JP3365296B2 - Vehicle charging system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an on-vehicle charging processing device and an on-vehicle charging processing device, and in particular, information exchange such as toll collection is carried out by wireless communication between the vehicle and the ground side. The present invention relates to an on-vehicle charging processing device and an on-vehicle charging processing device for charging a vehicle user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Charges for a toll facility, such as a vehicle running on a toll road, are charged according to the vehicle type and the distance traveled on the toll road. In order to automatically collect charges at the entrance gate and exit gate of this toll road, a communication device having an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves to the road side as an interrogator for inquiring information about the vehicle (hereinafter, A communication device (hereinafter referred to as an on-vehicle device) having an antenna as a responder for replying to inquired information is provided on the vehicle, and the on-vehicle device and the on-road device are disposed. There is a road-vehicle communication system for wirelessly exchanging information with the vehicle.

For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-212794 proposes a technique for collecting a charge for a vehicle in consideration of the entry position to the toll road, the exit position of the toll road, and the history of the route through which the vehicle has passed. Has been done.

[0004]

However, when exchanging information using the road-to-vehicle communication system as described above, a roadside machine must be installed at the entrance and exit of a charging area such as an entrance gate or exit gate of a toll road. I have to. It is easy to install a roadside device if the chargeable area such as a toll road is one-dimensional, but if the area to be charged is defined by a wide area, etc. It must be installed, and the cost increases depending on the number of entrances and exits.

In view of the above facts, it is an object of the present invention to obtain a vehicle-to-vehicle charging processing device and an on-vehicle charging processing device which can charge a vehicle user with a simple structure. .

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a billing processing device for a vehicle according to the present invention is provided with a system in which a vehicle is present.
Detecting means for detecting position information indicating the location, and the corresponding means for corresponding with said location information with a predetermined map information, based on the corresponding results of the corresponding means, in a predetermined given area within the map information With respect to the corresponding charging target area, a determining unit that determines the charging target area that belongs to the existing position of the vehicle, and the position information , the existence information, and the determination result of the determining unit, are included in the charging target area. Obtaining history information of the vehicle including the staying time of the vehicle,
Generating means for generating charging information for the vehicle from a relationship of charging information with respect to a staying time within a predetermined charging target area. The presence information detecting means is
Date and time information of the day and current time can be acquired by the built-in clock.
It can be detected by and . At least a part of the charging target area includes a predetermined non-charging target reserved area, and the generating unit generates charging information for the vehicle in a charging target area other than the reserved area in the determination result of the determining unit. can do. The generating means is
It is possible to store in advance a table showing the relationship of the charging information with respect to the staying time of the vehicle in the charging target area, and use the table to generate the charging information. The generating means may generate the charging information by the vehicle speed in the charging area. The generating means may generate the charging information by the travel distance in the charging area.

[0007]

[0008]

[0009]

[0010]

[0011]

[0012] In the billing apparatus for pairs vehicles of the present invention, the detecting means detects the table to position location information the position where the vehicle exists. As the detecting means, a vehicle-mounted navigation system capable of indicating a route to a destination and displaying a map for driving assistance can be used. As is well known, this navigation system can easily detect the position of its own vehicle, for example, the position determined by the latitude and the longitude, using the GPS system. Further, the vehicle side is provided with a transmitting means such as a transmitting device for transmitting a signal including an identifier for identifying its own vehicle, so that the ground side detects the position information by receiving the transmitted signal. can do.

The correspondence means associates the position information detected by the detection means with the predetermined map information. In other words, since the position where the vehicle existed can be specified from the position information, this position, for example, a position determined by latitude and longitude, can be used on predetermined map information such as a map of the entire country of Japan or a map of a predetermined area of a prefecture. The vehicle can be adapted to.

[0014] determining means, based on the corresponding results of the corresponding means, with the charging area corresponding to a predetermined a predetermined area of the map information, the billing belonging to the location of the vehicle
Determine the target area . In addition, you may determine the entry state showing whether the charge target area vehicle has entered at least .
The position where the vehicle existed on the map information is corresponded by the correspondence means. A predetermined area corresponding to a predetermined charging target area is defined on this map information. Therefore, if it is determined whether or not the position where the corresponding vehicle exists on the map information is included in the charging target area, it can be determined whether or not the vehicle has at least entered the charging target area.
Thus, the determining means can determine, as the entry state, indicating whether or not the vehicle has at least entered the billing area.

The generating means generates charging information for the vehicle based on the position information , the existence information and the determination result of the determining means. That is, the history information of the vehicle including the staying time of the vehicle in the charging target area is obtained, and the charging information for the vehicle is generated from the relationship of the charging information with respect to the predetermined staying time in the charging target area. . For example,
Charges to be collected for existing vehicles are set in advance in the charging target area. Therefore, the charge to be charged for the vehicle is generated as the charge information.

