Toll collection system and toll collection method

Abstract

This system allows for the continued use of conventional equipment that only handles toll collection, while also providing a toll collection system that automatically collects service fees at toll booths on toll roads where the service is available. [Solution] The toll collection system comprises: an exit communication unit that transmits and receives exit communication data based on a communication standard defined for processing toll payments between the system and an on-board unit of a vehicle that has arrived at an exit toll gate of a toll road; a usage information acquisition unit that acquires service usage information regarding the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the exit communication data received from the on-board unit, specifically from data included in an unused area not used in the communication standard; and a collection processing unit that collects the usage fees for the services used by the vehicle based on the service usage information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a fee collection system and a fee collection method.

Background Art

[0002] As a technology for collecting tolls on toll roads, an automatic toll collection system that performs wireless communication between roadside equipment at a toll booth and an in-vehicle unit mounted on a vehicle to automatically collect the tolls for the vehicle (also referred to as an Electronic Toll Collection System. In Japan, it is also referred to as an ETC (registered trademark) system.) is used. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method in which entrance information including the identification information of the entrance toll booth is recorded on an IC card inserted into the in-vehicle unit at the entrance toll booth, the toll for passing through is calculated based on the entrance information recorded on the IC card at the exit toll booth, and the settlement of the toll for passing through is performed using the settlement information of the IC card.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In recent years, toll services provided in addition to road travel, such as a merging support service for autonomous vehicles on toll roads and a charging service while driving an EV (Electric Vehicle), have been considered.

[0005] However, currently, automated toll collection systems do not have a mechanism for collecting service usage fees in addition to tolls. Therefore, in order to automatically collect service usage fees in addition to tolls at toll booths, the communication method of the automated toll collection system must be significantly changed. This would require replacing a large number of roadside devices and in-vehicle units that are already widely used with roadside devices and in-vehicle units that support the new communication method, which would incur significant costs and time.

[0006] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a toll collection system and a toll collection method that can automatically collect service usage fees at toll booths on toll roads where the service is available, while allowing the continued use of conventional equipment that only handles the collection of tolls. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the toll collection system includes: an exit communication unit that transmits and receives exit communication data based on a communication standard defined for processing toll payments to an onboard unit of a vehicle that has arrived at an exit toll gate of a toll road; a usage information acquisition unit that acquires service usage information regarding the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the exit communication data received from the onboard unit, specifically from data included in an unused area not used in the communication standard; and a collection processing unit that collects the usage fees for the services used by the vehicle based on the service usage information.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the toll collection system includes: an ITS spot communication unit that transmits and receives vehicle passage information based on a communication standard defined for vehicle passage information with an onboard unit of a vehicle that has arrived at an ITS spot downstream of the service provision section of a toll road; a usage information acquisition unit that acquires service usage information regarding the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the vehicle passage information received from the onboard unit, specifically from data in an unused area not used in the communication standard; and a collection processing unit that collects the usage fee for the services used by the vehicle based on the service usage information.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the toll collection method includes the steps of: transmitting and receiving exit communication data based on a communication standard specified for processing toll payments between the onboard unit of a vehicle that has arrived at an exit toll gate of a toll road; obtaining service usage information relating to the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the exit communication data received from the onboard unit, specifically from data in an unused area not used in the communication standard; and collecting the service usage fee for the services used by the vehicle based on the service usage information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the above configuration, it is possible to continue using conventional equipment that only handles the collection of tolls, while automatically collecting service fees at toll booths on toll roads where the service can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the toll collection system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of each part of the toll collection system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a first sequence diagram showing an example of the processing of a toll collection system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4]This is a second sequence diagram showing an example of the processing of the toll collection system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of entry communication data according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of ITS spot communication data according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of exit communication data according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing of a toll collection system according to a modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 9] This is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a computer according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of each part of the toll collection system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing of a toll collection system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of ITS spot communication data according to the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] <First Embodiment> The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0013] (Overall structure) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a toll collection system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of each part of the toll collection system according to the first embodiment. The configuration of the toll collection system 1 of this embodiment will be described while referring to FIGS. 1 to 2. In this embodiment, an example where the toll collection system 1 is a Japanese ETC system will be described. The toll collection system 1 (ETC system) performs wireless communication (for example, DSRC communication compliant with ARIB STD-T75; hereinafter also referred to as "ETC communication") based on a predetermined communication standard with an in-vehicle unit 10 mounted on a vehicle V, and automatically collects the tolls for the vehicle V. Further, on a toll road capable of providing paid services other than vehicle passage, the toll collection system 1 further performs a process of automatically collecting the usage fees for the services used by the vehicle V in addition to the process of collecting the tolls for vehicle passage. Services other than vehicle passage include various services such as a merging support service for autonomous vehicles and a charging service during travel for an EV (Electric Vehicle).

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the toll collection system 1 includes an in-vehicle unit 10 mounted on the vehicle V, an entrance lane server 20, an exit lane server 30, a center server 40, a service settlement server 50, and a service provision system 60.

[0015] The entrance lane server 20 performs ETC communication based on a predetermined communication standard with the in-vehicle unit 10 mounted on the vehicle V via an entrance road-side antenna 21 provided at the entrance toll gate of the toll road, and executes a process (entrance process) related to the collection of the tolls for the vehicle V. This entrance process is the same as the process performed by a conventional ETC system at the entrance toll gate, and includes, for example, a process of acquiring vehicle information (such as in-vehicle unit ID) from the in-vehicle unit 10 of the vehicle V and a process of recording information on the entrance toll gate (entrance information) through which the vehicle V has passed in the in-vehicle unit 10.

[0016] Also, in this embodiment, the entrance lane server 20 also performs transmission and reception of information for using services with the vehicle V during the ETC communication for the entrance process.

[0017] As shown in Figure 2, the toll collection system 1 may further include an ITS spot lane server 22. The ITS spot lane server 22 communicates with the on-board unit 10 installed in the vehicle V via the ITS spot roadside antenna 23 installed at the ITS spot, using a predetermined communication standard to send and receive vehicle passage information. This vehicle passage information transmission and reception process is the same as the process performed by conventional ETC systems at ITS spots, and includes, for example, the process of acquiring vehicle information (on-board unit ID, etc.) from the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V passing through the ITS spot for purposes such as traffic volume surveys and identifying the vehicle V's travel route, and the process of recording ITS spot information (ITS spot number, time of passage, etc.) in the on-board unit 10. In other words, the communication standard for vehicle passage information specifies vehicle passage information for which the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V transmits vehicle information to the ITS spot lane server 22, and vehicle passage information for which the ITS spot lane server 22 transmits ITS spot information to the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V. Furthermore, in the following explanation, passing vehicle information will also be referred to as ITS spot communication data.

[0018] Furthermore, in this embodiment, at the ITS spot just before (at the entrance of) the service provision section that provides services to vehicle V, the ITS spot lane server 22 also transmits and receives information for using the service with vehicle V during ETC communication for vehicle passage information.

[0019] Furthermore, when sending and receiving information for using the service at an ITS spot, it is not necessary to send and receive this information at the entrance toll gate. In this case, the entrance toll gate is equipped with a lane server used in conventional ETC systems instead of the entrance lane server 20 according to this embodiment.

