Abstract:
A toll-paying device for use in a vehicle passing through a lane having a tollhouse in a toll collection system. In response to a driver inserting an IC card which at least stores a card ID in the card slot of the device, a traveling status of the vehicle is detected to indicate an immobile or running state. In case of a running state of the vehicle, the driver is prohibited from entering a code such as a card ID or password. If the vehicle is stopped, the code entry is permitted. In an embodiment, the codes of IC cards that have been validated are registered in the toll-paying device so that if the driver uses one of the registered IC card, he or she is permitted to omit the code entry for the IC card. Techniques for preventing the driver from leaving his or her IC card in the keyhole of the vehicle is also disclosed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention generally relates to an electronic toll collection (ETC) system for use in a toll road or expressway and, more particularly, to a toll paying method and device for use with a vehicle passing through a lane having a tollhouse. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In an ETC system, a device installed in a tollhouse automatically collects a toll from an account of the owner of a vehicle passing through the tollhouse by the device communicating information necessary for the charging with a vehicle-mounted device. Such a system permits vehicles to pay their tolls without stopping at the tollhouse, contributing to the relief of traffic congestion near the tollhouse. 
     The verification of the owner identification is achieved by the vehicle-mounted device reading an IC card of the owner. In order to prevent an IC card from being used by a person who illegally obtained the IC card, vehicle-mounted devices are sometimes configured to making the user enter a password or an identification number associated with the IC card when he or she inserts the IC card for validating the inserted IC card on the condition that the entered password or identification (ID) code matches the card ID code stored in the inserted IC card. 
     However, if the user tried to enter a password or ID code while the vehicle is running, it would be very dangerous and might cause a traffic accident. 
     It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a vehicle-mounted toll-paying device that prohibits the driver from entering a code, e.g., a password or ID code during vehicle running for the sake of the safety. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention, a toll-paying device for use in a vehicle passing through a lane having a tollhouse in a toll collection system is provided. The toll-paying device comprises means for permitting a driver an insert of an IC (integrated circuit) card which at least stores a card ID to use the IC card; means for permitting the driver to enter a code associated with the IC card; means, responsive to the code, for keeping an indication of the validity of the IC card during a period of use of the IC card only if the IC card is valid; means responsive, only during the indication, to a detection of the tollhouse for executing a toll paying process; means for detecting a traveling status of the vehicle to indicate an immobile or running state; and means operative during the running state for prohibiting the driver from entering the code and disabling the means for permitting the driver to enter a code. If the vehicle is stopped, the code entry is permitted. 
     In one embodiment, the codes of IC cards that have been validated are registered in the toll-paying device so that if the driver uses one of the registered IC card, he or she is permitted to omit the code entry for the IC card. 
     Techniques for preventing the driver from leaving his or her IC card in the keyhole of the vehicle is also disclosed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention and the accompanying drawing, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an illustration giving an exterior view of a main body of a vehicle-mounted toll paying system that prohibits the driver from entering a code, e.g., a password or ID code during vehicle running for the sake of the safety in accordance with the principles of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an overall arrangement of the vehicle-mounted toll paying system; 
     FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a registered IC card table of the vehicle-mounted toll paying system  1 ; 
     FIGS. 4 through 9 are flowcharts of the operation of the vehicle-mounted toll paying system  1  of FIGS. 1 and 2; 
     FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the contents of RAM  13   a  used in a toll paying system that uses a password stored in an IC card  24   a  for the verification of the inserted IC card  24   a ; and 
     FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the contents of RAM  13   b  used in a toll paying system that uses passwords stored in RAM  13   b  for the verification of the inserted IC card  24 . 
    
    
     Throughout the drawing, the same elements when shown in more than one figure are designated by the same reference numerals. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 is an illustration giving an exterior view of a main body  10  of a vehicle-mounted toll paying system that prohibits the driver from entering a code, e.g., a password or ID code during vehicle running for the sake of the safety in accordance with the principles of the invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an overall arrangement of the vehicle-mounted toll paying system  1 . In FIGS. 1 and 2, the toll paying system  1  comprises the main body  10 . The main body  10 , which is basically a microcomputer, comprises CPU (central processing unit)  11 ; ROM (read only memory)  12  for storing a program including various subroutines as detailed later; RAM (random access memory)  13 ; a clock  14  for providing a clock signal; a display portion  15  on which various information is displayed; a keyboard portion  16  for permitting a user to input data such as a password, an ID code, etc.; an audio output portion  17  for providing an audio output; a communications circuit  18  for communicating with the device of a tollhouse (not shown); an IC card slot  19  in which an IC card  24  is set; an IC card insertion sensor  20  for detecting the insertion of an IC card  24 ; an IC card interface (IF)  21  for transferring data to and from the inserted IC card  24 ; signal input circuits  22  for receiving signals Se (2 bits), St and Sp from an engine status sensor  25 , a car traveling status sensor  26  and a driver presence sensor  27  for detecting the presence of a person at the driver&#39;s seat (not shown), respectively; and a signal output portion  23  for supplying a signal to a vibrator at the driver&#39;s seat. 
     The RAM  13  is preferably a non-volatile memory so as to retain data even when an electric subsystem is off. The non-volatile RAM  13  may be realized for example as a flash RAM or a C-MOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) RAM backed up with a battery. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing exemplary contents of RAM  13 . According to the principles of the invention, the toll paying system  1  may be provided with a registered card list or table  138  for storing the IC card numbers for the IC cards that can be used (are treated as valid) without entering respective passwords. The registered card list or table  138  at least has an IC card number field. 
     The signal Se from the engine status sensor  25  is a two-bit signal. Specifically, the binary values 00, 01 and 11 of the signal Se correspond to the following states of the engine system (not shown) as shown in a table below. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Se 
                 the engine system status 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 00 
                 the electric subsystem is off 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (car key has not turned at all) 
               