As described above, in the charging processing device for vehicle,
Since the charging information for the vehicle is generated by associating the position of the vehicle detected by the detection means with the map information, it is possible to charge the vehicle user with a simple configuration.

The charging area is not always charged, but is set to a predetermined time or time zone, year / month / day / week,
Alternatively, a charge may be made for a combination of these. Therefore, based on the positional information, and a presence information detecting means for detecting the presence information representing the date and time when the vehicle was present in the chargeable area. By the presence information detecting means, it is possible to detect the presence information indicating the date and time when the vehicle exists in the charging area. The deciding means decides an entry state including the existing state of the vehicle in the charging area based on the correspondence result of the corresponding means and the detection result of the existence information detecting means. As a result, the charging information can be generated for the vehicle that has entered the charging target area only when the charging target is for the predetermined time or time zone, the year, month, day, the week, or a combination thereof.

Occasionally, the occupant (driver) may not be aware that the area where the vehicle is currently traveling is a chargeable area or is approaching the chargeable area. Therefore, in the vehicle-to-vehicle charging processing device,
A notification means may be further provided for notifying the vehicle of advance information indicating that the vehicle has approached or entered the charging target area when the vehicle approaches or enters the charging target area based on the position information. Thus, by further providing the notification means for notifying the vehicle of the advance information indicating that the vehicle approaches or enters the charging target area based on the position information when the charging target area approaches or enters the charging target area, On the other hand, when entering the charging target area or approaching the charging target area, it is possible to notify the passenger, and it is possible for the crew member to easily deal with the approach to the charging target area. it can.

The charging area may not be always charged, but may be charged for a predetermined time or time zone, year / month / day, week, or a combination thereof. Therefore, in the vehicle-to-vehicle charging processing device, the notification means can notify the advance notice information including the charging target time of the charging target area when approaching or entering the charging target area. In this way, when the notifying means notifies the advance notice information including the chargeable time of the chargeable area when approaching or entering the chargeable area, the passenger can enter the chargeable area. When approaching or approaching the charging area, it is possible to make a notification including the charging time of the charging area, and the crew member's response regarding entry into the charging area having the charging time. It can be easily done.

Here, the chargeable area may be a chargeable object depending on the number of approaching vehicles, that is, a congestion state, that is, a chargeable object when a predetermined congestion state is exceeded. So, before SL generating means, to determine the entry conditions, including the congestion state by the vehicle present in the billing within the target area
You may ask . In this way, if the entry state is determined including the congestion state, even if the chargeable area has different charges depending on the congestion state, the entry state includes the congestion state. In addition, it is possible to generate charging information for the vehicle according to the congestion state. It should be noted that the present invention can be easily applied even when the charges are different for a predetermined time or time zone, year / month / day / week, or a combination thereof.

The charge for the charging process is predetermined. Therefore, before Symbol generation means comprises a predetermined prestored memory means the price data corresponding to the entry conditions, by generating accounting information using the price data storage means, easy and optimum charging information to generate a
You may

[0022]

[0023] The above billing, I the remaining pitch information is stored
Can be Ru using the C card.

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The first embodiment automatically charges a vehicle (traveling vehicle) entering a pay facility (charging area) by using road-to-vehicle communication between an on-vehicle device and a road device. The present invention is applied to an automatic billing system for performing. The automatic billing system used in the present embodiment is a system for settlement of charges, etc. by communicating between an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and a roadside device installed on the ground side. is there.

FIG. 1 shows a conceptual configuration of the automatic billing system 10 of this embodiment. The automatic billing system 10 according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 32 and uses the GPS satellite 2.
GPS antenna for receiving signals from 0, 22, and 24 and ground wave antenna for ground wave communication (details will be described later)
And a general center 40 as a roadside device that is fixedly installed on the ground side and that includes a GPS antenna 42 for receiving GPS signals from GPS satellites 20, 22, and 24. Has been done. General center 40
Also has a terrestrial antenna 44 for terrestrial communication.

The vehicle-mounted device 30 includes the GPS satellites 20, 22,
The position of the own vehicle 32 is specified by the GPS signal from 24 and transmitted to the general center 40 by ground wave communication. The comprehensive center 40 performs a charging process (calculation) for the charging target area based on the received position of the vehicle 32, and transmits the result to the vehicle-mounted device 30. The vehicle-mounted device 30 collects the charge based on the received charging processing result. Note that the fee collection may be performed on the general center 40 side and only the result thereof may be transmitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the general center 40 installed on the ground side has a center control device 100.
The center control device 100 includes a CPU 102 and a RAM 10
4, a ROM 106 and an input / output port (I / O) 108, each of which is composed of a microcomputer, which are connected by a bus 110 so that commands and data can be exchanged. The ROM 106 stores processing routines described later.

