JPS63137395A - Vehicle type wise fare collector for motorcycle - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to a toll road or a toll parking lot where a motorcycle is collected at a toll gate depending on the type of vehicle. The types of motorcycles that can be used are determined by the engine displacement. Motorcycles with a capacity of 125cc or more are allowed on expressways (motorcycles under the Road Traffic Act), but on tourist roads etc.
Motorcycles (bicycles with original AM according to the Road Traffic Act)
There are also toll roads that are open to the public.

By the way, some toll roads have tolls for motorcycles separate from tolls for other vehicles, while others have tolls for motorcycles the same as tolls for regular cars. Most expressways use the latter toll system. This is because setting tolls separately for motorcycles would complicate the task of collecting tolls by vehicle type at toll collection gates (toll booths). This is because toll collectors will be forced to work harder than ever before, and for this reason, on most major highways, toll tolls for ordinary cars are collected from motorcycles as well, and toll collection gates are closed. simplifies toll collection.

However, it goes without saying that it is unfair to collect the same tolls from motorcycles as ordinary cars. Judging from the current situation where complaints are being made from motorcycles, it is naturally expected that an appropriate toll system will be implemented in the near future, where tolls for motorcycles will be charged separately from those for other vehicles, even on major expressways. Is Rukoto.

However, collecting tolls from motorcycles separately from other vehicles at the toll collection gates of toll roads complicates the task of collecting tolls by vehicle type at the toll collection gates, making it difficult for toll collectors to collect tolls. It will require a lot of effort. This also applies to some toll roads that traditionally charge motorcycle tolls separately from tolls for other vehicles.

For this reason, conventional methods have been used to provide motorcycle-only lanes at the toll collection gates of toll roads, where only motorcycles can pass, and collect tolls from motorcycles in these motorcycle-only lanes. It has been considered to separate toll collection operations from motorcycles and toll collection operations from other vehicles, but placing toll collectors to collect tolls from motorcycles in lanes exclusively for motorcycles is Considering that the traffic volume of motorcycles is small compared to the traffic volume of other vehicles (particularly on major expressways, the traffic volume of motorcycles is extremely low), it is unfavorable in terms of labor costs. Automation of toll collection from motorcycles in dedicated lanes is being considered.

This method involves installing a barrier in the motorcycle-only lane and installing an automatic toll collection machine on the roadside of this lane to collect tolls paid by the motorcycle driver. A method is being considered in which when a predetermined toll is paid to the machine, the barrier is opened and the motorcycle that has paid the toll is allowed to pass.If such a toll collection method is adopted, the motorcycle Tolls can be collected automatically and unattended.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the existing automatic toll collection method from motorcycles collects the same toll from motorcycles regardless of the type of vehicle, so for example, motorcycles less than 125 cc may also be charged. On toll roads, small motorcycles with less than 125 cc will be charged the same toll as large motorcycles with 125 cc or more or 250 cc or more.
Even on major expressways where only motorcycles of 125cc or more are allowed to pass, the same toll will be collected from motorcycles of 125cc or more but less than 250cc as for motorcycles of 250cc or more. The problem was that it was disadvantageous for motorcycles.

Therefore, from the perspective of fairness, it would be ideal to set tolls for motorcycles by vehicle type according to engine displacement, and to distinguish the type of motorcycle and collect tolls according to that vehicle type. However, in the past, the only way to visually identify the type of motorcycle was to manually identify the type of motorcycle, so in order to distinguish the type of motorcycle and collect the toll according to the type, it required personnel to identify the type of motorcycle. The problem was that it required

This applies not only to toll roads but also to the collection of parking fees from motorcycles in toll parking lots. In other words, in paid parking lots exclusively for motorcycles and paid parking lots where motorcycles and other vehicles are parked, parking fees for motorcycles are usually set by vehicle type; Since vehicle type identification is done manually and visually, personnel are required to identify vehicle types.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to set tolls or parking fees for self-help motorcycles for each type of vehicle, and to collect tolls or parking fees from the motorcycle according to the type of vehicle. To provide a type-specific toll collection device for motorcycles capable of collecting parking fees automatically and unattended.