[0020] The exit lane server 30 communicates with the on-board unit 10 installed in the vehicle V via the exit roadside antenna 31 installed at the exit toll gate of the toll road, and performs processing related to the collection of tolls for the vehicle V (exit processing). This exit processing is the same as the processing performed by conventional ETC systems at exit toll gates, and includes, for example, the process of obtaining vehicle information, entrance information, and toll payment information used for toll collection from the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V, the process of calculating the toll for the vehicle V based on the information obtained from the on-board unit 10, the process of requesting settlement from the center server 40 based on the calculated toll and payment information, and the process of notifying the on-board unit 10 of the calculated toll.

[0021] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the exit lane server 30 also transmits and receives information about the services used by the vehicle V and the results of the settlement process for the service usage fees during the ETC communication for exit processing.

[0022] The central server 40 processes the payment of the toll for vehicle V in response to a request from the exit lane server 30 and notifies the exit lane server 30 of the processing result. This process is the same as the process performed by the central server of a conventional ETC system.

[0023] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the center server 40 obtains information from the exit lane server 30 regarding the services used by vehicle V, it requests the service settlement server 50 to settle the service usage fee for vehicle V, and notifies the exit lane server 30 of the processing result.

[0024] The service settlement server 50 processes the settlement of service usage fees for vehicle V in response to a request from the center server 40.

[0025] The service provision system 60 is installed in the service provision section of a toll road. Figure 1 shows an example where the service provided to the vehicle V is an in-driving power supply service. In this example, the service provision system 60 includes a power supply panel 61 installed on the road within the service provision section, and a control device 62 that controls the start or stop of power supply to the power supply panel 61. Note that the configuration of the service provision system 60 shown in Figure 1 is just one example, and the configuration will be changed depending on the service provided.

[0026] (Functional configuration of in-vehicle devices) The functional configuration of the in-vehicle unit 10 will be described with reference to Figure 2. The in-vehicle unit 10 comprises a communication processing unit 101 and a service processing unit 102.

[0027] The communication processing unit 101 communicates with the entrance lane server 20 via the entrance roadside antenna 21 at the entrance toll gate and sends and receives entrance communication data related to the collection of tolls (entrance processing). The communication processing unit 101 also communicates with the ITS spot lane server 22 via the ITS spot roadside antenna 23 at the ITS spot and sends and receives ITS spot communication data (vehicle passage information) based on a predetermined communication standard. The communication processing unit 101 communicates with the exit lane server 30 via the exit roadside antenna 31 at the exit toll gate and sends and receives exit communication data related to the collection of tolls (exit processing). Details of the entrance communication data, ITS spot communication data, and exit communication data will be described later.

[0028] Furthermore, the communication processing unit 101 adds intention declaration information, which is information indicating the user's intention to use the service, to the entry communication data or ITS spot communication data when the user (passenger of vehicle V) wishes to use the service. Note that while the data structure of entry communication data for transmitting vehicle information and entry information is specified in the communication standard, data related to the service is not specified. Similarly, while the data structure of ITS spot communication data for transmitting vehicle information and ITS spot information is specified in the communication standard, data related to the service is not specified. Therefore, in this embodiment, this intention declaration information is stored in an unused area of ​​the data included in the entry communication data or ITS spot communication data that is not used in the communication standard.

[0029] The service processing unit 102 obtains service provision information from the communication data (inbound communication data or ITS spot communication data) received by the communication processing unit 101, indicating whether or not the service the user wishes to use can be provided. The service provision information is stored distributed in unused areas of the communication data received by the communication processing unit 101 that are not used in the communication standard. If the service provision information contains information indicating that the service requested by the user can be provided, the service processing unit 102 activates the function for using this service. For example, if the service is an in-driving power supply service, the service processing unit 102 activates the power receiving device of the vehicle V.

[0030] Furthermore, the service processing unit 102 generates service usage information regarding the services used by vehicle V and adds it to the exit communication data that the communication processing unit 101 transmits to the exit lane server 30. This service usage information is stored in a distributed manner in unused areas of the data included in the exit communication data that are not used by the communication standard. The service usage information includes the type of service used by vehicle V while driving on the toll road. In addition, for example, in the case of a metered billing service where the usage fee changes according to the amount of service used, the service usage information includes the amount of service used. For example, in the case of a power supply service while driving, the service processing unit 102 obtains the total amount of power received from the service provision system 60 (power supply panel 61) on the toll road from the power receiving device and includes this in the service usage information.

[0031] (Functional configuration of the entrance lane server) Referring to Figure 2, the functional configuration of the entrance lane server 20 will be explained. The entrance lane server 20 comprises an entrance communication unit 201, an intention declaration information acquisition unit 202, and a service provision information notification unit 203.

[0032] The entrance communication unit 201 transmits and receives entrance communication data via the entrance roadside antenna 21 to the onboard unit 10 of the vehicle V that has arrived at the entrance toll booth of the toll road, based on a communication standard specified for processing toll payments.

[0033] The intention declaration information acquisition unit 202 acquires intention declaration information indicating the vehicle V's intention to use the service from data included in the ingress communication data received by the ingress communication unit 201 from the in-vehicle device 10, specifically from data in the unused area not used in the communication standard.

[0034] The service provision information notification unit 203 adds service provision information indicating whether or not the service that the vehicle V has indicated its intention to use in the intention declaration information is available to the unused area of ​​the entrance communication data that is not used in the communication standard to be transmitted to the in-vehicle unit 10. The entrance communication data including the service provision information is transmitted to the in-vehicle unit 10 by the entrance communication unit 201. As a result, the in-vehicle unit 10 can find out whether or not the user can receive the service they want on the toll road.

[0035] Furthermore, if vehicle V does not wish to use the service, or if vehicle V is equipped with a conventional in-vehicle unit instead of the in-vehicle unit 10 of this embodiment, the entry communication data received from the in-vehicle unit will not include information indicating intent. In this case, the service provision information notification unit 203 does not perform the process of adding service provision information to the entry communication data. Therefore, the entry communication unit 201 transmits entry communication data to the in-vehicle unit that includes only the data used for conventional entry processing (in accordance with conventional communication standards).

[0036] (ITS Spot Lane Server Functional Configuration) Referring to Figure 2, the functional configuration of the ITS spot lane server 22 will be described. The ITS spot lane server 22 comprises an ITS spot communication unit 221, an intention declaration information acquisition unit 222, and a service provision information notification unit 223.

[0037] The entrance communication unit 201 transmits and receives vehicle passage information (ITS spot communication data) based on a communication standard defined for vehicle passage information, to and from the onboard unit 10 of the vehicle V passing through the ITS spot via the ITS spot roadside antenna 23.

[0038] The intention declaration information acquisition unit 222 and the service provision information notification unit 223 have the same functions as the intention declaration information acquisition unit 202 and the service provision information notification unit 203 of the entrance lane server 20.

[0039] (Functional configuration of the exit lane server) Referring to Figure 2, the functional configuration of the exit lane server 30 will be described. The exit lane server 30 comprises an exit communication unit 301, a usage information acquisition unit 302, and a reception processing unit 303.

