio when the time indicated by the deduction value is "90 minutes" is set to, for example, "0.7", it will be indicated by point 63f.

[0059] Based on the six points labeled 63a, 63b, 63c, 63d, 63e, and 63f, the characteristic indicated by label 63, obtained by performing a linear approximation, is defined as the beneficiary burden characteristic, and hereafter referred to as beneficiary burden characteristic 63.

[0060] Functions representing the occupant-pays characteristic 61, the polluter-pays characteristic 62, and the beneficiary-pays characteristic 63 are pre-stored in the internal memory area of ​​the fare calculation unit 53. The fare calculation unit 53 calculates the fare for each record based on the individual records in the history table 17 and the following equation (1).

[0061]

number

[0062] In equation (1), the "charge per kilometer" is a predetermined charge per unit distance, and the "terminal charge" is a predetermined fixed usage fee. The "occupant weight," "causing weight," and "beneficiary weight" are predetermined fixed values ​​such that their sum is "1." For example, the "occupant weight," "causing weight," and "beneficiary weight" are predetermined to be "0.3," "0.6," and "0.1," respectively.

[0063] The fare calculation unit 53 substitutes the mileage shown in the "mileage" column of the history table 17 into the "mileage" in equation (1). The fare calculation unit 53 calculates the volume by multiplying the values ​​shown in the "vehicle length," "vehicle width," and "vehicle height" columns of the history table 17, and substitutes the calculated volume into the function representing the occupant burden characteristic 61 to obtain the burden ratio, which is set as the "occupant burden coefficient α" in equation (1). The fare calculation unit 53 substitutes the value shown in the "weight" column of the history table 17 into the function representing the cause-responder burden characteristic 62 to obtain the burden ratio, which is set as the "cause-responder burden coefficient β" in equation (1). The fare calculation unit 53 calculates the basic time by dividing the mileage shown in the "mileage" column of the history table 17 by a predetermined legal speed. The fare calculation unit 53 subtracts the calculated base time from the time shown in the "travel time" item of the history table 17, and substitutes the subtracted value obtained by the subtraction into a function that shows the beneficiary burden characteristic 63 to obtain a burden coefficient, which is the "beneficiary burden coefficient γ" in equation (1). As a result, all the variables in equation (1) are identified, and the fare calculation unit 53 can calculate the section fare corresponding to any one record in the history table 17 based on equation (1).

[0064] The calculation in equation (1) above, which multiplies by (occupant burden coefficient α × occupant weight + polluter burden coefficient β × polluter weight + beneficiary burden coefficient γ × beneficiary weight), can be rephrased as an calculation that adds weights depending on the information indicating the volume of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, the information indicating the weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, and the driving time of the vehicle included in the driving information. Therefore, rephrasing equation (1) from the perspective of vehicle information and driving information, it can be said to be an equation that represents a predetermined fare calculation calculation that includes an calculation that adds weights depending on the information indicating the volume of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, the information indicating the weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, and the driving time of the vehicle included in the driving information to the product of the driving distance of the vehicle included in the driving information and a predetermined fare per unit distance. The fare calculation unit 53 outputs a multiplied value obtained by multiplying the total value obtained by summing each of the section fares calculated for each record in the history table 17 by the consumption tax rate as the final fare.

[0065] (Example of how the billing system works) The processing by the billing system 1 will be explained with reference to the flowcharts in Figures 12 to 14. Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of lane systems 20a and 20b, Figure 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of lane system 30, and Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the in-vehicle unit 3. In the processing shown in Figures 12 to 14, it is assumed that the in-vehicle unit 3 has a genuine IC card that has not expired and is the same IC card inserted.

[0066] (Example of operation when vehicle 2 passes through entrance lane Lin) When vehicle 2 enters the entrance lane Lin and reaches the position of the vehicle detector 21a of the lane system 20a, the vehicle detector 21a detects the entry of vehicle 2 by the infrared rays being blocked by vehicle 2 and outputs a detection notification signal to the control unit 41a of the lane control device 22a (Figure 12, Sa1). When the control unit 41a receives the detection notification signal from vehicle detector 21a, it outputs a communication start instruction signal to the communication device 23a. When the communication device 23a receives the communication start instruction signal from the control unit 41a, it establishes wireless communication with the communication processing unit 11 of the in-vehicle unit 3 (Figure 12, Sa2, Figure 14, Sc1).

[0067] When the communication device 23a establishes wireless communication with the communication processing unit 11 of the in-vehicle unit 3, it outputs a communication establishment notification signal to the control unit 41a. Upon receiving the communication establishment notification signal from the communication device 23a, the control unit 41a outputs a verification information request signal to the communication device 23a. The communication device 23a transmits the verification information request signal output by the control unit 41a to the in-vehicle unit 3 (Figure 12, Sa3).

[0068] When the communication processing unit 11 of the in-vehicle unit 3 receives a verification information request signal transmitted by the lane system 20a, it determines the type of signal received (Figure 14, Sc2). Here, the communication processing unit 11 determines that the type of signal received is a verification information request signal (Figure 14, Sc2, verification information request signal), and outputs the verification information request signal to the information output unit 15. When the information output unit 15 receives the verification information request signal from the communication processing unit 11, it reads vehicle identification information from the built-in storage unit 14, reads user identification information from the IC card storage unit 16, and generates verification information including the read vehicle identification information and user identification information. The information output unit 15 outputs a verification information response signal including the generated verification information to the communication processing unit 11. When the communication processing unit 11 receives the verification information response signal output by the information output unit 15, it transmits the received verification information response signal to the lane system 20a (Figure 14, Sc3), and terminates processing.

[0069] When the communication device 23a of the lane system 20a receives a verification information response signal transmitted by the in-vehicle unit 3, it outputs the received verification information response signal to the control unit 41a. When the control unit 41a receives the verification information response signal output by the communication device 23a, it associates the verification information contained in the received verification information response signal with the position identification information of the lane system 20a stored in the memory unit 42a and transmits it to the system management device 9 (Figure 12, Sa4).

[0070] When the system management device 9 receives the verification information transmitted by the control unit 41a and the position identification information of the lane system 20a, it performs a predetermined first verification process on the received verification information. In this first verification process, for example, a first verification condition is defined that the card number indicated in the user identification information included in the verification information is genuine, and a second verification condition is defined that the expiration date indicated in the user identification information has not expired. The system management device 9 determines that the IC card can be used and assigns a verification result of OK if both the first and second verification conditions are met, and determines that the IC card cannot be used and assigns a verification result of NG if either or all of the first and second verification conditions are not met.

[0071] When the system management device 9 obtains an OK verification result from the first verification process, it transmits information indicating the OK verification result to the control unit 41a and records the verification information received from the control unit 41a and the position identification information of the lane system 20a in its internal storage area. When the system management device 9 obtains an NG verification result from the first verification process, it transmits information indicating the NG verification result to the control unit 41a (Figure 12, Sa5).

[0072] The control unit 41a receives information indicating the verification result transmitted by the system management device 9. In this case, since the IC card inserted in the in-vehicle unit 3 is a genuine IC card that has not expired, the information indicating the verification result received by the control unit 41a will indicate an OK verification result. If the information indicating the verification result received by the control unit 41a indicates an OK verification result, it outputs an imaging request signal to the imaging device 24a. When the imaging device 24a receives the imaging request signal from the control unit 41a, it images an area including the entire vehicle 2 traveling in the entrance lane Lin, and outputs an imaging response signal containing the image data obtained by imaging to the control unit 41a (Figure 12, Sa6).

[0073] When the control unit 41a receives the imaging response signal output by the imaging device 24a, it performs image processing to detect the vehicle length, width, and height of the vehicle 2 from the image data contained in the acquired imaging response signal (Figure 12, Sa7). The control unit 41a uses the detected vehicle length, width, and height as information indicating the volume of the vehicle 2. The control unit 41a generates a recording instruction signal that includes the position identification information of the lane system 20a stored in the memory unit 42a and the information indicating the volume of the vehicle 2, and outputs the generated recording instruction signal to the communication device 23a. The communication device 23a transmits the recording instruction signal output by the control unit 41a to the in-vehicle unit 3 (Figure 12, Sa8), and terminates the process.

