EP3113118B1 - Method for tracking vehicles which are liable for a toll in a toll system and toll system for same - Google Patents

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to a method for tracking vehicles subject to tolls in a toll system and to a toll system for carrying out such a method.

State of the art

Different methods for collecting user fees or tolls for toll traffic areas, for example toll roads, are known. The toll is paid, for example, by purchasing a vignette or other usage authorization and is then valid for a specified period of time and a specified area.

In addition to these methods that provide a flat-rate authorization to use a toll traffic area, methods are also known in which the toll is collected depending on use. Here, the distance actually traveled by the toll vehicle on the toll traffic area is used as a basis for calculating the toll due - usually according to vehicle types and/or vehicle specifics such as the mass of the vehicle, the number of axles of the vehicle, the length of the vehicle, and the emission class of the vehicle and/or the presence of a trailer.

In the latter systems, systems are known in which collection devices are provided which are arranged in sections on the toll traffic areas, for example in the form of toll booths staffed by collection personnel.

There are also usage-dependent toll systems known in which an automated registration of the vehicles subject to toll is carried out. This will be the case vehicle subject to toll is automatically recorded when entering the toll traffic area, when leaving the toll traffic area and/or when driving on the toll traffic area and its movement and/or route is evaluated in order to be able to determine and collect the toll due for the route actually driven .

On the one hand, decentralized collecting systems are known in which a position determination device is provided in the vehicle, for example in a vehicle device or a vehicle device, which is also referred to as an “on-board unit” (OBU). A GNSS receiver in the vehicle records the position of the vehicle via a GNSS system and a DSRC receiver in the vehicle can receive positions from roadside facilities. In the decentralized system, this position data is processed in the vehicle device to identify any toll traffic areas that may be used. The toll can be collected decentrally in the vehicle device, for example by debiting a pre-paid credit. Alternatively, after the determined toll data has been transmitted to a toll center, the toll can be collected by the toll center, which carries out the debit or invoice. The toll is collected after driving on the toll section.

Furthermore, centralized systems are known in which a position determination device is provided in the vehicle or a vehicle device, which transmits the position data to a toll center and the toll recognition, the toll determination and the toll collection are carried out in the toll center. A GNSS receiver in the vehicle records the position of the vehicle via a GNSS system and a DSRC receiver in the vehicle can receive positions from roadside devices. Toll recognition can be carried out in the vehicle device or in the toll center. If the toll recognition is carried out outside the vehicle device, only position data is transmitted to the toll center that carries out the toll recognition. The toll is collected after driving on the toll section.

Furthermore, toll collection systems are known that do not use GNSS receivers and carry out position determination and toll recognition exclusively via roadside vehicle detection devices. The toll vehicle sends a corresponding identification signal to the roadside vehicle detection device. The identification signals received from the roadside vehicle detection devices are transmitted to a toll center, which determines and collects the toll on this basis. With this toll collection system, the toll is also collected after driving on the toll section.

In Germany, the Toll Collect GmbH system is used to collect tolls when using motorways, with roadside control devices in the form of permanently installed control bridges spanning the road, which record the license plates of every vehicle passing by. The determined license plates of the vehicles can be compared with vehicle-specific data available in a central database under vehicle license plates in order to check that the applicable toll has been collected correctly and possibly to be able to determine whether the driver of the vehicle is currently committing a toll violation, in particular if there is no vehicle-specific data, in particular toll data, under the determined license plate number of a vehicle for the relevant section of route on which the vehicle was recorded. For example, information about a route preselected for the respective license plate or information about payment methods can be stored in the central database. In addition to the permanently installed control bridges, mobile control devices can also be provided, which support further detection of the vehicles. This system can be expanded to other roads.

For the individual and largely automatic recording of the use of the toll traffic routes, vehicle-side vehicle devices, which are also referred to as OBUs (On-Board Units), have proven successful, which have a position-determining device for detecting the position of the vehicle or are coupled to a position-determining device provided in the vehicle. The vehicle devices can accordingly determine and/or record the position of the respective toll vehicle and, based on map material stored in the vehicle device, determine whether the vehicle is on a toll traffic area. If this is the case, the vehicle device determines a toll fee for the use of the determined toll traffic area and the corresponding toll data, which includes the determined fee, is transmitted to a toll center. Based on the information transmitted by the vehicle device, the toll due can then be collected at the toll center, either by calculating the toll from the transmitted route data or by using the transmitted fee data.

The toll due is then billed to the respective user or deducted from an existing credit balance.

In order to enable correct toll collection, the user must initialize the vehicle device before starting the journey and, among other things, enter vehicle data, such as the total weight of the vehicle, its emission class and the current number of axles. On this basis, the vehicle device determines the toll applicable for the respective journey, taking into account the position of the toll vehicle determined via the position determination device and the comparison of the position of the toll vehicle with a database in which the toll roads are stored, and transmits this toll data at the latest Fulfillment of a certain criterion, for example when leaving the toll route, to the toll center.

In one variant, the position data determined over the course of the journey by the position determination device and recorded by the vehicle device are transmitted to the toll center continuously or when a specific criterion is met, for example when a predetermined amount of position data is reached. The toll to be paid for this journey for the toll vehicle is then determined and collected centrally in the toll center based on the vehicle data and the toll traffic areas identified as being in use from the position data.

This method of collecting toll data, in which the user of the toll vehicle only has to initialize the vehicle device and then the recording of the route, the transmission of the toll data to the toll center, and the collection of the toll after initialization are carried out without any further user input, will also be carried out called automatic procedure (AV). In this procedure, the toll is only determined after the respective toll section has been traveled and is collected by being invoiced accordingly or deducted from a deposited or pre-paid credit.