Toll collection machines installed on the roadside of the toll collection area of motorcycle lanes to collect tolls paid by motorcycle drivers, and toll collection machines installed on the exit side of the toll collection area that are closed at all times. an exit detector installed on the exit side of the toll collection area to detect passage of a motorcycle leaving the area after waiting for the opening of the crossing gate; and an exit detector installed on the entrance side of the toll collection area. a rear end detector for detecting the rear end of a motorcycle entering this area; The license plate attached to the rear of a motorcycle! A video camera is used, and the image captured by the video camera is captured by the vehicle rear end detection signal from the vehicle rear end detector, and the ground color of the license plate, the presence or absence of specific characters, and the presence or absence of frame painting are detected. an image processing unit that outputs a vehicle type signal corresponding to the engine displacement category of the motorcycle; and a display unit of the toll collection machine that displays tolls or parking fees for each vehicle type in accordance with the vehicle type signal from the image processing unit. control to open the barrier when the toll collection machine collects the displayed amount of toll, and to close the barrier when the passing of a motorcycle is detected by the exit detector. It is characterized by having a part and a part.

Automatically identify the type of motorcycle by taking advantage of the fact that motorcycle license plates differ depending on the engine displacement classification, and automatically collect tolls or parking fees from the motorcycle according to the type of vehicle. The license plate attached to the rear of a motorcycle differs in base color, presence or absence of frame painting, and presence or absence of specific characters depending on the engine displacement classification, so this number is Based on the characteristics of the plate, it is possible to determine the type of motorcycle that corresponds to the engine displacement classification. This vehicle type identification is performed by transporting the license plate of the motorcycle using a video camera, and importing the image captured by this camera into an image processing unit for image processing. This is done when the rear end detector detects the rear end of a motorcycle entering the toll collection area. If it is installed toward the rear of the motorcycle, it will be possible to reliably capture the image of the license plate attached to the rear of the motorcycle. And this motorcycle #A
In the t* collection device, the R image captured from the video camera is processed in the image processing unit to determine the vehicle model corresponding to the engine displacement category based on the characteristics of the license plate, and calculate the toll fee or The parking fee is displayed on the display of the toll collection machine, and the barrier is opened when the toll collection machine has collected the displayed amount of toll, so the motorcycle driver can pay the parking fee according to the displayed amount, that is, the type of vehicle. By delivering the collected toll to the toll collection machine, you can pass through the toll collection gate.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking as an example a toll collection device at a toll collection gate of a toll road.

Figure 1 shows the layout of the toll collection device for motorcycles by vehicle type at the toll collection gate of a toll road. Shows the toll collection area within the area.

2 is the toll collection area 1a of the motorcycle lane 1.
This is an automatic toll collection machine installed on the roadside, and this toll collection machine 2 has a coin insertion slot 3a and a bill insertion slot 3b,
A change outlet (not shown) and a fee display section 4 are provided. The toll collection machine 2 receives the toll that is inserted into the coin insertion slot 3a or the bill insertion slot 3b by the driver of the motorcycle A, reads the paid toll, and transmits the amount data into the toll collection machine 2. The toll collection machine 2 includes a coin recognition device, a banknote recognition device, and a change discharge device. Note that this toll collection machine 2 is similar to those conventionally used as automatic toll collection machines for paid parking lots, etc., so a description of its configuration will be omitted.

5 is a barrier installed on the exit side of the toll collection area 1a. This barrier 5 opens and closes the lane 1 by raising and lowering a bar 5a, and is normally closed.

Further, 6 is a vehicle presence detector installed on the roadside of the toll collection area 1a, 7 is a vehicle departure detector installed near the barrier R5 on the exit side of the toll collection area 1a, and 8 is a vehicle presence detector installed on the roadside of the toll collection area 1a. This is a vehicle rear end detector installed on the entrance side. The vehicle presence detector 6 is of an ultrasonic type and is always located in the toll collection area 1.
When motorcycle A enters the toll collection area 1a and comes in front of the toll collection machine 2.