[0040] The exit communication unit 301 transmits and receives exit communication data via the exit roadside antenna 31 to the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V that has arrived at the exit toll booth of the toll road, based on a communication standard specified for processing toll payments.

[0041] The usage information acquisition unit 302 acquires service usage information regarding the use of services provided on toll roads from data included in the exit communication data received from the in-vehicle unit 10, specifically from data in the unused area not used by the communication standard.

[0042] The collection processing unit 303 calculates and collects the toll for vehicle V based on the exit communication data (exit processing). In addition, if the exit communication data received from the in-vehicle unit 10 includes service usage information, the collection processing unit 303 in this embodiment collects the service usage fees for the services used by vehicle V based on this service usage information.

[0043] (Example of processing by a fare collection system) Figure 3 is a first sequence diagram showing an example of the processing of the toll collection system according to the first embodiment. Figure 4 is a second sequence diagram showing an example of the processing of the toll collection system according to the first embodiment. The processing flow of the toll collection system 1 will be described below with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

[0044] [Pre-registration process] The pre-registration process will be explained with reference to Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, users who use paid services other than vehicle traffic on toll roads register their service payment information with the central server 40 (step S101). At this time, the user may register by operating an external device (car navigation system, smartphone, etc.) connected to the in-vehicle unit 10 in the vehicle V, or by accessing the web page provided by the central server 40 from a computer (PC, smartphone, etc.) at home or elsewhere. In this case, the central server 40 requests the service settlement server 50 to register the user's service payment information, and the service settlement server 50 registers this user's service payment information (step S102). The service payment information includes the user's identification information, credit card number or account number for paying the service fee, etc.

[0045] [Processing at the entrance toll booth] Next, with reference to Figure 3, an example will be described in which, when vehicle V arrives at the entrance toll gate, processing is performed to access the service along with the entrance processing. When vehicle V arrives at the entrance toll gate, the entrance lane server 20 initiates ETC communication with the vehicle's onboard unit 10 via the entrance roadside antenna 21 regarding the collection of tolls.

[0046] The communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 adds information indicating the user's intention to use the service to the entrance communication data D1 (step S201) when the user wishes to use the service, and transmits this entrance communication data D1 to the entrance lane server 20 (step S202).

[0047] Figure 5 shows an example of entrance communication data according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, the communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 inputs vehicle information, etc., related to the vehicle V on which the in-vehicle unit 10 is installed into the data area defined by the communication standard of the entrance communication data D1 to be transmitted to the entrance lane server 20. The vehicle information is the same as the data transmitted from conventional in-vehicle units to the entrance lane server, and includes, for example, the identification information of the in-vehicle unit 10 (in-vehicle unit ID), the identification information of the vehicle V (license plate information (NP information)), the type of vehicle V, etc.

[0048] Furthermore, the communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 adds intention information to multiple unused areas of the inbound communication data D1 that are not used in the communication standard, when the user wishes to use the service. The intention information is represented, for example, by turning on (to use) or off (not to use) the usage flag assigned to each service. The intention information may also include user identification information. The unused areas may be distributed throughout the inbound communication data D1, as shown in the example in Figure 5.

[0049] For example, a user indicates their intention to use a service associated with an IC card by inserting a service-specific IC card into the in-vehicle unit 10. In this case, the communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 adds the intention indication information to the input communication data D1 in step S201, by turning on the flag corresponding to the service read from the IC card and turning off the flags corresponding to other services. Also, when using a service-specific IC card, the user's identification information may be the IC card information recorded on this IC card.

[0050] Alternatively, the user may set which service to use by operating a button on the in-vehicle unit 10 or an external device (car navigation system, smartphone, etc.) that is connected to the in-vehicle unit 10 in a communicative manner. In this case, in step S201, the communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 adds to the input communication data D1 an indication of intent that turns on a flag corresponding to the service set by the user to use and turns off flags corresponding to other services.

[0051] Furthermore, the communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 adds a check digit such as CRC to the end of the declaration of intent information. For example, in conventional in-vehicle units that do not have the function to use the service, an undefined value may be stored in the unused area of ​​the input communication data D1. The check digit makes it possible to identify whether the data contained in the unused area is valid data (declaration of intent information) or an undefined value.

[0052] Next, the entrance communication unit 201 of the entrance lane server 20 performs the conventional ETC processing at the entrance toll gate (step S203). Also, the intention declaration information acquisition unit 202 of the entrance lane server 20 acquires intention declaration information from the entrance communication data D1 received by the entrance communication unit 201 (step S204). At this time, the intention declaration information acquisition unit 202 checks whether the acquired data is valid data using the check digit described above. If the acquired data is not valid data, the intention declaration information acquisition unit 202 may determine that vehicle V will not use any of the services.

[0053] Upon acquiring the intention declaration information, the service provision information notification unit 203 of the entrance lane server 20 adds service provision information indicating whether or not the service can be provided to the entrance communication data D2 (step S205). The entrance communication unit 201 transmits the entrance communication data D2 with the service provision information added to it to the in-vehicle unit 10 (step S206).

[0054] As shown in Figure 5, the entrance communication unit 201 inputs entrance information, etc., into the data area specified by the communication standard of the entrance communication data D2 to be transmitted to the on-board unit 10, for example, in step S203, which is a conventional ETC process. The entrance information is the same as the data transmitted from the conventional entrance lane server to the on-board unit, and includes, for example, the identification information of the entrance toll gate (toll gate number), the time when the vehicle V passed through the entrance toll gate, etc. Furthermore, if the entrance toll gate is equipped with a vehicle type identification device that identifies the type of vehicle V, the entrance information may also include the type of vehicle V identified by the vehicle type identification device.

[0055] Furthermore, in step S205, the service provision information notification unit 203 adds service provision information to multiple unused areas of the inbound communication data D2 that are not used in the communication standard. The service provision information is represented, for example, by the on (service available) or off (service unavailable) status of a flag assigned to each service. The unused areas may be distributed throughout the inbound communication data D2, as shown in the example in Figure 5.

[0056] The service provision information notification unit 203 adds service provision information with the in-driving power supply service flag turned on to the entry communication data D2 if the vehicle V indicates in the intention information that it intends to use the in-driving power supply service and this service is available on the toll road. On the other hand, if the vehicle V indicates in the intention information that it intends to use the in-driving power supply service but the service is not available, the service provision information notification unit 203 adds service provision information with the in-driving power supply service flag turned off to the entry communication data D2.

[0057] Furthermore, if the intention declaration information indicates that the user does not intend to use any of the services, the service provision information notification unit 203 adds service provision information with all service flags turned off to the entrance communication data D2. The service provision information notification unit 203 may also add service provision information with all service flags turned off to the entrance communication data D2 if the intention declaration information is determined to be invalid data based on the check digit. In this case, since conventional in-vehicle devices do not refer to the unused area of ​​the entrance communication data D2, the service provision information will be discarded without being used by conventional in-vehicle devices. As a result, the entrance lane server 20 and the center server 40 can correctly control the vehicle V, which does not have the functionality to use the services, so as not to provide services on the toll road.

