Toll Charging Logic for Multi-Device Vehicles Using MAC Address Correlation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicular tolling systems, multiple mobile devices in a vehicle often inadvertently charge each other's toll accounts due to lack of automatic differentiation, leading to duplicate toll fees, as they do not accurately determine which device is responsible for paying the toll.
Innovation Solution
A method where a server receives location reports from multiple mobile devices, evaluates correlations, and assesses toll fees based on common Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, determining whether to charge a single account or split the fee among devices that have read the same MAC address, with threshold speed and distance criteria to identify co-located devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multiple mobile devices in a vehicle each independently assess toll fees, then each device can autonomously determine toll responsibility, but duplicate toll charges occur because devices cannot differentiate which account should be charged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines location data, MAC address information, and speed data from multiple mobile devices into a unified analysis at the server. By merging these data sources and evaluating them collectively, the system determines that devices meeting specific criteria (correlated location reports, common MAC address, threshold speed) belong to the same vehicle, thus preventing duplicate charges while maintaining autonomous operation.
2Reliability
If the system charges a single toll fee to one account, then duplicate toll charges are prevented, but it becomes difficult to determine which specific device's account should be charged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary that receives location reports from multiple mobile devices, evaluates their correlations, and determines toll charging decisions. The server acts as a mediator that processes the complex identification logic (comparing location reports, MAC addresses, and speed data) centrally, thereby simplifying the individual device operations while ensuring accurate single-charge determination.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system requires manual passenger mode setting, then toll charging can be controlled, but users may forget to set it or prefer automatic determination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables mobile devices to automatically provide their location reports, MAC addresses, and speed data to the server without requiring manual user configuration. The system self-determines whether devices are in a vehicle together by evaluating their data correlations, thereby providing automatic differentiation and toll charging control without burdening users with manual settings while maintaining adaptability through the data-driven approach.
Data Source
AI summary
Mobile devices are each associated with a respective toll account and are also configured to periodically report their location and related information while traveling in a vehicle, which is used to determine any applicable toll fees. In order to avoid assessing the toll fee to each account, a server of a tolling service first identifies mobile devices that are traveling together based on the location information, and then determines which of the mobile devices, if any, has indicated that it is connected to the vehicle audio system. The account associated with the mobile device connected to the vehicle audio system will be assessed the full toll fee, and the accounts associated with the other mobile devices will not be charged. If there is no indication of being connected to the vehicle audio system, then the location information is used to correlate the mobile devices with a license plate image taken at a tolling location, and the account associated with the license plate number will be assessed the toll fee.