In the automatic method (AV), the vehicle device carried by the toll vehicle recognizes whether, and if so, which toll route section is being traveled, based on the comparison of position data, which was determined using the position determination device, with map data stored in a database. Such a The toll section is then stored in a storage device of the vehicle device. Accordingly, toll route sections are stored section by section in the storage device in the vehicle device and then transmitted to the toll center as toll data when a predetermined criterion occurs, for example after a predetermined number of stored route sections has been exceeded. On this basis, the toll determination takes place either in the toll center or in the vehicle device. In the latter case, the toll to be collected is then transmitted to the toll center as toll data. In the automatic procedure (AV), the authorization to use the toll route section being traveled is acquired step by step after each individual toll route section has been traveled, with the toll being collected via the toll center after leaving the toll route section and transmitting the relevant data to the toll center becomes.

In addition to the automatic procedure (AV), booking using the so-called manual procedure (MV) is also possible in the toll collection system operated by Toll Collect GmbH.

In the manual process (MV), the respective user can use one of the approximately 3,600 toll booth terminals, which are typically set up at truck stops, rest areas or gas stations. Alternatively, a web service on the Internet can also be used in the manual process (MV).

In the manual process (MV), the user acquires a usage authorization for the respective toll route section before driving on the toll route section or a toll route, which consists of one or more toll route sections. For this purpose, the user indicates the planned entrance to and the planned exit from the toll traffic area at the toll station terminal or in the web service before driving on the route, which then defines the one or more toll sections of the route. The user can also enter via positions in his route, which are taken into account when determining the route to be traveled and which are used as a basis for calculating the toll fee due. The user of the manual procedure (MV) determines the route to be traveled before actually driving on the toll route sections and pays the corresponding toll fee. The toll fee can either be paid directly at the toll station terminal or online, or for registered users are provided via the toll center in a monthly collective bill or are deducted from an existing credit.

Booking a route using the manual method results in a fixed route that the user cannot leave without potentially being considered a toll evader. A change to the route may become necessary, for example, if a section of the booked route is closed or if a traffic jam occurs that needs to be avoided. It can also happen that a user wants to go to additional stations along the way. If the user wants to change his route after starting the journey booked using the manual process, he must do so at a stationary toll terminal so that the route he actually traveled remains traceable. The user then has to partially cancel the booked route and then book the new desired route.

In the vehicle devices or vehicle devices, highly accurate position determination is possible by means of the position determination device, which has a GNSS receiver which receives specific signals from satellites of a global navigation satellite system (Global Navigation Satellite System, GNSS for short) which are stationed in earth orbit and which receive corresponding position signals send out. The position determination device uses these signals in a known manner to calculate its own position. Such GNSS systems include the US GPS system, the Russian GLONASS, the European Galileo and the Chinese Compass system, although the latter are still under construction. Either a positioning device that is already provided in the toll vehicle and which transfers its data to an OBU can be used as the positioning device, or the OBU itself can have a positioning device.

In addition, position indicators (speedometer, odometer) and direction indicators such as a gyroscope or an electronic compass of the toll vehicle or can be connected to the position determination device in order to enable even more precise position determination through dead reckoning. This can be particularly important if no GNSS data is available due to coverage, for example in a tunnel, and an accurate position determination is still desired.

The information is transmitted to the toll center via a communication module present in the vehicle device, which uses a known mobile radio standard and communicates the data to the toll center, for example via the GSM standard. Two-way communication is generally not provided, but only the toll-relevant data determined by the vehicle device is transmitted to the toll center when the vehicle device has completed collecting the data.

In order to collect the toll, usage-based toll systems rely on recording the route of the respective toll vehicles, at least in the area that is relevant for the use of the toll road. For example, the vehicle positions in the toll collection system operated by the German toll operator Toll Collect GmbH are regularly recorded in the area of the entrance to the respective toll traffic area and in the area of the exit from this traffic area.

Toll data is understood here to mean data of toll traffic areas and/or toll fees assigned to a user, which are determined through a toll identification and/or toll determination. Toll-relevant data is all data that is included in determining the toll fee, such as the identifier and/or the length of the toll traffic area as well as vehicle data such as weight, number of axles and emission class. A basic fee or fee rate is usually linked to at least one toll-relevant data set, which, in conjunction with the other toll-relevant data, allows the total fee for toll collection to be determined.

Toll recognition is here technically understood to mean the process of linking a used, toll traffic area, identified based on the recorded vehicle position(s), with the user. In other words, this means linking the user for the first time to a used toll traffic area.

Toll determination is technically understood here as the process of determining a toll fee from the toll traffic area used or to be used in the future, if necessary taking into account toll-relevant vehicle data and time information.

Toll collection is here technically understood to mean the process of collecting a specific toll fee from the user whose vehicle has demonstrably used the toll traffic area or will be used in the future, for example by taking cash such as at a toll booth terminal, by central debiting from an account or by decentralized deduction from a pre-paid credit on a chip card arranged in a vehicle device.

A toll traffic area is understood to mean traffic areas for which a toll fee is due for use. The amount of the toll fee can be determined, for example, according to the route traveled on the toll traffic area, for example measured in meters, according to the number of toll route sections used or as a flat rate or according to the time for using a specific toll route network, for example in the case of a city toll.

A toll violation is understood here to mean that a vehicle subject to toll is using or has used a toll traffic area and the toll fee actually due for use cannot be collected. This may be due to the fact that the toll vehicle is not accessible to automatic recording because the technical requirements for carrying out an automatic procedure are missing - for example, an on-board unit suitable for the respective toll system is not available, is not switched on or is defective. However, it may also be the case that the section of route currently being traveled has not been booked for the respective vehicle in the manual process.