A GPS communication device 120 having a GPS antenna 42 is connected to the input / output port 108, and a terrestrial communication device 12 having a terrestrial antenna 44.
2 is connected. The communication device 120 for GPS is GP
The position of the self center, that is, the general center 40 is specified by GPS signals from the S satellites 20, 22, and 24. The terrestrial communication device 122 is for communicating or providing information to the vehicle-mounted device 30 mounted on the vehicle by communication, and a wireless communication device is adopted. An example of this wireless communication device is an FM broadcast or an FM broadcast.
There are teletext, well-known radio wave communication, and telephone line communication such as mobile communication devices.

The input / output port 108 has a memory 1
24 is connected. This memory 124 stores a charge table 12 that stores charge information representing charges in the chargeable area.
4A, a map database 124B that stores map information for defining the charging target area, and a user management database 124C that stores individual information of users who can connect to the general center and should be managed.

A floppy disk unit (FDU) 11 into / from which a floppy disk (hereinafter referred to as FD) as a recording medium can be inserted / removed in / from the center control device 100.
2 is connected. It should be noted that processing routines and the like to be described later can read from and write to the FD using the FDU 112. Therefore, the processing routine described later may be recorded in the FD in advance without being stored inside the center control device 100, and the processing program recorded in the FD may be executed via the FDU 112. In addition, the center control device 10
A mass storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk device may be connected to 0, and the processing program recorded in the FD may be stored (installed) in the mass storage device (not shown) and executed. As a recording medium, C
There are optical discs such as D-ROMs and magneto-optical discs such as MDs and MOs. When using these, instead of or in addition to the above FDU, a CD-ROM device, MD device, MO
A device or the like may be used.

Next, the on-vehicle device 30 will be described. The vehicle-mounted device 30 used in the present embodiment is configured by applying the present invention to a navigation system that provides route assistance information to a driver with video and audio. The in-vehicle device 30 including the navigation system is mounted on the instrument panel of the vehicle 32 for communicating with the road device.

As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle-mounted device 30 including the navigation system according to the present embodiment has a bus 21.
0, a CPU 202, a RAM 204, a ROM 206, which are connected to exchange commands and data,
And a device main body 200 composed of a microcomputer including an input / output port (I / O) 208.
The RAM 204 is a backup ram and backs up (stores) the contents of the stored information even when the power is cut off. A floppy disk unit (FD device) 236 into / from which a floppy disk FD can be inserted / removed is connected to the input / output port 208. In addition, R
The OM 206 stores processing routines described below and various data.

The various data and processing routines, which will be described later, can be read from and written to the floppy disk FD using the FD device 236. Therefore, the processing routine described later may be recorded in the floppy disk FD in advance without being stored in the ROM 206, and the processing program recorded in the floppy disk FD may be executed via the FD device 236. In addition, a mass storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk device is connected to the device main body 200,
The processing program recorded on the floppy disk FD may be stored (installed) in a mass storage device (not shown) and executed. As the recording medium, there are optical disks such as CD-ROM and magneto-optical disks such as MD and MO.
CD-ROM device instead of or in addition to D-device 236,
An MD device, an MO device or the like may be used.

The vehicle-mounted device 30 including the navigation system of this embodiment can be connected to a vehicle local area network (not shown) via the input / output port 24.

The input / output port 208 has a vehicle-mounted GP.
The on-vehicle GPS device 220 having the S antenna 220A is connected, and the terrestrial communication device 222 having the terrestrial antenna 222A is connected. In-vehicle GPS
The device 220 uses the G from the GPS satellites 20, 22, and 24.
This is for identifying the position of the own vehicle 32 by the PS signal. The terrestrial communication device 222 is for communicating or providing information to the ground side through communication, and a wireless communication device is adopted. Examples of this wireless communication device include FM broadcasting, FM text broadcasting, well-known radio communication, and telephone line communication such as mobile communication devices. Therefore,
As the terrestrial communication device 222, a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone or a vehicle-mounted telephone device can be used, and wireless communication (telephone line is established between the vehicle and the telephone device outside the vehicle via the vehicle-mounted device 30). (Conversation through) can be possible.

Further, the input / output port 208 is connected to the memory 2
30 is connected. This memory 230 is a charge table 23 that stores charge information representing charges in the chargeable area.
0A, which includes a map database 230B that stores map information for providing route assistance information to the driver in video form.

Further, the input / output port 208 is provided with a display device 224 for providing route assistance information to the driver in the form of video, and a voice device 228 having a speaker 228A for providing voice information to the driver. The speaker device and the input device 226 such as a keyboard and a switch device are connected. The display device 224 can display map information. The audio device 228 is the device body 12
This is for converting an audio signal of either a digital signal or an analog signal output from the device into a drive signal for the speaker 228A and outputting the drive signal.

The data to be stored in the memory 230 may be stored in a storage medium such as a floppy disk FD or a hard disk device by using the FD device 236.