[0058] Furthermore, the service provision information notification unit 203 adds a check digit such as CRC to the end of the service provision information. For example, at toll booths at the entrance of toll roads where no service is provided, a conventional entrance lane server is installed, and an undefined value may be stored in the unused area of ​​the entrance communication data D2 transmitted by the conventional entrance lane server. The check digit makes it possible to identify whether the data contained in the unused area is valid data (service provision information) or an undefined value.

[0059] Next, the service processing unit 102 of the in-vehicle unit 10 acquires service provision information contained in the ingress communication data D2 received by the communication processing unit 101. At this time, the service processing unit 102 checks whether the acquired data is valid data using the check digit described above. If the acquired data is valid data and the service is available, the service processing unit 102 determines that an agreement to use the service has been made and activates the function to use this service (step S207). If the service is not available, the service processing unit 102 terminates processing without performing step S207.

[0060] Furthermore, if the acquired data is not valid data, the service processing unit 102 determines that all services are unavailable and terminates processing without performing step S207. As a result, even if vehicle V passes through an entrance toll gate where a conventional entrance lane server is installed, the on-board unit 10 can correctly recognize that services are unavailable on this toll road, and thus avoids activating functions for using the services, thereby suppressing unnecessary power consumption.

[0061] Furthermore, the service provision information notification unit 203 of the entrance lane server 20 notifies the center server 40 of the services to be used by vehicle V after steps S205 to S206, or in parallel with these steps (step S208). At this time, the service provision information notification unit 203 may also notify the center server 40 of the user's identification information and information to identify vehicle V (vehicle V's NP information or onboard device ID). The center server 40 registers this vehicle V for service use (step S209). For example, the center server 40 notifies the service provision system 60 of the information to identify vehicle V. Then, when this vehicle V arrives in the service provision section, the service provision system 60 starts providing the service (for example, supplying power from the power supply panel 61). If vehicle V does not use the service (does not intend to use the service, or does not have the function to use the service), the service provision information notification unit 203 does not perform the processing in steps S208 to S209.

[0062] [ITS Spot Processing] Figure 3 shows an example in which the entrance lane server 20 performs a series of processes to enable the vehicle to use the service with the on-board unit 10 when vehicle V arrives at the entrance toll gate, but it is not limited to this. In other embodiments, when vehicle V passes an ITS spot upstream of the service provision section, the ITS spot lane server 22 may perform the processes shown in Figure 3 (steps S204-S206, S208-S209) instead of the entrance lane server 20.

[0063] Figure 6 shows an example of ITS spot communication data according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 6, the communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 inputs vehicle information, etc., related to the vehicle V on which the in-vehicle unit 10 is installed into the data area defined by the communication standard of the ITS spot communication data D3 to be transmitted to the ITS spot lane server 22. The vehicle information is the same as the data transmitted from conventional in-vehicle units to the ITS spot lane server, and includes, for example, the identification information of the in-vehicle unit 10 (in-vehicle unit ID), the identification information of the vehicle V (NP information), the type of vehicle V, etc. Also, in steps S201 to S202 of Figure 3, the communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 transmits the ITS spot communication data D3 with intention declaration information added to the unused area to the ITS spot lane server 22.

[0064] In step S203, the ITS spot communication unit 221 of the ITS spot lane server 22 performs conventional ETC processing at the ITS spot. In step S204, the intention declaration information acquisition unit 222 of the ITS spot lane server 22 acquires intention declaration information from the ITS spot communication data D3 received by the ITS spot communication unit 221. In step S205, the service provision information notification unit 223 of the ITS spot lane server 22 adds service provision information to the ITS spot communication data D4 indicating whether or not the service can be provided. In step S206, the ITS spot communication unit 221 transmits the ITS spot communication data D4 with the added service provision information to the in-vehicle unit 10. As shown in Figure 6, the ITS spot communication data D4 has ITS spot information and the like input into the data area defined by the communication standard. ITS spot information is the same data transmitted from the conventional ITS spot lane server to the in-vehicle unit, and includes, for example, ITS spot identification information (ITS spot number) and the time when vehicle V passed the ITS spot.

[0065] In step S207, the service processing unit 102 of the in-vehicle unit 10 acquires service provision information contained in the ITS spot communication data D4, and if the service is available, it activates the function for using this service.

[0066] In step S208, the service provision information notification unit 223 of the ITS spot lane server 22 notifies the center server 40 about the services that vehicle V will use. Then, in step S209, the center server 40 registers vehicle V for service use.

[0067] As described above, when processing is performed at an ITS spot to enable the use of the service, a conventional entrance lane server may be installed at the entrance toll gate, and only conventional entrance processing may be performed.

[0068] [Processing at the exit toll gate] Next, referring to Figure 4, we will explain an example in which, when vehicle V arrives at the exit toll gate, the exit processing (toll collection processing) and the service fee collection processing are performed together. When vehicle V arrives at the exit toll gate, the exit lane server 30 initiates ETC communication regarding toll collection with the vehicle's onboard unit 10 via the exit roadside antenna 31.

[0069] The service processing unit 102 of the in-vehicle unit 10 adds service usage information related to the services used by the vehicle V to the exit communication data D5 that is transmitted to the exit lane server 30 (step S301).

[0070] Figure 7 shows an example of exit communication data according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 7, the communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 inputs vehicle information related to the vehicle V on which the in-vehicle unit 10 is installed, entrance information acquired at the entrance toll gate, toll payment information, etc., into the data area specified by the communication standard of the exit communication data D5 to be transmitted to the exit lane server 30. The vehicle information is the same as the data transmitted from conventional in-vehicle units to the entrance lane server, and includes, for example, the identification information of the in-vehicle unit 10 (in-vehicle unit ID) and the type of vehicle V. The toll payment information includes the credit card number, account number, etc., used for paying tolls.

[0071] Furthermore, the service processing unit 102 of the in-vehicle unit 10 adds service usage information to multiple unused areas of the exit communication data D5 that are not used in the communication standard. The service usage information includes, for example, the type of service used by vehicle V and user identification information. In the case of a metered billing service, it may also include the amount of service used by vehicle V (for example, the total amount of power received for the in-driving power supply service). The service processing unit 102 may create the usage information when vehicle V arrives at the exit toll gate, or it may create the usage information before vehicle V arrives at the exit toll gate (for example, each time vehicle V uses a service). The unused areas may be distributed and provided in the exit communication data D5 as shown in the example in Figure 7.

[0072] Furthermore, if vehicle V is not using the service, the service processing unit 102 will not add service usage information to the exit communication data D5. Alternatively, the service processing unit 102 may add service usage information to the exit communication data D5 indicating that the service is not being used.

[0073] Furthermore, the service processing unit 102 adds a check digit such as CRC to the end of the usage information. For example, in conventional in-vehicle devices that do not have the function to use the service, an undefined value may be stored in the unused area of ​​the input communication data D1. The check digit makes it possible to identify whether the data contained in the unused area is valid data (usage information) or an undefined value.

[0074] Next, the communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 transmits the exit communication data D5 to the exit lane server 30 (step S302).