A toll violation can also occur if the toll collection fails because the toll fee to be paid cannot be collected - for example because an account, credit card or credit account is not funded. In connection with the EETS system, it can also happen that a toll fee is not paid out by the foreign operator of the on-board unit to the domestic operator of the toll system and a toll violation only becomes apparent at a point in time after the actual passage of the toll section .

A toll violation notice is a data set that an inspector can use to check a vehicle suspected of a toll violation. In other words, a toll violation notice specifies a toll violation that is related to a toll vehicle. The toll violation notice therefore includes the information that an inspector needs in order to have a valid reason for diverting or stopping a vehicle.

A toll violation notice is linked to or associated with a vehicle license plate and contains information about the toll violation for which the vehicle is suspected. This information can be, for example, the type and time of the potential toll violation as well as further details about the control device that detects the potential toll violation.

In all of the above-mentioned toll systems, inspectors are provided to inspect toll vehicles and to punish toll violations. They inspect toll vehicles that have been identified as having a potential toll violation, remove them from traffic and, if the suspicion of a toll violation is confirmed, punish them accordingly .

These inspectors are usually trained by the crews of inspection vehicles. Mobile display devices are present in the inspection vehicles or carried by the respective crew, on which the identification of the toll vehicles for which a toll violation is suspected are displayed. For this purpose, a mobile display device in the control vehicle usually receives toll violation notices from the roadside control device assigned to it.

In the known toll systems, a control vehicle and its crew are usually stationed near a roadside control device, which can be in the form of a control bridge, for example, and are equipped with a mobile display device in such a way that when a potential toll violation of a vehicle subject to toll is determined, a corresponding toll violation notice is displayed on the mobile display device can be displayed.

The toll violation notices are determined either by a central data processing device or in the roadside control device, for example in the data processing device provided in the roadside control device, by appropriate analysis of the vehicle data determined by the roadside control device. The procedures used to determine whether a vehicle subject to toll is one in which a toll violation is suspected are known in principle.

In the area of toll systems, it may happen that certain toll violations that occurred in the past were not punished. This may be the case, for example, because a large number of potential toll violations have been detected at a given time and the respective inspectors do not have all of the vehicles for which a toll violation was detected Toll violation notice was generated, could be identified, checked and possibly punished. However, a lack of control and punishment of a potential toll violation can also occur because the vehicle for which the information about a potential toll violation is available left the monitored traffic area and was then no longer accessible to monitoring. This is particularly the case for vehicles subject to tolls that have left the catchment area of the toll system, for example by crossing the border into a neighboring country or into a neighboring toll system.

Especially in the case of vehicles that have already caused a toll violation in the past, it may be advantageous for enforcement reasons to inspect them with increased priority in the future.

Furthermore, in connection with the EETS system (EETS = European Electronic Toll Service), it can be provided that a third party, the so-called EETS provider, provides on-board units that calculate the toll on the territory of another toll operator, who in turn also which operates or has its control facilities operated. Accordingly, the respective on-board units are not necessarily provided by the actual operator of the toll system, but can be provided by another operator, for example located abroad. For example, it is possible that a toll vehicle registered abroad enters the area of the domestic toll system and this vehicle is equipped with an on-board unit that is functional for the domestic toll system. In such a system, the toll fees are paid out on a regular basis by the operator of the on-board units based abroad to the operator of the domestic toll system. Only at this point can the domestic toll operator make a binding determination as to whether the toll vehicle originating from abroad has actually paid the toll fees due. Accordingly, it is only at this point in time that it can be determined whether driving on the toll area in the past was due to a toll violation. The vehicle in question can only be identified as a toll evader at the time the corresponding payments are transferred from the foreign operator of the on-board unit to the domestic toll operator.

A complete control and punishment of such vehicles from abroad that are equipped with a functional on-board unit is appropriate for the It is not possible or only unreliable for inspectors to carry out random checks on the respective vehicles at the time they are driving on the toll traffic area.

From the EP 2 624 231 B1 Devices and methods for control in a road toll system are known, in which recording vehicles and control vehicles are provided. The control vehicles have reading devices for reading license plates and are connected to a crime server. The recording vehicles are equipped with a DSRC transceiver for reading out the toll parameters. This provides a first fleet of recording vehicles (“hunters”) and a second fleet of control vehicles (“collectors”), which communicate with each other via a common crime server.

From the DE 10 2011 085 814 B3 a system with mobile phones wirelessly networked with one another via a common server is known in order to enable improved communication between several vehicles.

From the US 2008/238719 A1 a system for detecting and tracking legal violations by vehicles is known, which contains a first server and a second server. The first server contains a vehicle information database that communicates with the second server. The second server is a mobile data terminal that enables the identification of vehicles and retrieves the vehicle information relating to the identified vehicles from the first server via a communication connection. Once the vehicle information is received, appropriate enforcement tactics are created based on the received vehicle information.

From the US 2014/201064 A1 There is known persecution of defaulting vehicles.

Presentation of the invention

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for tracking toll vehicles in a toll system, as well as a toll system, by means of which further improved tracking of toll violations can be achieved.

This task is achieved by a method for tracking toll vehicles in a toll system with the features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments result from the subclaims and are also described below.

Accordingly, a method for tracking vehicles subject to toll is specified in a toll system, which has at least one data processing device in communication with an offense database and at least one stationary, road-side control device, with first toll violation notices associated with license plates of vehicles subject to toll being stored in the offense database. The method includes the steps of detecting at least one license plate of a toll vehicle by means of the stationary, roadside control device, forming a control data record which includes the license plate of the detected toll vehicle and its time of capture, and determining

Data processing device, whether there is already a first toll violation notice recorded before the time of capture in the offense database for the recorded license plate, and if there is a first toll violation notice for the recorded license plate in the offense database, associating the first toll violation notice with the control data record.

