Radar detector with navigational function
View Patent ↗A GPS enabled radar detector dynamically handles radar sources based upon previously-stored geographically-referenced information on such sources and data from the GPS receiver. The detector includes technology for determining the location of the detector, and comparing this location to the locations of known stationary sources, to improve the handling of such detections. The detector may ignore detections received in an area known to contain a stationary source, or may only ignore specific frequencies or may handle frequencies differently based upon historic trends of spurious police radar signals at each frequency. Notification of the driver will take on a variety of forms depending on the stored information, current operating modes, and vehicle speed. The detector may be also incorporated within a general purpose navigation device.
1. A navigation and police activity warning device comprising:
a receiver section receiving signals generated in the context of law enforcement activity,
a warning section responding to the receiver section and providing a warning if a received signal correlates to a law enforcement signal, the warning produced by the warning section varying in relation to a vehicle location derived from a position determining circuit,
a navigational system providing a graphical display and navigational functions, the display including a display of navigational information including a map and stored geographic locations on said map for which the device stores data that is used by said warning section in varying the warning produced in response to a law enforcement signal.
2. A police warning receiver comprising:
a receiver section adapted to receive electromagnetic signals indicative of police activity;
an alert section responsive to the receiver section and adapted to provide an alert if a received electromagnetic signal correlates to a police signal;
a position determining circuit generating a location signal; and
storage for information associated with geographic locations.
3. The police warning receiver of claim 2 wherein said information associated with geographic locations includes information identifying rejectable signals at a geographic location.
4. The police warning receiver of claim 3 wherein receiver correlates a received electromagnetic signal to rejectable signals at a geographic location corresponding to said location signal, and alters or does not provide an alert if the rejectable signals correlate to the received electromagnetic signal.
5. The police warning receiver of claim 2 , further comprising communication circuitry for obtaining information on geographic locations that was gathered by another police warning receiver.
6. The police warning receiver of claim 2 wherein said information comprises a geographic location visited by a vehicle carrying said receiver.
7. The police warning receiver of claim 2 wherein said information comprises a velocity of a vehicle carrying said receiver at a geographic locations.
8. The police warning receiver of claim 2 wherein said electromagnetic signals include radar signals in a radar band.
9. The police warning receiver of claim 2 wherein said electromagnetic signals are carried in the visible or infrared spectrum.
10. The police warning receiver of claim 2 , further comprising communication circuitry for obtaining said signal information from a general purpose computer.