[0075] The toll collection processing unit 303 of the exit lane server 30 calculates the toll for vehicle V based on the exit communication data D5 received by the exit communication unit 301 (step S303). For example, the toll collection processing unit 303 calculates the toll according to the vehicle V's mileage (travel section) and vehicle type from the entrance information and vehicle type included in the exit communication data D5. Then, the toll collection processing unit 303 notifies the on-board unit 10 of the calculated toll (step S304). For example, the toll booth number of the exit toll booth and the calculated toll, etc., are entered into the data area defined by the communication standard of the exit communication data D6 in Figure 7 and transmitted (notified) to the on-board unit 10. After step S304, or in parallel with step S304, the toll collection processing unit 303 transmits the calculated toll and the toll payment information included in the exit communication data D5 to the center server 40 to request toll settlement processing (step S305). The center server 40 receives a request from the exit lane server 30 and processes the payment of the toll (step S306). Note that the processing in steps S303 to S306 is the same as the exit processing (toll collection processing) in the conventional ETC system.

[0076] Furthermore, the usage information acquisition unit 302 of the exit lane server 30 acquires usage information contained in the exit communication data D5 and determines whether vehicle V has used the service based on the acquired usage information (step S307). At this time, the usage information acquisition unit 302 checks whether the acquired data is valid data (usage information) using the check digit described above. If the acquired data is not valid data, the usage information acquisition unit 302 may determine that vehicle V has not used any of the services.

[0077] If vehicle V is not using the service (step S307; NO), the toll collection processing unit 303 of the exit lane server 30 terminates processing.

[0078] On the other hand, if vehicle V uses the service (step S307; YES), the receipt processing unit 303 of the exit lane server 30 requests the in-vehicle unit 10 to disable the service function (step S308). In response, the service processing unit 102 of the in-vehicle unit 10 disables the function of this service (step S309).

[0079] Furthermore, the receipt processing unit 303 of the exit lane server 30 transmits the usage information obtained from the exit communication data D5 to the center server 40 and requests payment processing for the usage fee (step S310). The center server 40 transmits the usage information received from the exit lane server 30 to the service payment server 50 and cancels the service usage registration for this vehicle V (step S311). The service payment server 50 calculates the usage fee based on the usage information received from the center server 40 and performs payment processing (step S312). For example, if it is a pay-per-use service, the service payment server 50 calculates the usage fee by multiplying the amount of service used in the usage information by the service unit price. If it is a flat-rate service, the service payment server 50 refers to the fee table for each service type and calculates the usage fee according to the service type included in the usage information. Then, the service payment server 50 identifies the previously registered service payment information from the user identification information included in the usage information and performs payment processing for the calculated usage fee.

[0080] (modified version) Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing of a toll collection system according to a modified version of the first embodiment. Figure 4 shows an example in which the service settlement server 50 calculates the service usage fee for vehicle V based on usage information, but it is not limited to this. For example, as shown in Figure 8, the usage fee may be calculated at the exit lane server 30.

[0081] The processes in steps S401 to S407 in Figure 8 are the same as the processes in steps S301 to S307 in Figure 4.

[0082] In this modified example, when the exit lane server 30 determines that vehicle V has used the service (step S407; YES), the collection processing unit 303 calculates the service usage fee for vehicle V based on the usage information (step S408). Specifically, the collection processing unit 303 calculates the usage fee for vehicle V by referring to a pre-recorded fee table and service unit price for each service type, similar to the processing of the service settlement server 50 described above (step S312 in Figure 4).

[0083] Furthermore, the payment processing unit 303 notifies the in-vehicle unit 10 of the calculated usage fee (step S409). At this time, the service processing unit 102 of the in-vehicle unit 10 may notify the user of the service usage fee, etc., using the notification function of the in-vehicle unit 10 (speaker) or the notification function of an external device connected to the in-vehicle unit 10 (speaker, monitor, etc. of the car navigation system).

[0084] The processing in steps S410 to S412 is the same as the processing in steps S308 to S309 in Figure 4.

[0085] Furthermore, the receipt processing unit 303 of the exit lane server 30 transmits the usage information obtained from the exit communication data D5 and the calculated usage fee to the center server 40 and requests payment processing for the usage fee (step S413). The center server 40 transmits the usage information and usage fee received from the exit lane server 30 to the service payment server 50 and cancels the service usage registration for this vehicle V (step S414). The service payment server 50 processes the payment for the usage fee of vehicle V based on the usage information and usage fee received from the center server 40 (step S415).

[0086] In this way, the service settlement server 50 does not need to perform the calculation process for the usage fee. Furthermore, users can find out the service usage fee at the exit toll booth.

[0087] (Computer configuration) Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a computer according to the first embodiment. The computer 900 comprises a processor 901, main memory 902, auxiliary memory 903, and interface 904. The above-mentioned in-vehicle device 10, entrance lane server 20, ITS spot lane server 22, and exit lane server 30 are each implemented in different computers 900. The operation of each of the above-mentioned processing units is stored in the auxiliary memory 903 in the form of a program. The processor 901 reads the program from the auxiliary memory 903, expands it into the main memory 902, and executes the above processing according to the program. The processor 901 also allocates memory area in the main memory 902 to be used for the above processing according to the program.

[0088] The program may be for implementing a part of the functions to be performed by the computer 900. For example, the program may perform functions in combination with other programs already stored in the auxiliary storage device 903, or in combination with other programs implemented in other devices. In other embodiments, the computer may be equipped with a custom LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) in addition to, or in place 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.

[0089] Examples of auxiliary storage devices 903 include HDDs (Hard Disk Drives), SSDs (Solid State Drives), magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), DVD-ROMs (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), and semiconductor memory. The auxiliary storage device 903 may be an internal medium directly connected to the bus of the computer 900, or it may be an external medium (external storage device 910) connected to the computer 900 via an interface 904 or a communication line. Furthermore, if this program is distributed to the computer 900 via a communication line, the computer 900 that receives the distribution may expand the program into the main memory 902 and execute the above processing. In at least one embodiment, the auxiliary storage device 903 is a tangible storage medium that is not temporary.

[0090] (Effects and Benefits) As described above, the toll collection system 1 according to this embodiment includes an exit communication unit 301 that transmits and receives exit communication data D5 and D6 based on a communication standard defined for processing toll payments with an on-board unit 10 of a vehicle V that has arrived at an exit toll gate of a toll road; a usage information acquisition unit 302 that acquires service usage information regarding the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the exit communication data D5 received from the on-board unit 10 that is included in an unused area not used in the communication standard; and a collection processing unit 303 that collects the usage fees for the services used by the vehicle V based on the service usage information.

[0091] In this way, when a vehicle V uses a toll road service, the toll collection system 1 can send and receive service usage information for newly added services simultaneously with the communication data related to the toll collection process between the roadside equipment at the exit toll gate and the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V, without changing the existing communication standard for toll collection processing, and can automatically collect the service usage fee based on this information. On the other hand, at exit toll gates that do not provide services and are equipped with conventional roadside equipment, the unused area of ​​the communication data is not referenced, and there are no changes to the existing communication standard, so only the processing related to the collection of conventional tolls can be performed without any problems. In other words, conventional roadside equipment that only supports toll collection can continue to be used on toll roads that do not provide services, while service usage fees can be automatically collected at exit toll gates of toll roads that do provide services.