By associating the control data record with the first toll violation notice, it is possible for an inspector who has this data available to punish a toll violation that was committed in the past. The data available to the inspector is enriched accordingly by associating the control data with the first toll violation notice, so that the tracking of toll violations is simplified.

In particular, this makes it possible for inspectors to also take into account older toll violations, i.e. toll violations that occur before the current recording time of the license plate number of the vehicle subject to toll. The vehicle can then be checked, checked and possibly brought to justice.

This makes it possible to also punish toll vehicles that have already committed a toll violation in the past, with the current vehicle data and in particular the control data set, which includes a license plate number of the recorded toll vehicle and its recording time, being made available to the inspector. This means that an inspector who is located in his inspection vehicle immediately behind or near the roadside inspection device can be immediately provided with data about a past toll violation of the respective toll vehicle in order to carry out an appropriate check and possibly a punishment of the vehicle in question To be able to initiate past toll violations.

Preferably, the control data record associated with the first toll violation notice is stored in a data memory, preferably in the offense database, in a data memory assigned to the central data processing device, a data memory assigned to the roadside control device, a data memory assigned to a transmission device or another data memory. In this way, the data sets provided are available for further processing. The control data record associated with the first toll violation notice can then be retrieved from the data memory for further evaluation, for example. The one associated with the first toll violation notice Control data sets can also be retrieved from a display device in order to then be available for searches and punishment.

According to the invention, the toll violation notices stored in the offense database are determined by previously detecting at least one license plate of a toll vehicle by means of a roadside control device and by previously determining whether the toll vehicle has committed a toll violation.

The determination of whether there is potentially a toll violation and whether the toll vehicle should be checked by an inspector, diverted and, if the suspicion is confirmed, punished can be carried out in the toll system using actually known procedures. The determination itself can be carried out in a data processing device of the roadside control device, in a central data processing device or in the interaction of different data processing devices and databases. The analysis can be carried out using known criteria based on the identified or collected and known data. For example, it can be determined whether a specific route section was booked in advance using the manual process for the license plate of a vehicle subject to toll. The automatic process can be used to determine whether the setting made in an on-board unit, for example the number of axles or the emission class of the toll vehicle, matches the data determined by the roadside control device and/or whether the OBU is functional. A pre-paid survey can be used to determine whether the pre-paid credit is still sufficient to pay the current toll. The determination can also be carried out using other known criteria and procedures.

The determination of whether a toll violation has occurred can also be carried out after the toll vehicle has actually driven on the toll traffic area. For example, toll violations, which, for example due to the time delay between the return of the corresponding toll fees by an operator of on-board units based abroad, for example in the EETS system, to the domestic toll operator, can also be detected well after the toll traffic area has been driven on be punished. The existence of such a toll violation is usually determined in a central data processing device of the toll operator, which is connected to a payment database.

Accordingly, an overall improved control and punishment of the payment of toll fees in a toll system can be achieved if toll violations registered before the current recording time are associated with the respective license plate at the time of recording and are displayed accordingly to the inspectors via the mobile display devices.

Furthermore, a toll violation that exists at the current time of recording can preferably also be determined and, if such a toll violation exists at the time of recording, a second toll violation notice can be generated and this can also be associated with the control data record. The control data record is then stored at least temporarily together with the first toll violation notice associated with it in a data memory of the toll system by a data processing device of the toll system. This can ensure that all toll violations committed by a vehicle subject to toll can be effectively and safely recorded and assigned to it.

According to the invention, the control data record and at least the first toll violation notice associated therewith are transmitted to a mobile display device and the control data record and the first toll violation notice associated therewith are displayed on the mobile display device. In this way, the inspector can at least keep an eye on the first toll violation known for the respective vehicle license plate that has not yet been checked or not yet punished. It is particularly preferred if several or all toll violation notices that are associated with the license plate are transmitted to the mobile display device. In this way, for example, the decision about the removal of a toll vehicle can be prioritized, in particular when a large number of toll violation notices are transmitted to the controller or his mobile display device, so that, for example, a vehicle is prioritized for which more than one toll violation or there is a past toll violation.

The determination of whether there is already a first toll violation detected before the time of detection for the license plate recorded at the time of detection is preferably carried out in a central data processing device of the toll system and/or in a data processing device of the roadside control device itself. Accordingly, the offense database can either be present in a central data processing device or can be addressed by it, or the offense database can be located in the roadside control device before or can be addressed by it. It can be advantageous to fill the offense database with toll violations or toll violation notices that have not been punished after a predetermined time interval, and then to update the data in the offense database accordingly or to update the data in a central offense database with a decentralized offense database or in the respective ones to synchronize the offense databases available at roadside control devices. This makes it possible to provide data from unpunished toll violations after a short time interval in such a way that the vehicle license plates determined by the roadside control device can be checked promptly for the existence of a criminal offense.

Here, for example, the situation is also conceivable in which the control, removal and inspection of a vehicle subject to toll could not be carried out by the inspectors assigned to a first roadside inspection device, since these inspectors may have already been involved in the inspection and punishment of a toll violation by another motor vehicle, and After completion of this inspection and punishment, the other vehicle subject to toll, which had caused a toll violation at the time of recording, is already outside the control radius of the respective inspector. Accordingly, a further, downstream inspector can then check this vehicle, divert it and punish it if this vehicle passes another roadside control device, here a control data record with the license plate recorded at this roadside control device at the time of recording is checked in the offense database and then determined that there is a toll violation recorded in the past, namely the toll violation that could not previously be punished.

