JP3956873B2 - In-vehicle balance reporting device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an in-vehicle balance notifying device for notifying a user of a balance of a prepaid card, and more particularly to an in-vehicle balance notifying device for a card having a storage medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an automatic toll collection system (hereinafter referred to as “Electric Toll Collection System”, hereinafter referred to as an “ETC system”) that can pay for a toll road without stopping the vehicle has started to operate. The ETC system uses an IC (Integrated Circuit) card called an ETC card, and fee information is exchanged by wireless communication between the roadside antenna installed at the toll booth on the toll road and the in-vehicle device attached to the vehicle. It is a mechanism that is performed. An ETC card used when paying a fee is a card with a built-in IC chip, and is issued by a toll road operator and a credit card company having a fee settlement contract with them. An IC card can also be provided with an application area other than the ETC in the IC built in the card. Currently, a drive-through and parking lot in a narrow-area communication system (Dedicated Short Range Communication System, abbreviated as DSRC system). It is also being considered for use in fee payment systems such as gas stations. In the ETC card, similarly to the conventional prepaid highway card, a service is provided in which the usage amount is paid in advance and a discount is provided by the prepaid fee.
[0003]
However, since usage history information such as usage date, location, usage amount, etc. is stored in the ETC card, and the balance is not stored, access to a specific homepage on the Internet to check the balance of the ETC card that has been prepaid In order to check the balance in the vehicle, a device having an external communication function is required. Further, every time there is a balance confirmation request from a user, it is necessary to connect to the Internet, and a communication fee is also required.
[0004]
Therefore, there is a navigation system in which a usage upper limit is set in advance and a warning can be given to the user when the usage upper limit is exceeded or the amount can be accumulated and confirmed (see Patent Document 1).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-202141 A (paragraph [0048])
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above navigation system, the charges are accumulated and stored in the navigation system when it passes through the ETC gate, so if you use an ETC card without passing through the ETC gate, There is a problem that an accurate balance in a specific ETC card cannot be grasped when used. In addition, since the usage fee is charged to the card owner and not to the in-vehicle device owner, the balance management in the navigation system that is the in-vehicle device is accurate balance management for each card. It is the current situation that cannot be done.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a vehicle-mounted balance that can report an accurate balance without a communication connection to the outside in a prepaid card or a card (storage medium) that can receive a prepaid service. An object is to provide a notification device.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is configured such that an amount is input by the amount input means, the input amount is stored in the balance storage means, and the amount and the storage medium obtained by the acquisition means are stored. The balance is calculated by the calculation means based on the stored use history information, and the calculated balance is notified by the notification means. Therefore, in the present invention, since the balance is calculated based on the usage history information in the storage medium, it is possible to notify the accurate balance without communication connection to the outside. In addition, pre-payment is valid for the owner of the card (storage medium), not the owner of the vehicle or the vehicle, so it is more accurate by directly acquiring the usage history information in the card. It is possible to notify the balance.
[0009]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle balance notifying device according to the first aspect, the balance storage means updates and stores the calculated balance. Thereby, the balance memorize | stored in a balance memory | storage means memorize | stores the notified amount of money.
[0010]
According to the invention described in claim 3, the usage history information acquired in the history storage means is stored, the stored usage history information is compared with the newly acquired usage history information by the comparison means, and the discrepancy is determined by the determination result. The amount of usage history information determined to be subtracted from the amount stored in the balance storage means. That is, it is determined that the usage fee after the previous balance is calculated by the mismatch determination is not reflected in the stored balance, and the amount not reflected in the balance is subtracted from the balance. Therefore, since the balance calculation process is performed only for unreflected charges, the calculation time can be shortened.
