Vehicular emergency vehicle alarm apparatus

• US 6,094,148 A
• Filed: 10/02/1998
• Issued: 07/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Strobe Detector Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Strobe Detector Technologies, LLC
• Inventors: Barnett, Richard E., Henry, Philip L., McKenna, Lou
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel J.
• Application Number:
  US09/165,214
• Time in Patent Office: 662 Days
• Field of Search: 340/902, 340/903, 340/555, 340/556, 340/904, 359/154, 359/189, 701/301
• US Class Current: 340/902
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0965 responding to signals from another vehicle, e.g. emergency vehicle

Abstract

An apparatus for detecting vehicular speed monitoring signals and for detecting nearby emergency vehicles includes a first sensor for sensing modulated light from an emergency vehicle warning light and generating an alarm signal in response; a second sensor for sensing an incident vehicular speed monitoring signal and generating a ranging signal in response; and an alarm coupled to the first and second sensors for issuing an alarm in response to generation of any of the ranging signal and the alarm signal.

Claims

1. A vehicular mountable apparatus for detecting vehicular speed monitoring signals and for detecting nearby emergency vehicles comprising:

a first sensor for sensing modulated light from an emergency vehicle warning light and generating an alarm signal in response;

a second sensor for sensing a vehicular speed monitoring signal and generating a ranging signal in response; and

an alarm coupled to the first and second sensors for issuing an alarm in response to generation of any of the ranging signal and the alarm signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first sensor is responsive to light.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first and second sensors are responsive to light.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the second sensor is a radar sensor responsive to a radar vehicular speed monitoring signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 including a first demodulator connected between the first sensor and the alarm, demodulating signals produced by the first sensor and generating an alarm signal only when light incident on the first sensor is modulated at a frequency to which the first demodulator is responsive.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the first demodulator includes a pulse counter coupled to the first sensor for counting pulses produced by the first sensor in a fixed length time period and an AND gate receiving the outputs of the pulse counter and the first sensor for comparing pulses counted in the fixed length time period to at least one frequency to which the first demodulator is responsive and for rejecting frequencies not corresponding to the modulated frequency to which the first demodulator is responsive.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 including a second demodulator connected between the second sensor and the alarm, demodulating signals produced by the second sensor and generating a ranging signal only when a signal incident on the second sensor is modulated at a frequency to which the second demodulator is responsive.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 including a third sensor for sensing a laser light vehicular speed monitoring signal.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 including:

a first demodulator connected between the first sensor and the alarm, demodulating signals produced by the first sensor and generating an alarm signal only when light incident on the first sensor is modulated at a frequency to which the first demodulator is responsive;

a second demodulator connected between the second sensor and the alarm, demodulating signals produced by the second sensor and generating a radar ranging signal only when a signal incident on the second sensor is modulated at a frequency to which the second demodulator is responsive; and

a third demodulator connected between the third sensor and the alarm, demodulating signals produced by the third sensor and generating a laser light ranging signal only when light incident on the third sensor is modulated at a frequency to which the third demodulator is responsive.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the alarm produces a visual and/or an audio alarm in response to generation of any of an alarm signal, a radar ranging signal, and a laser light ranging signal.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the alarm gives priority in responding to an alarm signal over simultaneously generated radar and laser light ranging signals.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the second sensor comprises a radar sensor for detecting radar vehicular speed monitoring signals and a laser light sensor for detecting laser light vehicular speed monitoring signals.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the alarm produces a visual and/or an audio alarm in response to generation of any of an alarm signal and a ranging signal.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the alarm gives priority in responding to an alarm signal over a simultaneously generated ranging detection signal.

15. A vehicular mountable apparatus for detecting vehicular speed monitoring signals and for detecting nearby emergency vehicles comprising:

a sensor for sensing a laser light vehicular speed monitoring signal and generating a laser light ranging detection signal in response and for sensing a modulated light signal from an emergency vehicle warning light and generating an alarm signal in response; and

an alarm coupled to the sensor for issuing an alarm in response to generation of any of a laser light ranging signal and an alarm signal.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 including first and second demodulators connected between the sensor and the alarm, the first demodulator demodulating a signal produced in response to a laser light vehicular speed monitoring signal, generating a laser light ranging detection signal when light incident on the sensor is modulated at a frequency to which the first demodulator is responsive, the second demodulator demodulating a signal produced in response to an incident modulated light signal from an emergency vehicle warning light and generating an alarm signal when light incident on the sensor is modulated at a frequency to which the second demodulator is responsive.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the alarm provides different indications in response to generation of a laser light ranging signal and generation of an alarm signal.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the alarm produces a visual and/or an audio alarm in response to generation of any of an alarm signal and a laser light ranging signal.

19. A vehicular mountable apparatus for detecting nearby emergency vehicles comprising:

a sensor for sensing incident modulated light from an emergency vehicle warning light and generating an alarm signal in response;

an alarm coupled to the sensor for issuing an alarm in response to generation of an alarm signal; and

a demodulator connected between the sensor and the alarm for demodulating signals produced by the sensor and for generating an alarm signal only when the incident light is modulated at a frequency to which the demodulator is responsive, the demodulator including a pulse counter coupled to the sensor for counting pulses produced by the sensor in a fixed length time period and an AND gate receiving the outputs of the pulse counter and the sensor for comparing pulses counted in the fixed length time period to at least one frequency to which the demodulator is responsive and for rejecting frequencies not corresponding to the modulated frequency to which the demodulator is responsive.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the alarm produces a visual indication and/or an audio alarm in response to generation of an alarm signal.