Thomas Charles Mcdaniel

US Patent:

61409413, Oct 31, 2000

Filed:

Jan 17, 1997

Appl. No.:

8/785179

Inventors:

Douglas Dwyer - Brea CA
Stephen J. Feitelson - Corona CA
Gary S. Gallagher - Oceanside CA
Roger O'Connor - Dove Canyon CA
Thomas L. McDaniel - Crystal Bay NV
Edward Broad - Fountain Valley CA

Assignee:

Raytheon Company - Lexington MA

International Classification:

G08G 100

US Classification:

340928

Abstract:

A cashless toll collection system and method that detects vehicles using transponders for prepaid customers and cameras for casual or non-transponder equipped vehicles. The system has a plurality of roadside toll collectors, one or more toll transaction processors, and a revenue management system. Each roadside toll collector has a vehicle to roadside communications system that communicates with transponders disposed in transponder equipped vehicles and generates entry and exit transaction reports indicating the entry and exit locations and times of the transponder equipped vehicles. Each roadside toll collector has a plurality of license plate cameras that selectively provide video images of license plates of vehicles that are not equipped with a transponder. Each roadside toll collector has a vehicle detector and classification system that detects the presence of vehicles, controls the cameras to capture the video images of the license plates, and generates entry and exit transaction reports indicating the entry and exit locations and times, and the license plate images of each detected vehicle that is not equipped with a transponder. The toll transaction processor processes the transaction reports to generate tolling transactions for each vehicle.