Electronic vehicle toll collection system and method

Claim 1

A method for automatically collecting tolls from a vehicle moving along a roadway, the method comprising the steps of providing at least a first toll facility through which the vehicle can pass for toll collection, providing an in-vehicle toll processor having storage for storing a toll-money-available signal representative of a monetary quantity available for debiting in a toll transaction at an upcoming toll facility, loading the toll processor with an electronic gross-toll-amount signal representative of an initial toll-money-available value, transmitting, from a first toll-facility-identification site corresponding to and remote from a first toll facility, a first toll-facility-identifier signal uniquely representative of the location of the first toll facility, said in-vehicle toll processor being receptive to receive said first toll-facility-identifier signal, said in-vehicle toll processor being arranged to calculate, in response to the first toll-facility-identifier signal, a toll amount to be debited at the first toll facility, transmitting, from a first toll collection facility to the in-vehicle toll processor, as the vehicle passes through the first toll collection facility, a toll-collect signal instructing the in-vehicle toll processor to debit the calculated toll amount from storage, debiting the calculated toll amount from storage, and transmitting, from the in-vehicle toll processor to the first toll facility, an acknowledgement signal to indicate that the calculated toll amount has been debited from storage.

Claim 2

A method for automatically collecting tolls from a vehicle moving along a roadway, the method comprising the steps of providing at least a first toll facility through which the vehicle can pass for toll collection, providing an in-vehicle toll processor having storage for storing a toll-money-available signal representative of a monetary quantity available for debiting in a toll transaction at an upcoming toll facility, loading the toll processor with an electronic gross-toll-amount signal representative of an initial toll-money-available value, transmitting, from a first toll-facility-identification site corresponding to and remote from a first toll facility, a first toll-facility-identifier signal uniquely representative of the location of the first toll facility, said in-vehicle toll processor being receptive to receive said first toll-facility-identifier signal, said in-vehicle toll processor being arranged to calculate, in response to the first toll-facility-identifier signal, a toll amount to be debited at the first toll facility, transmitting, from a first toll collection facility to the in-vehicle toll processor, as the vehicle passes through the first toll collection facility, a toll-collect signal instructing the in-vehicle toll processor to debit the calculated toll amount from storage, debiting the calculated toll amount from storage, and transmitting, from the in-vehicle toll processor to the first toll facility, an acknowledgement signal to indicate that the calculated toll amount has been debited from storage.