[0092] Furthermore, the toll collection system 1 includes an entrance communication unit 201 that transmits and receives entrance communication data D1 and D2 based on a communication standard defined for processing toll payments with an onboard unit 10 of a vehicle V that has arrived at the entrance toll gate of a toll road; an intention declaration information acquisition unit 202 that acquires intention declaration information indicating the vehicle V's intention to use the service from data contained in an unused area of ​​the entrance communication data D1 received from the onboard unit 10 that is not used in the communication standard; and a service provision information notification unit 203 that adds service provision information indicating whether or not the service indicated by the intention declaration information is available to the unused area of ​​the entrance communication data D1 that is not used in the communication standard that is transmitted to the onboard unit 10.

[0093] In this way, the toll collection system 1 can send and receive information indicating intent regarding newly added services simultaneously with the communication data related to toll collection between the roadside equipment at the entrance toll booth and the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V, without changing the existing communication standard for processing tolls. Based on this, it can confirm the intention to use the service and automatically process an agreement regarding the provision of the service and the resulting charges. On the other hand, at entrance toll booths that do not provide services and are equipped with conventional roadside equipment, unused areas of communication data are not referenced, and there are no changes to the existing communication standard, so only the processing related to the collection of conventional tolls can be performed without any problems. In other words, conventional roadside equipment that only handles toll collection can continue to be used on toll roads that do not provide services, while agreement to use the service can be automatically formed at entrance toll booths of toll roads that do provide services.

[0094] Furthermore, the intention information acquisition unit 202 determines that the vehicle will not use the service if the entrance communication data D1 does not contain any intention information.

[0095] In conventional in-vehicle devices that do not have the functionality to use the service, the unused area of ​​the inbound communication data D1 does not contain any valid data. Therefore, it is possible to correctly determine that the vehicle equipped with this device will not use the service without changing the processing of the conventional in-vehicle device. In other words, while allowing the conventional in-vehicle device to continue to be used, it is possible to automatically reach an agreement on service use with a new in-vehicle device 10 that is capable of using the service.

[0096] Furthermore, the toll collection system 1 includes an ITS spot communication unit 221 that transmits and receives ITS spot communication data D3 and D4 (vehicle passage information) based on a communication standard defined for vehicle passage information between the in-vehicle unit 10 of a vehicle V that has arrived at an ITS spot upstream of the service provision section, an intention declaration information acquisition unit 222 that acquires intention declaration information indicating the vehicle's intention to use the service from data included in the ITS spot communication data D3 received from the in-vehicle unit 10 that is not used in the communication standard, and a service provision information notification unit 223 that adds service provision information indicating whether or not the service indicated by the intention declaration information that vehicle V intends to use is available to the unused area of ​​the ITS spot communication data D4 to be transmitted to the in-vehicle unit 10 that is not used in the communication standard.

[0097] In this way, the toll collection system 1 can send and receive information regarding the newly added service simultaneously with the communication data related to vehicle passage information between the roadside equipment of the ITS spot and the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V, without changing the existing communication standard for vehicle passage information. Based on this, it can confirm the intention to use the service and automatically process an agreement regarding the provision of the service and the resulting charges. On the other hand, at ITS spots where no service is provided and conventional roadside equipment is installed, unused areas of the communication data are not referenced, and there are no changes to the existing communication standard, so only the conventional vehicle passage information transmission and reception process can be performed without any problems. In other words, conventional roadside equipment that only supports vehicle passage information transmission and reception can continue to be used on toll roads where no service is provided, while automatically forming an agreement for service use at ITS spots on toll roads where services are available.

[0098] Furthermore, the intention information acquisition unit 222 determines that the vehicle will not use the service if the intention information is not included in the ITS spot communication data D3.

[0099] In conventional in-vehicle devices that do not have the functionality to use the service, the unused area of ​​ITS spot communication data D3 does not contain any valid data. Therefore, it is possible to correctly determine that the vehicle equipped with this device will not use the service without changing the processing of the conventional in-vehicle device. In other words, while allowing the conventional in-vehicle device to continue to be used, it is possible to automatically reach an agreement on service use with a new in-vehicle device 10 that is capable of using the service.

[0100] Furthermore, in the toll collection system 1, the collection processing unit 303 does not collect the usage fee from vehicle V if the exit communication data D5 does not contain service usage information.

[0101] In conventional in-vehicle devices that do not have the functionality to use the service, the unused area of ​​the exit communication data D5 does not contain any valid data. Therefore, it is possible to correctly determine that the vehicle equipped with this device is not using the service without changing the processing of the conventional in-vehicle device. In other words, it is possible to continue using the conventional in-vehicle device while automatically setting up a new in-vehicle device 10 that can use the service and processing the collection of service usage fees.

[0102] <Second Embodiment> The second embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 10-12. Components common to the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and their detailed descriptions are omitted. In the first embodiment, an example was described in which the service usage fee is collected at an exit toll gate. In this embodiment, instead of an exit toll gate, the service usage fee may be collected at an ITS spot located downstream of the service provision section.

[0103] Figure 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of each part of the toll collection system according to the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 10, the ITS spot lane server 22 further comprises a usage information acquisition unit 224 and a collection processing unit 225. The usage information acquisition unit 224 has the same function as the usage information acquisition unit 302 of the exit lane server 30 according to the first embodiment. The collection processing unit 225 has the function of collecting service usage fees, which is one of the functions of the collection processing unit 303 of the exit lane server 30 according to the first embodiment. In this embodiment, an exit lane server that performs only conventional ETC processing may be provided at the exit toll gate.

[0104] Figure 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing of the toll collection system according to the second embodiment. Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of ITS spot communication data according to the second embodiment. The processing flow of the toll collection system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 11 to 12.

[0105] When vehicle V arrives at an ITS spot downstream of the service area, the ITS spot lane server 22 initiates ETC communication with the vehicle's onboard unit 10 via the ITS spot roadside antenna 23. At this time, the communication processing unit 101 of the onboard unit 10 inputs vehicle information and other data related to vehicle V, in which the onboard unit 10 is installed, into the data area specified in the communication standard of the ITS spot communication data D7 (Figure 12) to be transmitted to the ITS spot lane server 22. The contents of the data area specified in the communication standard of the ITS spot communication data D7 are the same as those of the ITS spot communication data D3 in Figure 6.

[0106] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 12, the communication processing unit 101 of the in-vehicle unit 10 adds service usage information to multiple unused areas of the ITS spot communication data D7 that are not used in the communication standard (step S501). This process is the same as the process in step S301 in Figure 4. Then, the communication processing unit 101 transmits the ITS spot communication data D7 with the added service usage information to the ITS spot lane server 22 (step S502).

[0107] The ITS spot communication unit 221 of the ITS spot lane server 22 performs conventional ETC processing at the ITS spot based on the received ITS spot communication data D7 (step S503), and transmits ITS spot communication data D8 (Figure 12) (step S504). The content of ITS spot communication data D8 is the same as that of ITS spot communication data D4 in Figure 6.

[0108] Furthermore, the usage information acquisition unit 224 of the ITS spot lane server 22 acquires usage information contained in the received ITS spot communication data D7, and determines whether vehicle V has used the service based on the acquired usage information (step S505). The process in step S505 is the same as the process in step S307 in Figure 4.