[0074] When the communication processing unit 11 of the in-vehicle unit 3 receives a record instruction signal transmitted by the lane system 20a, it determines the type of signal received (Figure 14, Sc2). Here, the communication processing unit 11 determines that the type of signal received is a record instruction signal (Figure 14, Sc2, record instruction signal), and reads out the position identification information of the lane system 20a and the information indicating the volume of the vehicle 2 contained in the record instruction signal. The communication processing unit 11 generates one record in the history table 17 of the IC card storage unit 16. If the history table 17 does not exist in the IC card storage unit 16, the communication processing unit 11 generates the history table 17 in the IC card storage unit 16 and then generates one record. The communication processing unit 11 records the position identification information of the lane system 20a that was read out in the "position identification information" item of the generated record.

[0075] The communication processing unit 11 outputs a recording instruction signal to the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 that includes position identification information of the lane system 20a and information indicating the volume of the vehicle 2, and outputs a recording instruction signal including position identification information of the lane system 20a to the driving information measurement unit 13 (Figure 14, Sc4).

[0076] When the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 receives a record instruction signal output by the communication processing unit 11, it selects a record in the history table 17 of the IC card storage unit 16 that corresponds to the position identification information of the lane system 20a included in the received record instruction signal. The vehicle information acquisition unit 12 records information indicating the volume of the vehicle 2 included in the received record instruction signal, i.e., the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height of the vehicle 2, in the "vehicle length," "vehicle width," and "vehicle height" items of the selected record (Figure 14, Sc5). The vehicle information acquisition unit 12 receives the measurement values ​​output by the vehicle weight measuring instrument 4 of the vehicle 2 and calculates information indicating the weight of the vehicle 2, i.e., the weight value of the vehicle 2, based on the received measurement values. The vehicle information acquisition unit 12 records the calculated weight value of the vehicle 2 in the "weight" item of the selected record (Figure 14, Sc6), and then terminates the process. The vehicle information acquisition unit 12 may perform the Sc6 process before the Sc5 process, or it may perform the Sc5 and Sc6 processes in parallel.

[0077] When the driving information measurement unit 13 receives a record instruction signal output by the communication processing unit, it determines whether or not there is a measurement currently in progress (Figure 14, Sc7). If the driving information measurement unit 13 determines that there is no measurement currently in progress (Figure 14, Sc7, No), it starts processing the measurement with the position identification information included in the received record instruction signal associated with it. Specifically, for the distance traveled, the driving information measurement unit 13 sets the distance obtained from the odometer at the start of the measurement processing as the initial distance, and records the initial distance and the position identification information included in the record instruction signal in its internal memory. For the time traveled, the driving information measurement unit 13 sets the initial value to "0 minutes," activates the timing means, and associates the position identification information included in the record instruction signal with the activated timing means. The driving information measurement unit 13 selects a record from the history table 17 of the IC card storage unit 16 that corresponds to the position identification information of the lane system 20a included in the acquired recording instruction signal, records "0" in the "driving distance" and "driving time" fields of the selected record (Figure 14, Sc9), and then terminates the process.

[0078] On the other hand, if the driving information measurement unit 13 determines that there is a measurement in progress (Figure 14, Sc7, Yes), it terminates the processing of the measurement in progress and acquires the measurement result obtained at the time of termination as driving information. Specifically, regarding the distance traveled, the driving information measurement unit 13 obtains the distance from the odometer at the time the processing of the measurement is completed. The driving information measurement unit 13 reads out the combination of the initial distance stored in the internal memory area and the position identification information, and deletes the read combination from the internal memory area. The driving information measurement unit 13 subtracts the initial distance included in the read combination from the distance obtained from the odometer at the time of termination, and uses the subtracted value obtained as the distance traveled, and associates the position identification information included in the read combination with the said distance traveled.

[0079] Regarding the travel time, the travel information measurement unit 13 terminates the timing device that is currently running, takes the time indicated by the timing device as the travel time, and associates the location identification information associated with the terminated timing device with the travel time. As a result, the travel information measurement unit 13 obtains the travel distance and travel time associated with the same location identification information. The travel information measurement unit 13 selects a record from the history table 17 of the IC card storage unit 16 that corresponds to the location identification information. The travel information measurement unit 13 records the travel distance and travel time associated with the location identification information in the "travel distance" and "travel time" fields of the selected record, respectively (Figure 14, Sc8). After that, the travel information measurement unit 13 performs the process in Sc9.

[0080] When vehicle 2 enters the entrance lane Lin, there are no measurements currently being taken, so the driving information measurement unit 13 determines "No" in the processing of Sc7 and proceeds to the processing of Sc9. When the processing of Sc6 and Sc9 in Figure 14, which are performed while vehicle 2 passes through the entrance lane Lin, is completed, for example, a record is generated in the history table 17 of the IC card storage unit 16 of the in-vehicle device 3 with the item "00-101" in the "location identification information" field shown in Figure 6. Note that the location identification information "00-101" is the location identification information of the lane system 20a.

[0081] In the processing from Sc7 to Sc9 shown in Figure 14, the driving information measurement unit 13 may perform the processing of Sc9 before the processing of Sc7, or it may perform the processing of Sc9 in parallel with the processing of Sc7. However, in these cases, the driving information measurement unit 13 needs to exclude the measurement started by the processing of Sc9, which is performed before the processing of Sc7 or in parallel with the processing of Sc7, from the processing targets of Sc7 and Sc8, for example, by referring to the position identification information associated with the measurement.

[0082] (Example of operation when vehicle 2a passes through the rest area exit lane RAout) Vehicle 2 passes through the entrance lane Lin, enters the main lane LM, travels along the main lane LM, then enters the rest area RA via the rest area entrance lane RAin, stops, and its power is turned off. While the power is off, the timing means activated in the driving information measurement unit 13 of the onboard unit 3 does not perform timing because no power is supplied. A towed vehicle 5, which has been towed by another vehicle, is connected to vehicle 2. At the time of this connection, the weight measuring instrument 4 of the towed vehicle 5 is connected to the onboard unit 3 of vehicle 2. When the power is turned on in vehicle 2, i.e., vehicle 2a, to which the towed vehicle 5 is connected, the timing means of the driving information measurement unit 13 of the onboard unit 3 resumes timing. Vehicle 2a starts moving, enters the rest area exit lane RAout, and reaches the position of the vehicle detector 21b of the lane system 20b.

[0083] From this point onward, the process is the same as the process described above with reference to Figures 12 and 14, which is performed when vehicle 2 enters the entrance lane Lin and reaches the position of the vehicle detector 21a of the lane system 20a, but with the following substitutions, and the process of Sa5 in Figure 12 is replaced with the process described below. These substitutions involve reinterpreting vehicle 2 as vehicle 2a, lane system 20a as lane system 20b, vehicle detector 21a as vehicle detector 21b, lane control device 22a as lane control device 22b, control unit 41a as control unit 41b, storage unit 42a as storage unit 42b, communication device 23a as communication device 23b, imaging device 24a as imaging device 24b, and entrance lane Lin as rest area exit lane RAout.

[0084] The process that replaces the process of Sa5 in Figure 12 is as follows: When the system management device 9 receives verification information and position identification information of the lane system 20b from the control unit 41b of the lane system 20b, it performs a predetermined second verification process on the received verification information. Here, the second verification process is the first verification process described above, with the addition of a third verification condition that the verification information received from the control unit 41b matches any of the verification information stored in the internal memory area of ​​the system management device 9.

[0085] The verification process performed based on the third verification condition is a process that verifies whether the combination of vehicle identification information and user identification information included in the verification information has not been changed. In other words, it is a process that verifies whether the IC card inserted in the on-board unit 3 is the same as the IC card that was inserted in the on-board unit 3 when vehicle 2 passed through the entrance lane Lin. The system management device 9 determines the verification result to be OK if all of the first, second, and third verification conditions are met, and determines the verification result to be NG if any or all of the first, second, and third verification conditions are not met.

