Methods of detecting a speed detection of a vehicle and supporting apparatus, system, and readable medium

• US 8,255,155 B1
• Filed: 07/11/2006
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HERE Global B.V. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Navteq B.V.
• Inventors: Crane, Aaron I., Gibson, Timothy W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): MUSTAFA, IMRAN K
• Application Number:
  US11/484,265
• Time in Patent Office: 2,240 Days
• Field of Search: 340/905, 340/936, 340/988
• US Class Current: 701/409
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096733 where a selection of the information might take place
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station

Abstract

A technique of detecting a speed detection of a vehicle using a geographic database (200, 322, 326, 508, 510) of a navigation system (300, 502) has been provided, which obtains a current position of the vehicle (404) and at least one predefined characteristic (418) relating to the current position of the vehicle from the geographic database, sets (420(1)) a sensitivity level to detect a speed detection of the vehicle based, at least in part, on the at least one predefined characteristic.

Claims

1. A method of detecting a speed detection of a vehicle using a geographic database of a navigation system, the method comprising:

obtaining a current position of the vehicle;

obtaining at least one predefined characteristic relating to the current position of the vehicle from the geographic database, the at least one predefined characteristic being a curvature of a road, a geometric shape of a road, a gradient of a road, or a slope of a road; and

automatically setting a sensitivity level to detect a speed detection of the vehicle based, at least in part, on the at least one predefined characteristic obtained from the geographic database, wherein automatically setting the sensitivity level includes automatically adjusting a current sensitivity level being used for detection to another sensitivity level used for detection and includes automatically changing a range of detectable area used to detect the speed detection of the vehicle based on, at least in part, the at least one predefined characteristic obtained from the geographic database.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

detecting the speed detection based, at least in part, on the sensitivity level.

3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising:

alerting a user of the vehicle upon detecting the speed detection.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the speed detection comprises any one or more selected from a group of a signal transmission and a laser burst transmission.

5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

providing the range of detectable area to detect the speed detection of the vehicle.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the at least one predefined characteristic comprises any one or more selected from a group of a road curvature, a direction of travel, a terrain model of the road segments, a road gradient, and a road slope model.

7. The method according to claim 5 further comprising:

alerting a user of the vehicle when the range of the detectable area is inadequate to detect the speed detection of the vehicle.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one predefined characteristic comprises any one or more selected from a group of an administrative district, a predefined sensitivity level, population density, a shopping district, a residential area, a business district, a number of nearby points of interest, a functional class of a road, speed limit, traffic information, a geometric shape of a road, speed detection type, and speed trap indication.

9. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

setting a retransmit level based, at least in part, on the at least one predefined characteristic.

10. The method according to claim 9 further comprising:

periodically sending a transmission needed to block the speed detection based, at least in part, on the retransmit level.

11. The method according to claim 1 further comprising, prior to obtaining at least one characteristic relating to the current position of the vehicle from the geographic database:

obtaining a current speed of the vehicle;

obtaining a speed limit along a road traveled by the vehicle from the geographic database;

determining whether the current speed of the vehicle corresponds in at least a predetermined way to the speed limit along the road; and

obtaining the at least one predefined characteristic when the current speed of the vehicle corresponds in at least a predetermined way to the speed limit along the road.

12. The method according to claim 1 further comprising, prior to obtaining at least one predefined characteristic relating to the current position of the vehicle from the geographic database:

determining whether a speed trap data record associated with the current position of the vehicle is present in the geographic database;

obtaining a road segment data record associated with the current position of the vehicle when a speed trap data record is not present, wherein the at least one predefined characteristic is obtained from the road segment data record; and

obtaining the speed trap data record associated with the current position of the vehicle when a speed trap data record is present, wherein the at least one predefined characteristic is obtained from the speed trap data record.

13. A computer-readable medium having executable instructions stored thereon in accordance with the method of claim 1.

14. An apparatus having executable instructions stored thereon in accordance with the method of claim 1.

24. The method according to claim 11, wherein determining comprises determining whether the current speed of the vehicle exceeds a threshold value above the speed limit, and wherein obtaining the at least one predefined characteristic comprises obtaining the at least one predefined characteristic when the current speed of the vehicle exceeds the threshold value.

15. A method of detecting a speed detection of a vehicle using a geographic database of a navigation system, the method comprising:

obtaining a current position of the vehicle;

determining whether a speed trap data record associated with the current position of the vehicle is present in the geographic database;

obtaining a road type characteristic from the speed trap data record when the speed trap data record associated with the current position of the vehicle is present in the geographic database; and

automatically adjusting a sensitivity level to detect a speed detection of the vehicle based on the road type characteristic, wherein automatically adjusting the sensitivity level includes automatically increasing or decreasing a current sensitivity level being used for detection to another sensitivity level used for detection, based on the obtained road type characteristic, and includes automatically changing a range of detectable area used to detect the speed detection of the vehicle; and

displaying a boundary of the range of the detectable area used to detect the speed detection of the vehicle.

16. The method according to claim 15 further comprising:

detecting the speed detection based, at least in part, on the sensitivity level.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the speed detection comprises any one or more selected from a group of a signal transmission and a laser burst transmission.

18. The method according to claim 16 further comprising:

alerting a user of the vehicle upon detecting the speed detection.

19. The method according to claim 15 further comprising:

alerting a user of the vehicle when the range of the detectable area is inadequate to detect the speed detection of the vehicle.

20. The method according to claim 15, wherein the road type characteristic comprises any one or more selected from a group of a functional class of a road and a geometric shape of a road.

21. The method according to claim 15 further comprising:

obtaining the road type characteristic from a road segment data record when the speed trap data record associated with the current position of the vehicle is not present in the geographic database.

22. The method according to claim 15 further comprising:

automatically adjusting a retransmit level based, at least in part, on the road type characteristic; and

periodically sending a transmission needed to block the speed detection based, at least in part, on the retransmit level.

23. A computer implemented method of detecting a speed detection of a vehicle using a geographic database of a navigation system, the computer implemented method comprising:

obtaining a current position of the vehicle;

obtaining a road characteristic relating to the current position of the vehicle from the geographic database, the road characteristic comprising any one selected from a group of a road curvature, a terrain model of a road segment, a road gradient, a road slope model, a functional class of a road, and a geometric shape of a road; and

automatically setting a sensitivity level to detect a speed detection of the vehicle based on the road characteristic obtained from the geographic database, wherein automatically setting the sensitivity level includes automatically adjusting a current sensitivity level being used for detection to another sensitivity level used for detection including automatically changing a range of detectable area used to detect the speed detection of the vehicle; and

displaying a boundary of the range of the detectable area used to detect the speed detection of the vehicle.

25. The computer implemented method according to claim 23, further comprising:

obtaining data indicative of a geographic terrain or elevation from the geographic database; and

modifying the boundary of the range of the detectable area used to detect the speed detection of the vehicle based on the geographic terrain or elevation obtained from the geographic database.