[0011]
Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 4, as a result of comparing the usage history information newly acquired from the storage medium with the usage history information already stored in the history storage means by the comparison means, there is matching usage history information. If not, the storage medium is excluded from balance calculation. In other words, when calculating the balance based on the balance stored in the balance storage means and the usage history information stored in the storage medium, only the storage medium that has previously stored the usage history information in the history storage means. Do. Thereby, it is possible to avoid erroneously calculating the balance for another storage medium that is not related to the stored balance, and to accurately report the balance. In addition, since several storage media can be discriminated, it is possible to use different storage media depending on the application.
[0012]
Further, according to the invention described in claim 5, the storage medium is one in which usage history information is written or read by an external infrastructure, and the acquisition means does not operate when such access is in progress. Features. That is, in the present invention, access from the acquisition unit to the storage medium is limited to a case where the storage medium is not accessed by the external infrastructure. Since the storage medium cannot permit two or more accesses at the same time, for example, when an ETC card is used as the storage medium, a situation occurs in which the storage medium cannot pass through the ETC gate while the acquisition unit is operating. Therefore, it is possible to give priority to access to the external infrastructure by not operating the acquisition unit during or immediately before access to the external infrastructure, such as during or just before passing through the ETC gate.
[0013]
According to the invention of claim 6, since the storage medium is an ETC card or an IC card, the balance is confirmed without communication connection with the outside in the passenger compartment at the time of charge collection by the ETC system or the DSRC system. It becomes possible to do.
[0014]
Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 7, the in-vehicle balance notifying device according to claims 1 to 6 cooperates with the navigation device, and the money amount input means and / or the notifying means use those of the navigation device together. It is characterized by that. By coordinating with the navigation device , the notification means and the money amount input means can be used together with those of the navigation device, and the operability and recognition can be improved.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied as an ETC card in-vehicle balance notification device will be described with reference to FIGS. The present invention may be applied in cooperation with, or incorporated in, a navigation device, an ETC in-vehicle device, a personal computer, or the like.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the in-vehicle balance notification device of this embodiment. The in-vehicle balance notification device includes a control unit 1, an operation unit 2, a notification unit 3, a balance confirmation timing detection unit 4, a history storage unit 5, a balance storage unit 6, an ETC card interface unit 7, and an ETC card 8. The The control unit 1 that controls the balance confirmation processing includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O, and a bus line that are well-known as ordinary computers. Moreover, when cooperating with a navigation apparatus etc., the control part 1 is also connected with the control part of cooperating apparatuses, such as navigation ECU which is not shown in figure.
[0017]
The operation unit 2 includes a mechanical switch, a touch switch integrated with a display device, a remote control terminal (remote control), a voice recognition microphone, and the like, and the notification unit 3 includes a display device such as a display and a speaker that emits sound. Etc. In cooperation with the navigation device, the operation unit 2 and the notification unit 3 can be used together with the navigation device. In addition, the history storage unit 5 that stores usage history information and balance, and the balance storage unit 6 are configured by a known nonvolatile memory that retains data even when the power is turned off.
[0018]
Note that the operation unit 2 in the present embodiment has a function corresponding to a money amount input means. In the present embodiment, the notification unit 3 corresponds to notification unit, the history storage unit 5 corresponds to history storage unit, the balance storage unit 6 corresponds to balance storage unit, and the ETC card interface unit 7 corresponds to acquisition unit. And the process performed in the control part 1 is corresponded to a calculation means and a comparison means. The ETC card 8 corresponds to a storage medium, but this storage medium may be an IC card.
[0019]
In the above-described configuration, the in-car balance notification device inputs in advance an amount paid in advance by the user via the operation unit 2, and stores the input amount in the balance storage unit 6. Then, when inputting the amount, the latest usage history information in the ETC card 8 is read and stored in the history storage unit 5. Thereafter, when the balance confirmation timing detection unit 4 detects the processing start timing, if the access to the ETC card 8 is not performed or if there is no scheduled access, the balance confirmation processing in the ETC card 8 is started. The processing start timing detected by the balance confirmation timing detection unit 4 is any of the balance confirmation operation by the user, when the ETC card 8 is inserted, when the power is turned on, when the power is turned off, etc. Or multiple timings.