[0086] When the system management device 9 obtains an OK verification result from the second verification process, it transmits information indicating the OK verification result to the control unit 41b and records the position identification information of the lane system 20b associated with the verification information that was the subject of the second verification process, which is stored in the internal memory area of ​​the system management device 9. Therefore, when an OK verification result is obtained from the second verification process, the position identification information of the lane systems 20a and 20b is associated with the verification information in the internal memory area of ​​the system management device 9. When the system management device 9 obtains an NG verification result from the second verification process, it transmits information indicating the NG verification result to the control unit 41b. In this case, since the IC card inserted in the in-vehicle unit 3 has not been changed from the IC card inserted when the vehicle 2 passed through the lane system 20a, the system management device 9 transmits information indicating the OK verification result to the control unit 41b.

[0087] In the process Sc6 in Figure 14 of the above reinterpreted process, the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 acquires the measured value output by the weight measuring instrument 4 of vehicle 2 and calculates the weight of vehicle 2 based on the acquired measured value. The vehicle information acquisition unit 12 acquires the measured value output by the weight measuring instrument 4 of towed vehicle 5 and calculates the weight of towed vehicle 5 based on the acquired measured value. The vehicle information acquisition unit 12 takes the sum of the weight of vehicle 2 and the weight of towed vehicle 5 as the weight of vehicle 2a. The vehicle information acquisition unit 12 records the weight of vehicle 2a in the "Weight" item of the record in the history table 17 corresponding to the position identification information of the lane system 20b included in the recording instruction signal output by the communication processing unit 11.

[0088] In the Sc7 process in Figure 14 of the above reinterpreted process, the driving information measurement unit 13 determines "Yes" because there is a measurement that started when passing through the lane system 20a, performs the Sc8 process, and then performs the Sc9 process. After the Sc6 and Sc9 processes in Figure 14 are completed, suppose the contents of the history table 17 in the IC card storage unit 16 of the in-vehicle device 3 change, for example, from the contents shown in Figure 6 to the contents shown in Figure 15. As shown in Figure 15, the values ​​of the driving distance and driving time acquired by the driving information measurement unit 13 in the Sc8 process in Figure 14 are recorded in the "driving information" item, that is, the "driving distance" and "driving time" items, of the record corresponding to the position identification information "00-101" of the lane system 20a, which is the first record. Here, we show an example in which "100km" is recorded as the driving distance of vehicle 2 between lane system 20a and lane system 20b, and "70 minutes" is recorded as the driving time required to travel this distance.

[0089] The "00-105" shown in the "Location Identification Information" field of the second record is the location identification information for the lane system 20b. From the values ​​shown in the "Vehicle Information" field of both the first and second records, it can be seen that when the towed vehicle 5 is connected, the vehicle length, width, and height all increase, and the weight also increases.

[0090] (Example of operation when vehicle 2a passes through exit lane Lout) After passing the rest area exit lane RAout, vehicle 2a enters the main lane LM, travels along the main lane LM, then enters the exit lane Lout, reaches the position of the vehicle detector 31 of the lane system 30, and the process shown in Figure 13 begins.

[0091] In Figure 13, the processing of Sb1 and Sb2 is the same as the processing of Sa1 and Sa2 in Figure 12, but the vehicle 2 is replaced with vehicle 2a, the lane system 20a with the lane system 30, the vehicle detector 21a with the vehicle detector 31, the lane control device 22a with the lane control device 32, the control unit 41a with the control unit 51, the communication device 23a with the communication device 33, and the entrance lane Lin with the exit lane Lout.

[0092] When the communication device 33 establishes wireless communication with the communication processing unit 11 of the in-vehicle unit 3, it outputs a communication establishment notification signal to the control unit 51. When the control unit 51 receives the communication establishment notification signal from the communication device 33, it transmits a history information request signal to the in-vehicle unit 3 via the communication device 33 (Figure 13, Sb3).

[0093] When the communication processing unit 11 of the in-vehicle unit 3 receives a history information request signal transmitted by the lane system 30, it determines the type of signal received (Figure 14, Sc2). Here, the communication processing unit 11 determines that the type of signal received is a history information request signal (Figure 14, Sc2, history information request signal) and outputs a measurement completion request signal to the driving information measurement unit 13. When the driving information measurement unit 13 receives the measurement completion request signal from the communication processing unit 11, it performs the same processing as in Figure 14, Sc8, and outputs a measurement completion response signal to the communication processing unit 11 when the processing is completed (Figure 14, Sc10).

[0094] As a result, the contents of the history table 17 in the IC card storage unit 16 of the in-vehicle unit 3 change, for example, from the contents shown in Figure 15 to the contents shown in Figure 16. As shown in Figure 16, the "driving information" items, namely the "driving distance" and "driving time" items, of the record corresponding to the position identification information "00-105" of the second record, the lane system 20b, record the values ​​of the driving distance and driving time acquired by the driving information measurement unit 13 in the processing of Sc10 in Figure 14. Here, an example is shown in which "50km" is recorded as the driving distance of vehicle 2a between lane system 20b and lane system 30, and "40 minutes" is recorded as the driving time required to travel this distance.

[0095] When the communication processing unit 11 receives a measurement completion response signal from the driving information measurement unit 13, it outputs a history information request signal to the information output unit 15. When the information output unit 15 receives the history information request signal from the communication processing unit 11, it reads vehicle identification information from the built-in storage unit 14, and reads user identification information and all records stored in the history table 17 from the IC card storage unit 16. The information output unit 15 generates verification information including the read vehicle identification information and user identification information, and generates history information including the generated verification information and all records in the history table 17. The information output unit 15 outputs a history information response signal including the generated history information to the communication processing unit 11. When the communication processing unit 11 receives the history information response signal output by the information output unit 15, it transmits the received history information response signal to the lane system 30 (Figure 14, Sc11) and terminates processing.

[0096] When the communication device 33 of the lane system 30 receives a history information response signal transmitted by the in-vehicle unit 3, it outputs the received history information response signal to the control unit 51. When the control unit 51 receives the history information response signal output by the communication device 33, it reads the history information from the received history information response signal. The control unit 51 associates the verification information contained in the history information with the position identification information of the lane system 30 stored in the storage unit 52 and transmits it to the system management device 9 (Figure 13, Sb4).

[0097] When the system management device 9 receives the verification information transmitted by the control unit 51 and the position identification information of the lane system 30, it performs the second verification process described above on the received verification information. If the system management device 9 obtains an OK verification result from the second verification process, it transmits information indicating the OK verification result to the control unit 51 and records the position identification information of the lane system 30 associated with the verification information that was the subject of the second verification process stored in its internal memory. Therefore, if an OK verification result is obtained from the second verification process, the position identification information of the lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30 will be associated with the verification information in the internal memory of the system management device 9. If the system management device 9 obtains an NG verification result from the second verification process, it transmits information indicating the NG verification result to the control unit 51 (Figure 13, Sb5).

[0098] The control unit 51 receives information indicating the verification result transmitted by the system management device 9. Here, since the IC card inserted in the in-vehicle unit 3 has not been changed from the IC card inserted when the vehicle 2 passed through the lane system 20a, the information indicating the verification result received by the control unit 51 will indicate an OK verification result. If the information indicating the verification result received by the control unit 51 indicates an OK verification result, the control unit 51 outputs all records of the history table 17 included in the acquired history information to the fare calculation unit 53. The fare calculation unit 53 acquires all records stored in the history table 17 output by the control unit 51 and calculates the section fare for each acquired record using the above formula (1). The fare calculation unit 53 sums up the section fares calculated for each record and multiplies the resulting total by the consumption tax rate to calculate the final fare. The fare calculation unit 53 outputs the calculated fare to the control unit 51 (Figure 13, Sb6).

[0099] When the control unit 51 receives the toll output by the toll calculation unit 53, it transmits a billing completion notification signal to the in-vehicle unit 3 via the communication device 33, which includes the received toll and the position identification information of the lane system 30 stored in the storage unit 52. The control unit 51 then transmits a billing instruction signal to the system management device 9, which includes the received toll and verification information (Figure 13, Sb7), and terminates the process.

