RFID Vehicle Tag with Manual Occupancy Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current RFID tags for electronic toll collection systems lack the ability to manually adjust data messages based on vehicle occupancy, which is necessary for varying tolls in high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, as they either remain static or are disabled, failing to provide the necessary granularity in toll management.
Innovation Solution
An RFID tag with a user-input mechanism and visual and audible indicators that allows drivers to change the occupancy status, enabling the transmission of different occupancy states to the toll system, such as single, two, or three-or-more occupant modes, ensuring accurate toll collection without disabling the tag.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the RFID tag data message is kept static or disabled, then the tag simplicity and reliability are maintained, but the ability to vary toll amounts based on vehicle occupancy is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the Dynamics principle by making the RFID tag's data message dynamically adjustable rather than static. The tag includes a manually adjustable data field that allows the driver to change occupancy information (e.g., number of passengers) before passing through the toll booth. This enables the tag to adapt its transmitted data based on real-time vehicle conditions, resolving the contradiction between maintaining tag simplicity and enabling variable toll amounts based on occupancy.
2Reliability
If the RFID tag is disabled for single-occupancy vehicles, then toll evasion is prevented, but the one-to-one match between vehicle and transponder is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the Parameter changes principle by modifying the data parameter transmitted by the RFID tag rather than disabling the tag itself. The adjustable data field allows the system to change the occupancy parameter (e.g., number of passengers) while the tag remains active and functional. This maintains the one-to-one match between vehicle and transponder for enforcement purposes while enabling occupancy-based toll variations, resolving the contradiction between enforcement reliability and toll adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
An RFID tag for use in a vehicle for use in an electronic toll collecting system. The tag is capable of transmitting data to a tag interrogator indicating the occupancy status of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the tag has a user input and a visual and audible tag status indicator. The user input is used to change the occupancy status of the tag, wherein the occupancy status is a portion of a message sent by radio frequency to the interrogator when the vehicle passes through a toll area.