[0020]
Next, the balance confirmation process for performing the above operation will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, an example in which a display device is used as the notification unit 3 and a touch switch integrated with the display device is used as the operation unit 2 will be described.
[0021]
First, when the control unit 1 detects the processing start timing from the balance confirmation timing detection unit 4, the control unit 1 displays an “ETC card usage history information display screen” (FIG. 4A). FIG. 4A is a screen for displaying usage history information recorded in the ETC card 8. The “latest” switch 20 for displaying the latest history and the corresponding history are provided. The “detail” switch 25 for displaying the details is displayed. In addition, when there are a plurality of usage history information items that cannot be displayed, a “previous” switch 21 and a “next” switch 22 are provided so that the history display can be scrolled forward and backward. Although common to the subsequent screens, the “return” switch 24 set as a function for returning to the previous operation state is also displayed, thereby improving the operability in the balance confirmation process.
[0022]
Next, in FIG. 4A, when pressing of the “balance display” switch 23 is detected (step 100: Yes), a “balance calculation screen” (FIG. 4B) is displayed, and the control unit 1 The balance calculation process for the currently inserted ETC card 8 is started. In FIG. 4B, a message sentence 26 “Balance calculation ...” informing the user that processing is in progress and a “stop” switch 27 for instructing to stop the processing are provided. The “balance calculation screen” (FIG. 4B) is always displayed during the balance calculation until another screen is displayed.
[0023]
Next, in step 101, it is determined whether information exists in the history storage unit 5 or whether the balance is 0 or less. That is, it is determined whether the amount of the prepaid fee has already been input. If it is determined that there is no information, or if the balance is 0 or less (step 101: Yes), it is determined that the amount of the advance payment has not been entered, and the “balance display screen” (FIG. 5A) ) To prompt the user to input the amount of the prepaid fee (FIG. 3A, step 108: this series of processing is hereinafter referred to as “balance notification processing”).
[0024]
In the balance notification process, the “balance display screen” (FIG. 5A) is a screen for displaying the card balance, and displays a display frame 28 for the current balance and a display frame 29 for the amount paid in advance. When an “amount input” switch 30 is provided and the “amount input” switch 30 is pressed, a screen (FIG. 5B) for inputting the amount of the prepaid fee is displayed. 5B shows a “prepaid amount input screen”, which is a numeric keypad switch 33 for inputting numbers, a “complete” switch 34 for instructing completion of the amount input, and a display frame for the input amount. 31 and a “correction” switch 32 for correcting an incorrect input is arranged in the service for prepaying a fee, since the amount that can be prepaid is fixed, so a prepaid amount input screen (FIG. 5B) ) May be provided with a “10000 Yen” switch, a “5000 Yen” switch (not shown), etc., and the usable fee is uniquely determined by the amount to be paid (10000) The amount of money that can be used automatically may be added according to the amount of payment.
[0025]
On the other hand, if information is present in step 101, or if the balance exceeds 0 (step 101: No), it is determined whether or not the currently inserted ETC card 8 is a card for balance calculation processing. (Step 102). Note that step 102 is performed in order not to repeatedly read the usage history information in the card for a card that was previously determined not to be subject to balance calculation processing (while the power is on). Therefore, it can be omitted.
[0026]
If it is determined that the card is a balance calculation target card (step 102: No), the latest usage history information in the ETC card 8 is acquired (step 103). On the other hand, if it is determined that the card is not subject to balance calculation (step 102: Yes), it is assumed that the currently inserted card is not subject to balance calculation processing, and step 109 (FIG. 3B). Migrate to
[0027]
In step 109, a flag (hereinafter referred to as FG) indicating that the balance calculation process is not performed is set. Thereafter, the ETC card 8 with the FG raised is determined as a non-target card in the above step 102. After setting the FG, in step 110 (FIG. 3B: hereinafter referred to as “different card processing”), the user is notified on the screen that the card currently inserted is not subject to processing (FIG. 6). ) And whether or not to enter the amount of the prepayment fee.