[0100] When the communication processing unit 11 of the in-vehicle unit 3 receives a toll completion notification signal transmitted by the lane system 30, it determines the type of signal received (Figure 14, Sc2). Here, the communication processing unit 11 determines that the type of signal received is a toll completion notification signal (Figure 14, Sc2, toll completion notification signal), performs a predetermined toll completion process (Figure 14, Sc12), and terminates the process.

[0101] The communication processing unit 11 performs at least the process of deleting the history table 17 from the IC card storage unit 16 as a past history table before deleting the history table 17 from the IC card storage unit 16. The communication processing unit 11 records the charges included in the charge completion notification signal and the location identification information of the lane system 30 in association with the copied past history table. This allows the user to understand their past usage history by referring to the past history table stored in the IC card storage unit 16, which is associated with the charges and the location identification information of the lane system 30.

[0102] Assume that the in-vehicle unit 3 is equipped with a sound source (not shown). In this case, the communication processing unit 11 may perform a predetermined billing completion process, for example, by generating a message such as "The charge is XXX yen" based on the charge included in the billing completion notification signal, and outputting the generated message to the sound source to notify the driver of the message.

[0103] When the system management device 9 receives a billing instruction signal transmitted by the control unit 51, it detects verification information from its internal storage that matches the verification information contained in the received billing instruction signal. The system management device 9 associates the charges contained in the received billing instruction signal with the verification information detected in its internal storage and records it. As a result, in the internal storage of the system management device 9, the location identification information of the lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30 and the charges are associated with the verification information. Based on the user identification information contained in the verification information of the billing instruction signal, the location identification information of the lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30 associated with the verification information in its internal storage, and the charges, the system management device 9 processes a billing operation to charge the user. The location identification information of the lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30 is, for example, replaced in the invoice with a name that includes a predetermined regional name for the lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30.

[0104] Furthermore, an example of the processing that occurs when the system management device 9 transmits information indicating an NG verification result in the Sa5 processing shown in Figure 12, the processing that is performed in place of the Sa5 processing in the case of the lane system 20b, and the Sb5 processing shown in Figure 13 will be explained.

[0105] For example, suppose the lane systems 20a, 20b, and 30 are equipped with the aforementioned starting control devices. In this case, when each of the control units 41a, 41b, and 50 receives information indicating the NG verification result transmitted by the system management device 9, it may activate the starting control device to block the corresponding entrance lane Lin, rest area exit lane RAout, and exit lane Lout, thereby preventing the passage of vehicles 2 and 2a.

[0106] Furthermore, for example, suppose the in-vehicle unit 3 is equipped with a sound source (not shown). In this case, when each of the control units 41a, 41b, and 50 receives information indicating the NG verification result transmitted by the system management device 9, they transmit a warning notification signal to the in-vehicle unit 3 via their respective communication devices 23a, 23b, and 33 indicating that an inappropriate IC card has been inserted into the in-vehicle unit 3. When the communication processing unit 11 of the in-vehicle unit 3 receives the warning communication signal, it may generate a message indicating that an inappropriate IC card has been inserted into the in-vehicle unit 3, and output the generated message to the sound source to notify the driver of the message.

[0107] (Effects of the billing system) In the toll system 1, lane systems 20a and 30 are installed not only in the entrance lane Lin and the exit lane Lout, but also in the rest area exit lane RAout of the rest area RA. In the example above, a case where there is only one rest area RA is shown, but for example, if there are multiple rest areas RA on the toll road L, lane system 20b will be installed in the rest area exit lane RAout of each of the multiple rest areas RA. In this case, each time the vehicle passes through the entrance lane Lin and each of the multiple rest area exit lanes RAout, the onboard unit 3 records the vehicle information of the passing vehicle 2,2a, that is, information indicating the volume of the vehicle 2,2a and information indicating the weight, in the history table 17. Furthermore, the toll calculation unit 53 in the lane control device 32 of the lane system 30 installed in the exit lane Lout calculates the toll using the above formula (1), which calculates the toll by adding weights that depend on the information indicating the volume of the vehicle and the information indicating the weight of the vehicle, respectively, included in the vehicle information. This makes it possible to identify at which rest stop RA a towed vehicle 5 was attached to vehicle 2a, or cargo was added to vehicle 2, increasing its weight. This allows for different charges to be applied to the journey before the identified rest stop RA and to the journey after that rest stop RA. Therefore, by using the billing system 1, even if cargo or towed vehicle 5 is added or removed after entering the toll road L, appropriate charges that take these actions into account can be applied when exiting the toll road L.

[0108] The in-vehicle unit 3 further records driving information in the history table 17, including the distance traveled and driving time between lane system 20a and the lane system 20b adjacent to lane system 20a, between adjacent lane systems 20b, and between lane system 20b adjacent to lane system 30 and lane system 30. The toll calculation unit 53 substitutes the vehicle information and driving information for each record in the history table 17 into the above formula (1) to calculate a toll that corresponds to the accurately measured distance traveled, and adds a weight that depends on the driving time in addition to the weights that depend on the information indicating the volume of the vehicle and the information indicating the weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information. This makes it possible to charge users a toll that corresponds to the time benefit they receive from using the toll road L, for example, by reducing the toll during times of congestion. Therefore, by using the billing system 1, even if the volume or weight of vehicle 2 changes after entering the toll road L, it becomes possible to bill appropriately when exiting the toll road L, taking such changes into account. Furthermore, it becomes possible to set the fee to reflect the time benefit received by the user, thus realizing a more flexible billing system than the current toll road billing system.

[0109] (Supplemental configuration example of the embodiment) While embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments and may include designs and other elements that do not depart from the gist of this disclosure.

[0110] (Example of a lane system configuration that includes a weight measuring device) In the embodiment described above, each of the vehicle 2 and the towed vehicle 5 is equipped with a weight measuring device 4, and the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 calculates the weight of each from the measured values ​​output by each weight measuring device 4. Alternatively, the vehicle 2 and the towed vehicle 5 may not each be equipped with a weight measuring device 4, and the lane systems 20a and 20b may be equipped with a weight measuring device such as an axle load scale or a WIM (Weigh In Motion), and the weight of the vehicle 2 or vehicle 2a may be calculated from the measured values ​​measured by the weight measuring device. For example, in the case of the lane system 20a, as shown in Figure 17, a treadle-shaped weight measuring device 25a will be installed on the entrance lane Lin. Hereinafter, the device corresponding to the weight measuring device 25a in the lane system 20b will be referred to as the weight measuring device 25b. Each of the weight measuring devices 25a and 25b is connected to the corresponding control units 41a and 41b, for example, by a wired electrical circuit.

[0111] Each of the control units 41a and 41b of the lane control devices 22a and 22b of the lane systems 20a and 20b outputs a measurement request signal to the corresponding weight measuring instruments 25a and 25b in parallel with outputting an imaging request signal to the corresponding imaging devices 24a and 24b in the processing of Sa6 in Figure 12. When each of the weight measuring instruments 25a and 25b receives a measurement request signal, it acquires the measured value for each axle passing through it and outputs a measurement response signal containing all the acquired measured values ​​to the corresponding control units 41a and 41b. Each of the control units 41a and 41b calculates the weight value from all the measured values ​​included in the measurement response signal output by the corresponding weight measuring instruments 25a and 25b. Each of the control units 41a and 41b includes the calculated weight value in the recording instruction signal as information indicating the weight of the vehicles 2 and 2a and transmits it to the on-board unit 3 via the corresponding communication devices 23a and 23b.

[0112] In the process of Sc4 in Figure 14, the communication processing unit 11 of the in-vehicle unit 3 outputs a recording instruction signal to the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 that includes position identification information of the lane system 20a, information indicating the volume of the vehicles 2,2a, and information indicating the weight of the vehicles 2,2a. In the process of Sc6, the vehicle information acquisition unit 12, instead of recording the weight value calculated from the measured value output by the weight measuring instrument 4, records the weight value indicated by the information indicating the weight of the vehicles 2,2a included in the recording instruction signal in the "Weight" item of the selected record.