The presence of the motorcycle A within the toll collection area 1a is detected by detecting the reflected wave reflected by the motorcycle A. Further, the vehicle exit detector 7 and the vehicle rear end detector 8 are both optical types, and this vehicle exit detector 7
The vehicle rear end detector 8 consists of light projectors 7a and 8a provided on one side of the lane 1 and light receivers 7b and 8b provided on the other side of the lane 1.
always emits a light beam toward the light receivers 7b and 8b. The exit detector 7 detects the passage of a motorcycle A that leaves the toll collection area 1a by opening the barrier 5. When the motorcycle A passes the barrier v15, the motorcycle A activates a floodlight. When the light beam from 7a is interrupted and the light receiver 7b temporarily enters the non-light receiving state, then when the motorcycle A passes by and the light receiver 7b returns to the light receiving state,
A passage detection signal is output from this light receiver 7b. The vehicle rear end detector 8 detects the rear end of the motorcycle A entering the toll collection area 1a.
The light beam from the projector 8a is blocked by the motorcycle A entering the area a, and the light receiver 8b becomes temporarily in a non-light receiving state.
Next, when the light receiver 8b enters the light receiving state again due to the passage of the motorcycle A, a vehicle rear end detection signal is output from the light receiver 8b.

On the other hand, 9 is a motorcycle II that entered the toll collection area 1a.
This is a video camera that takes an image of the license plate a attached to the rear of a vehicle A. In this embodiment, the video camera 9 is a video camera that takes an image of the license plate a as a black and white image. This video camera 9 is installed toward the rear position of the motorcycle A when the rear end of the motorcycle A is detected by the vehicle rear end detector 8, and the imaging viewing angle of the video camera 9 is In order to be able to reliably capture the image of the license plate a even if the vehicle does not necessarily travel in the center of lane 1, the width is set to a certain extent.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an image processing unit that captures an image captured by the video camera 9 and determines the characteristics of the license plate a. When the rear end of the motorcycle A is detected, that is, when the rear end of the motorcycle A passes the light beam position and the license plate a is imaged by the video camera 9, a vehicle rear end detection signal is sent from the vehicle rear end detector 8. By Video Camera 9 Ii! It is designed to import images. The image processing unit 10 determines the background color of the license plate a, the presence or absence of specific characters, and the presence or absence of frame painting based on the IS images taken from the video camera 9, and determines the engine displacement classification of the motorcycle A. The vehicle type signal from the image processing section 10 is sent to the control section 20.

FIG. 2 shows the circuit configuration of the image processing unit 10, in which 11 is a central processing unit, 12 is a grayscale image memory for storing image signals from the video camera 9, 13 is a binarized image memory, and 14 is a This is a feature extraction part. The grayscale image memory 1
2, when an image capture signal is input from the control unit 20 to the central processing unit 11, only the image component of the license plate a is captured from the captured image of the video camera 9 according to a command from the central processing unit 11. This grayscale image of the license plate is stored, and the grayscale image stored in the grayscale image memory 12 is binarized and stored in the binary image memory 14 as a binary image. There is. Further, the feature extraction unit 14 extracts the grayscale image stored in the grayscale image memory 12 and the 211I! This is to extract the features of the converted image, that is, the background color of the license plate, the presence or absence of specific characters, and the presence or absence of frame painting.The features of the license plate extracted by the feature extraction unit 14 are sent to the central processing unit 11. The central processing unit 11 determines the vehicle type from the characteristics of the extracted license plate and sends a vehicle type signal to the control section 20 in the toll collection 12.

Figure 3 shows the circuit configuration of the toll collector 2.
In the figure, 21 is a coin sorting device, 22 is a banknote recognition device, and 23 is a change discharge device.The coin recognition device H21 and the banknote recognition device 22 are automatically inserted into the coin insertion slot 3a or banknote insertion slot 3b of the fee collection 11!2. The coin or banknote inserted by the driver of the two-wheeled vehicle A is identified and a delivery amount signal is sent to the control section 20 in the toll collection machine 2, and the change ejecting device 23 receives a signal from the control section 20. Change is dispensed according to the change amount signal. Further, the control section 20 is connected to a toll display section 4 provided in the toll collection machine 2, a cutoff l115, a vehicle presence detection B6, a vehicle departure detector 7, and a vehicle rear end detector 8. , the control unit 20 is
When a vehicle rear end detection signal is input from the vehicle rear end detector 8, an image capture signal is sent to the image processing section 10, and a preset vehicle is selected according to the vehicle type signal from the image processing section 10. The toll of each type is displayed on the toll display section 4. The control unit 20 also includes a coin identification device! When the delivery amount signal from 21 and the bill recognition device 22 reaches the displayed fare amount, an opening signal is sent to the barrier 5, and after this, a vehicle departure detection signal is input from the vehicle departure detector 7. When this occurs, a closing signal is sent to the circuit breaker 5.