Furthermore, the input / output port 208 is equipped with an IC card read / write device 234 to which an IC card 232 storing charge balance information and the like can be attached and detached. The in-vehicle device 30 stores fixed data such as an ID code including a vehicle number and vehicle type information in advance in the RAM 204 or ROM.
Stored in 206, the IC card read / write device 2
34 refers to the charge balance information of the IC card 232 installed, and writes the charge balance information to the IC card 232. The IC card includes a prepaid card and a credit card.

The mounting position (mounting position) of the vehicle-mounted device 30
Is not limited to the instrument panel of the vehicle as described above, and may be a position where the antenna can communicate with the ground side, and may be, for example, in a vehicle such as a rear seat. The in-vehicle device 30 may have a separate structure including an in-vehicle device main body and an antenna. When the in-vehicle device main body and the antenna are separately configured as described above, only the antenna can be installed on the instrument panel or in the position in the rear seat direction as described above, and the mounting position information indicates that the antenna is It shall be registered for the installed position.

The vehicle-mounted device is always supplied with power from the vehicle-mounted battery when the ignition is turned on. Also,
It is assumed that the vehicle-mounted device can acquire the date and time information of the date and the current time by a built-in clock (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 32.

In the above description, the charge tables are stored in the memories of both the vehicle-mounted device 30 and the general center 40. However, when the charge information is obtained by the device side that performs the charge calculation of the charge target or by communication. It may be stored in the other device side, and may be stored in only one of the memories.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, the operation of the ground side, that is, the general center 40 will be described in detail. In this embodiment, the general center 40 is the vehicle 3
The information for the charging process is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 30 attached to No. 2.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the general center 40,
In step 300, GPS satellites 20, 22, 24
In step 302, the GPS signal is received from the self, that is, the reference position of the comprehensive center 40 (reference latitude / longitude P).
o) is obtained and GPS correction information is generated. This GPS correction information is obtained from the GPS satellites 20, 22 and 24.
This is for correcting when the signal error is large, and since the general center 40 is fixedly installed, G
This is because even if there is a change in the GPS signal from the PS satellites 20, 22, 24, this can be specified.

In the next step 304, the predetermined charging target area information is read and the GPS correction information is transmitted together with this charging target area information in the next step 306. This transmission can be performed by FM broadcasting or a telephone line.

The chargeable area information is determined by the chargeable area Area composed of a plurality of predetermined areas. For example, there is a configuration in which the area becomes smaller between the central area and the suburbs as the area gets closer to the central area. As an example of such a charging target area Area, as shown in FIG. 7, an area A which is a circular area at the center and an area which is adjacent to the outer periphery of the area A and is divided into four areas in a substantially concentric donut shape B, C, D, E, these areas B, C, D,
An approximately concentric doughnut-shaped area F adjacent to the outer periphery of E and an area G other than areas A, B, C, D, E, and F
It is configured by separating the ground side into seven. Each of these areas can be specified by the latitude and longitude and its shape.

As shown in FIG. 8, in area A, a plurality of positions on the boundary line between areas B, C, D, and E are defined, and a straight line passing through points at adjacent positions is defined to obtain a closed space. Can be determined by Specifically, an arbitrary position on the boundary line between the areas B, C, D, and E is set to the point A _i (a
_Xi , a _Yi ), a straight line passing through the points A _i and A _{i + 1} can be expressed by the following equation (1).

(Y−a _Yi ) / (x−a _Xi ) = (a _{Yi + 1} −a _Yi ) / (a _{Xi + 1} −a _Xi ) ... (1) Therefore, the area A is as follows. It only has to meet the conditions. (Y−a _Yi ) / (x−a _Xi ) − (a _{Yi + 1} −a _Yi ) / (a
_{Xi + 1−} a _Xi ) <0, where i = 1 to (m−1) m: the number representing the last position on the boundary line

The chargeable area information is defined by the chargeable area Area composed of a plurality of areas, but the charge amount can be different for each area. For example, the billing amount may be increased as it gets closer to the center of the city, the billing amount may be changed according to the number of times of use, the billing amount may be changed according to the congestion degree, or the billing amount may be changed according to the usage time. be able to. In the following description, the conditions that determine these charge amounts are referred to as calculation conditions (charge calculation conditions) for charging.

Table 1 below shows the first charging calculation condition.
There is an area entry count shown in the table showing the charges for each area.

[0052]

[Table 1] By setting as described above, the charging amount increases as the number of times of entry into the central portion of the charging target area increases.

Table 2 below shows the second charge calculation condition.
There is the area stay time shown in the table that shows the charges for each area.

[0054]

[Table 2] By setting as described above, the charge amount increases as the staying time in the center of the charge target area increases.

The third charging calculation condition is the area congestion degree shown in the table showing the charges for each area, and the fourth
The charging calculation condition of is the vehicle speed (may be the average vehicle speed) when traveling in the area shown in the table showing the charge for each area, and the fifth charging calculation condition is the table showing the charge for each area. There is a total distance traveled within the area indicated by.