[0113] By the way, in the processing of the lane systems 20a and 20b shown in Figure 12 of the above embodiment, each of the control units 41a and 41b outputs an imaging request signal to the corresponding imaging devices 24a and 24b after processing Sa5. Alternatively, each of the control units 41a and 41b may output an imaging request signal in parallel with outputting a verification information request signal in the processing of Sa3. That is, the processing of Sa3 and the processing of Sa6 may be performed in parallel. If the above lane systems 20a and 20b are equipped with weight measuring instruments 25a and 25b, the control units 41a and 41b output a measurement request signal in parallel with outputting an imaging request signal, so that the measurement by the weight measuring instruments 25a and 25b is also performed in parallel with the processing of Sa3 and Sa6. Here, outputting the verification information request signal, the imaging request signal, and the measurement request signal in parallel does not mean that they must be output simultaneously, but rather that the three signals be output consecutively in any order. However, when these three signals are output in parallel, if the information indicating the verification result received by the control unit 41a from the system management device 9 through the processing of Sa5 indicates an NG verification result, then even if the control units 41a and 41b obtain information indicating the volume of vehicles 2,2a and information indicating the weight of vehicles 2,2a respectively, they will not output a record instruction signal to the corresponding communication devices 23a and 23b.

[0114] (Example of a configuration in which the in-vehicle device stores information indicating the vehicle's volume) In the above embodiment, information indicating the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height of the vehicle 2 equipped with the on-board unit 3 is pre-stored in the built-in memory unit 14 of the on-board unit 3, and the lane systems 20a and 20b may be configured without imaging devices 24a and 24b. In this case, the control units 41a and 41b of the lane systems 20a and 20b do not perform the processing of Sa6 and Sa7 in Figure 12, and after processing Sa5, if the information indicating the verification result transmitted by the system management device 9 indicates an OK verification result, in processing Sa8, they output a recording instruction signal including the corresponding location identification information to the corresponding communication devices 23a and 23b.

[0115] In the process of Sc4 in Figure 14, the communication processing unit 11 of the in-vehicle unit 3 outputs a recording instruction signal including location identification information to the vehicle information acquisition unit 12. In the process of Sc5, when the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 receives the recording instruction signal output by the communication processing unit 11, it selects a record in the history table 17 of the IC card storage unit 16 that corresponds to the location identification information of the lane system 20a included in the received recording instruction signal. The vehicle information acquisition unit 12 records information indicating the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height stored in the built-in storage unit 14 in the "vehicle length," "vehicle width," and "vehicle height" fields of the selected record. However, when the towed vehicle 5 is connected to vehicle 2 at rest stop RA and becomes vehicle 2a, the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height will change. Therefore, at rest stop RA, it is necessary to perform a process, for example by the driver's operation, to overwrite the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height of vehicle 2 stored in the built-in storage unit 14 of the in-vehicle unit 3 with the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height of vehicle 2a.

[0116] (Example configuration where volume is stored in the history table instead of vehicle length, width, and height) In the above embodiment, the history table 17 stored in the IC card storage unit 16 of the in-vehicle unit 3 has the items "vehicle length," "vehicle width," and "vehicle height," but it may also have an item "volume" instead of these three items. In this case, the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 may calculate the volume by multiplying the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height included in the recording instruction signal in the processing of Sc5 in Figure 14, and record the calculated volume in the "volume" item of the history table 17. Alternatively, the control units 41a and 41b of the lane systems 20a and 20b may calculate the volume by multiplying the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height detected by image processing in the processing of Sa7 in Figure 12, and in the recording instruction signal generated in the processing of Sa8, the calculated volume may be included as information indicating the volume of vehicles 2 and 2a instead of vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height. Furthermore, when the control units 41a and 41b calculate the volume, the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 does not need to calculate the volume in the processing of Sc5, and can simply record the volume included in the recording instruction signal directly into the "Volume" item of the history table 17. When the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height are stored in the built-in storage unit 14 of the in-vehicle device 3 as described above, the vehicle information acquisition unit 12 calculates the volume by multiplying the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height stored in the built-in storage unit 14 in the processing of Sc5 in Figure 14, and records the calculated volume into the "Volume" item of the history table 17. In this way, when the history table 17 has a "Volume" item instead of "Vehicle Length," "Vehicle Width," and "Vehicle Height," the fare calculation unit 53 does not need to calculate the volume by multiplying the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height in the processing of Sb6 in Figure 13, and can simply calculate the fare by referring to the volume stored in the "Volume" item of the history table 17.

[0117] (Example configuration where the in-vehicle unit includes a fare calculation unit) In the above embodiment, the lane control device 32 of the lane system 30 includes a toll calculation unit 53, and the on-board unit 3 transmits all records of the history table 17 stored in the IC card storage unit 16 to the lane system 30. In this case, since the toll is calculated and charged based on all records in the history table 17, all records in the history table 17 can be said to be "charging information used for toll billing." Alternatively, the lane control device 32 may not include a toll calculation unit 53, and the on-board unit 3 may include a toll calculation unit 53. In this case, the information output unit 15 of the on-board unit 3 reads all records stored in the history table 17 during the process Sc11 in Figure 14, and outputs all the records read from the history table 17 to the toll calculation unit 53 of the on-board unit 3. The toll calculation unit 53 of the on-board unit 3 calculates the toll using the same process as Sb6 in Figure 13, and outputs the calculated toll to the information output unit 15. The information output unit 15 generates a history information response signal that includes information indicating the toll output by the toll calculation unit 53 of the in-vehicle unit 3 and verification information, and transmits the generated history information response signal to the lane system 30 via the communication processing unit 11. Therefore, in this case, the information indicating the toll that the in-vehicle unit 3 transmits to the lane system 30 is the "charging information used for toll billing." The control unit 51 of the lane control device 32, after going through the processes of Sb4 and Sb5 in Figure 13, if the information indicating the verification result received from the system management device 9 indicates an OK verification result, does not perform the process of Sb6 and performs the process of Sb7.

[0118] Furthermore, the fare calculation unit 53 in the in-vehicle unit 3 may calculate the fare not based on all records in the history table 17 at the timing of processing Sc11 in Figure 14, but in the following manner. For example, at the timing of processing Sc8, when the driving information measurement unit 13 records the driving distance and driving time, respectively, in the "driving distance" and "driving time" fields of the record selected in the history table 17, the information output unit 15 reads the record from the history table 17 and outputs it to the fare calculation unit 53 of the in-vehicle unit 3. When the fare calculation unit 53 receives one record output by the information output unit 15, it calculates the section fare based on the received record and records the calculated section fare in the IC card storage unit 16. In the processing of Sc11, the fare calculation unit 53 may calculate the section fare based on the last record in the history table 17 and calculate the fare based on the sum of the calculated section fare and the section fare stored in the IC card storage unit 16. By adopting a procedure that calculates the fare for each section as soon as information that allows for the calculation of individual section fares becomes available, the fare can be calculated in a shorter time when processing Sc11 compared to the procedure that calculates the fare based on all the records in the history table 17 described above.

[0119] (Example configuration that does not measure mileage) In the above embodiment, the driving information measurement unit 13 of the in-vehicle device 3 may not measure the driving distance, and the history table 17 may not have an item for "driving distance". In this case, for example, for each combination of two location identification information selected from all location identification information, the distance between the locations indicated by the two location identification information included in each combination is measured in advance. Furthermore, for each of the measured distances, a section distance table is generated in advance that is associated with the two location identification information of the corresponding combination. The fare calculation unit 53 stores the section distance table in advance in its internal storage area. When the fare calculation unit 53 performs the processing of Sb6 in Figure 13, instead of reading the driving distance from the "driving distance" item in the history table 17, it identifies the driving distance based on the location identification information of the record to be processed, the location identification information of the next record in chronological order after the record to be processed, and the section distance table stored in the internal storage area, and calculates the section fare by substituting the identified driving distance into equation (1). As shown in Figures 6, 15, and 16, when a new record row is generated immediately after the row of the previous record in chronological order, the fare calculation unit 53 can identify the next record in chronological order by referring to the record in the row immediately following the record to be processed. In the case of the last record in the history table 17, since there is no next record in chronological order, the fare calculation unit 53 uses the position identification information of the lane system 30 stored in the storage unit 52 as the position identification information of the next record in chronological order to determine the distance traveled.