[0028]
Fig. 6 shows the “Card mismatch detection screen”, which tells the user that the balance card stored in the card does not match the inserted card. “The card may be different. Reset the balance. Message 36 is displayed and asks whether or not to input the amount of the prepaid fee corresponding to the card currently inserted. In addition, a “yes” switch 35 and a “no” switch 37 are provided to detect a response from the user. When it is detected that the “Yes” switch 35 is pressed, the “prepaid amount input screen” (FIG. 5B) is displayed, and the amount input process is performed in the same manner as described above. On the other hand, when pressing of the “No” switch 37 is detected, the balance confirmation process is terminated.
[0029]
Next, the latest usage history information in the ETC card 8 acquired in step 103 is past information than the usage history information stored in the history storage unit 5, or there is no usage history information in the ETC card 8. In this case (both states are hereinafter referred to as “different history states”), there is a high possibility that a card other than the card into which the amount of the prepaid fee has been input is inserted. Therefore, in step 104, the latest usage history information in the ETC card 8 is compared with the stored usage history information, and it is determined whether or not it is in another history state. If it is determined that another history state is present (step 104: Yes), the card inserted at this time is a card not subject to balance calculation processing, and therefore the process proceeds to step 109 (FIG. 3B). After step 109, another card process is performed in the same manner as when it is determined to be true (Yes) at step 102 (step 110).
[0030]
On the other hand, when it is determined that it is not in another history state (step 104: No), it is determined whether or not the read usage history information matches the stored usage history information (step 105). When it is determined that the read usage history information and the stored usage history information do not match (step 105: No), it is determined whether the process can be continued (step 106). In other words, since it becomes impossible to pass through the ETC gate while the ETC card is being accessed, it is necessary to confirm and determine that the vehicle is not traveling near the ETC gate before continuing the processing. If it can be continued (step 106: Yes), the next usage history information in the ETC card 8 is acquired (step 107), and the same processing as described above is repeated from step 104. If the process cannot be continued in step 106, the balance confirmation process is interrupted. By performing this step 106, it is possible to avoid the situation where the ETC gate cannot be passed during the ETC card access described above.
[0031]
Next, in step 105, if the read usage history information matches the stored usage history information (step 105: Yes), the usage history information recorded after the read usage history information is the balance. It can be seen that it is not reflected in. Therefore, the usage history information not reflected in the balance in the ETC card 8 is subtracted from the value stored in the balance storage unit 6 (FIG. 3 (c): step 111), and the calculation result is newly added to the balance storage unit. 6 (FIG. 3C: step 112). Thereafter, the latest use history information in the ETC card 8 acquired from the ETC card 8 this time is stored in the history storage unit 5 (FIG. 3 (c): step 113), and the balance notification process (FIG. 3 (c): step 114). ). In step 114, as in step 108 described above, the “balance display screen” of FIG. 5A is displayed, the balance calculation result is displayed in the display frame 28, and the balance is notified to the user.
[0032]
Next, a processing operation related to reading usage history information in the ETC card 8 will be described with reference to a specific example shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the latest usage history information is data0. (1) and the usage history information stored in the history storage unit 5 is data4. Assume that (2). When the amount stored in the balance storage unit 6 is 5000 yen, the control unit 1 stores the usage history information as data0. The data is sequentially acquired and collated sequentially with the usage history information stored in the history storage unit 5. And data4. When the usage history information is acquired, the usage history information matches the usage history information stored in the history storage unit 5 (step 105: Yes in FIG. 2). Therefore, data0. To data3. Since the usage fee is not reflected in the balance stored in the balance storage unit 6, the data 0. To data3. Is subtracted from the balance 5000 yen stored in the balance storage unit 6, and the resulting 2500 yen is updated and stored in the balance storage unit 6 and the latest data, data0. ((1)) is stored in the history storage unit 5. Then, the balance confirmation process ends. In this way, by storing the latest usage history information reflected in the balance in the history storage unit 5, it is possible to determine the storage medium when the next balance display request is made.