Next, to explain the operation of automatically collecting tolls by vehicle type from motorcycles by the toll collection device, motorcycle A, which has been traveling in the motorcycle lane 1 while decelerating, has the barrier 5 closed. Therefore, the vehicle stops in front of this gate 5, that is, in the toll collection area 1a. And in this case,
When the motorcycle 11A enters the toll collection area 1a, the light beam of the vehicle rear end detector 8 is first blocked by the motorcycle A, and then when the motorcycle A enters the toll collection area 1a, the vehicle presence inspection is performed. The detector 6 detects the motorcycle A and sends a presence signal to the control unit 20. Further, when the rear end of the motorcycle A passes the position of the vehicle rear end detector 8, a vehicle rear end detection signal is sent from the vehicle rear end detector 8 to the control unit 20 as described above.
An image capture signal is sent from the control unit 20 to the image processing unit 10, and the image processing unit 10 captures the image captured by the video camera 9. Note that the control unit 20 controls the vehicle presence detector 6.
If there is no vehicle presence signal from the vehicle, the 1iii image capture signal is not output. In this case, the image processing unit 10 does not perform an image capturing operation. The image processing unit 10 then processes the video camera 9! By importing only the image component of license plate a from the lra image, the I! of license plate a is captured. The grayscale image is stored in the grayscale image memory 12.

Here, the grayscale image is one that is not subjected to binarization processing, and is one that faithfully expresses the density according to the color of the image.

Thereafter, the image processing unit 10 binarizes the grayscale image stored in the grayscale image memory 12 and stores this binary image in the binary image frame memory 13, and also stores it in the grayscale image memory 12. The grayscale image and the binary image memory 1
Based on the 2@ image stored in 3, the characteristics of the license plate are extracted to determine the type of motorcycle.

Now, to explain how the image processing unit 10 determines the type of motorcycle based on the characteristics of the license plate, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the vehicle type determination operation, and FIG. 5 shows the license plate a of the motorcycle.

First, to explain license plate a, in Japan, motorcycle license plates are determined as follows according to the engine displacement classification, and license plate a for motorcycles with an engine displacement of 2 socc or more is As shown in Figure 5 (I), a plate with a white base color and a green frame coating C is coated with a frame coating C.
It is said that the letter d, such as the city name and number, is displayed in the same green color as the ``d''. In addition, the license plate a of a motorcycle of 125 CCD or above to less than 250 cc is shown in Figure 5 (II
), the base color of the plate and the color of the letter d are the same as those for 250CC and above, but there is no frame coating C and the letter 1° is displayed on the upper left of the plate. In addition, 250cc or more and 125cc or more ~ 250cc
Some of the motorcycles less than cc are for commercial use, and the background color of commercial license plates is green, contrary to the above.
The color of the letter d (in the case of 250cc or more, the color of the frame coating C and the letter d) is white. Also, Figure 5 (m)
5 (rV) shows a license plate of 5 occ or more and less than 90 cc, and FIG. 5 (V) shows a license plate of less than 50 cc. The background color of these license plates a is pink for 90cc or more and less than 125cc, yellow for 50cc or more and less than 90cc, white for less than 50cc, and the color of the letter d is blue.

Next, how the image processing section 10 determines the type of motorcycle based on the characteristics of the license plate will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. As described above, when the motorcycle A enters the toll collection area 1a and its rear end is detected by the vehicle rear end detector 8, an image capture signal is sent from the control unit 20 to the image processing unit 10 (step Pi). . When this image capture signal is input, the image processing unit 1o
A license plate image is captured from the l1lI image (step P2) and stored in the grayscale image memory 12 (step P3). Next, the image processing unit 10 extracts the plate background color from the 3I light image of the license plate stored in the grayscale image memory 12 (step P4), and first determines whether or not this background color is white (step P5). . As mentioned above, the background color of motorcycle license plates is white.