Preferably, there is a toll violation data record in the offense database, which includes the first toll violation notice, the associated license plate, the time of detection of the toll violation and a position identifier of the control device detecting the toll violation, the toll violation data record being associated with the control data record and being transmitted to the mobile display device and the data is displayed on the mobile display device. Such a toll violation data record with a lot of details can make it easier to clarify the facts during control and verification.

Preferably, the control data set transmitted to the mobile display device is also provided with a position identifier of the control device that detects the toll violation, such that the inspector, to whom this information is also displayed, can provide the driver of the correspondingly diverted motor vehicle with detailed information about the previous toll violation to facilitate the acceptance of the punishment as well as the punishment itself.

In order to ensure that toll violations are reliably recorded and stored, the first toll violation notice can preferably be recorded at a time before the time of recording by means of a control device and transmitted to the central data processing device. There, the first toll violation notice can be entered into an offense database in the data processing device.

Particularly preferably, the first toll violation notice can be stored together with the associated license plate, the time of detection of the toll violation and the position identifier of the control device detecting the toll violation in a toll violation data record in the offense database of the central data processing device, in particular if the toll violation cannot be resolved within a predetermined period Duration from the time of detection to the central data processing device is signaled. This can ensure that unpunished toll violations are punished during a later inspection by an inspector.

Furthermore, it can be advantageous for toll violation data records stored in the offense database to be transmitted to several stationary, road-side control devices or all control devices, or for the offense database to provide the stored toll violation data records to several stationary, road-side control devices or to all control devices, so that a safe and quick determination of whether a license plate of the control data record matches an identifier of a toll violation data record, can be carried out in a control device. This preferably happens in the control device that recorded the license plate at the time of capture. A controller located near the control device can be informed particularly quickly about the toll violation notice or it can be transmitted to the inspector's mobile display device, since the license plate can be compared directly in the control device.

In addition, it can also be determined in the central data processing device whether there is more than one toll violation notice for the determined license plate at the time of detection. Accordingly, if there is more than one toll violation notice, a prioritization notice can be generated and associated with the control data record, which can be transmitted via the mobile display device and displayed on it together with the control data record and the toll violation notices. If several toll violations occur in his control area, the inspector can be given an indication as to which of the vehicles he should prefer to remove in order to check and possibly punish the toll violation.

The toll violation notice preferably includes an identification of the type of toll violation. Based on the type of toll violation, a corresponding prioritization note can then be generated using a weighting table available in a central or decentralized prioritization database, associated with the control data record and transmitted to the mobile display device. The inspector can read the prioritization notice together with the control data record and the toll violation notice on the mobile display device and accordingly select which toll vehicle should be given priority.

Preferably, a control vehicle for tracking detected toll vehicles includes the mobile display device or is carried by it or provided by it, so that an inspector located in the control vehicle can, for example, read out toll violation notices while driving.

Furthermore, there is also the possibility that the controller can access the mobile display device via a mobile device, preferably a mobile computer, a tablet computer or a smartphone, and provide the driver of the appropriately routed motor vehicle with clear information directly at the location where the motor vehicle is parked to the previous toll violation in order to make it easier to accept the punishment as well as the punishment itself and to shorten its duration.

For example, the mobile display device can comprise a flat screen or similar and the input unit can be in the form of a touch screen, scroll wheel, joystick, touch pad, a mouse, one or more input keys or voice control.

In order to avoid that several inspectors are bound to punish a toll violation or that the pursuit of a toll-violating vehicle can be clearly assigned to one controller, the control data record and the associated toll violation notices can preferably be transmitted to a mobile display device by means of a tracking case request. Preferably, an input unit is also provided with which the inspector can answer the persecution case request.

A pursuit case request means that license plates and associated toll violation notices are sent to an inspector or multiple inspectors and the inspector or inspectors are requested to take over this pursuit case. The persecution case can then be accepted through user input. If the tracking case request is sent to several controllers, the tracking case request will be removed from the other controllers when the tracking order is accepted by one controller or will be displayed as inactive or already accepted.

In a continuation, the toll violation records present in the offense database can be inactivated or deleted if there is an event that justifies the inactivation or deletion. For example, the toll violation data records can be deleted after a period of time has been exceeded from the time the first toll violation notice was recorded, since these may become statute-barred after the period of time has expired. Furthermore, by signaling that the toll violation has been resolved, for example due to a corresponding entry by the controller on the mobile display device, this can be done to the central data processing device in order not to unnecessarily increase the required data capacity of the data processing device and to free up the storage space occupied by the completed toll violations.

The at least one license plate of a vehicle subject to toll is recorded using a stationary roadside control device. A stationary roadside control device can, for example be formed by a control bridge.

The above-mentioned task to be solved is further solved by a toll system for tracking toll vehicles with the features of claim 12. Advantageous further training results from implementing the features from the above-mentioned process steps and training.

Accordingly, a toll system is provided for tracking vehicles subject to toll, comprising a data processing device, an offense database communicating with the data processing device, and at least one stationary, roadside control device. According to the invention, the data processing device is set up to determine, in response to a control data set created by one of the stationary, road-side control devices, which includes a license plate of a toll vehicle recorded by the control device and the associated recording time, whether in the offense database for the registered license plate before At the time of recording, there is a first toll violation notice and, if there is a toll violation notice, to associate the first toll violation notice with the control data record.

Furthermore, there is an unclaimed one

Computer program product is provided, which comprises software code sections which can be loaded into an internal memory of a data processing device which is communicatively coupled to at least one offense database and which, when executed by the data processing device, cause the data processing device to carry out the method described above.

Short description of the characters

Figur 1

schematisch eine Darstellung eines Mautsystems zur Verfolgung mautpflichtiger Fahrzeuge,

Figur 2

ein schematisches Ablaufdiagramm des Verfahrens zur Verfolgung mautpflichtiger Fahrzeuge in einem Mautsystem, und

Figur 3

eine schematische Darstellung einer zentralen Datenverarbeitungseinrichtung des Mautsystems zur Durchführung des Verfahrens.

