Claims
- 1. A device for monitoring the speed of a vehicle in relation to a posted speed limit, said device comprising:
(a) a GPS receiver for determining the location and speed of the vehicle; (b) an input device on which a driver may select a speed tolerance profile; and (c) a processor coupled to said GPS receiver and said input device for determining the posted speed limit, said processor including a comparator for comparing the speed of the vehicle with the posted speed limit and generating a warning when the speed of the vehicle falls outside the speed tolerance profile.
- 2. The device of claim 1, further comprising a display coupled to the processor to display flashing text when the speed of the vehicle falls outside the speed tolerance profile.
- 3. The device of claim 1, further comprising a speech synthesizer for providing a spoken audible warning when the speed of the vehicle falls outside the speed tolerance profile.
- 4. The device of claim 1, further comprising a buzzer for providing a buzzer warning when the speed of the vehicle falls outside the speed tolerance profile.
- 5. The device of claim 1, wherein said processor is adapted to store a GPS map, said posted speed limit being determined from said GPS map in conjunction with the location of the vehicle.
- 6. The device of claim 5, wherein said GPS map has a plurality of posted speed limit zones and said processor generates a warning when the location and direction of the vehicle as determined by the GPS receiver in conjunction with said GPS map indicates that the vehicle is about to enter a different posted speed limit zone.
- 7. The combination of the device of claim 1 and a cruise control system for a vehicle, the cruise control system being operable at a selected cruise control speed, said cruise control system being interruptible to become inactive when the vehicle undergoes braking, and said warning system being operable at a selected warning speed higher than the cruise control speed.
- 8. The device of claim 1, further comprising a cellular modem for transmitting an alerting signal when the speed of the vehicle falls outside the speed tolerance profile a predetermined number of times.
- 9. The device of claim 1, further comprising a cellular modem for transmitting an alerting signal to a designated remote location when the speed of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined variance from the speed tolerance profile.
- 10. The device of claim 1, further comprising a cellular modem for providing a wireless data link for providing map related data.
- 11. A method for monitoring the speed of a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) determining the location and speed of the vehicle; (b) allowing the driver to select a speed tolerance profile; (c) determining the posted speed limit that corresponds to the location of the vehicle; (d) comparing the speed of the vehicle with the posted speed limit; and (e) generating a warning when the speed of the vehicle falls outside the speed tolerance profile.
- 12. The method of claim 11, where step (e) includes the displaying of flashing digits when the speed of the vehicle falls outside the speed tolerance profile.
- 13. The method of claim 11, where step (e) includes the provision of a spoken audible warning when the speed of the vehicle falls outside the speed tolerance profile.
- 14. The method of claim 11, where step (e) includes the provision of a buzzer sound when the speed of the vehicle falls outside the speed tolerance profile.
- 15. The method of claim 11, wherein step (c) comprises determining the posted speed limit from a GPS map in conjunction with the location of the vehicle.
- 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of generating a warning when the location and direction of the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is about to enter a different posted speed limit zone.
- 17. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting an alerting signal when the speed of the vehicle falls outside the speed tolerance profile a predetermined number of times.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/290,985 filed May 16, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60290985 |
May 2001 |
US |