[0120] (Example configuration where running time is not measured) In the above embodiment, the driving information measurement unit 13 of the in-vehicle unit 3 does not measure driving time, the history table 17 does not have a "driving time" item, and in the predetermined fare calculation calculation performed by the fare calculation unit 53, the following equation (2), obtained by removing "beneficiary burden coefficient γ × beneficiary weight" from equation (1), may be applied instead of equation (1).

[0121]

number

[0122] In the case of equation (2), the "possessor weight" and "causative weight" are predetermined so that the sum of the two weights is "1".

[0123] (Example of a configuration without a driving information measurement unit) A configuration example combining the above-mentioned configuration example where the distance traveled is not measured and the configuration example where the travel time is not measured may be used. In other words, the in-vehicle device 3 may not have a travel information measurement unit 13, and the history table 17 may not have a "travel information" item. In this case, equation (2) can be rephrased from the perspective of vehicle information as an equation that represents a predetermined fare calculation calculation that includes adding weights to the product of the travel distance of the vehicle identified from the combination of two location identification pieces and the section distance table, and a predetermined fare per unit distance, each depending on the information indicating the volume of the vehicle included in the vehicle information and the information indicating the weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information.

[0124] (Other configuration examples) As shown in equations (1) and (2) above, terminal charges may be omitted from each of the equations used to calculate the section fare. Instead, terminal charges may be calculated separately, and the fare may be calculated by adding the separately calculated terminal charge to the total section fare calculated using equations (1) and (2) (excluding terminal charges), and then multiplying by the consumption tax. Alternatively, various methods may be applied to determine the terminal charge, such as dividing the predetermined terminal charge by the number of records stored in the history table 17 at the time of processing Sc11 in Figure 14, and then replacing the "terminal charge" in equations (1) and (2) with the resulting division value.

[0125] In the embodiment described above, the history table 17 is stored in the IC card storage unit 16, but the built-in storage unit 14 may also store the history table 17.

[0126] In the above embodiment, in order to briefly explain the concept of beneficiary burden, the toll calculation unit 53 calculates the section toll using a predetermined fixed legal speed, regardless of the length, width, height, and weight of the vehicles 2,2a. In contrast, current toll roads may have different legal speeds depending on the vehicle type. Therefore, the toll calculation unit 53 may store a vehicle type identification table in its internal memory area, which identifies the vehicle type based on the length, width, height, and weight of each vehicle. When calculating the section toll from each record in the history table 17, the unit may identify the legal speed from the values ​​shown in the "length," "width," "height," and "weight" fields of the record, as well as from the vehicle type identification table, and then use the identified legal speed to calculate the basic time required to identify the beneficiary burden coefficient γ.

[0127] (Computer configuration) Figure 18 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a computer according to at least one embodiment. The computer 100 comprises a processor 101, main memory 102, storage 103, and interface 104. Each of the lane control devices 22a, 22b, 32 and the in-vehicle device 3 described above is implemented in a different computer 100. The operation of each of the above-mentioned processing units, namely the control units 41a, 41b, 51, the toll calculation unit 53, the communication processing unit 11, the vehicle information acquisition unit 12, the driving information measurement unit 13, and the information output unit 15, is stored in the storage 103 in the form of a program. The processor 101 reads the program from the storage 103, loads it into the main memory 102, and executes the above processing according to the program. Furthermore, the processor 101, in accordance with the program, reserves memory areas corresponding to the aforementioned memory units 42a, 42b, 52 and the built-in memory unit 14, as well as internal memory areas for the driving information measurement unit 13 and the fare calculation unit 53, in the main memory 102 or storage 103. In accordance with the program, the processor 101 connects each of the vehicle detectors 21a, 21b, 31, communication devices 23a, 23b, 33, imaging devices 24a, 24b, system management device 9, and weight measuring device 4 to the respective control units 41a, 41b, 51 and vehicle information acquisition unit 12 via the interface 104.

[0128] The program may be for implementing a part of the functions that the computer 100 is to perform. For example, the program may perform functions in combination with other programs already stored in the storage 103, or in combination with other programs implemented in other devices. In other embodiments, the computer may include a custom LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) in addition to, or instead of, the above configuration. Examples of PLDs include PAL (Programmable Array Logic), GAL (Generic Array Logic), CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc. In this case, some or all of the functions implemented by the processor may be implemented by the integrated circuit.

[0129] Examples of storage 103 include HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), magnetic disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), and semiconductor memory. Storage 103 may be an internal medium directly connected to the bus of computer 100, or an external medium connected to computer 100 via interface 104 or a communication line. Furthermore, if this program is distributed to computer 100 via a communication line, computer 100 that receives the distribution may expand the program into main memory 102 and execute the above processing. In at least one embodiment, storage 103 is a tangible storage medium that is not temporary.

[0130] <Note> The charging system 1, lane systems 20a, 20b, 30, and in-vehicle device 3 described in the embodiments of this disclosure can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0131] (1) The toll system 1 according to the first embodiment comprises an entrance lane system (e.g., lane system 20a) installed at the entrance of the toll road L, a rest area lane system (e.g., lane system 20b) installed at the exit of the rest area RA of the toll road, and an exit lane system (e.g., lane system 30) installed at the exit of the toll road, and each of the entrance lane system, the rest area lane system, and the exit lane system comprises each lane (e.g., entrance lane Lin, rest area exit lane RAout, exit lane Lou When the entry of vehicles 2,2a into t) is detected, wireless communication is established with the on-board unit 3 installed in the vehicle. The entrance lane system and the rest area lane system, upon establishing wireless communication with the on-board unit, cause the on-board unit to acquire vehicle information including information indicating the vehicle's volume and information indicating its weight. The exit lane system, upon establishing wireless communication with the on-board unit, acquires billing information from the on-board unit used for billing the toll calculated based on the vehicle information, and bills based on the acquired billing information. According to this embodiment and the following embodiments, even if cargo or towed vehicles are added or removed after entering the toll road, appropriate billing that takes such actions into account can be performed when exiting the toll road.

[0132] (2) The second embodiment of the charging system 1 is the charging system of (1), wherein the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system cause the onboard unit to start measuring the vehicle's mileage and travel time, starting from the timing of establishing wireless communication with the onboard unit, the rest area lane system and the exit lane system, once they establish wireless communication with the onboard unit, cause the onboard unit to terminate the measurement that was started before the establishment of the wireless communication and to acquire the measurement result obtained at the time of termination as travel information, and the exit lane system acquires charging information from the onboard unit that is used to charge a fee calculated based on the combination of the vehicle information and the travel information corresponding to the vehicle information, and charges based on the acquired charging information. According to this embodiment, the actual mileage and travel time of the vehicle can be acquired, and by calculating the fee based on the acquired mileage and travel time, more accurate and appropriate charging can be performed.

[0133] (3) The third embodiment of the billing system 1 is the billing system of (1), wherein the charge is calculated based on the total value of the section charges corresponding to each of the vehicle information, which is calculated by performing a predetermined charge calculation operation for each of the vehicle information, which includes adding weights to the product of the vehicle's mileage and a predetermined charge per unit distance, depending on the information indicating the volume of the vehicle included in the vehicle information and the information indicating the weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information. According to this embodiment, if the volume or weight of the vehicle changes while the vehicle is traveling on the toll road, an appropriate charge corresponding to the change can be made.

[0134] (4) The fourth embodiment of the billing system 1 is the billing system of (2), wherein the charge is calculated based on the total value of the section charges corresponding to each of the combinations, which is calculated by performing a predetermined charge calculation operation that adds weights depending on information indicating the volume of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, information indicating the weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, and the driving time of the vehicle included in the driving information to the product of the driving distance of the vehicle included in the driving information and a predetermined charge per unit distance for each combination of the vehicle information and the driving information corresponding to the vehicle information. According to this embodiment, if the volume or weight of the vehicle changes while the vehicle is traveling on the toll road, an appropriate charge can be made in accordance with the driving time, taking such changes into consideration.