Preferred further embodiments and aspects of the present invention are explained in more detail by the following description of the figures. Show:

Figure 1

a schematic representation of a toll system for tracking toll vehicles,

Figure 2

a schematic flowchart of the process for tracking toll vehicles in a toll system, and

Figure 3

a schematic representation of a central data processing device of the toll system for carrying out the method.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

Preferred exemplary embodiments are described below with reference to the figures. The same, similar or identical elements in the different figures are designated with identical reference numerals and a repeated description of these elements is omitted in order to avoid redundancies.

In Figure 1 A toll system 200 for tracking toll vehicles 102 is shown schematically, with a toll traffic area 100 being provided, for example in the form of a highway, along which a toll vehicle 102 travels. The toll vehicle 102 has, among other things, a license plate 104, wherein the license plate 104 can be, for example, the conventionally known motor vehicle license plate or registration plate. Other forms of identification can also be included here, for example another optical or electronic identification, by means of which a toll vehicle 102 is clearly identified and which can be recognized automatically.

To detect toll vehicles 102, the toll system 200 includes, among other things, a roadside control device 202, which in the exemplary embodiment shown is provided in the form of a control bridge which spans the toll traffic area 100. Such control bridges are known in principle and enable registration of license plates 104 and other parameters and properties of toll vehicles 104 on all lanes of the toll traffic area 100. Registration can essentially take place directly from the front. The roadside control device 202 can also be designed in the form of a control device arranged on the edge of the toll traffic area 100, which enables the license plates 104 and other parameters of the toll vehicles 104 to be recorded from the side position. Each lane of the toll traffic area 100 is then preferably assigned its own roadside control device 202.

The roadside control device 202 has detection devices 204, 204 ', which in the exemplary embodiment shown are designed in the form of optical detection devices, by means of which the license plates 104 of toll motor vehicles 102 are read can. For this purpose, for example, cameras are installed in the control devices 202, which enable the license plates 104 of the toll vehicles 102 passing the control device 202 to be read out. Additional sensors and receivers can also be provided, by means of which additional parameters and identifiers of the toll vehicles 102 passing the roadside control device 202 can be determined.

The license plates 104 read by the control device 202 or the optical detection device 204 are fed to a central data processing device 206, which can, for example, be arranged centrally at the location of the operator of the toll system. However, the central data processing device 206 can also be designed in a distributed manner and accordingly be made up of several interconnected computers or processors which are not located locally at a single physical location. The system can also be structured as a distributed system or as a cloud system. The data recorded by at least two, preferably by a plurality or plurality of roadside control devices 202 are fed to the central data processing device 206.

The central data processing device 206 is connected to a crime database 208 of the toll system 200. Data sets are stored in the offense database 208 which link the license plate 104 of a toll vehicle 102 with a first toll violation notice associated with this license plate. These data sets, which are stored in the offense database 208, were recorded by the roadside control device 202 before the actual recording time of the current registration of the toll vehicle 102. In other words, there are 208 toll violation notices in the offense database with correspondingly associated vehicle license plates, which have not yet been checked or punished and which were recorded in the past. The data records available in the offense database 208 are historical toll violation notices from toll vehicles 102 which have not yet been checked or punished.

The central data processing device 206 checks upon receipt of a control data record from the roadside control device 202, which includes a license plate 104 of the toll vehicle 102 detected by the roadside control device 202 Offense database 208 whether a data record with a toll violation notice is already stored in the offense database 208 for this license plate 104.

The data processing can also be carried out in a data processing device 205 of the control device 202. The data processing device 205 can have a data memory 203, which is intended for temporary storage or permanent storage of data. Alternatively, the data processing device 205 of the control device 202 can also carry out the determination. For this purpose, the data processing device 205 of the control device 202 in the exemplary embodiment shown is in communication with the offense database 208, which can be a copy or a locally stored version of the offense database 208 in order to improve performance.

If a toll violation notice is already stored in the offense database 208 for the recorded license plate 104 of the toll vehicle 102, the toll violation notice is associated with the license plate and, together with the control data record, via a corresponding transmission device 210, for example mobile radio, to a mobile display device 212, which is, for example located in a controller vehicle 214. In this case, a transmission from the control device 202 or from the data processing device 205 of the control device 202 can be transmitted via mobile radio directly to the mobile display device (214). Alternatively, this can also take place via mobile radio to the mobile display device 214 via a schematically illustrated transmission device 210, which is in communication with the central data processing device 206.

On the mobile display device 212, the control data record, which includes the license plate 104 of the recorded toll vehicle 102 as well as the time of its capture, and the associated toll violation notice, which was taken from the offense database 208, is displayed.

The inspector can accordingly recognize on the display of the mobile display device 212 that the toll vehicle 102, which has passed the roadside control device 202, has already committed a toll violation before the current detection time or is suspected of doing so.

Accordingly, the inspector can decide to remove this vehicle, inspect it and possibly prosecute it.

By means of the central data processing device 206, it is also possible to determine from the control data set transmitted by the roadside control device 202 whether a toll violation has also occurred at the time of detection, i.e. the time the toll vehicle 102 is detected by the roadside control device 202. If this is the case, this second toll violation is also transmitted to the mobile display device 212. The determination of whether there is a potential toll violation is carried out in the data processing device 206 on the basis of the data determined for the respective toll vehicle 102 by the roadside control device 202 and from the data made available in a database using known analysis methods.