[0109] If vehicle V is not using the service (step S505; NO), the receipt processing unit 225 of the ITS spot lane server 22 terminates without performing any processing.

[0110] On the other hand, if vehicle V uses the service (step S505; YES), the reception processing unit 225 of the ITS spot lane server 22 requests the in-vehicle unit 10 to disable the service function (step S506). Then, the service processing unit 102 of the in-vehicle unit 10 disables the function of this service (step S507). These steps S506 to S507 are the same as the steps S308 to S309 in Figure 4.

[0111] Furthermore, the reception processing unit 225 of the ITS spot lane server 22 transmits the usage information obtained from the ITS spot communication data D7 to the center server 40 and requests payment processing for the usage fee (step S508). The center server 40 transmits the usage information received from the ITS spot lane server 22 to the service payment server 50 and cancels the service usage registration for this vehicle V (step S509). The service payment server 50 calculates the usage fee based on the usage information received from the center server 40 and processes the payment (step S510). The processing in steps S509 to S510 is the same as the processing in steps 311 to S312 in Figure 4.

[0112] This allows for the collection of service fees at the ITS spot downstream of the service area immediately after vehicle V uses the service. In this case, the toll fee will be collected at the exit toll gate, as with the conventional ETC system.

[0113] In addition, similar to the modified version of the first embodiment, the receipt processing unit 225 of the ITS spot lane server 22 may calculate the usage fee (step S408 in Figure 8) and notify the in-vehicle device 10 of the usage fee (step S409 in Figure 8). In other words, in the modified version of the first embodiment described above, the processing in steps S407 to S410 and S413 in Figure 8 may be interpreted as being performed by the ITS spot lane server 22 instead of the exit lane server 30. By doing so, the service settlement server 50 does not need to perform the processing of calculating the usage fee. Furthermore, the user can find out the service usage fee immediately after finishing using the service.

[0114] <Other Embodiments> Although one embodiment has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to that described above, and various design changes are possible. In other embodiments, the order of the above-described processes may be changed as appropriate. Also, some processes may be executed in parallel.

[0115] <Note> The above-described embodiment can be understood, for example, as follows:

[0116] (1) According to the first embodiment, the toll collection system 1 includes an exit communication unit 301 that transmits and receives exit communication data D5 and D6 based on a communication standard specified for processing toll payments with an onboard unit 10 of a vehicle V that has arrived at an exit toll gate of a toll road; a usage information acquisition unit 302 that acquires service usage information regarding the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the exit communication data D5 received from the onboard unit 10 that is included in an unused area not used in the communication standard; and a collection processing unit 303 that collects the usage fees for the services used by the vehicle V based on the service usage information.

[0117] In this way, when a vehicle V uses a toll road service, the toll collection system 1 can send and receive service usage information for newly added services simultaneously with the communication data related to the toll collection process between the roadside equipment at the exit toll gate and the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V, without changing the existing communication standard for toll collection processing, and can automatically collect the service usage fee based on this information. On the other hand, at exit toll gates that do not provide services and are equipped with conventional roadside equipment, the unused area of ​​the communication data is not referenced, and there are no changes to the existing communication standard, so only the processing related to the collection of conventional tolls can be performed without any problems. In other words, conventional roadside equipment that only supports toll collection can continue to be used on toll roads that do not provide services, while service usage fees can be automatically collected at exit toll gates of toll roads that do provide services.

[0118] (2) According to the second embodiment, in the toll collection system 1 according to the first embodiment, the collection processing unit 303 does not collect the usage fee from the vehicle V if the exit communication data D5 does not contain service usage information.

[0119] In conventional in-vehicle devices that do not have the functionality to use the service, the unused area of ​​the exit communication data D5 does not contain any valid data. Therefore, it is possible to correctly determine that the vehicle equipped with this device is not using the service without changing the processing of the conventional in-vehicle device. In other words, it is possible to continue using the conventional in-vehicle device while automatically setting up a new in-vehicle device 10 that can use the service and processing the collection of service usage fees.

[0120] (3) According to the third embodiment, the toll collection system 1 includes an ITS spot communication unit 221 that transmits and receives vehicle passage information D7 and D8 based on a communication standard defined for vehicle passage information with an onboard unit 10 of a vehicle V that has arrived at an ITS spot downstream of the service provision section of a toll road; a usage information acquisition unit 224 that acquires service usage information regarding the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the vehicle passage information D7 received from the onboard unit 10, specifically from data included in an unused area not used in the communication standard; and a collection processing unit 225 that collects the usage fee for the services used by the vehicle V based on the service usage information.

[0121] In this way, the toll collection system 1 can collect the usage fee at the ITS spot immediately after the vehicle V uses the service. Furthermore, since service usage information can be sent and received without changing the communication standard of the communication data at the ITS spot, the system can collect service usage fees from the in-vehicle unit 10 that supports the service, and can also communicate without problems with conventional in-vehicle units that do not support the service.

[0122] (4) According to the fourth aspect, in the toll collection system 1 according to the third aspect, the collection processing unit 225 does not collect the usage fee from the vehicle V if the vehicle passage information D7 does not include service usage information.

[0123] In conventional in-vehicle devices that do not have the functionality to use the service, no valid data is included in the unused area of ​​the vehicle passage information D7. Therefore, it is possible to correctly determine that a vehicle equipped with this device is not using the service without changing the processing of the conventional in-vehicle device. In other words, it is possible to continue using the conventional in-vehicle device while automatically setting up a new in-vehicle device 10 that can use the service and processing the collection of service usage fees.

[0124] (5) According to the fifth embodiment, the toll collection system 1 according to any one of the first to fourth embodiments further comprises: an entrance communication unit 201 that transmits and receives entrance communication data D1 and D2 based on a communication standard specified for processing toll payments with an onboard unit 10 of a vehicle V that has arrived at the entrance toll gate of a toll road; an intention declaration information acquisition unit 202 that acquires intention declaration information indicating the vehicle V's intention to use the service from data contained in an unused area of ​​the entrance communication data D1 received from the onboard unit 10 that is not used in the communication standard; and a service provision information notification unit 203 that adds service provision information indicating whether or not the service indicated by the intention declaration information that the vehicle V intends to use is available to the unused area of ​​the entrance communication data D2 that is not used in the communication standard to be transmitted to the onboard unit 10.

[0125] In this way, the toll collection system 1 can send and receive information indicating intent regarding newly added services simultaneously with the communication data related to toll collection between the roadside equipment at the entrance toll booth and the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V, without changing the existing communication standard for processing tolls. Based on this, it can confirm the intention to use the service and automatically process an agreement regarding the provision of the service and the resulting charges. On the other hand, at entrance toll booths that do not provide services and are equipped with conventional roadside equipment, unused areas of communication data are not referenced, and there are no changes to the existing communication standard, so only the processing related to the collection of conventional tolls can be performed without any problems. In other words, conventional roadside equipment that only handles toll collection can continue to be used on toll roads that do not provide services, while agreement to use the service can be automatically formed at entrance toll booths of toll roads that do provide services.

[0126] (6) According to the sixth aspect, in the toll collection system 1 relating to the fifth aspect, the intention information acquisition unit 202 determines that the vehicle V will not use the service if the entrance communication data D1 does not contain intention information.