               
                   
                 01 
                 the electric subsystem is on 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (car key has turned to a first position) 
               
               
                   
                 11 
                 the engine is running 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The traveling status signal St takes a binary value 0 or 1, e.g., for the immobility or the running state of the vehicle, respectively. The signal Sp from the driver presence sensor  27  takes a binary value 0 or 1, e.g., for the absence or the presence at a driver&#39;s seat, respectively. The driver presence sensor  27  may be any suitable sensor such as a weight sensor set under the driver&#39;s seat or an infrared sensor. 
     FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the operation of an interrupt subroutine invoked in response to the IC card insertion detector  20  detecting an insertion of an IC card  24 . In FIG. 4, CPU  11  first causes information to be read out of the IC card  24  via IC card interface  21  into a card data area  239  of RAM  13  as shown in FIG. 4 in step  101 . The information stored in the area  239  includes an IC card number  231 , an account number used for toll payment, the balance, etc. 
     In decision step  103 , CPU  11  makes a test to see if the read IC card number  231  is found in the IC card table  138 . If so, it means that the card has been verified once through the comparison between the card number  231  stored in the IC card  24  and the number entered by the user. In this case, the inserted IC card  24  is judged to be valid and accordingly the control is passed to step  121 , where a valid card flag VCF (not shown) in RAM  13  is set to 1. Then, CPU  11  returns to a main program. It is noted that step  104  may be added after a test result of YES in step  103 . In step  104 , CPU  11  provides an audio and/or visual message “This IC card is already registered and valid. No password is necessary”. 
     If the read IC card number  231  is not found in the IC card table  138  in step  103 , then CPU  11  proceeds to step  105  to make a test to see if the traveling status permits a user to input a password through the keyboard portion  16 , i.e., if the traveling status sensor signal St is logical “0” meaning the immobility of the vehicle. If not, i.e., St=1, then CPU  11  proceeds to step  107 . In step  107 , CPU  11  warns the user to enter a password after stopping the vehicle by displaying a message “Password entry is only permitted during the car stoppage.” and/or by providing an voice message to the same effect through the audio output portion  17 . Then, CPU  11  proceeds to step  109 , where CPU  11  waits till the vehicle is stopped. 
     If the vehicle is stopped in step  109  or if the traveling status is in the immobility of the vehicle, i.e., St 0 in step  105 , then CPU  11  proceeds to step  111  to prompt the user to enter a password, e.g., by displaying a message “Please enter a password from the keyboard.” and by providing an voice message to the same effect through the audio output portion  17 . In step  113 , CPU  11  makes a test to see if the entered password is valid by comparing the entered password (an IC card ID number in this specific example) with the read IC card number  231 . If not, then CPU  11  presents a message to the effect that the inserted IC card  24  is invalid in step  115  and returns to the main program. 
     In a preferred embodiment, if the entered password is valid, then CPU  11  proceeds to step  117  to make a test to see if an automatic card registration function is set disable. If so, then CPU  11  simply proceeds to step  121  to set a valid card flag VCF to  1 , and then returns to the main program. VCF being 1 means that the inserted IC card  24  is valid. As long as VCF is 1, the vehicle-mounted toll paying system  1  automatically performs a toll paying process in a conventional manner when the vehicle passes through a tollhouse. 
     If the automatic card registration function is not set disable or set enable in step  117 , then CPU  11  calls a card registration subroutine in step  119  before proceeding to step  121 . FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the operation of the automatic card registration subroutine. In FIG. 5, CPU  11  makes a test to see if the registered card table  130  has a possible maximum number of cards registered in step  161 . 
     If so, then CPU  11  deletes the record of the lowest priority from the table  130  in step  163 . In this case, the priority can be judged based on various criterions. A simplest deleting scheme is to delete the first registered record in a first-in first-out manner as practiced in a well-known data buffer. After step  163  or the decision of NO in step  161 , CPU  11  proceeds to step  165  to add the record of the inserted IC card  24  (the ID number of card  24  in this case) to the registered card table  130 , and returns to the main program. 
     If the registered card table  130  contains a registration time and date field  132  as shown in FIG. 3, then step  163  may be configured to delete record(s) which has (or have) been registered for a period exceeding a predetermined registration valid period  134  stored in RAM  13 . The (registered) period is calculated by subtracting the current time and date from the registration time and date  132 . It is noted that the registration valid period  134  may be set either through the keyboard portion  16  or through the communications circuit  18  from the tollhouse device (not shown). 
     If the registered card table  130  contains a field  133  for the number of toll payments as shown in FIG. 3, then the toll payment system  1  may be configured to increment the value of the field  133  for the IC card number of the IC card  24  inserted in the card slot  20  in a toll paying process each time the vehicle passes through a tollhouse; and step  163  may be configured to delete a record with the minimum value in the field  133 . 
