Vehicle Identification System Protocol Translation Gateway
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing road toll systems face inefficiencies due to the need for extensive hardware upgrades and resource-intensive changes when integrating multiple toll system operators with different messaging protocols, as each operator's tags function according to unique protocols, leading to compatibility issues and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle identification system that includes a central station, roadside readers, a lane controller, a mapping unit, and a correlation unit, which allows for the conversion of messages from one protocol to another, enabling seamless communication and eliminating the need for hardware upgrades by using reserved subsets of unique tag identifications and a correlation unit to map and reconstruct messages between different protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multi-protocol readers are introduced to handle messages from different toll system operators, then interoperability between multiple operators is improved, but the back office and lane controllers have to be physically upgraded which consumes a lot of resources and is very inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway as an intermediary component that translates messages between different protocols. The gateway receives messages from readers using various protocols and converts them to a standardized internal protocol for processing by the back office. This mediator approach allows multiple toll system operators to interoperate without requiring upgrades to the core back office and lane controllers, thus maintaining system simplicity while achieving versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct functional components: readers that interface with tags, a gateway that handles protocol translation, and a back office that processes standardized messages. By separating the protocol translation function into a dedicated gateway component, the patent avoids the need to upgrade the entire back office and lane controller infrastructure, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining adaptability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If each toll system operator distributes his own tags with different messaging protocols, then operator independence is maintained, but compatibility issues arise and extensive system overhauls are required
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway serves as a mediator that accepts messages from readers using different protocols from various toll system operators and translates them into a unified internal format. This allows each operator to maintain independence with their own protocols while the gateway ensures seamless integration and compatibility across the entire system, eliminating the need for extensive overhauls.
3Adaptability or versatility
If back offices and lane controllers are upgraded to handle multiple protocols, then multi-operator support is achieved, but resource consumption increases and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway acts as a resource-efficient intermediary that performs protocol translation in a centralized manner. Instead of upgrading multiple back offices and lane controllers to handle multiple protocols independently, the single gateway consolidates the translation function, significantly reducing overall resource consumption while maintaining multi-operator support.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway is designed as a universal component that can handle messages from multiple different protocols simultaneously. This multi-functional gateway replaces the need for multiple specialized upgraded systems, reducing resource usage while achieving the same multi-protocol handling capability across the entire toll system.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a vehicle identification system comprising a central station (81), a roadside reader (51) for wirelessly communicating with radio tags (41) carried by vehicles (3), a mapping unit (171) connected to the reader (51), and a correlation unit (19) connected to the mapping unit (171), wherein the correlation unit (19) is configured to correlate second-protocol tag identifications (TID2) to first-protocol tag identifications (TID1') from a reserved subset (s2) of first-protocol tag identifications (TID1), wherein the mapping unit (171) is configured to generate a new first-protocol message (71') upon receiving a second-protocol message (72) from the reader (51), and wherein the central station (81) is configured to receive and store first-protocol messages (71) from the reader (51) as well as new first-protocol messages (71') from the mapping unit (171) and to identify a vehicle (3). The invention further relates to a method for identifying vehicles by means of this system.