By including the table based on the above-mentioned charging calculation conditions in the charging target area information, it is possible to specify the area and the charge of the charging target area.

Next, the operation of the vehicle-mounted device 30 will be described. Figure 5
As shown in, in the vehicle-mounted device 30 attached to the vehicle,
The following interrupt processing is executed every predetermined time (1 minute in the present embodiment), and information is received from the ground side, that is, the general center 40 in step 400. The information from the general center 40 is the chargeable area information and the GPS correction information as described above, and the next step 40
Judge whether the information received in 2 is the latest information,
If it is the latest information, the affirmative answer is obtained in step 402, and in the next step 404, the charging area Area is derived and the GPS correction information is stored.

On the other hand, when the received information is not the latest information, it is denied in step 402, the next step 406 receives the GPS signal from the GPS satellites 20, 22, 24, and the next step 408 shows the current information. The date and time (year, month, day, and time) are read, and in the next step 410, the position of the self, that is, the position of the vehicle 32 (latitude longitude P (t)).
Ask for. When the latitude / longitude P (t) is obtained, the stored GPS correction information can be used.

At the next step 412, the obtained latitude and longitude P
The area to which the latitude / longitude P (t) belongs is determined in the next step 414 by associating (t) with a previously stored map database. Then, in step 416,
The latitude / longitude P (t), the date / time t, and the area are stored as a vehicle existence history. Table 3 below shows an example of a list of vehicle existence histories.

[0060]

[Table 3] The "billing" column in the above table is an identifier indicating whether or not the billing process described below has been performed, and the "*" mark indicates that the billing process has been performed. .

As described above, the vehicle 32
The area in which was present is stored as a history together with the date and time.

Next, the billing process in the vehicle unit 30 will be described. The billing process is executed every predetermined time. This predetermined time is executed at a predetermined date and time such as every hour, a predetermined day of the week, a predetermined day and time of each month, and a predetermined year, month and day. The charging process may be executed by an instruction from the general center 40 side.

As shown in FIG. 6, in step 420, it is determined whether or not the conditions are matched by determining whether or not a predetermined date and time or an instruction from the general center 40 side is issued. If the conditions do not match,
When the result in step 420 is negative, this routine ends.

On the other hand, if the conditions match, step 4
If the result is affirmative (20), the history information is acquired in step 422. This history information is stored in step 416 of FIG.
3 is a list of vehicle existence history stored in (Table 3). In the next step 424, an arithmetic expression (billing calculation expression) is set. The arithmetic expression is determined by the above-mentioned arithmetic conditions. This calculation condition is a condition for determining the charge amount (charge calculation condition), and includes the number of times of area entry and area stay time. The charge calculation formula is determined by the calculation conditions. In the following formula (2), the charging calculation formula is shown as a general formula considering the area.

[0065] (charging _{amount) = f (N A, N} B, N C, N D, N E, N F, N G, N H, N I, N J, t) ··· (2) where, N _A , N _B , N _C , N _D , N _E , N _F , N _G :: Evaluation for areas A to _G (that is, the number of approach times and stay time for each area determined by the charge calculation condition) N _H : Congestion degree N _I : Vehicle speed (average vehicle speed) N _J : Total travel distance in area t: Date and time

At the next step 426, the charge is calculated by using the above-set arithmetic expression and history information. When the charge calculation is completed, the process proceeds to step 428, and the charging process is performed. This billing process is a process of subtracting the above-mentioned billing amount from the balance of the IC card 232.

For example, when the calculation condition is only the number of times of area entry, and the history information is from the starting point STP to the ending point EDP and is the route Ra or the route Rb, the charge amount is as follows. become.

Ra charge amount = 300x1 + 100x1 + 100x0 + 100x1 +
100x0 + 10x1 + 0x1 = ¥ 510 Rb charge amount = 300x0 + 100x0 + 100x0 + 100x1 + 100x0 + 10x1 + 0
x1 = ¥ 110 As described above, the charge amount is lower when the route is selected while avoiding the central portion.

Further, the calculation condition is only the area stay time, and the history information is from the start point STP to the end point E as shown in FIG.
When the route to the DP is the route Ra or the route Rb, the charge amount is as follows.

Charge amount of Ra = 150x2 + 90x4 + 90x0 + 90x2 + 90x
0 + 10x2 + 5x2 = ¥ 870 Rb charge amount = 150x0 + 90x0 + 90x0 + 90x2 + 90x0 + 10x7 + 5x2 =
¥ 260 As described above, the charge amount is lower when the route is selected while avoiding the central portion.

Next, a second embodiment will be described. In addition,
Since this embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that of the above-mentioned embodiment, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the charging process is performed for the vehicle that has entered the charging target area has been described. However, the vehicle may be parked without moving after the entering. Fees may be increased for such parked vehicles. For example, it is necessary to increase the charge for parking in a no-parking area. In addition, if you increase the fee for all vehicles, it will also be increased for parking lots of neighboring residents and companies that should not be increased originally, parking lots with independent fee system, etc. In such cases, it is necessary to relieve.
In the present embodiment, the charge is increased for the parked vehicle, and the vehicle that should not be increased is relieved.