There are four colors: yellow, peach, and green (for professional use), and when captured in a grayscale image, green has the highest density, followed by peach.

Since the order is yellow and white, it is possible to determine the color from the density of the ground color of the plate.

Here, if the base color of the license plate is determined to be white, the engine displacement of the motorcycle that entered the toll collection area 1a is less than 50cc, 125cc or more and 250cc or more.
One of three types: less than cc, and 250cc or more. Therefore, the image processing unit 10 binarizes the gradation image in the gradation image memory 12 and converts this binarized image into the binarized image memory 12 in order to discriminate between these 31 displacement classifications.
3 (Step P6), based on this binarized image, it is first determined whether the license plate has a frame coating (Step P7), and if there is a frame coating, it is determined whether the license plate has a frame coating or not.
It is determined that the vehicle type is 50cc or more. In addition, if the frame painting is not confirmed, determine whether the upper left character of the license plate (the first character of the registration number) is the number "1" (Step P8), ii If it is 1 Pl. It is determined that the vehicle type is 125cc or more and less than 250CC. In addition, if it is a character (kanji) other than “1'', 50
It is determined that the car model is less than cc.

On the other hand, if the base color of the license plate is not white, the image processing unit 10 proceeds from step P5 to step P9, and determines whether the base color of the plate is yellow. It is determined that the car model is less than 90CC. If the color is not yellow, proceed to step P10 to determine whether it is pink, and if it is pink, the color is 90%.
It is determined that the vehicle type is cc or more and less than 125cc.

In addition, since the base color of a motorcycle license plate is white, yellow, pink, and green (for commercial use), step P10
If it is determined that the ground color is not pink, the ground color of this license plate can be considered to be green. A license plate with a green base color is for business use, and a commercial motorcycle has an engine displacement of 1250cc or more, so the license plate whose base color is not pink is determined to be 125cc or more in step P10. - Motorcycles with a capacity of less than 250cc or 2500C or more. The license plate II' of this commercial motorcycle is
Compared to the license plates shown in Figures 5 (I) and (II), the base color, the frame coating C and the letter d
The characteristics of the frame painting C and the letter d are the same, except that the colors are reversed. Therefore, if it is determined in step P10 that the background color is not pink, the image processing unit 10 proceeds to step P11'', inverts the grayscale image, and then proceeds to step P6, in which the plate background color described above is white. Similarly, in the case of , it is determined whether the frame is painted (step P7) and the characters in the upper left are determined (step P8).
to determine whether it is 250cc or more, or 125cc or more and less than 250cc.

When the image processing unit 10 determines the vehicle type according to the engine displacement category based on the characteristics of the license plate, the image processing unit 10 sends the determined vehicle type signal (previously the vehicle type A separately set code signal) is sent out, and the control section 20 causes the toll display section 4 of the toll collection machine 2 to display a preset toll for each vehicle type in accordance with the vehicle type signal from the image processing section 10.

When the driver of the motorcycle A pays the toll displayed on the display section 4 through the coin insertion slot 3a or bill insertion slot 3b of the toll collection machine 2, the coin identification device 21 in the toll collection machine 2 and The banknote identification 1f 122 identifies the delivered coins or banknotes and sends a delivery amount signal to the control unit 20, and the control unit 20 determines that the delivery amount signals from the coin identification device 21 and the bill identification device 22 have reached the displayed fee amount. sometimes,
An opening signal is sent to the circuit breaker 5 to open the circuit breaker 5.

In addition, if the delivery fee exceeds the displayed amount, the control unit 2
0 causes the change discharging device 23 to discharge change and then opens the circuit breaker 5.

Therefore, the motorcycle A that has paid the toll to the toll collection machine 2 only needs to exit the toll collection area 1a when the cutoff t15 opens. The departure of the motorcycle A is detected by the vehicle detector 7, and the departure detection signal is sent to the control unit 2.
0, the control unit 20 sends a closing signal to the circuit breaker 5 to close the circuit breaker 5.