[0135] (5) The fifth charge system 1 is any one of the charge systems (1) to (4), wherein the information indicating the volume of the vehicle is information represented by the vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height detected from images of the vehicle captured by the imaging devices 24a and 24b provided in the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system, and when the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system detect the information indicating the volume of the vehicle, they transmit the detected information indicating the volume of the vehicle to the onboard device for acquisition.

[0136] (6) The sixth billing system 1 is any one of the billing systems (1) to (5), wherein the information indicating the weight of the vehicle is derived from a measured value measured by a weight measuring instrument 4 installed in the vehicle, and the onboard device acquires the measured value from the weight measuring instrument and acquires information indicating the weight of the vehicle from the acquired measured value.

[0137] (7) The seventh charge system 1 is any one of the charge systems (1) to (5), wherein the information indicating the weight of the vehicle is derived from measured values ​​measured by weight measuring instruments 25a, 25b provided in the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system, the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system acquire the measured values ​​from the weight measuring instruments, acquire information indicating the weight of the vehicle from the acquired measured values, and transmit the acquired information indicating the weight of the vehicle to the onboard unit for acquisition.

[0138] (8) The eighth charge system 1 is any one of the charge systems (1) to (7), wherein the exit lane system performs either of the following processes as charge information: acquiring vehicle information from the on-board unit, calculating the charge based on the acquired vehicle information, and charging the calculated charge; or acquiring information from the on-board unit indicating the charge calculated by the on-board unit based on the vehicle information, and charging the charge indicated by the acquired information indicating the charge.

[0139] (9) The lane systems 20a, 20b according to the ninth embodiment are lane systems installed in the entrance lane Lin of a toll road L and the exit lane of a rest area RA of the toll road (for example, the rest area exit lane RAout), and include vehicle detectors 21a, 21b that detect the entry of vehicles 2, 2a; communication devices 23a, 23b that establish wireless communication with an on-board unit 3 installed in the vehicle when the vehicle detector detects the entry of the vehicle; and lane control devices 22a, 22b that, when the communication device establishes wireless communication with the on-board unit, cause the on-board unit to acquire vehicle information including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle, which is used to calculate the toll charged at the exit of the toll road. According to this embodiment and the following embodiments, even if cargo or towed vehicles are added or removed after entering the toll road, appropriate charges that take such actions into account can be made when exiting the toll road.

[0140] (10) The lane systems 20a and 20b according to the tenth embodiment are the lane systems of (9), wherein the lane control device starts with the timing of establishing wireless communication with the on-board unit and ends with the timing of the vehicle entering either the exit lane of the toll road rest area or the exit lane of the toll road after the wireless communication corresponding to the starting point has been disconnected, and the on-board unit starts measuring the vehicle's mileage and travel time, which are used to calculate the toll charged at the exit of the toll road. According to this embodiment, the actual mileage and travel time of the vehicle can be obtained, and by calculating the toll based on the obtained mileage and travel time, more accurate and appropriate billing can be performed.

[0141] (11) The lane system 30 according to the eleventh embodiment is a lane system installed in the exit lane Lout of a toll road L, and comprises a vehicle detector 31 that detects the entry of vehicles 2,2a, a communication device 33 that establishes wireless communication with an on-board unit 3 installed in the vehicle when the vehicle detector detects the entry of the vehicle, and when the vehicle enters either the entrance lane Lin of the toll road or the exit lane of a rest area on the toll road (for example, the rest area exit lane RAout) and the on-board unit establishes wireless communication, receives vehicle information acquired by the on-board unit from the on-board unit, and a lane control device 32 that calculates a section charge based on information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information for each piece of vehicle information received by the communication device, and charges based on the total value of the calculated section charges. According to this embodiment and the embodiments described below, even if cargo or towed vehicles are added or removed after entering the toll road, an appropriate charge that takes such actions into account can be made when exiting the toll road.

[0142] (12) The lane system 30 according to the twelfth embodiment is the lane system of (11), wherein the communication device receives driving information obtained by measurement, starting from the timing when the vehicle enters either the entrance lane of the toll road or the exit lane of the toll road rest area and the on-board unit establishes wireless communication, and ending from the timing when the vehicle enters either the exit lane of the toll road rest area or the exit lane of the toll road and the on-board unit establishes wireless communication again after the wireless communication corresponding to the starting point is disconnected, and the lane control device calculates the section toll based on the vehicle information received by the communication device and the driving information corresponding to the vehicle information, the information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, and the driving distance and driving time of the vehicle included in the driving information. According to this embodiment, the actual driving distance and driving time of the vehicle can be obtained, and by calculating the toll based on the obtained driving distance and driving time, more accurate and appropriate billing can be performed.

[0143] (13) When a vehicle 2, 2a equipped with itself enters each lane (e.g., entrance lane Lin, rest area exit lane RAout, exit lane Lout) of the entrance lane system (e.g., lane system 20a) installed at the entrance of the toll road L, the rest area lane system (e.g., lane system 20b) installed at the exit of the rest area RA of the toll road, and the exit lane system (e.g., lane system 30) installed at the exit of the toll road, it establishes wireless communication with the lane system of the vehicle it is entering. The system comprises a communication processing unit 11, a vehicle information acquisition unit 12 that acquires vehicle information including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle when the communication processing unit establishes wireless communication with either the entrance lane system or the rest area lane system, and an information output unit 15 that outputs to the exit lane system via the communication processing unit the billing information used for billing the toll calculated based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit when the communication processing unit establishes wireless communication with the exit lane system. According to this embodiment and the following embodiments, even if cargo or towed vehicles are added or removed after entering the toll road, appropriate billing that takes such actions into account can be performed when exiting the toll road.

[0144] (14) The in-vehicle device 3 according to the 14th embodiment is the in-vehicle device of (13), and includes a driving information measurement unit 13 that starts measuring the vehicle's mileage and driving time from each timing when the communication processing unit establishes wireless communication with either the entrance lane system or the rest area lane system, and when the communication processing unit establishes wireless communication with either the rest area lane system or the exit lane system, terminates the measurement that was started before the establishment of the wireless communication, and acquires the measurement result obtained at the time of termination as driving information, and the information output unit outputs to the exit lane system via the communication processing unit the charging information used for charging charges calculated based on the combination of the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit and the driving information corresponding to the vehicle information, when the communication processing unit establishes wireless communication with the exit lane system. According to this embodiment, the actual mileage and driving time of the vehicle can be acquired, and by calculating charges based on the acquired mileage and driving time, more accurate and appropriate charges can be made. [Explanation of symbols]

[0145] 1…Charging system 2,2a... Vehicles 3…Onboard equipment 4, 25a, 25b... Weight measuring instruments 5...Towed vehicle 9…System management device 11…Communication Processing Unit 12... Vehicle Information Acquisition Unit 13…Driving Information Measurement Unit 14…Internal storage unit 15…Information output unit 16…IC card storage unit 17…History Table 20a, 20b, 30… Lane System 21a, 21b, 31... Vehicle detectors 22a, 22b, 32… Lane control devices 23a,23b,33…Communication device 24a, 24b… Imaging devices 41a, 41b, 51… Control Units 42a, 42b, 52...Storage section 53...Price Calculation Department L…Toll road LM... Main Line RA... Rest area Lin... Entrance lane Lout… Exit lane RAin…Rest area entrance lane RAout…Rest area exit lane

Claims

1. An entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road, A rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on the aforementioned toll road, An exit lane system installed at the exit of the aforementioned toll road, Equipped with, When the entrance lane system, the rest area lane system, and the exit lane system each detect the entry of a vehicle into their respective lanes, they establish wireless communication with the on-board device installed in the vehicle. When the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system establish wireless communication with the on-board unit, they cause the on-board unit to acquire vehicle information including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle. When the exit lane system establishes wireless communication with the in-vehicle unit, it obtains billing information from the in-vehicle unit that is used to charge the toll calculated based on the vehicle information, and charges the toll based on the obtained billing information. A billing system.