[0127] In conventional in-vehicle devices that do not have the functionality to use the service, the unused area of ​​the inbound communication data D1 does not contain any valid data. Therefore, it is possible to correctly determine that the vehicle equipped with this device will not use the service without changing the processing of the conventional in-vehicle device. In other words, while allowing the conventional in-vehicle device to continue to be used, it is possible to automatically reach an agreement on service use with a new in-vehicle device 10 that is capable of using the service.

[0128] (7) According to the seventh embodiment, the toll collection system 1 according to any one of the first to fourth embodiments further comprises: an ITS spot communication unit 221 that transmits and receives vehicle passage information D3 and D4 based on a communication standard defined for vehicle passage information between the ITS spot 10 of a vehicle V that has arrived at an ITS spot upstream of the service provision section where the service is provided; an intention declaration information acquisition unit 222 that acquires intention declaration information indicating the vehicle V's intention to use the service from data in an unused area of ​​the vehicle passage information D3 received from the onboard unit 10 that is not used in the communication standard; and a service provision information notification unit 223 that adds service provision information indicating whether or not the service indicated by the intention declaration information that the vehicle V intends to use is available to the unused area of ​​the vehicle passage information D4 to be transmitted to the onboard unit 10 that is not used in the communication standard.

[0129] In this way, the toll collection system 1 can send and receive information regarding the newly added service simultaneously with the communication data related to vehicle passage information between the roadside equipment of the ITS spot and the on-board unit 10 of the vehicle V, without changing the existing communication standard for vehicle passage information. Based on this, it can confirm the intention to use the service and automatically process an agreement regarding the provision of the service and the resulting charges. On the other hand, at ITS spots where no service is provided and conventional roadside equipment is installed, unused areas of the communication data are not referenced, and there are no changes to the existing communication standard, so only the conventional vehicle passage information transmission and reception process can be performed without any problems. In other words, conventional roadside equipment that only supports vehicle passage information transmission and reception can continue to be used on toll roads where no service is provided, while automatically forming an agreement for service use at ITS spots on toll roads where services are available.

[0130] (8) According to the eighth aspect, in the toll collection system 1 according to the seventh aspect, the intention information acquisition unit 222 determines that the vehicle V will not use the service if the vehicle passage information D3 does not contain intention information.

[0131] In conventional in-vehicle devices that do not have the functionality to use the service, no valid data is included in the unused area of ​​the vehicle passage information D3. Therefore, it is possible to correctly determine that the vehicle equipped with this device will not use the service without changing the processing of the conventional in-vehicle device. In other words, while allowing the conventional in-vehicle device to continue to be used, it is possible to automatically reach an agreement on service use with a new in-vehicle device 10 that is capable of using the service.

[0132] (9) According to the ninth aspect, the toll collection method includes the steps of: sending and receiving exit communication data D5 and D6 based on a communication standard specified for processing toll payments between the onboard unit 10 of a vehicle V that has arrived at an exit toll gate of a toll road; obtaining service usage information regarding the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the exit communication data D5 received from the onboard unit 10 that is included in an unused area not used in the communication standard; and collecting the service usage fee for the services used by the vehicle V based on the service usage information. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0133] 1. Toll collection system 10 Onboard equipment 101 Communication Processing Unit 102 Service Processing Unit 20 Entrance Lane Server 201 Entrance Communications Department 202 Intention expression information acquisition unit 203 Service Provision Information Notification Department 21 Entrance roadside antenna 22 ITS Spot Lane Server 221 ITS Spot Communications Department 222 Intention expression information acquisition unit 223 Service Provision Information Notification Department 224 Usage information acquisition department 225 Receiving Processing Unit 23 ITS Spot Roadside Antenna 30 Exit Lane Server 301 Exit Communications Department 302 Usage information acquisition department 303 Receiving Processing Unit 31 Exit roadside antenna 40 Center Server 50 Service Payment Servers 60 Service Delivery Systems V Vehicle

Claims

1. An exit communication unit that transmits and receives exit communication data based on a communication standard specified for processing toll collection between the onboard unit of a vehicle arriving at the exit toll gate of a toll road, A usage information acquisition unit acquires service usage information regarding the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the exit communication data received from the in-vehicle unit, which is included in the unused area not used in the communication standard, A collection processing unit that collects the service usage fees for the services used by the vehicle based on the service usage information, A toll collection system equipped with [a specific feature / feature].

2. The collection processing unit shall not collect the service usage fee from the vehicle if the exit communication data does not include the service usage information. The toll collection system according to claim 1.

3. An ITS spot communication unit that transmits and receives vehicle passage information based on a communication standard defined for vehicle passage information between the ITS spot on the downstream side of the toll road service area and the onboard unit of a vehicle that has arrived at the spot, A usage information acquisition unit acquires service usage information regarding the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the vehicle passage information received from the in-vehicle unit, which is included in the unused area not used in the communication standard, and A collection processing unit that collects the service usage fees for the services used by the vehicle based on the service usage information, A toll collection system equipped with [a specific feature / feature].

4. The collection processing unit shall not collect the service usage fee from the vehicle if the vehicle passage information does not include the service usage information. The toll collection system according to claim 3.

5. An entrance communication unit that transmits and receives entrance communication data based on a communication standard specified for processing toll payments between the vehicle's onboard unit and the entrance toll gate of the aforementioned toll road, An intention declaration information acquisition unit acquires intention declaration information indicating the vehicle's intention to use the service from data included in the in-vehicle communication data received from the in-vehicle device, specifically from data in the unused area not used in the communication standard. A service provision information notification unit adds service provision information indicating whether or not the vehicle can provide the service indicated by the intention declaration information to the unused area of ​​the input communication data transmitted to the in-vehicle unit that is not used in the communication standard, Furthermore, A toll collection system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The unit that acquires the declaration of intent information determines that the vehicle will not use the service if the declaration of intent information is not included in the entry communication data. The toll collection system according to claim 5.

7. An ITS spot communication unit that transmits and receives vehicle passage information based on a communication standard defined for vehicle passage information between the ITS spot and the onboard unit of a vehicle that has arrived at an ITS spot upstream of the service provision section providing the aforementioned service, An intention declaration information acquisition unit acquires intention declaration information indicating the vehicle's intention to use the service from data included in the vehicle passage information received from the in-vehicle device, specifically from data in an unused area not used in the communication standard. A service provision information notification unit adds service provision information indicating whether or not the vehicle can provide the service indicated by the intention declaration information, to the unused area of ​​the vehicle passage information transmitted to the in-vehicle unit that is not used in the communication standard, Furthermore, A toll collection system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

8. The unit that acquires the intent information determines that the vehicle will not use the service if the vehicle passage information does not include the intent information. The toll collection system according to claim 7.

9. The process involves sending and receiving exit communication data between the vehicle's onboard unit and the toll collection equipment of a vehicle arriving at the exit toll gate of a toll road, based on a communication standard specified for processing toll payments. The steps include: obtaining service usage information regarding the use of services provided on the toll road from data included in the exit communication data received from the in-vehicle unit, which is included in the unused area not used in the communication standard; Based on the service usage information, the vehicle collects the service usage fee for the services it used. A method of collecting tolls that includes [a specific feature / feature].

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