[0033]
As described above, in the on-vehicle balance notification device according to the present embodiment described above, the balance is calculated from the usage history information in the card in the ETC card to which the amount of the prepaid fee has been input. Therefore, it is possible to notify the balance without communication connection with the outside such as the Internet. Further, since the payment request is made not on the ETC in-vehicle device but on the card, it is possible to notify the accurate balance by directly acquiring the usage history information in the card.
[0034]
In the present embodiment, the ETC card in-vehicle balance notification device has been described. However, the present invention may be applied not only to toll road fee payment but also to various fee settlement systems such as drive-through and gas stations. .
[0035]
In the above embodiment, a contact IC card is used, but a non-contact IC card may be used. In that case, the balance confirmation process can be performed while maintaining a state in which the IC card can communicate with the IC card interface, such as placing the IC card in a tray-type IC card interface while the IC card is stored in a wallet or the like. Furthermore, the IC card may be any storage medium as long as it can store usage history information.
[0036]
Also, in this embodiment, the amount of the prepaid fee for one card was input, but if multiple usage history information and balance can be stored, multiple cards can be used properly according to usage, Since it is not necessary to reset the balance frequently, convenience can be improved. The history storage unit 5 and the balance storage unit 6 have been described as separate storage units, but a storage area corresponding to each storage unit may be provided in one storage device.
[0037]
Note that the input method of the amount may use a remote controller or voice recognition other than the touch panel, and the notification method may use voice other than the display.
[0038]
As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration in an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a flow of balance confirmation processing.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a continuation of the operation flow from FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of notification to a user. It is a figure which shows the screen (a) which displays the usage history information of an ETC card, and the balance calculation screen (b) as a display example to the user which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a balance display screen (a) and a prepayment amount input screen (b) as display examples for a user according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen on which a card mismatch is detected as a display example to a user according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of usage history information recorded in an ETC card.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control part 2 ... Operation part 3 ... Notification part 4 ... Balance confirmation timing detection part 5 ... History storage part 6 ... Balance storage part 7 ... ETC card interface part 8 ... ETC card

Claims (7)

An amount input means for inputting the amount of money,
Balance storage means for storing the amount input from the amount input means;
Obtaining means for obtaining the usage history information from a storage medium storing the usage history information;
Calculation means for calculating a balance of the storage medium based on the acquired usage history information and the amount stored in the balance storage means;
An in-vehicle balance notifying device comprising notifying means for notifying the calculated balance.   The in-vehicle balance notification device according to claim 1, wherein the balance storage means updates and stores the balance calculated by the calculation means. History storage means for storing the acquired usage history information;
Comparing means for performing a comparison determination between the usage history information stored in the history storage means and the usage history information newly acquired by the acquisition means,
3. The in-vehicle balance notification device according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit subtracts an amount related to usage history information determined to be inconsistent by the comparison unit from an amount stored in the balance storage unit. .   If there is no matching usage history information as a result of the comparison between the newly acquired usage history information and the usage history information already stored in the history storage means by the comparison means, the storage medium is subject to balance calculation. The in-vehicle balance alerting device according to claim 3, wherein the on-vehicle balance alerting device is outside.   5. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the usage history information is accessed for writing and reading by an external infrastructure, and the acquisition unit does not operate during access to the storage medium. The in-vehicle balance reporting device according to any one of the above.   The in-vehicle balance notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the storage medium is an ETC card or an IC card.   The in-vehicle balance notifying device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is linked with a navigation device, and the amount input unit and / or the notifying unit are used in combination with the navigation device. It is characterized by doing.

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