Therefore, in the motorcycle type-specific toll collection device, the number plate a of the motorcycle A is imaged by the video camera 9 and image-processed, thereby determining the background color of the license plate a, presence or absence of frame painting, and the like. Since the type of motorcycle is determined based on the presence or absence of a specific character (the character "'1" in the upper left), the type of motorcycle that corresponds to the engine displacement classification of the motorcycle is automatically determined, and the motorcycle is automatically identified. The toll according to the vehicle type can be automatically collected, and the image processing unit 10 captures the captured image when the vehicle rear end detector 8 detects a motorcycle entering the toll collection area 1a: after the IA. If the video camera 9 is installed facing the rear position of the motorcycle when the rear end of the motorcycle is detected by the vehicle rear end detector 8, The installed number plate collection device displays the toll for each vehicle type on the display unit 4 of the toll collection machine 2 according to the vehicle type determined from the characteristics of the license plate a, and the toll collection machine 2 collects the displayed toll. Since the barrier 115 is opened when the motorcycle is collected, the driver of the motorcycle can pass through the toll collection gate by delivering the displayed amount, that is, the toll according to the vehicle type, to the toll collection machine 2. In addition, the open barrier 15 is closed after the motorcycle that has paid the toll has passed, when the vehicle departure detector 7 detects the departure of the vehicle.
It is possible to prevent following motorcycles from passing through the toll collection gate without paying the toll.

In the above embodiment, the video camera 9 used is one that displays the license plate a as a grayscale image. However, if a video camera 9 that produces a Wi image of a color image is used, the background color of the license plate a can be changed. The discrimination can be made more easily than in the above embodiment. Furthermore, the present invention is of course applicable not only to the collection of tolls from motorcycles on toll roads, but also to the collection of parking fees by vehicle type from motorcycles at toll collection gates in toll parking lots.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The toll collection device for motorcycles according to the present invention captures an image of the license plate of a motorcycle using a video camera and processes the image to automatically detect the base color of the license plate, the presence or absence of frame painting, and the presence or absence of specific characters. This system automatically identifies the type of motorcycle and automatically collects tolls or parking fees from the motorcycle according to the type of vehicle. Although the toll fee or parking fee is collected from two-wheeled vehicles according to the type of vehicle, the toll collection can be performed automatically and unattended.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the layout of a toll collection device for motorcycles by type at a toll collection gate, FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of an image processing section, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a block circuit diagram of the toll collection machine, the fourth factor is a flowchart of the vehicle type discrimination operation, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the license plate corresponding to the engine displacement classification of the motorcycle. 1... Motorcycle lane, 1a... Toll collection area, 2... Toll collection machine, 3a... Coin insertion slot, 3
b...Banknote insertion slot, 4...Charge display section, 5...Barrier, 6...Vehicle presence detector, 7...Vehicle exit detector, 8...
...Vehicle rear end detector, 9...Video camera, 10...
Image processing unit, 20...control unit, A...motorcycle,
a...Number plate. Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A motorcycle type-specific toll collection device that automatically collects a toll or parking fee according to the type of motorcycle from a motorcycle at a toll collection gate of a toll road or a toll parking lot, comprising: A toll collection machine installed on the roadside of the toll collection area of the dedicated lane to collect tolls handed in by motorcycle drivers, and a normally closed barrier installed at the exit side of the toll collection area. an exit detector, which is provided on the exit side of the toll collection area, and detects the passage of a motorcycle exiting the area after waiting for the opening of the barrier, and an exit detector, which is provided on the entrance side of the toll collection area; A vehicle rear end detector that detects the rear end of a motorcycle entering this area; A video camera that images the license plate attached to the rear of the vehicle, and a vehicle rear end detection signal from the vehicle rear end detector captures the captured image of the video camera to determine the background color of the license plate and specific characters. An image processing unit that determines the presence or absence of frame painting and outputs a vehicle type signal corresponding to the engine displacement classification of the motorcycle; The toll is displayed on the display section of the toll collection machine, the barrier is opened when the toll collection machine has collected the displayed amount of toll, and the passing of the motorcycle is detected by the exit detector. A toll collection device for a motorcycle by type, comprising: a control unit that sometimes closes the circuit breaker;