In the present embodiment, the chargeable zone information for charging the parking fee is determined by the chargeable zone composed of a plurality of predetermined zones.

As shown in FIG. 9, as an example of the chargeable zone, a zone L1 of rank 1 (shaded area in FIG. 9) in the area near the intersection of the intersecting roads 50, 52 is provided around the zone L1. It is connected to the rank L2 zone L2 in the area around the adjacent roads 50, 52, the rank L3 zone L3 in the area of the alley 54 connected to the road 50 and substantially parallel to the road 52, and the road 52 and the alley 54. Shikatsu Road 50
And a zone L3 of rank 3 in an area of an alley 56 substantially parallel to. Each of these zones can be specified by the latitude and longitude and its shape.

In the area surrounded by the roads 50, 52 and the alleys 54, 56, there is a home area 64 which is a reservation zone excluded from the chargeable zone, and the other side of the home area 64 via the road 52. There is a reserved zone XX building parking area in the area, and a reserved zone XX department store parking area 62 on the opposite side of the area 64 from the intersection.
There is. The area 62 of the department store parking lot is charged independently and is excluded from the charging target. Other than this, there are public parking lots, contract parking lots, parking lots for focal points, amusement park parking lots, and the like. The area 64 of the XX building parking lot and the home area 64 correspond to the user's ID, and the parked vehicle can be specified in advance. In addition to this, there is a parking lot at home, a parking lot at work, and the like.

The chargeable zone information is defined by the chargeable zone composed of a plurality of zones, but the chargeable amount can be different for each zone. For example, the charge amount can be increased as the traffic volume increases. In the present embodiment, the conditions for determining these charge amounts are called parking conditions for charging.

As an example of the parking conditions, there are the ranks shown in the table showing the charges for each zone in Table 4 below.

[0078]

[Table 4] By setting as described above, the charge amount increases as the number of times the vehicle is parked in a zone with high traffic volume increases.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, the operation of the general center 40 will be described in detail. The general center 40 transmits information for billing processing to the vehicle-mounted device 30 attached to the vehicle 32. In this embodiment, the predetermined charging target area information in the above embodiment is read (step 30 in FIG. 4).
4) When the GPS correction information is transmitted together with the charging target area information (step 306 in FIG. 4), the charging target zone information is further used. Since the other points are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the vehicle-mounted device 30 will be described. The operation of the vehicle-mounted device 30 according to the present embodiment is performed in step 414 in FIG.
Since the processing up to this is the same, detailed description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, the current latitude / longitude P
When the area to which (t) belongs is determined (step 414 in FIG. 5), in the next step 430, it is determined whether or not the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off. This determination is to assume that the definition of parking of the vehicle 32 is when the engine is stopped. When the ignition switch is on, the vehicle is movable, so it is determined that the vehicle is not parked, and the determination is negative in step 430, and step 44
0 as in the above embodiment (step 41 in FIG. 5).
6), latitude / longitude P (t), date / time t, and area are stored as a vehicle existence history.

On the other hand, when the ignition switch of the vehicle is off, it is determined that the vehicle is parked, the affirmative determination is made in step 430, and the latitude / longitude P (t) thus obtained is previously stored in step 432. The zone to which the latitude / longitude P (t) belongs is determined while corresponding to the map database. In the next step 434, it is determined whether the determined zone includes a reservation zone and the latitude / longitude P (t) is included in the reservation zone. If the latitude / longitude P (t) is not included in the reservation zone, it is not necessary to reserve the parking fee, so the determination in step 434 is negative, and the process proceeds to step 440 to include the determined zone and the latitude / longitude. P (t), the date and time t, and the area are stored as a vehicle existence history. Table 5 below shows an example of a list of vehicle existence histories.

[0083]

[Table 5] The "zone" column in the above table was described as "reserved" when the zone was ranked and retained as described below.

On the other hand, if the latitude / longitude P (t) is included in the reservation zone, the determination in step 434 is affirmative, and in the next step 436, the ID of the vehicle 32 (or user I).
It is determined whether D) is an ID targeted for the reservation zone.
When the ID of the vehicle 32 is not included in the ID of the reservation zone, the parking charge does not need to be reserved, so the determination in step 436 is negative, the process proceeds to step 440, and the vehicle existence history is stored in the same manner as above. . When the ID of the vehicle 32 is included in the IDs to be reserved in the reservation zone, the parking charge needs to be reserved, so that the determination in step 436 is affirmative.
In the next step 438, the determined zone (step 432) is changed to information indicating the reserved zone, and the process proceeds to step 440, and the vehicle existence history is stored in the same manner as above.