Instead of the central data processing device 206, a determination of whether there is a first toll violation notice recorded before the time of detection in the offense database 208 for the license plate can also be carried out in a data processing device arranged in the road-side control device 202 or in a data processing device directly assigned to it, the road-side control device 202 directly assigned data processing device then either has access to a central offense database 208, or has a locally stored copy of the offense database 208.

In Figure 2 A flowchart of the procedural steps for tracking toll vehicles in a toll system is shown schematically.

In step S10, a license plate number of a vehicle subject to toll is first detected by a roadside control device. This detection and the sensors and process steps used for it are known in principle.

In step S12, a control data record is formed which includes the license plate number and the time the license plate was captured.

In step S14, it is checked whether a toll violation notice is already present in an offense database of the toll system for the license plate included in the control data record. If this is not the case, the query from the offense database ends.

If there is a toll violation notice for the registered license plate in the toll database of the toll system, the control data record and the toll violation notice associated with it are transmitted to the mobile display device in step S16.

The control data record is then displayed on the mobile display device in step S18 together with the associated toll violation notice.

Accordingly, it can be achieved in this way that for each recorded license plate of a vehicle subject to toll, it is checked whether there is a toll violation notice that has already existed in the past and, if this is the case, the toll violation notice is transmitted to the mobile display device.

In this case, the toll violation notice is preferably transmitted to a mobile display device of the controller, which is connected to the respective roadside detection device or which is associated with it. A controller is usually either stationed directly at a roadside detection device, or he is stationed in the direction of travel after such a roadside detection device. This stationing is preferably arranged between the road-side detection device and a subsequent departure from the toll traffic area in order to be able to potentially control and divert all vehicles that were detected by the road-side detection device.

The control data record and the toll violation notice associated with it can also be transmitted to a mobile display device of another controller, which is in a different relationship to the roadside detection device.

An exemplary central data processing device 206 of the toll system 200 for carrying out the method is shown as a block diagram in Figure 3 shown. In this central data processing device, instructions, for example in the form of software code sections, are executed, so that the data processing device 206 is set up to carry out one or more of the method steps and functions described herein.

The central data processing device 206 can only include a single computer. However, it can also be a distributed system. According to one embodiment, the central data processing device 206 is a single, preferably physically separate, computer. According to another embodiment, this is a distributed system, that is, several independent computers that are connected and interact with one another in such a way that they appear to a user as a single, coherent system. In the latter case, each of the computers would have at least one processor with internal memory. The several computers in the computing device then work autonomously but functionally coordinated with one another.

The exemplary central data processing device 206 includes a central processor 220 (e.g. a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or both) with an internal memory, a central main memory 222 and a central static memory 224, which communicate with each other via a Bus 226 are communicatively coupled. The central data processing device 206 can also be communicatively coupled to a user interface. This user interface may include a display unit 228 (e.g., a flat panel display or the like) and a first input unit 230 (e.g., a touch screen, input keys, a scroll wheel, a joystick, a touch pad, a mouse, or a voice recognition system) and a second input unit 232 (for example, a touch screen, input keys, a scroll wheel, a joystick, a touch pad, a mouse, or a voice recognition system). Of course, the user interface may include the display unit 228 and the input unit(s) in a single integrated device, such as a touch screen. Finally, the central data processing device 206 also includes a central data memory 234, a signal generating device 236 and a central communication device 238, which are communicatively connected to one another via the bus 226.

The central data storage 234 includes a machine-readable medium 240 on which are stored software code sections and data (e.g. instructions 242) required for the methods and functions of the computing device described herein. During operation of the central data processing device 206, the instructions 242 can also be loaded, at least in part, into the main memory 222 and/or into the internal memory of the processor 220, whereby the main memory 222 and the internal memory of the processor 220 are also machine-readable media.

However, the instructions 242 can also be transmitted or received via a network 244 by means of the central communication device 238, using one of the numerous known transmission protocols (for example TCP/IP, HTTP).

While the machine-readable medium 240 (which is preferably non-transitory) is a single medium in an exemplary embodiment, the term " machine-readable medium " includes both a single medium and multiple media (e.g., a central or distributed database and any caches associated therewith (" Cache ") and servers) which store the instructions 242 in the form of software code sections. The term “ machine-readable medium ” also includes any medium capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions 242. This can be solid-state memory, optical memory or magnetic memory. Exemplary embodiments of the central data processing device 206 may be implemented in digital circuits or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the offense database 208 is also connected to the bus 226 of the central data processing device 206. Technically, this is also a data memory that can be designed in the manner described above. The data storage of the offense database 208 can also be designed in a known manner by a database server that is technically connected to a mass storage device, for example a RAID array of hard drives. The data from the offense database 208 is then stored in the mass storage and access is organized by the database server in a known manner.

To the extent applicable, all of the individual features illustrated in the individual exemplary embodiments can be combined and/or replaced with one another without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Reference symbol list

100

traffic area

102

toll vehicle

104

Mark

200

Toll system

202

Control facility

203

Data storage

204

Detection facilities

205

Data processing device

206

central data processing facility

208

Crime database

210

Transmission facility

211

Data storage

212

Display device

214

Inspector vehicle

220

processor

222

main memory

224

static memory

226

bus

228

Display unit

230

first input unit

232

second input unit

234

central data storage

236

Signal generating device

238

central communication facility

240

machine-readable medium

242

instructions

244

network

Claims (12)

1. Method for tracking vehicles (102) which are liable for a toll in a toll system (200) which has at least one data processing apparatus (205, 206) being in communication with an offense database (208) and at least one stationary control apparatus (202) on the road side, wherein in the offense database (208) are stored first toll violation notices associated in each case with number plates of vehicles which are liable for the toll, comprising the steps:

   - detecting at least one number plate (104) of a vehicle (102) which is liable for the toll by means of the stationary control apparatus (202) on the road side,