     It should be noted that the vehicle-mounted toll paying system  1  may be configured not to have the registered card table  130 . In this case, steps  103 ,  117  and  119  are omitted. However, providing the system  1  with the registered card table  130  and step  103  enables the password entry to be omitted if the inserted IC card  24  is already registered in the table  130 . 
     FIGS. 6A and 6B are flowcharts of the operation executed by CPU  11  under the control of interrupt subroutines for managing a traveling status flag TSF indicative of whether the vehicle is running or not. An interrupt subroutine of FIG. 6A is invoked if the engine status sensor signal Se from the sensor  25  is set to logical “01” (i.e., the electric subsystem (not shown) is turned on or the car key is turned to the first position), or if the travel status signal St from the sensor  26  is changed from 1 to 0 (i.e., from running to immobility). In this case, CPU  11  resets the traveling status flag TSF, i.e., sets TSF to  0  in step  141 , and returns to the main routine. 
     Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6B, if the travel status signal St is changed from 0 to 1 (i.e., from immobility to running), then CPU  11  sets the traveling status flag TSF, i.e., sets TSF to  1  in step  143 , and returns to the main routine. 
     FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the operation of an interrupt subroutine invoked in response to a key input from the keyboard portion  16 . If a key input is detected, CPU  11  makes a test to see if the traveling status flag TSF is zero in step  151 . If so, then CPU  11 , thereafter, performs a conventional key input operation. If not, then CPU  11  displays a message to the effect that a key operation is prohibited during running of vehicle and also provides a voice message to the same effect in step  153 . Then, CPU  11  returns to the main program. In this way, the user is prohibited from operating the keyboard portion  16 , this ensures the safety of vehicle driving. 
     FIGS. 8 and 9 are flowcharts of the operation executed for preventing the driver from leaving his or her IC card in the IC card slot. If the engine status signal Se has changed from logical “11” to logical “01” or “00” or the engine has stopped, then an interrupt subroutine of FIG. 8 is invoked. In this case, CPU  11  makes a test in step  171  to see if an IC card is inserted in the card slot  20 . If not, then CPU  11  simply returns to the main program. If any IC card is in the card slot  20 , then CPU  11  displays a message to warn the driver to take the card  24  before leaving the vehicle or the driver&#39;s seat (not shown) in step  173 , and proceeds to step  175 . CPU  11  drives the vibrator  28  provided at the driver&#39;s seat through the signal output circuit  23  to inform the driver of the message displayed on the display portion  15 . It is noted that CPU  11  may also provide a voice message saying “Please take the IC card with you before you leave the seat” in step  173 . Then, CPU  11  returns to the main program. 
     If the driver presence sensor signal Sp from the sensor  28  has changed from 1 to 0, meaning that the driver is leaving his or her seat (or vehicle), then an interrupt subroutine of FIG. 9 is invoked. In this case, CPU  11  makes a test in step  181  to see if an IC card is inserted in the card slot  20 . If not, then CPU  11  simply returns to the main program. If any IC card  24  is in the card slot  20 , then CPU  11  displays a message to warn the driver to take the card  24  before leaving the driver&#39;s seat (not shown) in step  183 , and proceeds to step  185 . CPU  11  also provides a voice message saying “Please take the IC card with you before you leave the seat” in step  185 . Then, CPU  11  returns to the main program. 
     In the above description, any visual or audio message may be replaced with an appropriate sound. Also, any appropriate sound may be added to any of the above audio and visual messages. 
     In the above-described embodiment, for the verification of the inserted IC card  24 , the card ID number of the inserted IC card  24  is used. However, in order to verify the validity of the inserted IC card  24 , a specific password associated with the inserted IC card  24  may be used instead of the card ID number. 
     FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the contents of RAM  13   a  used in a toll paying system that uses a password stored in an IC card  24   a  for the verification of the inserted IC card  24   a . In this case, the password  233  stored in the IC card  24   a  is read out into the card data area  230   a  of RAM  13   a  in the above-described step  101 . The password entered by the user is compared with the password  233  in RAM  13   a.    
     FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the contents of RAM  13   b  used in a toll paying system that uses passwords stored in RAM  13   b  for the verification of the inserted IC card  24 . In this case, a password  331  associated with the IC card number  131  is entered either in the above-described step  165  of the automatic card registration subroutine or for each record in the table  130   a  when the entire table  130   a  is created. The password entered by the user is compared with the password  331  in the table  130   b  of RAM  13   b    
     Though the registered IC card table  130  has been automatically created by the automatic card registration subroutine, the table  130  may be created by entering necessary data either through the keyboard portion  16  or through the communications circuits  18 . 
     The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. 
     Many widely different embodiments of the present invention may be constructed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described in the specification, except as defined in the appended claims.