As described above, the vehicle 32
The area and zone in which was present are stored as a history together with the date and time.

Next, the billing process in the vehicle unit 30 will be described. The billing process is executed every predetermined time. This predetermined time is executed at a predetermined date and time such as every hour, a predetermined day of the week, a predetermined day and time of each month, and a predetermined year, month and day. The charging process may be executed by an instruction from the general center 40 side. Further, since the charging process of this embodiment is substantially the same as the charging process of FIG. 6, the same parts will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 11, it is determined whether or not the conditions match (step 420), and if the conditions do not match, this routine is terminated, and if the conditions match, history information is acquired ( Step 422). This history information is
11 is a list (Table 5) of a vehicle existence history including zones stored in step 440 of FIG. Next, the charge calculation formula is set (step 424, formula (2)), and the charge for the area is calculated using the calculation formula and the history information (step 426).

At the next step 450, it is judged whether or not the rank of the same zone continuously exists as a history (continuous in time series) for a predetermined time (5 minutes in the present embodiment), and continuously. If it does not exist as a history, step 4
Denied at 50, step 456 without calculating parking charge
Then, as in the above-described embodiment, the billing process is performed only by the charge based on the arithmetic expression regarding the area (step 428 in FIG. 6).

On the other hand, if it continuously exists as a history record, an affirmative answer is obtained in step 450, and the process proceeds to step 452 to set a parking calculation formula. In the following formula (3), the parking calculation formula is shown as a general formula considering the area.

(Amount of parking fee) = g (W ₁ , W ₂ , W ₃ , _... , W _Z , t) (3) where W ₁ , W ₂ , W ₃ , .. ..., W _Z :: Evaluation for zones L1 to Lz (z: maximum number of zones) (that is, “5” from the number that continuously exists as history)
Value obtained by subtracting

In this parking calculation formula, reserved zones are excluded. Further, the parking calculation formula may change the parking charge amount according to the congestion degree or change the parking charge amount according to the date and time t.

In the next step 454, the parking charge is calculated using the parking calculation formula set as described above and the value in the zone column of the history information. When the charge calculation is completed, step 45
Proceeding to 6, charging processing is performed for the entrance fee and parking fee for the area. This charging process is performed by the IC card 2
This is a process of subtracting the calculated charge amount from the balance of 32.

As described above, in this embodiment, the parking fee can be charged for each predetermined zone. Also,
Instead of increasing the parking fee for all vehicles, we reserve for parking lots of neighboring residents and companies that should not be increased or parking lots with independent fee system, etc.
Can be rescued.

In the above embodiment, when the vehicle enters the charging area, when the vehicle approaches the charging area, when the vehicle enters the parking fee charging zone, the parking charge charging zone When the vehicle approaches the vehicle, it is preferable to notify the user by video, audio, or the like. By making the notification in this way, it is possible to prevent the user from being charged without being recognized. Further, it is preferable to notify the user of the expected charging amount or the charging amount before and after the charging process.

Next, a third embodiment will be described.
In the above embodiment, the case where the charging process is performed on the in-vehicle device side has been described, but in the present embodiment, the charging process is performed on the general center side. Since this embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the above embodiment, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, since the processing related to the charging processing is performed on the side of the integrated center, it is not necessary to generate the charging target area information on the side of the vehicle-mounted device. That is, the vehicle-mounted device stores and transmits the latitude / longitude P (t) and the date / time t as history information.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the vehicle-mounted device 30, the following interrupt processing is executed at predetermined time intervals (1 minute in the present embodiment), and G from the GPS satellites 20, 22, 24 is used.
The PS signal is received (step 406), the current date and time (year, month, day, time) is read (step 408), and the position of the vehicle itself, that is, the position of the vehicle 32 (latitude / longitude P (t)) is obtained. When obtaining the latitude / longitude P (t), GPS correction information may be acquired from the general center side and used.

At the next step 460, the date and time t and the latitude / longitude P (t) are stored as history information. It should be noted that the history information corresponds to the vehicle existence history shown in Table 3 with the area and charge columns deleted.

Next, the communication processing of the vehicle unit 30 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 14, in the in-vehicle device, the
The communication processing routine is executed, and in step 500, it is determined whether or not there is an inquiry from the general center. If there is an inquiry from the general center, affirmative determination is made in step 500, and in the next step 502, the stored history information is transmitted, and this routine is ended.
When this history information is transmitted, a signal including an ID code, which is an identification code including vehicle type information for identifying the own vehicle, is transmitted.

On the other hand, when there is no inquiry from the general center, the determination at step 500 is negative, and the next step 504.
At, it is determined whether or not a billing information notification instruction (details described later) has been issued from the general center. In the case of the notification instruction, the determination is affirmative in step 504, and in the next step 506, the charging information from the general center is notified.