   - forming a control data set, which comprises the number plate (104) of the detected vehicle (102) which is liable for the toll and its point in time of detection, on the part of the control apparatus on the road side,

   - detecting on the part of the data processing apparatus (205, 206) whether in the offense database (208) for the detected number plate (104) a first toll violation notice, detected prior to the point in time of detection, is present, wherein the toll violation notices stored in the offense database (208) are specified by prior detection of at least one number plate (104) of a vehicle (102) which is liable for the toll by means of a control apparatus (202) on the road side and the prior determination whether a toll violation of the vehicle (102) which is liable for the toll has occurred,

   - if a first toll violation notice for the detected number plate (104) is present in the offense database (208), associating the first toll violation with the control data set on the part of the data processing apparatus, wherein

   - the control data set and at least the first toll violation notice associated therewith are transmitted to a mobile display device (212) and the control data set and at least the first toll violation notice associated therewith are displayed on the mobile display device (212),

   - wherein the mobile display device (212) is comprised by a control vehicle for pursuing detected vehicles which are liable for the toll, is carried therein or is provided thereby and/or the mobile display device is comprised by a mobile device, preferably mobile computer, tablet computer or smart phone.
2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the control data set associated with the first toll violation notice is stored in a data store (203, 208, 211, 222), preferably in the offense database (208), in a data store (222) assigned to the central data processing apparatus (206), a data store (203) assigned to the stationary control apparatus (202) on the road side, a data store (211) assigned to a transmitting apparatus (210) or a further data store.
3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is determined whether at the point in time of detection a further toll violation has occurred, and, if a further toll violation occurs, a second toll violation notice is generated and also this second toll violation notice is associated with the control data set, wherein preferably the determination whether a toll violation had also occurred at the point in time of detection is carried out in the central processing apparatus (206) and/or the control apparatus (202).
4. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the offense database (208) a toll violation data set which comprises the first toll violation notice, the number plate (104) connected thereto, the point in time of the detection of the toll violation and a position identifier of the control apparatus (202) detecting the toll violation, wherein the toll violation data set is associated with the control data set.
5. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the stationary control apparatus (202) on the road side has a position identifier and the position identifier of the control apparatus (202) which has detected the number plate of the vehicle (102) which is liable for the toll is comprised by the control data set.
6. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first toll violation notice is detected at a point in time which is before the point in time of detection by means of control apparatus (202) and is transmitted to the central data processing apparatus (206).
7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that the first toll violation notice, together with the number plate (104) associated therewith, the point in time of the detection of the toll violation and the position identifier of the stationary control apparatus (202) on the road side detecting the toll violation, is stored in a toll violation data set in the offense database (208) of the central data processing apparatus (206), preferably if a handling of the toll offense is not signaled to the central data processing apparatus (206) within a predetermined time duration from the point in time of detection.
8. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that toll violation data sets stored in the offense database (208) are transmitted to all stationary control apparatuses (202) on the road side or the offense database (208) provides the stored toll violation data sets to all stationary control apparatuses (202) on the road side and the determination whether a number plate of the control data set matches with a number plate (104) of a toll violation data set is carried out in a stationary control apparatus (202) on the road side, preferably in the stationary control apparatus (202) on the road side which has detected the number plate (104) at the point in time of detection.
9. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the central data processing apparatus (206) it is determined whether for the detected number plate (104) at the point in time of detection more than one toll violation notice is present and if more than one toll violation notice is present, a prioritization notice is generated and is associated with the control data set, is transmitted to the mobile display apparatus (212) and is displayed thereon together with the control data set and the toll violation notices.
10. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the toll violation notice comprises a characterization of the type of the toll violation and on the basis of the type of the toll violation, on the basis of a weighting table present in a central or decentral prioritization database, an appropriate prioritization notice is generated and is connected to the control data set, is transmitted to the mobile display apparatus (212) and together with the control data set and the toll violation notice is displayed on the mobile display apparatus (212).
11. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the toll violation data sets present in the offense database (208) are inactivated or deleted if an event is present, wherein the event is preferably the exceeding of a time duration from the point in time of detection of the first toll violation notice and/or the signaling to the central data processing apparatus (206) of a handling of the toll violation.
12. Toll system (200) for pursuing vehicles (102) which are liable for a toll, comprising

    - a data processing apparatus (205, 206),

    - an offense database (208) communicating with the data processing apparatus (205, 206),

    - at least one stationary control apparatus (202) on the road side, and

    - a mobile display apparatus (212), which is comprised by a control vehicle for pursuing detected vehicles which are liable for the toll, is carried therein or is provided thereby and/or a mobile display apparatus which is comprised by a mobile device, preferably mobile computer, tablet computer or smartphone,
    characterized in that

    - the data processing apparatus (205, 206) is configured

    - in response to a control data set, created by one of the stationary control apparatuses (202) on the road side, which comprises a number plate (104), detected by the stationary control apparatus on the road side, of a vehicle (102) which is liable for the toll and the point in time of detection associated therewith,

    - to determine whether in the offense database (208) for the detected number plate (104) prior to the point in time of detection a first toll violation notice is present and, if a toll violation notice is present, to associate the first toll violation notice with the control data set on the part of the data processing apparatus, wherein the toll violation notices stored in the offense database (208) are specified by prior detection of at least one number plate (104) of a vehicle (102) which is liable for the toll by means of a stationary control apparatus (202) on the road side and the prior determination whether a toll violation of the vehicle (102) which is liable for the toll has occurred,

    - wherein the toll system (200) is configured to transmit the control data set and at least the first toll violation notice associated therewith to the mobile display apparatus (212), which is configured to display the control data set and at least the first toll violation notice associated therewith on the mobile display apparatus (212).

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