2. The entrance lane system and the rest area lane system, starting from the timing of establishing wireless communication with the on-board unit, cause the on-board unit to begin measuring the vehicle's mileage and travel time. When the rest area lane system and the exit lane system establish wireless communication with the in-vehicle unit, they cause the in-vehicle unit to terminate the measurement that was started before the establishment of the wireless communication, and to acquire the measurement results obtained at the time of termination as driving information. The exit lane system acquires billing information from the in-vehicle device, which is used to charge a toll calculated based on a combination of the vehicle information and the driving information corresponding to the vehicle information, and performs billing based on the acquired billing information. The billing system according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned charges are calculated based on the sum of the section charges corresponding to each of the vehicle information, which are calculated by performing a predetermined charge calculation operation for each of the vehicle information, which includes adding weights to the product of the vehicle's mileage and a predetermined charge per unit distance, depending on the information indicating the volume of the vehicle and the information indicating the weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information. The billing system according to claim 1.

4. The aforementioned charges are calculated based on the total section charges corresponding to each combination, which are calculated by performing a predetermined charge calculation operation on the product of the vehicle's mileage included in the driving information and a predetermined charge per unit distance, with weights depending on information indicating the volume of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, information indicating the weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, and the driving time of the vehicle included in the driving information, for each combination of the vehicle information and the driving information corresponding to the vehicle information. The billing system according to claim 2.

5. The information indicating the volume of the vehicle is represented by the vehicle length, width, and height detected from images of the vehicle captured by imaging devices provided in the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system. When the aforementioned entrance lane system and the aforementioned rest area lane system detect information indicating the volume of the vehicle, they transmit the detected information indicating the volume of the vehicle to the in-vehicle device for acquisition. The billing system according to claim 1.

6. The information indicating the weight of the vehicle is derived from the measured value measured by a weight measuring instrument installed in the vehicle. The aforementioned in-vehicle device is The measured value is obtained from the weight measuring device, and information indicating the weight of the vehicle is obtained from the obtained measured value. The billing system according to claim 1.

7. The information indicating the weight of the vehicle is derived from the measured values ​​taken by the weight measuring instruments provided in the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system. The entrance lane system and the rest area lane system acquire the measured value from the weight measuring device, acquire information indicating the weight of the vehicle from the acquired measured value, and transmit the acquired information indicating the weight of the vehicle to the on-board unit for acquisition. The billing system according to claim 1.

8. The exit lane system performs one of the following processes as billing information: acquiring vehicle information from the on-board unit, calculating the toll based on the acquired vehicle information, and billing the calculated toll; or acquiring information from the on-board unit indicating the toll calculated by the on-board unit based on the vehicle information, and billing the toll indicated by the acquired information indicating the toll. A billing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A lane system installed on the entrance lane of a toll road and the exit lane of a rest area on the said toll road, A vehicle detector that detects the entry of a vehicle, When the vehicle detector detects the vehicle's entry, a communication device establishes wireless communication with the in-vehicle device installed in the vehicle. When the communication device establishes wireless communication with the in-vehicle unit, the lane control device causes the in-vehicle unit to acquire vehicle information, which includes information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle, and which is used to calculate the toll charged at the exit of the toll road. A lane system equipped with this feature.

10. A lane system installed on the exit lane of a toll road, A vehicle detector that detects the entry of a vehicle, When the vehicle detector detects the vehicle's entry, it establishes wireless communication with the on-board unit installed in the vehicle, and when the vehicle enters either the entrance lane of the toll road or the exit lane of the toll road's rest area and the on-board unit establishes wireless communication, the communication device receives vehicle information acquired by the on-board unit from the on-board unit. A lane control device that calculates a section charge based on the information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information for each vehicle information received by the communication device, and charges based on the total value of the calculated section charges, A lane system equipped with this feature.

11. A communication processing unit establishes wireless communication with the lane system to which a vehicle equipped with itself enters an entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road, a rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on the toll road, and an exit lane system installed at the exit of the toll road, when the vehicle enters each of these lanes. When the communication processing unit establishes wireless communication with either the entrance lane system or the rest area lane system, the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires vehicle information including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle. When the communication processing unit establishes wireless communication with the exit lane system, the information output unit outputs to the exit lane system via the communication processing unit the billing information used for billing the toll calculated based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit, An in-vehicle device equipped with this feature.

12. An entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road, A rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on the aforementioned toll road, An exit lane system installed at the exit of the aforementioned toll road, A billing method using a billing system that includes the following: When the entrance lane system, the rest area lane system, and the exit lane system each detect the entry of a vehicle into their respective lanes, they establish wireless communication with the on-board device installed in the vehicle. When the entrance lane system and the rest area lane system establish wireless communication with the on-board unit, the on-board unit is instructed to acquire vehicle information, including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle. When the exit lane system establishes wireless communication with the in-vehicle unit, it obtains billing information from the in-vehicle unit that is used to charge the toll calculated based on the vehicle information, and charges the toll based on the obtained billing information. Payment methods.

13. A method for processing information using a lane system installed in the entrance lane of a toll road and the exit lane of a rest area on the said toll road, It detects the entry of a vehicle, Upon detecting the entry of the vehicle, a wireless communication is established with the in-vehicle device installed in the vehicle. When wireless communication is established with the in-vehicle unit, the in-vehicle unit is instructed to acquire vehicle information, which includes information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle, and which is used to calculate the toll charged at the exit of the toll road. Information processing methods.

14. A toll collection method using a lane system installed in the exit lane of a toll road, It detects the entry of a vehicle, Upon detecting the entry of the vehicle, a wireless communication is established with the in-vehicle device installed in the vehicle. When the vehicle enters either the entrance lane of the toll road or the exit lane of the toll road's rest area and the on-board unit establishes wireless communication, the vehicle information acquired by the on-board unit is received from the on-board unit. For each vehicle information received, the fare for the section is calculated based on the information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information. Charges are made based on the total value of the calculated section fares. Payment methods.

15. A method for processing information using an in-vehicle device installed in a vehicle, When the vehicle enters each of the following lanes, an entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road, a rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on the toll road, and an exit lane system installed at the exit of the toll road, wireless communication is established with the lane system of the vehicle it is entering. When wireless communication is established between the entrance lane system and either the rest area lane system, vehicle information including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle is acquired. When wireless communication is established with the exit lane system, the system outputs billing information used for billing tolls calculated based on the acquired vehicle information to the exit lane system. Information processing methods.

16. Computers installed in the entrance lanes of toll roads and the exit lanes of rest areas on said toll roads, Procedure for detecting vehicle entry, A procedure for establishing wireless communication with an in-vehicle device installed in the vehicle when the entry of the vehicle is detected. A procedure to cause the in-vehicle unit to acquire vehicle information, which includes information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle, and is used to calculate the toll charged at the exit of the toll road, upon establishing wireless communication with the in-vehicle unit. A program to execute.

17. Computers installed in the exit lanes of toll roads, Procedure for detecting vehicle entry, A procedure for establishing wireless communication with an in-vehicle device installed in the vehicle when the entry of the vehicle is detected. A procedure for receiving vehicle information acquired by the on-board unit when the vehicle enters either the entrance lane of the toll road or the exit lane of the toll road's rest area and the on-board unit establishes wireless communication, A procedure for calculating the fare for each vehicle information received, based on the information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, A procedure for charging based on the total value of the aforementioned section charges, A program to execute.

18. The computer installed in the vehicle, A procedure for establishing wireless communication with the lane system of the vehicle entering an entrance lane system installed at the entrance of a toll road, a rest area lane system installed at the exit of a rest area on the toll road, and an exit lane system installed at the exit of the toll road, when the vehicle enters each of these lanes. A procedure for obtaining vehicle information, including information indicating the volume and weight of the vehicle, upon establishing wireless communication with either the entrance lane system or the rest area lane system. A procedure to establish wireless communication with the aforementioned exit lane system and output to the aforementioned exit lane system the billing information used for billing the toll calculated based on the acquired vehicle information, A program to execute.

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