Next, the processing on the general center side will be described. As shown in FIG. 13, in the general center 40, step 47
GP from GPS satellites 20, 22, 24 at 0
The S signal is received to obtain the reference position (reference latitude / longitude Po) of the comprehensive center 40, and after the GPS correction information is generated, the initial processing of reading the charging target area information is performed (steps 300 to 304 in FIG. 4).

At the next step 472, an inquiry is made to obtain a response from the vehicle-mounted device, and at the next step 474.
Then, it is determined whether the vehicle-mounted device 30 has responded. If there is no response, the process proceeds to step 492, and the inquiry is repeatedly executed until a predetermined time has passed.

When the vehicle unit 30 responds, step 474
Is affirmed, and in step 476, the transmission of history information including the ID code and the like is requested. The judgment of step 478 is repeated until the vehicle-mounted device 30 transmits the history information including the ID code and the like and the general center 40 receives the history information.
If received, the process proceeds to step 480. At step 480, each latitude / longitude P (t) included in the history information is made to correspond to the map database stored in advance, and the next step 48 is performed.
In 2, the area to which the latitude / longitude P (t) belongs is determined.
Next, in step 484, similarly to the above, an arithmetic expression (charging calculation equation) is set, and a charge is calculated using the set arithmetic expression.

At the next step 486, the step 484 is executed.
It is determined whether or not there is a charge based on the result of the calculation, and if the charge does not occur, the process proceeds to step 492. On the other hand, when the charge is generated, in the next step 488, the generated charge, that is, the charge is transmitted as the charge information to the vehicle-mounted device to instruct the vehicle-mounted device to notify the charge information. Next, in step 490, the charge is approved from the account related to the vehicle user determined by the ID code or the approval account such as a credit card.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the area and the like are obtained on the side of the general center, so that it is possible to reduce the calculation load of the vehicle-mounted device. Further, since the vehicle-mounted device has only to transmit the position of its own vehicle, the communication load can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, when a card or account capable of automatically executing the billing process is set, the notification can be given before the card or account is deducted from the payable card or account. Therefore, the user can easily determine whether or not payment of a charge such as parking for which a charge is incurred is charged with the card or account owned by the user.

[0106]

According to the present invention as described above, according to the present invention, corresponding to the position of the vehicle detected by the detecting means to the map information, because it generates the charging information for the vehicles, the entry and exit doorways etc. Without installing road equipment in all places ,
Can be the charging process for a vehicle user with easy single structure, there is an effect that.

[0107]

[0108]

[0109]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conceptual configuration of an automatic charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a general center installed on the ground side in the automatic charging system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle device in the automatic charging system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of information transmission processing executed in the general center of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of a charging target area determination process executed in the vehicle-mounted device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of a charging process executed in the vehicle-mounted device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an image diagram showing a charging target area.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example for determining a charging target area.

FIG. 9 is an image diagram showing an example of a chargeable zone according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process for determining a charging target zone executed in the vehicle-mounted device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of a charging process executed in the vehicle-mounted device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of information storage processing executed in the vehicle-mounted device according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of a charging process executed in the general center of the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a flow of communication processing of the vehicle-mounted device according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 GPS satellites 30 Onboard equipment 32 vehicles 40 General Center 42 GPS antenna 44 terrestrial antenna

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] And 1. A detecting means for detecting position information indicating the position where the vehicle exists, the corresponding means for corresponding with said location information with a predetermined map information, based on the corresponding results of the corresponding means, the Regarding the chargeable area corresponding to the predetermined area in the map information,
Determining means for determining the charging target area belonging to the existing position of the vehicle, and the vehicle within the charging target area based on the position information.
Presence information detection that detects presence information that indicates the date and time when both exist
Based on the output means, the position information , the existence information, and the determination result of the determination means, the history information of the vehicle including the staying time of the vehicle in the charging target area is obtained, and the predetermined charging target is determined. A billing processing device for a vehicle, comprising: a generation unit that generates billing information for the vehicle based on a relation between the billing information and the staying time in the area. 2. The presence information detecting means is adapted to
By acquiring the date and time information of the current time with the built-in clock
The charging processing device for vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the charging processing device is for detecting . 3. The vehicle includes a reserved area that is a non-chargeable object that is determined in advance in at least a part of the chargeable area, and the generation unit is the vehicle for a chargeable area other than the reserved area in the determination result of the determination unit. 3. The billing processing device for vehicle according to claim 1, wherein billing information for the vehicle is generated. 4. The generating means stores in advance a table showing a relationship of charging information with respect to a staying time of a vehicle in a charging target area, and generates the charging information using the table. The vehicle-to-vehicle charging processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Wherein said generating means, the billing apparatus for pairs vehicle according to claim 1 to claim 4, characterized in that to generate the charging information by the vehicle speed in the charging area. Wherein said generating means, the billing apparatus for pairs vehicle according to claim 1 to claim 5, characterized in that to generate the charging information by the travel distance in the charging area.